a most special day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, sweetheart!

Here is my dear daughter many years ago on her 5th birthday.

photo by me © 2009  all rights reserved

Daylily: Today's Flowers

This post is for TODAY'S FLOWERS. Click here to see other entries. I was introduced to this site by Squirrel Queen at Through Squirrel Eyes. Come join in the fun!
photo by me © 2009

Sunset over Cupecoy--SkyWatch Friday

 

to see more skies, go here!

photo by me © 2009

Pink: Today's Flowers

bottlebrush (Phoenix, Arizona, April 2009)

cactus (Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden, Arizona, April 2009)

bougainvillea (Sint Maarten, NA, July 2009)

This post is for TODAY'S FLOWERS. Click here to see other entries. I was introduced to this site by Squirrel Queen at Through Squirrel Eyes. Come join in the fun!
photo by me © 2009

Unveiled!...the mystery plant

It's a pumpkin!
In early August, I found a very vine-y plant with huge dark green leaves growing out of my compost pile. See it here. Many of you guessed correctly. The plant is now sporting 3 orange, rather small pumpkins. How fun!
PUMPKIN FACTS
Ѽ Pumpkins are believed to have originated in North America perhaps as far back as 7000 BC.
Ѽ The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for "large melon" which is "pepon."
Ѽ Did you know that Native American Indians dried strips of pumpkin and wove them into mats?!
Ѽ Depending on the variety, pumpkins can weigh 2 pounds up to 100 or more pounds. The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds.
Ѽ Pumpkins belong to the Cucurbita family which includes squash and cucumbers.
Ѽ Pumpkins grow all over the world except for Antarctica.
Ѽ Pumpkin flowers are edible as are the leaves (see recipes below).
Ѽ In the US, 90% of pumpkins are grown in Illinois.
Ѽ The largest pumpkin pie ever made weighed 2,020 pounds. It measured 12 feet, 4 inches wide and 4 inches deep. See it here.Links
Ѽ recipes
Ѽ pumpkin records
Ѽ fried pumpkin flowers recipe
Ѽ an Indian style fried pumpkin flower recipe (note besan is chickpea flour)
Ѽ pumpkin leaves in peanut sauce recipe © by Melody Mundawarara

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
After removing the seeds for the pumplin, rinse to remove pulp. Mix with salt and spread onto a large baking sheet. Bake at 150 degrees (low heat to retain nutrients) till fairly dry, stirring occasionally.

And there's more! from tamdoll-- In my town we have a Giant Pumpkin Regatta - 1,000+ pumpkins are hollowed out - outboard motors attached - and town officials race them up and down the river... it's crazy!   Some pictures here!

photo © by me 2009 except pie photo which is also ©

September 6 is...

...READ A BOOK DAY
books and friends go together from AliceinParis
Oh and PS: She's written a cook book! See it here!

Emma the flapper re-reads Main Street by Sinclair Lewis, her favorite book of all time. from flapperdoodle





A Reader's Diary from greenchairpress for keeping track of all those books you read!





banned books locket necklace set with 4 interchangeable magnetic lids from Polarity







paperback book cover with embroidered Kuna bird from QuiltSewCover






bird bookplates (personalized) set from darklingemily. To find out information about bird causes, check the listing description of this item.
photos by individual artists © 2000-2009

The Color Purple--The Brenda Photo Challenge

The The Color Purple is the theme for this photo challenge
I discovered this challenge on Squirrel Queen's blog!
You, too can join in! Upload anything purple that you've photographed and post the photo(s) on your blog. Then simply click on the "photo challenge" link above, and follow the directions to leave a comment about your post. Look at the comments to see others' posts.
Have fun!
photo by me © 2009