The Queen of Seaford

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 13

Welcome back for another week of photo a day wrap-up. We drove home on Sunday from my daughter's house. Part of the trip was through Pennsylvania.

Day 83-

I went to college in Pennsylvania, and seeing horse and buggies was commonplace. As we drove along the turnpike we saw one riding along the parallel road to the highway. It was a pretty horse and its gait was fun to watch.

Heading Out

Day 84-
Once we arrived back in South Carolina it was apparent that pollen season had exploded in our area. We had some rain and the yellow pollen of the pine trees cascaded down the driveway, forming some nice patterns.

And So It Begins

Day 85-
Several years ago, I had a lot of Muscari armeniacum, Grape Hyacinths growing along the driveway. Some volunteers appear along the other side of the driveway. I enjoy seeing them pop up wherever they want.

Volunteer

Day 86-
I bought some new shoes and didn't toss the shoe box right away. Seems it is a good fit for Millie. I still haven't thrown it away as she still gets in it a couple times a day.

Perfect Fit

Day 87-
I like how quiet the lake is, especially at dusk with the pink skies. We have very little boat traffic at our end of the lake, especially in the winter/spring. I probably should have waited a little longer to get a photo as the skies got redder and more vibrant.

Quiet

Day 88-
This time of year, it is really hard not to take lots and lots of photos of the newly emerging leaves for this challenge. I am trying to vary my photos so they are not all garden photos. This is a Netted Chain Fern, Woodwardia areolata. I brought these ferns to South Carolina when we moved from Virginia. I love their bronze foliage as they emerge.

Bronze

Day 89-
Some springs I think my garden is color coded. First comes the yellow blooms, mostly in daffodils and Edgeworthia. Pinks emerge in my flowering Crabapple and Redbuds. Now I have lots of white and green. Pictured is Spirea x vanhouttei and behind it is another flowering Crabapple, Malus x zumi 'Golden Hornet'. Also blooming in my white and green theme are a couple different Viburnum and Dogwoods, Cornus florida.

Green and White

This photo a day challenge isn't as easy as it would seem. Like I have said before, these are all new photos. My photo library is quite large, and I could easily dive in and get old pictures, but scouring my surroundings for an interesting photo adds to the fun.

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 12

If you are still reading along, we are now reviewing week 12. Travel has made it interesting as I am not following my regular routine.

Day 76-

Power substations dot our area. This one is on the way to where we board our dogs.

Power

Day 77-

As we drove up to New Jersey to babysit for a week, we were presented with this glorious sunrise just outside of Charlotte, NC.

Sunrise

Day 78-

We babysat our 4-year-old granddaughter this week. There were a lot of puzzles done, some more than once. She is a whiz at puzzles!

Puzzles

Day 79-

I know many who saw this photo thought this was a real lizard! Nope, we bought one for each of our grandkids (at the time) and this one is enjoyed in the bath. At first I thought we bought it at one of the many zoos we have frequented since having grandkids but after some thought my husband said we purchased it at Missouri Botanical Garden gift shop. He was right!

Bath time

Day 80-

One day we went to Greenway Meadows to let her play on the playground and run! This was once part of the lower farm of Archibald Douglas Russell's 247-acre estate at the turn of the 20th century. This property was purchased in 1949 by Robert Wood Johnson, of the Johnson and Johnson family, The lands are in the D & R Land Trust, in 2001 55 acres were deeded to Princeton, creating Greenway Meadows Park. You can read about it here.

London Plane tree

Day 81-

If you drive around New Jersey you understand why it is called the Garden State. Many farms dot the landscape, this one is just outside Princeton.

Farm

Day 82-

This day we went to the Elmwood Zoo. I took a photo of the fountain, which is just outside the entrance and gift shop area.

Water

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 11

Week eleven and still going strong!

Day 69-

We still keep honey bees and dress in our beekeeper outfits when we tend to them. We were done, closed the hives, and came up the driveway to empty the smoker. I always listen to make sure I don't have any bees following me away from the hives. I heard nothing. After extinguishing the smoker I looked across the street to all my daffodils blooming in our septic drain field and thought I should take a photo. Reaching in my back pocket to get my cell I encountered a couple of bees hanging out on my phone. Needless to say, I was stung a couple times.

Which Finger Got Stung?

Day 70-

This photo is kind of fun. One trick I learned along the way is using your video function. I took this photo/video while my husband was driving. I videoed the house as we drove by. My cell has a function where you can grab or rather export individual frames from a video to your folder. I have used this to get a mid-air photo of my five-year-old grandson jumping off a stone wall. Anyhow, after I took the video I noticed the white smoke on the left side of the image. I thought it made for an eeriness to the photo. The white is a reflection of my windbreaker sleeve off the window.

Rainy Day

Day 71-

In the springtime we have an abundance of wildflowers that grow along our road. In the photo below there are Bluets, Houstonia pusilla, and Draba verna, a tiny white flower.

Wildflowers Along the Road

Day 72-

We had trees fall from the Hurricane in September. Root balls with upended trees still dot the landscape. This root ball has a clump of daffodils blooming.

Resilience

Day 73-

While at the beauty shop to get my hair cut, I thought I'd get a photo for this day. So many items from which to choose!

Product

Day 74-

Spring is here! My Crabapple is blooming. This one is Malus x 'Red Silver'. The leaves are burgundy and the blooms pink. The honey bees enjoy the pollen and nectar on these trees.

Crabapple bloom with Honey Bee

Day 75-

Across the street from our house are many lots that still have trees on them. Some are septic fields but a few are buildable lots. I did no filter or light adjustment on this. Through the trees is a cleared area where the timber company has cleared the lumber and is getting ready to replant.

Gloomy

That's all for this week, come back again next week!

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