Sunflower

Kentucky Fishin' Hole

Life

Live in the Moment

Another season passes...

the world does not wait.

                      Mary Christopher Smith

Life (cf. biota) is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes (i.e., living organisms) from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased (death), or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate. Biology is the science concerned with the study of life.

Living organisms undergo metabolism, maintain homeostasis, possess a capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, reproduce and, through natural selection, adapt to their environment in successive generations. More complex living organisms can communicate through various means. A diverse array of living organisms (life forms) can be found in the biosphere on Earth, and the properties common to these organisms—plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea, and bacteria—are a carbon- and water-based cellular form with complex organization and heritable genetic information.

In philosophy and religion, the conception of life and its nature varies. Both offer interpretations as to how life relates to existence and consciousness, and both touch on many related issues, including life stance, purpose, conception of a god or gods, a soul or an asteroids.

Source: Wikipedia

ResTing pLacE

On Halloween the dead do not rest... For those who like to read spooky stories, you are in luck.  Check out my short story on Yahoo's associated content... ResTing pLacE

Praying Mantis

Mantises have two grasping, spiked forelegs ("raptorial legs") in which prey items are caught and held securely. The first thoracic segment, the prothorax, is commonly elongated and flexibly articulated, allowing for greater range of movement of the front limbs, while the remainder of the body remains more or less immobile.
 The articulation of the head is also remarkably flexible, permitting nearly 300 degrees of movement in some species, allowing for a great range of vision (their compound eyes have a large binocular field of vision) without having to move the remainder of the body. As their hunting relies heavily on vision, they are primarily diurnal, but many species will fly at night.

One theory for the evolution of the species is that mantises evolved from proto-cockroaches, diverging from their common ancestors by the Cretaceous period, possibly from species like Raphidiomimula burmitica, a predatory cockroach with mantis-like forelegs.

Possibly the earliest known modern mantis is Regiata scutra, although more common (and confirmed) is Santanmantis, a stilt-legged genus, also from the Cretaceous. Like their close termite cousins, though, mantises did not become common and diverse until the early Tertiary period.

Mantises are exclusively predatory. Insects form the primary diet, but larger species prey on small scorpions, lizards, frogs, birds, snakes, fish, and even rodents; they will prey upon any species small enough to successfully capture and devour.

Most species of mantis are known to engage in cannibalism. The majority of mantises are ambush predators, waiting for prey to stray too near. The mantis then lashes out at remarkable speed. Some ground and bark species, however, pursue their prey. Prey items are caught and held securely with grasping, spiked forelegs.

Source: Wikipedia
Photos by M Smith

Morning, in all its glory

Kentucky - Bygone Days

Trumpet Vine

The trumpet vine or trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), also known as "cow itch vine" and (in horticulture) as "hummingbird vine", is a large and vigorous woody vine of the family Bignoniaceae, notable for its showy trumpet-shaped flowers. It is native to woodlands and riverbanks of the southeastern United States, but is a popular garden perennial plant across much of the US and southern Canada, as some cultivars are hardy to as low as -30°F/-34°C.

The flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds, 
and many types of birds like to nest in the dense foliage.The flowers are followed by large seed pods.As these mature, they dry and split. Hundreds of thin, brown, paper-like seeds are released. 

The vigor of the trumpet vine should not e underestimated. In warm weather, it puts out huge numbers of tendrils that grab onto every available surface, and eventually expand into heavy woody stems several centimeters in diameter.It grows well on arbors, fences, telephone poles, and trees, although it may dismember them in the process. 


Ruthless pruning is recommended. Outside of its native range this species has the potential to be highly invasive, even as far north as New England. The trumpet vine thrives in many places in southern Canada as well.

Wikipedia
Image by Mary

Resurrection Lilly

Lycoris squamigera is believed to have originated in Japan or China, perhaps a hybrid between Lycoris straminea and Lycoris incarnata. It is a herbaceous plant with basal, simple leaves, which are not present when the flowers emerge from the crown. The leaves sprout and grow in the spring, then die back during June. Then in late July or early August the flowers appear. The flowers are white or pink and fragrant. The flowers spring dramatically from the ground in mid to late summer; it usually takes only four to five days from first emergence to full bloom. This suddenness is reflected in its common names: surprise lily, magic lily, and resurrection lily. It is also sometimes referred to as naked ladies.

Source: Wikipedia

Image by M Smith

Kentucky Back Roads

Kentucky

Back roads of solitude

A window to the past

Memories in the multitude

How I wish it would last

Gravel roads and warm summer evenings

Children ready to explore

Blue skies and fields in bloom 

Made for a child to adore

Laughter floating upon a sun-warmed breeze

Lights upon my memory

Often like a sweet old scent

Lingering, only a moment before it's spent

Skipping stones and catching fireflies

An old world sport too soon gone by

All these memories

flow to me with ease

And then, vanish, like a summer breeze

Even though merely fleeting

I'll take these moments offered me

Memories of precious days gone by

That whisper an old song, as sweet as a lullaby

                                                            Mary Christopher Smith

Rose Hip Jelly

Rosa canina (commonly known as the dog rose) is a variable scrambling rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia.

It is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from 1–5 m, though sometimes it can scramble higher into the crowns of taller trees. Its stems are covered with small, sharp, hooked prickles, which aid it in climbing. 


The leaves are pinnate, with 5-7 leaflets. The flowers are usually pale pink, but can vary between a deep pink and white. They are 4–6 cm diameter with five petals, and mature into an oval 1.5–2 cm red-orange fruit, or hip.


The rose hip, or rose haw, is the fruit of the rose plant, that typically is red-to-orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form in spring, and ripen in late summer through autumn.

Rose hips are used for herbal tea, jam, jelly, syrup, soup, beverages, pies, bread, wine, and marmalade. They can also be eaten raw, like a berry, if care is used to avoid the hairs inside the fruit. A few rose species are sometimes grown for the ornamental value of their hips, such as Rosa moyesii, which has prominent large red bottle-shaped fruits.

Rose hips have recently become popular as a healthy treat for pet chinchillas and guinea pigs. These small rodents are unable to manufacture their own vitamin C and are unable to digest many vitamin-C rich foods. Rose hips provide a sugarless, safe way to increase their vitamin C intake. Rose hips are also fed to horses. The dried and powdered form can be fed at a maximum of 1 tablespoon per day to improve coat condition and new hoof growth. The fine hairs found inside rose hips are used as itching powder. Dried rose hips are also sold for primitive crafts and home fragrance purposes. Rose hips are scented with essential oils and can be used as a potpourri room air freshener.

Rose hips were used in many food preparations by the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Rose hips can be used to make Palinka, a traditional Hungarian alcoholic beverage. They are also the central ingredient of Cockta, the fruity-tasting national soft drink of Slovenia.

In his book Stalking the Faraway Places, wild foods enthusiast Euell Gibbons recommended stuffed rose hips made by slicing a large hip in half, removing the seeds and inserting a wild raspberry.

Rose hips are commonly used as an herbal tea, often blended with hibiscus and as an oil. They can also be used to make jam, jelly, marmalade and wine. Rose hip soup, "nyponsoppa," is especially popular in Sweden. Rhodomel, a type of mead, is made with rose hips.  

Source: Wikipedia

Rose Hip Jelly

4 quarts of ripe rose hips 
2 quarts of water

1 package of pectin crystals

5 cups of sugar

1/2 cup of lemon juice

Simmer rose hips in water until soft. Crush to mash and strain through a jelly bag. This should make about 4 cups of rose hip juice. Add to juice the lemon juice and pectin crystals and stir until mixture comes to a hard boil. Stir sugar in at once. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove jelly from heat and skim off foam with a metal spoon. Pour jelly into hot sterilized jars. Yield: about 5 cups

Recipe Source:  http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1841/#b

Flower Power

Flower power was a slogan used by the American counterculture movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and non-violence ideology. It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in 1965 as a means to transform war protests into peaceful affirmative spectacles.Hippies embraced the symbolism by dressing in clothing with embroidered flowers and vibrant colors, wearing flowers in their hair, and distributing flowers to the public, becoming known as flower children. The term later became generalized as a modern reference to the hippie movement and a culture of drugs, psychedelic music, psychedelic art and social permissiveness.  

Source: Wikipedia

Image by M Smith

Kentuckians who died in the Vietnam War

Kentucky Twilight

Twilight is the time between dawn and sunrise or between sunset and dusk, during which sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere illuminates the lower atmosphere, and the surface of the earth is neither completely lit nor completely dark. The sun itself is not directly visible because it is below the horizon. Owing to the distinctive quality of the ambient light at this time, twilight has long been popular with photographers and painters, who refer to it as the "blue hour", after the French expression l'heure bleue. Twilight is technically defined as the period before sunrise and after sunset during which there is natural light provided by the upper atmosphere, which receives direct sunlight and scatters part of it towards the earth's surface.

Source: Wikipedia

The Blue HourTwilight Photography in the Magic Hour

Summer Yellow

Sunflowers

Grown from hand; planted tenderly

Graceful in nature and looked upon gingerly

Granted sun rays, raindrops and time

God's treasured gift; a simple blessing to mankind

Tiger Lilly

Tiger Lilly:  A sure sign of summer in Kentucky.  These grow wild along the roadside and are bold and beautiful.

Image by M Smith

Purple Cone Flower

Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The nine species it contains are commonly called purple coneflowers. They are endemic to eastern and central North America, where they are found growing in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have large, showy heads of composite flowers, blooming from early to late summer.

source: wiki

Image by Mary

Feeding Time

Life

Life is old there, older than the trees

                                       John Denver

If only we could see

Everything has a season, a reason, I want to believe

A time to dream, to love, and to conceive

Face the world, eyes wide open, don't miss your chance

Be ready to meet it head on and take your stance

If you dare to blink, it could flicker right past

And a lifetime has gone by, its lot has been cast

Don't shuffle your feet, always follow your ❤

Our time here is fleeting and soon we will part

So keep up a good fight until your heart beats its last

Always take time to smell the flowers and walk a righteous path
                                     MSmith

John Denver's - Country Roads

Maybe not Virginia, but it sure is sweet

    

Almost heaven, West Virginia 

Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River 
Life is old there, older than the trees 
Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze 
 
Country roads, take me home 
To the place I belong 
West Virginia, Mountain Mama 
Take me home, country roads 
All my memories, gathered 'round her 
Miners' Lady, stranger to blue water 
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky 
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye  

I hear her voice, in the morning hour she calls me 
The radio reminds me of my home far away 
And drivin' down the road I get the feeling 
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday 


John Denver - We sure do Miss You

The Essential John Denver
Take Me Home, Country Roads (Digitally Remastered)

As the Yawning Night takes the Day

View from the lookout at Fort Duffield,

West Point, Kentucky

USA

Battle Fatique - Kentucky Style

One of the numerous old tanks at the "tank graveyard" of Fort Knox Army Reservation.  Now this tank that once was in the Korean and Vietnam Wars is just a piece of equipment used for target practice during training exercises.

Bridge of the Past

Wooldridge Ferry Bridge
This bridge sits on the Fort Knox Reservation and was once linked to a thriving community.  The area is now only accessible one day each year on Memorial Day when family can return to visit any one of the 121 cemeteries that now exist on government property.


Fortification

Fortifications were constructed near the site in 1861, during the Civil War when Fort Duffield was constructed. Fort Duffield was located on what was known as Muldraugh Hill on a strategic point overlooking the confluence of the Salt and Ohio Rivers and the Louisville and Nashville Turnpike. The area was contested by both Union and Confederate forces. Bands of organized guerrillas frequently raided the area during the war. John Hunt Morgan the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry for the Confederate Army raided the area before staging his famous raid on Indiana and Ohio known as Morgan's Raid.

Post war

After the war, the area now occupied by the Army was home to various small communities. In October 1903, military maneuvers for the Regular Army and the National Guards of several states were held at West Point, Kentucky and the surrounding area. In April 1918, field artillery units from Camp Zachary Taylor arrived at West Point for training. 10,000 acres near the village of Stithton were leased to the government and construction for a permanent training center was started in July 1918.

New Camp

The new camp was named after Henry Knox, the Continental Army's chief of artillery during the Revolutionary War and the country's first Secretary of War. The camp was extended by the purchase of a further 40,000 acres in June 1918 and construction properly began in July 1918. The building program was reduced following the end of the war and reduced further following cuts to the army in 1921 after the National Defense Act of 1920. The camp was greatly reduced and became a semi-permanent training center for the 5th Corps Area for Reserve Officer training, the National Guard, and Citizen's Military Training Camps (CMTC). For a short while, from 1925 to 1928, the area was designated as "Camp Henry Knox National Forest."

Source: Wikipedia
Image by M Smith

Spring Fever

Tulip
The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species and belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of diversity is in the Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Tien Shan mountains. A number of species and many hybrid cultivars are grown in gardens, as potted plants, or to display as fresh-cut flowers. Most cultivars of tulip are derived from Tulipa gesneriana.


Source: Wiki
Photo by Mary C Smith

Memories

Moments with thee

Come to my memory

Sweet youthful days 

Wrapped in a warm yellow haze

Sleep peaceful; sleep free

As we all long to be

Mary C Smith

The wonder of the world, the beauty and the power, 

the shapes of things, their colours, lights, and shades; 

these I saw.

Look ye also while life lasts.

Author Unknown

April in Bloom

Kentucky Beauty

Wildflower of Kentucky
A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted.
Source: Wiki