Killer Bee Cutie Pies

The Killer Bees.... Oooooo! I'm afraid!
(Steven N. and Nyssa, Halloween... 1987)

"The music of the busy bee
Is drowsy, and it comforts me;
But, ah! 'tis quite another thing,
When that same bee concludes to sting!"
~ Andrew Downing, The Bee (1838 - 1917)

This is an excursion into the past... 23 years ago, to be precise. Steven N. is two weeks older than my daughter, Nyssa. He is the son of my friend and the woman I consider the MOST talented and loving childcare giver I know, Rhonda. Rhonda had Stevie and his older brother Charlie... two years older than Steven and Nyssa. She was unafraid of taking them out and they learned so much about sharing and became like brothers and sister. People would often think that Steven and Nyssa were twins.

This Halloween, the church had a children's party and gave out awards for the costumes in different age groups. These two were 18 months old, so I decided to sew them costumes. I simply took a paper bag and fashioned a pattern then started cutting and they evolved from there. In the back there were white wings and a stuffed white pointed cone stinger sewn in. They wore black tights and yellow turtleneck knit tops and black shoes. These easily slipped on and closed in the back at the neck. The antennae were made with your basic head band, yellow pipe cleaners and round styrofoam balls spray painted black. They looked so cute, running around the house, batting each other with the antennae. At the party, Rhonda and I decided they should enter the contest as a single entry.... The Killer Bees!

Of course, they won first place in their age group. The prize? An extra bit of candy and a ribbon, as I remember. And yes, the costume is carefully put away waiting for the day another little one might use it. Well, maybe not... but it is available to borrow!

These "bees" show off their "yellow" stripes for Carmi's theme this week and lend a Halloween touch to the place. They also bring back a lot of "Mommy" memories that are still fresh after all these years. How fast they grow... how cherished these memories are.

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Carmi's theme ~ yellow

This Post Is Brought To You By The Letter "O"

Orson the Osprey.....with fish. No "Orson" isn't quite right.

"I think he'll be to Rome
As is the osprey to the fish, who takes it
By sovereignty of nature." ~ William Shakespeare (Coriolanus, Act IV, Scene VII)

Hmm... he could be Oscar the Osprey... look at those buggy eyes, checking for thieves...
perhaps knowing that someone or something is watching him dine.

Lunch is finished and his true form revealed. Yes... Oliver the Osprey it is.
A regal name for a regal bird of prey.

(end of post)

ABC Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday... well almost.

A "Little Joy" For a Little Joy On A Cloudy Day

Joy is a flower that blooms when you do. ~ Author Unknown
Daylily..."Little Joy" (Click to enlarge)

"You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence." ~ Acts 2:28 (New Living Translation)

The daylily are fading fast; some have already lost their spiky leaves and it has been a month since blooms have been in play. This variety held on until the very end, outlasting all the other larger forms. "Little Joy" with smaller and multiple blooms on the flower stalks, a deep and dark rich red color that worked so well with the bright red and yellow lantana beside it. This may be the brightest red we have in late summer as with all the hot and dry weather this summer, the trees have been stressed and the usual spark of color is muted, with leaves spackled in green, dirty yellow, brown and faded red. Their edges are curled and shriveled.

I am surprised at how much color is still present here in late October. The mums are at their apex of color and in the back flower beds this means a dark magenta purple. Right next to the mums, the lavender is still blooming as is the occasional purple-top vervain. Two coneflowers, white and bright orange are still blooming and the blood red milkweed has gotten a second wind since the monarchs have gone. Occasional black-eyed susan still bloom.. yellow varieties, as well as the dark "Cherry Brandy" red ones. Blanketflowers are going strong as is the perennial lantana Miss Huff. Miss Huff has really outdone itself and is a huge bush like plant now. The Abelia bush is blooming as are the re-blooming azaleas. So all in all, for fall... we still have quite a bit of color.

This was the first year for many of these plants and I am anxious to see how they come back for a second season. With a bang, I hope. Until then, I have all of their pictures to keep me company in the gray of winter. Thank goodness that is but a short time here.... things start budding out in late February.

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Ruby Tuesday

Not Just For Fall Anymore

Dreams of summer past......fiery lily after the rain.
(Click pictures to enlarge)

"Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow."~ Wassily Kandinsky

Yes, I know it is Sunday and I missed the photo hunt by a long shot. Still, I had these already in the works and thought they were beautiful and frankly, I was just too "brain" tired to focus on a different thought. Orange has always been a warm and inviting color in my book. I had an orange room... not quite this bright, but almost... when I was in college. It was the first time in all the years that someone actually asked me what color I wanted my room painted. Typically, the parsonage walls were painted very pale.... pale blue, pale beige, pale pink. In fact, most of the time, my room was SO pale of a pink that you had to hold a bright white paint chip sample next to the wall to even tell that it was pink at all. I was in college and would only spend two summers in the house before getting married, but for those two summers I had a bright and vivid orange room. It was wonderful!

I have outgrown the bright orange for walls, still I like the more muted tones that remind me of a Tuscan sunset. And I still love the orange of fall leaves, mixed with those of red and gold, as well as the flaming oranges bursting forth in the spring and early summer lilies.

Thoughts of Autumn present.... just in time for Halloween.

Fall mums are everywhere. We have those in dark magenta, deep cranberry red and these golden tangerine shades. Each year my mom loves these flowers on the porch or step and after they fade, most people simply toss them out. The first year I let them go too long and they looked completely dead. Still I planted the roots and the sticky stubs and waited. The green leaves started poking up through the sticks and to my amazement, it survived and thrived and ended up a much larger plant than the original. So the second year I did the same and last year as well. This spring I followed the recommendation to dig them up and "root prune". In this process the root ball is cut and reduced by at least half, then re-planted. I also snipped off the early buds... before July... to try and thicken up the plants. It worked! And I even took the biggest section of the trimmed off root ball and planted it in the back yard. Now I have dark magenta purple mums in full bloom there as well.

So, what color should I choose this year.... more red, pale yellow, gold or more orange?

(end of post)
Saturday Photo Hunt (on Sunday) ~ "orange"

Serenity Can Be Deceiving

Grand Canary Island Sunset...July 2009
(Click picture to enlarge)

"Peace... is seeing a sunset, and knowing who to thank." ~ Author Unknown

Finally! The computer is back from the shop and things are ok. Nothing wrong with software; the internal power supply simply decided to quit working. Fortunately it was under warranty.. or the extended Apple Care plan and they really came through. It only took 15 minutes with the Apple representative and we had a choice of three places in the area to chose from for the repair. They fixed it and checked the software and now it works great! I am glad... who knew you could have such withdrawal from an electronic device!

My brother took the picture above while he was performing on Grand Canary Island last year. His hotel was right on the ocean. Sounds wonderful doesn't it, especially with these views. But, apparently, the activity and noise from vacationers and such never stops... party time, all the time. (And you thought New York City was the only "city that never sleeps".) Anyway, it was July and the island was hot. Night breezes off the ocean would cool it down a bit, but with open windows... you guessed it, NOISE! It looks serene... thank goodness we can't hear the racket!

People often remark that Stephen's life must be wonderful with all the traveling and wonderful places he visits. They don't realize that it isn't that great. Work visas for all the different countries, paying for short term housing all over the globe, rehearsals that limit the time for sightseeing and travel is a real pain these days. An opera singer is paid by the performance.... but not for the rehearsals, which often last for four to six weeks before opening night. If he should come down with flu or something that prevents the performance, he won't get paid... even if he made every rehearsal. Of course each country takes out tax... and the US takes a big share as well, over and above this. Then on occasion, a problem may arise between a conductor and an opera house and cancellations occur; happened this year in Brazil. But, on the bright side, he got to spend an extra month at home.

Right now, he is back in Europe, putting the final touches on an opera he will be singing for the first time...Tristan and Isolda. He has a performance in Dresden before he heads off to Japan for "Tristan"... Christmas Day he will be on stage. This coming year is packed for him, even the summer season with a major Wagner Festival in Salzburg, Austria. We have no idea right now as to when he will be back home again. Thank goodness for Skype and e-mail!

Anyway... computer problem solved... I'm back!

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