Thursday, July 20, 2023

Rose Campion Beauty, George Washington, Epoch Times

 

Rose Campion growing across the street from my house. I called them Purple Succulents until I learned recently they are Rose Campion and not succulents. I love that name, Rose Campion. Sounds like a name for a pretty English lass in a novel. People have had a love affair with this plant for centuries, and Rose Campion was grown in English gardens in the 1600s as shown in garden records and Thomas Jefferson wrote about growing Rose Campion in his gardens at Monticello in the 1700s.

Below is Bounce, to show the immense size of the pot the plant is growing in, plus of course every post needs a Bounce!







The bench also shows the size of the container, these are beautiful flowers. I have a few small ones in small pots and would like to have more in my garden. Happy gardening and flower admiring to you, my blog friends.

And here is the George Washington sculpture and quote from him, which I found in The Epoch Times, the newspaper I subscribe to which arrives once a week and is full of thought provoking and informative articles and columns from a conservative viewpoint. Epoch Times covers politics, history, art history, health, gardening, healthy cooking, religious freedom, has a puzzle page and comics, etc. I also subscribe to our local paper which is very liberal so I see differing viewpoints.

Sometimes people can not read words printed on an illustration posted online so I will include the words here. I learned about that difficulty reading on some online reading groups I am in, where the rules are that when you post a picture of a book cover you must also type out the author and title so all can read it.

"It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor." -- George Washington, first President of the United States



 


Monday, July 10, 2023

Walking Has Great Benefits, Thank Goodness

 


Recent books and studies show even more ways walking is good for me, thank goodness, I will take all the help I can get! Many of you readers know I walk with Bounce two times a day, and we love doing that. For health and enjoyment and a lift to my spirits. I read a recent article that says that moderate walking like I do can also build the white matter in the brain. That makes even more incentive for me to keep walking at my age. The above photo shows Bounce's coat with the word "Security". Below he is wearing a warmer coat.


 

Neuroscientist Shane O'Mara wrote a recent book "In Praise of Walking" where he shows data about how walking improves cognitive powers. For seniors like me and for all of us that is good news. One study shows that people who walk more than 4,000 steps a day (that's me) had healthier brain tissue in the area responsible for memory and cognitive function. 

Hurray for walking, and thank you Mr. Bounce. I know that lots of you enjoy walking, some of you hiking for long distances (hello Ilona, DJan and all). Anyone have a walking story to share in the comments?