Frantically searching for yet one more mild-weathered day for cycling-as I typically do this time of year- only two days were left as possible options. Of course when left with just two days to cycle before winter shuts it all down, you make sure you find just the right place to finish out the season…and hopefully the right person to join you as well!
Robert Morris Inn
I was fortunate that one of my dearest friends, a newly-retired teacher of 32 years, was more than eager to go! After narrowing down the options of places, the clear winner was historic Oxford….Oxford Maryland that is. Now, historic to we Americans is laughable I know compared to Oxfords I can think of elsewhere, but 1683, the date of our Oxford’s official founding, is pretty impressive to us yanks.
The first place my friend and I stopped was the Robert Morris Inn.
room circa 1710, Robert Morris Inn
Originally built as a shipping house in 1710, it began operations in 1800 as a full-time inn…the oldest full-service inn in America. Robert Morris, Sr., was an agent for a Liverpool shipping firm and greatly influenced the town’s growth. His son, Robert Morris, Jr., was known as “the financier of the Revolution.”
original dining area 1710
Walking on the historic, wide-planked floors, and gazing at the oversized wooden mantels over the well-worn brick fireplaces, we fell into a reverent awe as we imagined the conversations held in these very rooms. According to the brochure of the Inn…
Four of our 310 year old rooms were indeed slept in by Founding Father Robert Morris, George Washington and many other dignitaries of the day and since. Red brick fireplaces around which heated discussion on the arguments for independence from Britain took place and negotiations for sugar cane, tobacco and French wine worked out. Wood paneling, red brick fireplaces and oak timbers are all as they were 310 years ago, hand built by ships carpenters from locally acquired materials and the red bricks from England, used as ships ballast. One cannot get any more historic than this.
Other notable persons of the history of Oxford include: Jeremiah Banning, sea captain, war hero, and statesman; The Reverend Thomas Bacon, Anglican clergyman who wrote the first compilation of the laws of Maryland; Matthew Tilghman, known as the “patriarch of Maryland” and “father of statehood” and Colonel Tench Tilghman, assistant to George Washington and the man who carried the message of Cornwallis’ surrender to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
Until the American Revolution, Oxford enjoyed prominence as an international shipping center. With the loss of British ships and their variety of imported goods and tobacco replaced by wheat as a cash crop, businesses went bankrupt, and the population of a once thriving Oxford dwindled. It would be 100 years till the sleepy town awakened to prosperity again, this time due to the completion of the railroad in 1871 and improved methods of canning and packing, which made marketing the oysters from the bountiful Chesapeake Bay near tiny Oxford possible.
Yet again, business was booming and houses were going up everywhere until the early part of the 20th century when the oyster beds were depleted, and the packing houses shut down. Businesses went bankrupt, and the railway and steamships eventually disappeared. Oxford became a sleepy little town once again, inhabited mainly by watermen who still worked the waters of the Tred Avon.
Oxford remains a waterman’s town today, but is enjoying a new resurgence based on tourism and leisure and as a well-know cycling destination of the mid-atlantic. The suggested cycling route usually includes a trip across the Tred Avon River aboard the Oxford Bellevue Ferry, believed to be the nation’s oldest privately-operated ferry service.
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Knowing this was a popular cycling destination, I assumed there must be trails going around the town. It was with great pleasure that my friend and I discovered the town itself was the cycling trail. As we cycled through this quaint little town surrounded by historic, flag-bearing houses…upon narrow, cobble-stone streets…lined by trees ablaze with autumn leaves…on the banks of a river…
there was no doubt we had picked the the perfect grand finale of our cycling season!
Life is full of beautiful gifts, and yesterday morning brought that truth to light in a very special way…
Wings still very much wet after emerging
It was the birthday of my neighbor across the street, a neighbor I have become very close to in the last several months. It was also her first birthday since the death of her husband in early April. When we walked the day before yesterday she told me “…it’s just another day…” but to me, a birthday is to be celebrated-new life is always a blessing to be celebrated. Knowing it was the first birthday since her husband’s passing, I wanted to make sure I acknowledged it in a special way before she met with her family later to celebrate with them.
Wings a bit dryer….not much longer now!
In the morning I texted to see if she wanted to take our neighborhood walk, then quickly stuck some breakfast cookies in the oven to take over with a card. Three minutes before the cookies were due to come out of the oven, I got a text from her: ” A Monarch butterfly has just emerged from its chrysalis, come see!” Funny, just the day before I noticed all the milkweed in her garden and meant to ask if she had ever seen the Monarchs hatch.
Good view of chrysalis
The cookies couldn’t come out fast enough, as I was sure the newly emerged butterfly would take flight before I could cross the street! As it was, I arrived in plenty of time to see the newly transformed Monarch since it was at least another hour or so from taking flight. My oldest son was off that day so was also able to come enjoy the scene with us, reminding me of the time we watched a newly emerged butterfly take flight when he was young.
Picked up by neighbor after failed first attempt at flight
As we talked and marvelled at the beauty of nature, I couldn’t help but think what a beautiful gift of new life she had been given on her birthday. She said she had never witnessed a butterfly emerge till that morning… a touching reminder that life does indeed bring renewed joy after pain.
Resting on milkweed leaf before attempting flight again
My neighbor sent me off yesterday with Milkweed seedlings to plant in my own yard, and today while gardening I had a little visitor of my own, keeping me company as I worked…
Until next time, may you experience renewed joy and wonder in your life as well.
∼ Jen
…Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning Psalm 30:5
When I look back on my childhood, there is one movie that will always stick out in my mind as a favorite….Bambi! Somehow I think I’m not alone in that sentiment.
Lately in our neighborhood I believe we could film our own version of Bamb in real-life form. The below picure is one I took after our growling cat (I used to think only dogs growled) alerted me to something just outside the window on a recent morning…
I was able to shoot a few more pictures before it ran off to the more heavily wooded area. All the pictures in this post, with the exception of one, are shot through the window and some at a distance, so they won’t always be the clearest.
A few mornings later my husband and I were enjoying coffee on the porch when we spotted our early visitor…
After I greeted her with a “good morning,” she took off. Apparently she likes eating our flowers in solitude, or maybe her guilty concious got the best of her. Either way, we would have enjoyed having her company a little longer.
Our flowers were not the only ones the deer enjoyed as evidenced when I peered across the street to my neighbor’s yard. In the above picture, the smorgasboard had just begun. They casually made their way all across her lawn, munching as they went. Knowing she doesn’t bother to shoo them away anymore than we do, I captured all the pictures I could to share with her later. She had told me previously that she has counted up to eight at one time in her back yard at dusk and is captivated by their visits as much as we are.
shamelessly munching
Who needs flowers anyway!?!
When driving by another neighbors late one afternoon we stopped to talk to him and he pointed out his visitors to us-what I have come to call the elusive twin fawns:
One of the fawns is on the far right, the other on the left, very heavily camouflaged.
The picture is the best I could get with only a cellphone, and though I have walked back several more times to try to capture them with a real camera, they have unfortunately proven to be camera-shy. We saw them a few more times when driving by, but my neighbor has informed me that they haven’t been around for the last several days. In his words “they have eaten all the flowers we had, so they took off.” Neither he nor any of our neighbors seem to care that their flowers have been digested by Bambi and friends, and that is one of the reasons I love living here!
I end this post with what is still my favorite picture of our neighborhood deer…
She was just casually strolling along for her morning walk like the rest of the neighbors when my sweet Princess alerted me to her.
I hope you have enjoyed my version of Bambi, Until next time!
Well, I certainly never thought I would do a part two on a blog post having to do with weeds, but here goes! This post has to do with my statement about my intense dislike of Round-Up, and I have been asked to explain why I hold that opinion by fellow blogger Michelle at one of my favorite blogs, https://rabbitpatchdiary.com. I’ll add some pretty pictures to hopefully charm it up a bit!
The material out there is vast, but I will do my best to sum it up in as brief a post as possible. I will post links at the end of this post so you can do your own follow-up studies and draw your own conclusions. Hopefully for the sake of the environment and ultimately your health and those you love, you will reach the same conculusion as I have come to, and look for alternative methods to control weeds. When I am not pulling, this recipe is a simple one to use and it works!
One of my main sources for health news is Dr. Mercola, and I have read many articles relating to the dangers of Round-Up on his website alone. I will use other sources for this post, however, to give a broader analysis of the topic. According to the Dr. Mercola article, Monsanto is Inside Everything. this so called crop-saver is showing up in urine samples, breast-milk, blood samples, water supplies, and in the very air we breathe.
A study reported by The Detox Project reported that glyphosate, the active main ingredient in Round-Up, was found in women’s breast milk at 760-1600 times higher than the level allowed by the EU in drinking water. So the purest form of food for the tiniest among us is now contaminated by man-made killer chemicals! Further studies showed glyphosate crosses the placental barrier with 15% reaching the fetal compartment.
To quote Angelika Hilbeck, Ph.D., senior scientist at the Institute of Integrative Biology in Zurich:
This is reckless and irresponsible conduct in a democratic society, which still has a living memory of previous reckless chemical contaminations, such as DDT.”
Blood samples and urine samples in Canadian and US women respectively were found to be at maximum levels for urine and levels similar to the concentration found to have endocrine-disrupting effects in vitro in the blood samples.
While on the topic of embryonic health, the inert ingredient, polyethoxylated tallowamine, or POEA, in Round-Up was actually found to be more deadly than the active ingredient, glyphosate, according to the article in the Scientific American Weed-Whacking Herbicide Proves Deadly to Human Cells. In this article, evidence is shown that just because an ingredient is listed as inert-Federal law classifies all pesticide ingredients that don’t harm pests as “inert,”-doesn’t mean they aren’t necessarily biologically or toxicologically harmless. “This clearly confirms that the [inert ingredients] in Roundup formulations are not inert,” wrote the study authors from France’s University of Caen.“Moreover, the proprietary mixtures available on the market could cause cell damage and even death [at the] residual levels” found on Roundup-treated crops, such as soybeans, alfalfa and corn, or lawns and gardens.
Mother and fawn taken in Colorado Rockies
So what if you don’t use Round-Up… why should you care…doesn’t it simply disappear after it kills the weeds, isn’t it “biodegradable” like we are told in most places that sell it.
No
In 2009, a French court found Monsanto guilty of lying; falsely advertising its Roundup herbicide as “biodegradable,” “environmentally friendly” and claiming it “left the soil clean.”
So what exactly is Round-up ready and GMO crops? Simply put, they are crops from seeds altered to withstand the effects of Round-up while the weeds around them die. It is argued that GMO crops increase food supply thereby helping to curb world hunger. There is no evidence to prove that this is the case according to the New Soil Association in 2008. In fact not only does it not increase yield, it leads to terminator seeds-seeds that are grown for a second generation that are sterile…leading to just the opposite of increased yield. In addition to less yield, GMO corn is shown to have 18 times the safe level of glyphosate set by the EPA…I would argue there is no safe level, period. About 75 percent of the food available at the grocery store contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs), grown from Roundup Ready crops, in particular alfalfa, corn and soy. (https://draxe.com/monsanto-roundup/)
To help yourself and your family, look for organics and foods labeled non-GM0 whenever possible; shop at local organic farm markets if available and if you eat meat buy only organic, 100% grass-fed or non-gmo food fed animals, ideally from a local farmer you can get to know; on-line sites such as Vita-cost sells organic non-perishables, and they offer great sales from time to time. Shop around, your health is worth it! A list of the top pesticide ridden foods and ones you can get by with not being organic can be found here: http://borntogrow.net/dangerous-pesticide-ridden-foods/ Also, soaking veggies and fruit in baking soda for 15 minutes can remove some of the pesticides, depending on the food, but even that labeled organic should be soaked.
So what are some of the other affects on our health from this ignorantly loved chemical…autism, breast cancer, Parkinson’s, depression, anxiety disorders, gastrointestinal disorders and diseases, inflammatory bowel conditions, obesity, cardiovascular disease, infertility, ALS, multiple sclerosis, infertility, allergies, cancer and much more…
A very interesting chart, one that would be very hard to argue with, shows the instances of autism rates with the rise of glyphosate usage, please use the following link to see the astonishing chart as well as watch a very informative interview with Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), revealing how glyphosate wrecks havoc on human health.
I am going to stop here, but trust me, this only scratches the surface! There is so much more that can be said and explained, but this post is very long as is!! And please note, though this post is about Round-Up, pesticide use in general should be thoroughly looked into. Please see the links below, and especially read ways to avoid consuming this chemical, and many others, even if you are against using as I am. I may add a third post for nutritional ways to combat toxins and another on the beauty and nutrition of certain weeds, inspired by Barry.
I will say in closing, it is a shame that those of us who try to protect the earth we have been entrusted to take care of are sometimes dismissed as hippies, crazies or over-zealous earth-worshippers. I don’t worship the earth, though my “About” picture certainly portrays me as a tree-hugger 😉 I do, however, worship the God who gave me this beautiful place to live and I believe as a Christian I am responsible even more to show gratitude for what He made and gave as a gift…this incredible creation, including ourselves, that we are to treasure and take care of.
Until next time, please let’s all do our part…the adorable subjects in the pictures, and those in the future will be glad you did!
Yes, that’s right, weeds, and let me tell you, there was a whole lotta love happening in my front garden today!
This has been the rainiest summer I can ever remember in my lifetime. And when it was not raining of late, the temps soared to the ninetys, when rain was once again a welcome relief. Given that combination of weather, other things of more importance to be done, throw in an out-of-town trip on top, and my weeds absolutely thrived!
Now, I am surrounded for the most part by neighbors with pristine yards who have an ongoing love affair with Round-Up. I could spend a whole post on my hatred of that substance, but since this is a blog focused on “beauty” I’ll forgo that soap-box. On the other side of that scenario, when weeds are pulled by hand, there are those occasions when you are that neighbor.
Since I really don’t want to be that neighbor, and usually I am not, I apologized before taking off on my trip to my fellow outdoor enthusiast across the street and assured her things would be restored to normal when I returned. Since she and I have a shared love of gardening and spent many hours chatting across the street as we happily sweat and battled the weeds, she had no cause for concern.
Halfway there!
The first few days back I had other things to catch up on, so I pulled a Scarlet O’Hara and chanted “tomorrow,” but, today was the day! As I contemplated the task ahead of me, I assure you I was not at all looking forward to it. After a quick walk down the street in search of the elusive twin fawns, I donned gardening gloves and hat and headed toward my foes. Or were they?
I had not been pulling for more than a few minutes when the thought occurred to me that this was not at all the horror I expected, and I quickly became thankful for the time of quiet contemplation. Usually alone-time in the morning with a cup of coffee is all that’s needed to start my day, but this day I needed some activity along with my quiet, and my weeds proved to be just the thing. I know they are considered a cursed nuisance to the garden, but on this morning as I pulled…I prayed, Bible verses came to mind, and I remembered the Creator always has the best answers…sometimes shown through a good patch of weeds!
Return to normalcy!
Until next time, wishing you your own patch of weeds, if needed!
My favorite spring month has finally dawned…and its opening show is as breathtaking as always!
Yesterday opened up the beauty with sunshine and wonderfully mild temperatures. I had much to do-a shared vegetable garden to be planted at my sisters- so I was not planning to linger long over coffee and nature-gazing. Then my eyes spotted this sun bather (below) in the creek…
that ended any coffee time abruptly as I grabbed my camera and spent a sunny morning outside enjoying the peace of nature while gathering the following pictures…
Last of the spring daffodils, pansies, and tulips…
Beginning of the azaleas that we eagerly await each spring…
Unfurling of my favorite foliage plant, the lovely fern…
Bleeding hearts blending with azaleas…
A favorite bird garden…
Fading lenten rose…
Beauty of new life in the form of a tiny pine tree, with kayaks in the background holding the promise of future adventures on the creek and more nature to be explored …
Warm wishes for a beautiful month of May in your corner of the world.
As I sit here typing, a Nor’easter is blowing up a storm, literally, outside my window, snowflakes are sparse but fat, our wood-duck nesting box is submerged by the creek, but daffodils are blooming, despite it all, across the street in my neighbor’s yard.
I have been gone off and on for the past week with my dad having surgery in the Baltimore area, and it feels good to have a free morning to prop my feet up and write before I tackle my chores. On that note, I have to say I enjoyed reading my blogger friends’ posts as I sometimes sat in a waiting room, so thank you all for sharing your many talents!
One of the things that has brought a smile to my face lately is my little scrap garden I have growing in a tray in my kitchen, so I thought I’d share. For those of you who don’t know what a “scrap” garden is, it’s getting new plants to grow from kitchen scraps you would normally throw away.
celery, beet, ginger, carrot
I like to juice as often as I can, daily when able, so I have lots of scraps, and discovering how to grow a scrap garden is just another of the benefits. I am fortunate that I am able to buy all these plants locally, organic and non-gmo…otherwise, they don’t go in my juicer.
this always reminds me of sand art, liquid form
My favorite juice recipe is carrot, celery, beet, lemon, ginger, and green apple, and several of those ingredients can be regrown. Basically you just cut off the bottom portion of say celery, or beet, place in shallow bit of water, set to the side and let the transformation begin. Call me weird, or too easily amused, but when I see the tiny little leaves emerging I get absolutely thrilled!
new celery leaves emerging
Last year I started this “garden” late, maybe mid-summer, and though I don’t have pictures to share, my celery grew beautifully when planted outside. Our property is mostly wooded, so pots that get some sun are it for a garden, and the celery filled one nicely. The stalks really were too thin and woody to enjoy outside of soup, maybe lack of water, but the leaves were prolific and tasty and made for a delicious chickpea salad, which I’ll share the recipe for below, and soups as well. Read here for the many health benefits of juicing celery.
Beets are anti-inflammatory, a good cleanser and digestive aid, to name just a few of the benefits. The beets I planted last year from this method really didn’t develop, again only the leaves, but the leaves are very nutritional as well – read here to see how they compare to kale.
Ginger
Ginger is my best friend when I am flying or riding in mountainous terrain….for someone who gets motion sickness, I cannot suggest this wonderful herb enough! During cold and flu season I like to make my own ginger/clove/elderberry infusion and drink throughout the day. It is a powerhouse of nutrients which you can read about here, so I like to add about a thumb size to the juice. This is a good article on how to grow ginger…a new houseplant…one that will nourish you when you wish to dig up a bit of the rhizome.
new leaves forming to left of carrot
Lastly I have the mighty carrot! I don’t have high hopes for eating the carrot itself once I plant them outside, but again, the leaves will offer a great deal of nutrition which I read about in an article just last week, which included a recipe for carrot top pesto. Carrots are the bulk of the juice I make, and we are all aware of just how great they are, from cleansing the liver to helping to prevent cancer, read more about them to be inspired to juice them, or roast them-my favorite way to eat them cooked.
chickpea salad
As promised, the link to the recipe for the chickpea salad is at https://cookieandkate.com/?s=chickpea+salad. I actually use the recipe from her cookbook, which I highly recommend, but simply substitute out the parsley for the celery leaves, and use raw red onion instead of the peppers and olives. It is wonderful after sitting overnight especially, and looking at this picture now I think I need to go soak some garbanzo beans!
Yet again, business was booming and houses were going up everywhere until the early part of the 20th century when the oyster beds were depleted, and the packing houses shut down. Businesses went bankrupt, and the railway and steamships eventually disappeared. Oxford became a sleepy little town once again, inhabited mainly by watermen who still worked the waters of the Tred Avon.
Birds, Blooms and all things Beautiful 