You Know Summer's Nearly Here When You Can Make Sun Tea Fast

Although it rained today, last week I was able to make sun tea on the back porch just by leaving a tea ball filled with tea leaves in the water in a glass jar for about an hour or so. I really don't know if this way of making tea is "better" than the usual boil-the-water and soak-the-tea for three minutes method but it certainly is a great way to watch the sun and the garden grow while you're sitting on the deck enjoying the spring.  If you look closely at my photo here you will see that the tea ball is stainless steel and in the shape of a little teapot!  The tea tasted good too!

Tree Dying that Saved Man's Life

I've always liked the big tree at the bus stop on North Capitol Street at Adams Street NW. It provides shelter from rain, wind, sun and traffic while I'm waiting for that Route 80 bus that goes downtown.  The tree  also did its duty stopping a drunk driver going up on the sidewalk as the massive dent in the side of the tree shows. In fact I recall hearing the tremendous crash-boom when it happened a few years ago.  Some guy went out of control going southbound on North Capitol and smashed into the tree; his car was crushed when it slammed into this tree guarding the sidewalk. The driver mysteriously survived the impact -- probably quite drunk and relaxed so didn't resist as much so nothing "snapped" -- but I don't think the tree is going to last. The impact stripped off a big chunk of bark and over time rubbish and mold and critters and fungi have lodged in the dent and the tree will surely die faster than it was intended to. I doubt the guy whose life was saved by the tree appreciates what this creation did for him. But there's always the hope that somehow his life was changed by the tree's sacrifice.

Golden Marigolds and Sun Tea in November

The past month has been warm and sunny most of the time here in DC as we've had this lovely extended autumn. In fact I can hardly believe it's December. The marigolds just kept flowering, and a few times it was warm enough to make sun tea in a jar on the porch. In fact with Winter Solstice in three days it's hard to believe that the days will in fact start getting longer again! I'm not sure what to make of this except to be glad that I'm not falling down icy front steps, or losing umbrellas in rain storms or turning up the heat in the house.

Winter Leaves But Wisdom Stays

On my way to work the other day I looked up and saw that there were still some maple leaves on some of the trees on the street on the way to my bus stop. With the miracle of my cell phone camera I snapped this photo as I so loved the sun shining through the yellow leaves against the dark branches and blue sky. It's at these moments that I realize how much I have been influenced by a poem I learned as a child. Here it is:
Time to Stop and Stare
What is this life if full of care
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep, or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
--  William Henry Davies 1871 - 1940

I remember learning this at age 7 when we had to memorize some poem for some English literature study we did while being home schooled. Of course, that was back when my mind was blotting paper soaking up new things avidly, not like it is now when the Random Access Memory program occasionally fails due to the  Information Uptake plugin software being "overloaded."   Or at least, that's how it now feels when I have to learn some new text -- it's just too hard to do. But at the least, all the words I've taken in, have had an effect and have lead me to action.  So it's just as well I read the Bible then or I'd probably be a real mess by now.

Damn the Torpedos, Full Speed Ahead!

Not far from where I work is Farragut Square that I stumbled into today and snapped a shot of ole Admiral David Farragut, the guy who apparently said, "Damn the torpedoes, Full Speed ahead," during the Battle of Mobile Bay in the Civil War. I looked him up on the Internet of course -- as who has encyclopedias in their houses anymore? Sure enough, Wikipedia gave me all I needed. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and full admiral of the Navy and is the guy who said this all-American type phrase. His statue had some pigeons napping on his feet and walking on the four cannons pointed in all four directions at the park visitors.  No-one who walked by appeared to notice him in the afternoon sun and he seems to stand there, at least thirty foot high, but invisible.. The statue faces towards the White House and I wonder what they think of him there, if they think of civil war at all. ..

Drivers' Inappropriate Hand Gestures

Image via Wikipedia

Four times yesterday, while driving on Route 95 to and from Pennsylvania to Washington, DC I saw young people drivers who were driving sticking their left arm out of the driver's window and waving it about. Clearly, they were enjoying the feel of the sun and wind on their arms and hands. But what they don't seem to know is that the gestures they are using are actually driver hand signals. Apparently, hand signals are not taught anymore or at least these careless drivers were oblivious or never had driver training. Driving in the left late, one driver was pointing her arm directly out as if she was going to make a left turn! She then slowly moved her to an upright position from, the elbow, a sort of L-shape as if she was now signaling a right turn! Another driver was slowly waving his arm back and forth as if beckoning people to pass him. Of course, this was impossible as he too was in the left lane and there was no way a driver could pass him without going off the road. Another young man, in the middle lane, was keeping his arm upward, again as if indicating a right hand turn but once again there was no right turn to be made. I decided that these YOUNG PEOPLE didn't have a clue about their effect on others, which seems to be the normal state of young people these days, especially when driving. God bless them anyway!

Ate the first tomato from my DC garden

On this beautiful sunny day with a blue sky, 80s and a breeze to keep you cool --if you stood still and let the sun soak you --I ate the first tomato that ripened in my DC backyard garden. Totally deelish. I ate it with some of the lettuce I had grown and my favorite Ranch dressing. Sheer bliss. I can hardly wait for the rest of them to ripen. Last time I looked at the two tomato plants I have there were over 2 dozen tomatoes that were still that lovely bright green that they are before they tinge yellow and you know that they will ripen soon after that. Huge clumps of tomatoes ripening in my garden! Such a gift from God! I'm already thinking about how I will cook or eat them. Such as sliced with mozzarella. Or chopped into garlic and vinegar. Or cooked with eggs and cheese. And maybe I'll get some bacon and make my very favorite sandwich, a BLT. I'm really not that much of a foodie, but anything I grow myself is inspirational in terms of cooking. Obviously, I have to grow more food! Thank God for sunshine!