Here is a gathering of recent photos I took.
Above are some heart shaped leaves I found while walking Bounce. The tree is tall, maybe 40 feet tall, and healthy and had been trimmed so there are leaves on the ground. I wonder if it is a type of eucalyptus. The leaves I gathered that are in my photo look like they are made of bronze; one friend said they look like they are made of gold.
Can you see how big these zucchinis are? I put a pair of garden gloves on top of the pile to show the scale. My friend uses large zucchinis for baking, but I don't. I am sorry I let these get too big. I only planted one green and one yellow zucchini but I am not keeping up with them, obviously.
My very old cement sun bird feeder; I like to photograph this and the volunteer nasturtiums that climb up to it.
Two words new to me that I like the sound of, and that I found in a UK blogger's post this week:
Faffing
Pootling
I hope they aren't rude!
I decided to look them up online and they meant what I thought, faffing is doing something slowly, taking your own sweet time, not in a rush. Like faffing about in my garden.
Pootling means moving leisurely without a plan or goal or time frame, like pootling about on a country walk or drive. and seeing what you find. British friends, if I am on the wrong track with these definitions let me know.
Do you like the waterfall cascade effect of these orchids? This orchid is a prolific and dependable bloomer and I bought it for a low price at a big chain food store, Safeway. I am pleased with it. I have six orchids in my kitchen in front of an east facing window.
Here is a closeup of Mary who continues to reign in my garden bringing a peace with her. I used money from payment for a garden article I wrote decades ago, it seemed an appropriate way to spend the money.
So now, if you are like me, let's take some time to do some garden or library faffing and then pootle around the neighborhood. I think dogs are the kings and queens of faffing and pootling and they can teach us well. Be sure and wave if you see me.
38 comments:
Terra, I read about your new words and had a good laugh, I was going to tell you not to be faffng and pooting around.:) Wow those are big Zucks...can you still use them in recipes? All my girls know how to make bread from them...but not me, I usually saulte them as a side veggie. Blessings, xoxo, Susie
*Waving hello* ;)
Wow those zucchinis are huge. I wouldn't know what to do with more than one at a time, and sometimes not even that...!
That orchid is magnificent! I had a couple 'victims' years ago which were anything but prolific.
I'd never heard of faffing or pootling (giggle) before but now I'm intrigued. I wonder what my friends and family would think if I were to subtly drop them in conversation. (*smile*)
I like your garden statuary...especially Mary. She has a beautiful face. Money well spent. I like your new words, but I can see why you thought they may mean something else. I would be thinking the same. Who knows these days?!
I faff and pootle most of the time these days and that is as it should be during retirement.
Don't you love the British or English way with words. I what a couple of shows out of Britain on PBS and love to listen to them talk and how they say certain things. Hope you are having a great Labor Day.
Hugs,
Kris
That's it then. Pootling is a good thing.
I guess you could say I did a whole lot of pootling today...lol
Those do look like eucalyptus leaves.
Those zucchini are huge and remind me of the ones that one of Wade's friends used to bring to us. He would always drop off a bag full of them and I would in turn make him zucchini bread.
Oh, I like those two UK words. I am guilty of both and don’t care.
I have a great desire to engage in Faffing and pootling today, but so far I have had just one little thing after another to deal with. Maybe tomorrow. I love those new words.
I can't believe you have SIX Orchids. They scare me; I'm convinced they're hard to get to bloom. Obviously you have no problem with them.
I used to have a lovely statue of Mary in my front garden then some stupid guys stole her. It was very early in the morning and I actually saw them rushing down the street carrying her. I figured if I yelled they'd drop her so what could I do. Later I noticed they had made off with the park bench we had in front too. Now we chain everything in the front yard with a padlock.
( I love your British words. I'll slip them into my conversation with my daughters. They'll get a kick out of them.)
I love your sun bird feeder! And I love those words. I have to remember them and make use of them. :)
Love those words and remember hearing them from my straight-from-England grandfather. lol The zucchinis are huge and I think they lose flavor when they are that big. I am not a very good harester of my gardens either.
Have a wonderful week- xo Diana
ps- Love the heart-shaped leaves.
Every photo in this post really speaks to me. magnificent zucchini and those orchids are fabulous. All looks well with you, Terra.
I love hearing about new words - yours are definitely unique. I have never heard of either of them! Fun Post.
I certainly like pootling - it sounds like the right thing to do when you have the time.
It is so easy to let grow zucchini too big, but then they seem to be great for baking. Delicious zucchini bread comes to mind.
I would love to go faffing and pootling along with you. I used to grow zucchini that big when we lived in Nebraska. Not here in Washington though. I liked them for baking too. I would shred them and freeze them in 2 cup ziplock bags.
I cannot grow orchids. I sometimes get them as a gift and kill them very quickly. :-)
Have a lovely day.
Blessings,
Betsy
I love posts like this, Terra...lots of info and fun stuff! I agree, the British have a lot of great words and phrases. I love British authors and soak in their lives, culture, humor, and dialogue.
I've never grown an orchid. Some say they are fussy, others say a breeze.
Zucchini is meant to be shared with neighbors...believe me, they will love you for it. Back in the day when I had a big veggie garden and more zucchini than I could use, I made bread and muffins, but then it got hard. It doesn't freeze well, or at all really. Again, your friends and neighbors will love them! :)
Jane
Pootling is a word I use. I enjoy pootling around at home. I do NOT enjoy being behind a driver who is pootling along. Zucchini can be used in so many ways. We don't get that big of a variety here. Small zucchini are preferred for stuffing with a rice and meat mixture and then cooked in a garlicky tomato broth.
Lovely zucchini! Someone at our church has been getting behind on theirs; every week they leave a box of whoppers in the entryway, hoping someone will take them home. :)
Wonder if faffing and pootling need to be conscious or can we just fall into doing them. Love the concept. I can imagine them adding years to our lives. Thanks.
The nasturtiums are lovely! I like your new words...now I must try to remember them.
I’ll be faffing and pootling around the house for the next few days while waiting for a hurricane to pass. I just didn’t know until I read your blog that that is what I will be doing! Even when the power goes out, I’m ready with books and paints to faff and pootle to my heads content.
I like your Mary in your garden and how she came to you. I have St Francis in mine and he always brings a smile to me.
I think I should faff and pootle far more often!
I love pootling around!!!!!! I also love those heart-shaped leaves you found. So precious. I also love when my neighbors share their home-grown goods. DIVINE!
<3 Rebecca
I love the heart leaves. Wow on the zucchini! Love the bird feeder too. My orchid bloomed once this year after doing nothing for a few years. Have a beautiful Saturday.
My mom used to grow orchards. They are so soft and lovely. I used to use the large zucchinis for quick breads and cookies. I didn't grow any this year, but next year I will...
Another successful zucchini gardener! I haven't had a single one on my plant this summer; how bad is that?!
Your orchid is beautiful.
I just pootled over here to visit, I'm a Brit so I often pootle. You missed out on one other word, courgette. But your courgettes look very healthy.
Love your photos! Love those British words too. Fun learning something new. I love zuchini and squash, my favorite sin the summertime. I always enjoy my visits with you. HUGS
Truly wonderful, faffing about the house and garden! I suppose it's the equivalent of our piddling around. I adore Britishisms and often use them -- too much BBC watching, no doubt! Your orchids are beautiful and wow, those zucchini! I am well known for being unable to grow anything except, occasionally, mold in the refrigerator. Thanks for stopping by IHATH! xoxo
Love, love, love the garden photos! Thanks for visiting my blog. My Six Degrees
The Mary statue in your garden is beautiful, Terra. How peaceful it must be when you look at her. Wow, those are the biggest zucchini I've seen! I made a zucchini cheese bake the other night. That was nice to see these heart-shaped leaves when taking a walk.
Wishing you sweet September days, Terra.
~Sheri
Hello Terra..
As the years tick by, I'm definitely faffing more and more. When it comes to cleaning out drawers, closets, cabinets, etc., I am a "footler." (Wonder if there is such a word. ha ha) LOVE your sweet statue of Mary. She is so beautiful. Where she is, certainly there must be peace. I think your your orchids are gorgeous. My kitchen windows are west so I wonder if orchids would live.
Thanks so much for your visit and comment, Terra. I think you should definitely get out that silverware, gifted as a bride, and use it every day. Enjoy its beauty.
When you write about Will, it always tugs at my heart. You must miss him terribly.
Hope you have a lovely week, Terra. Susan
Our garden is much smaller and I never got involved in it. My late wife looked after it all her life assisted by a gardener who still comes to maintain it and assist my daughter in law who is now in charge. I simply sit in the verandah adjacent to it and enjoy the garden and also the passing parade just out side the fence of the garden. Visiting birds, two cats and our two dogs have a lot of fun in it though.
The zucchinis are indeed very big ! I would cut them into slices and roast them in a pan like a steak, with olive oil and garlic as they do in Italy.
Your photos are wonderful. I love those leaves. You can melt paraffin wax in a double boiler and dip the leaves into it . Let them dry on waxed paper. Your leaves will stay preserved forever. I have large red and yellow leaves that a friend brought me years ago from Vermont. I dipped them in the wax and then framed them. They are still beautiful to look at.
How wonderful that large zucchini looks!
When I was a child we lived in a house that had a Mary statue like that, but the previous owners had taken it with them, leaving just an empty decorative alcove by some bushes. I think it was Mary...come to think of it, I don't know, but when I asked my Mother what that was she said a place for Catholics. :)
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