Butterflies

wasn't

 I love butterflies. They remind me of my mother. She loved them too.

• At one point in life, we lived along the migration trail of the Monarch butterflies and as they flitter around our house she would wish them well and told them to return quickly.
• My dad bought my mother several butterfly pins as birthday gifts. And when she died, my sisters and I were all given one of her pins. We wear them on special family occasion.
• I started buying particular plants to attach butterflies and when this Swallowtail Butterfly showed up in my yard, I was overjoyed.

Highlights 2022

Highlights 2022

The Highs and the Lows

I started the year by going out and searching for a mandarin duck that had wandered in to a park in Philly.  I found him on January 1.  By January 4, he was dead.

Jaye was diagnosed with liver cancer.  This is very upsetting news. The good news is that it is Stage One so there is hope.  But cancer is such a scary word.

Deirdre announced her pregnancy.  Baby Boy Zhang will be arrving in August.

The day after our road trip, Brian called me to tell me that Cindy tested positive for covid.

I went to Barbados for a few days in late January.  This was my first trip abroad in two years.

Road trip #2022-1- Brian, Cindy, Gus, Clay and I traveled to Vegas and Utah for a few days. We had a great time.

Road Trip #2022-2- I traveled to Colorado in search of the Sand Hill Crane migration trail. They were magnificent.

Road Trip #2022-3- I drove to Myrtle Beach, SC for a few days. And I think that will be the last time I go to Myrtle Beach.

Road Trip #2022-4- I drove to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms.  I got there three days too late. Three days of intense rain destroyed the blossoms.

Road Trip #2022-5- I drove to Eureka Springs, AR.

Road Trip #2022-6- Cherry Springs State Park and Tylersille

Road Trip #2022-7- Touchstone Craft Center, Farmington, PA

Road Trip- #2022-8- Avalon, NJ

Road Trip- #2022-9-  Brielle and Quentin's wedding shower- West Chester Bounty, NY

Road Trip- #2022-10- Rehobeth Beach, DE

Lauren got engaged to Mike Blake.

Question got engaged to Brielle Greenburg.

Theo Calvon Yang was born in August.

Clay won his first college track race.

We had our family Christmas in July Party.  The part has been on hodl for the last two years because of covid. The last time we had this part was in December 2019.

I went to Ireland for ten days.

I got Covid in October.

Spider Webs

Spider Webs

July 2022

I love, love, love to look at spider webs and to photgraph them.  I dont like to walk in to them unexpectedly.  That's gross and unnerving.  But i love to study the patterns and the artistry of the webs.

 

Photos of the Year- 2021

Photos of the Year 2021

I take a lot of photos throughout the year.  Mostly I take them with my phone.  But I often carry a little pocket camera or my DSL Cannon camera with me as well. And at the end of any day, I will have 60, 70 new photos and I don't know what to do with them.  Here are some of them.

This house had 200 inflatable christmas characters on their front lawn

I was cutting through an alleyway in Las Vegas when I saw this quinceanera party.

The sun sets over Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge,  Delaware

The sun sets in Dewey, Delaware

The sun sets in Dewey, DE

Syrna, DE

Elk in Colorado

A bunch of asses in AZ

Joshua National Park, California

A mural in Missouri

Philadelphia

From a garden

Bombay Hook, DE

in my neighborhood, West Chester, PA

A mural in Philly

Bombay Hook, DE

After a rain storm in the summer

Somewhere in Wyoming

At the rodeo in Wyoming

Market Street on a Saturday afternoon, Philly, PA

The end of the trail- CA

Cadillac Ranch, TX

The E in Philly, PA

He used to be a show dog.

A brief moment in my garden.

From my garden.  It's last day of beauty- West Chester, PA

A double rainbow in New Hampshire

A winter day at the beach.  Long Beach Island, NJ

I love this kid.

Visiting a garden

still beautiful

As the sun sets on a winter afternoon in Chester County, PA

Smuttynose Brewery, NH

Middle Creek Wildlife Center, PA

A winter afternoon in Bucks County, PA

Long Beach Island, NJ

Wandering around the neighborhood, photographing other people's gardens.

Staunton, VA

 

June 2018

June 2018

PA/MD/ NJ/ AZ

1 (F)- PA- it was a beautiful day so I spent the afternoon at LeVante Brewery with John an Jill. We had great fun and too much beer.

2 (S)- PA- I am getting old.  I had no energy today due to yesterday's activities. Damn.

3 (SU)- Movies with Leslie Grimms- RBG- the notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg. What a brilliant woman. I did not realize how progressive she was when others were not.

4 (M)- PA- getting ready for my trip to AZ tomorrow; drinks by the fire pit with neighbors.

5 (TU)- VA- Jack would be 118 today; Gus leaves for the Army and I leave for the Grand Canyon with Clay.

6 (W)- AZ- Clay and I headed to AZ via BWI.

7 (TH)- AZ- spent the afternoon at the Grand canyon and the Devil's Tower.


8 (F)- AZ- went rafting down the Colorado River and around Horseshoe Bend. Of course, it was beautiful.

9 (S)- AZ- Antelope Canyon, the top of Horseshoe Bend and a long drive through the Painted Desert and on to Petrified Forest.

10 (SU)- AZ- drove through Petrified Forest and then off to the Sedona National Forest and Sedona and the Oak Creek Brewery.

11 (M)- AZ- jeep drive through Sedona and then off to the Montezuma Castle to see the Native Americans' cave dwellings.

12 (T)- AZ- 100F in the Botanical Desert Gardens in Phoenix.  An afternoon flight back to BWI.


13 (W)- DC- Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Ida and Jack's grave site in Arlington Cemetery. And then back to Clay's house in VA.

14 (TH)- VA/MD/PA- took a long, slow drive back home.  Made a few stops along the way. Went to the Antheim Brewery in MD. they had some good beers.

15 (F)- PA- I had no energy today. That Clay wore me out.


16 (S) - PA- went to the movies: Wouldn't You Be My Neighbor?  I loved, loved, loved it. And then I joined Amazon Prime music so that I can become more music savvy. I have to listen to more music from the 21st century.

17 (SU)- Spent the day at the pool and made great progress with my Amazon music account.  I am listening to some great tunes. I added 900 songs just today. I am finally listing to music from the 21st century.

18 (M)- sat at the patio area and drank beers from John's 10 day beer adventure in VT.  He brought back some great beers.

19 (T)- PA- took my first dip in the pool today and it wasn't too cold.  But I need a flotation device.

20 (W)- PA/MD- lunch wit Betty Ulrich.  John is failing with his health.  And Gus, my nephew,  had a terrible accident in his Army training.  I am devastated.

21 (TH)- PA- I cried all day over Gus and then I pulled myself together and ushered at the Uptown theatre- Soul Harmony.


22- (F)- Fonda Akin's 50th birthday party. Lots of Springfield people that I haven't seen in 8 years were there.

23 (S)- PA- I was supposed to go to an outdoor concert but the rain took care of that options.  I hung at home.

24 (SU)- NJ- Went to Ocean City for Cessie Duke's retirement party: a cocktail party and then a sunset cruise on the Duke O"Fluke fishing boat.

25 (M)- NJ/PA- the celebration continued with a brunch at Cessie's friends.  Then I met up with Fran Talarowsi at Dock Street Brewery to celebrate his retirement. Bill McRae joined us.


26- (T)- PA- I went to a movie at 10:30 AM to see the Gardener.  Now I Want to travel around the world and see some of these spectacular gardens.

27 (W)- MD- I took a quick trip to my house in MD and it is getting harder and harder  to go there.  I have to unload this place.


28 (TH)- PA/MD/DE- I went to lunch and the movies with Lucinda- The Book Club.  Stopped by the Bellefonte Brewery on the way home.

29 (F)- PA- Sharon had a party for Jameson to welcome him back from Iraq. Gus was also there and we all cried over his recovery.

30 (S)- PA- graduation party in Stroudsburg for Elias Frantz and Emelia Chamberlain. I miss Darcy. It's been a long year without her.