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Monday, October 3, 2016

LAVENDER~

Lavender~
Well, its October already! So I thought I would do a post on one of my favorite Flowers of the summer...Lavender!
Did you know that there are thirty-nine species of Lavender! I myself had no idea...I have only two different kinds of lavender. Spanish lavender and Munstead lavender. The two are very different mind you and I really find the Munstead lavender much more useful than the Spanish as far as an use for making your own lavender oil. However the Spanish lavender is quite beautiful and lovely scent for the summer. I learned that lavender is use very much as a herb in cooking and in health too! I got to the flower over the summer vacation at my mother house because she has these huge and beautiful bushes of lavender that smell so lovely that when we got home I use had to have lavender in my garden too...Lavender has spikes of bluish purple & blue which are very fragrant tiny flowers a top tall thin stems. Which are surround by mounds of either grayish blue or light or darker green leaves. They are primarily cultivated in Provence France. They say that these flowers prefer an sandy, coarse soil, with very good drainage plus lots of sun. however, I have lavender [Munstead lavender & Spanish lavender] with just the good coarse potting soil and they are doing fine. You just have to be careful not to over water or underwater. Its a delicate balance you might say...I am concern however what to do during the winter months here in WA. state so I will include a website link for you all if you happen to be in a area of very cold or very raining and wet like myself. Hints;
Hardy Zones 4-9
Mature Height: 12-16

Begin in the fall by inspecting your plantings and prune off any dead, limp or unsightly growth. This is not the best time to give your plant a hard pruning for those of you with cold harsh freezing winters. If you are blessed with healthy plants you may not need to do any pruning until spring.
You also will want to make sure that there are no winter debris such as autumn leaves or plant
Material from nearby plants smothering your Lavender. A pile of leaves will get dampened
by winter precipitation and hold moisture in which will cause disease, die back or even kill your lavender plant. Even though it is winter you will need to see that good air circulation is maintained.
Try to avoid leaving your plants under a pile of damp snow fro a very long time. Some of you that live in areas where there is frequent freezing and thawing with creates dampness. If you had planted your Lavender in fast draining soil then applying a layer of mulch will help regulate soil temperatures.
It also ok for the ground to be frozen for the cold hardy types. Its the freezing thawing , freezing thawing that sometimes causes problems due to all the moisture accumulation and water runoff around the roots. Container plantings may need to be moved inside or to a more sheltered location.
taking the time to plant your lavender correctly from the start with good draining gritty soil is often times the best winter preparation of all to assure you see those purple flowers bloom again come spring. There are different varieties of lavender and some are better suited than others for different
geographical regions so don't be sad if you have lost your plant the first time around 

You can always grow your favorite Lavender in a pot and then overwinter it inside or in a sheltered garden shed as long as you provide an adequate light source. Learn more about growing Lavender indoors. Taking care to follow a few simple preparations allows you to return the favor and provide winter stress relief for your Lavender.
This link is where I got the info above...enjoy....
They say that Lavender is considered to be a powerful herb that attracts energy of a high vibrational nature. Also it is said to be good for-a nervine relaxant muscle relaxant and antidepressant among other things... But I would ask your doctor about anything before using something like that before for these more serious ailments.
Lavender is also used for many uses in meditation too...Some ancient traditional uses were; Burns,
In the birthing rooms, To bless homes; Wreaths for newly married couples and finally hung in bunches throughout homes to dispel flies and mosquitoes.
Today-Lavender is used in so many ways; Like that of bath soaps, linen closet, perfumes, tea, flower extract, eye pillows, bath oils, essential oils for relaxation or folks that have migraine's like myself and finally cooking dishes.
Over the many years I have found lavender, mint and spearmint to be very useful in the essential oil form for my migraines that I have had since I was 13years old.
What I have done over the years is just put a couple of drops of the lavender oil on my finger then, massage into my temples being very careful not to get into my eyes. This can bring great relief to folks who gets them quite often.
History of Lavender~
According to Ancient Lore it is believed that King Solomon Ruler of Jerusalem from 971-931BC chose lavender to be included in his holy water because of its reputation to cleanse and purify.
So my dears I thought I would go once again to my King James Version of the Holy Bible and look for Songs of Solomon to see if there is anything about essential oils or maybe written in a different way...
Song of Solomon 4:10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is they love
than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
Song of Solomon 1:3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured
forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.

These were two scripture from my own bible that I could find that had to do with essential oils back in biblical times...
Well, now I thought I would share my own recipe to making Lavender oil...I used my own lavender flowers and Jasmine flowers.
1-First pick as many dry lavender flowers from your garden. If you happen to have a jasmine tree you can add them too. Which I did. Just slowly add the dry flowers in a clean glass jar. till full or when you have no more flowers left at the end of the fall.
2- Once you have gathered as many dried flowers as you want or as you have-make sure that you have cut them from the long stems of the lavender flowers. If you are doing the jasmine flowers they are very easy just drop them in. Then get a Jar that you want to use for making yur essential oil and make sure it is clean and very dry. Add all the flowers and pack the lavender & jasmine into the clean jar.
3-Then its time to go to the herbal store. There is where you will find a good essential oil to pour over all the dry flowers cover and screw tie.
I found a rose oil but you can use any kind of oil you want. The one hint I would give you is don't get an essential oil that is to strong because you want to be able to smell your flowers after the 2-4months it is been sitting in the oil.. So you might as your local herbal store person for a little help.. So after you get home with your essential oil carefully pour all the oil on the flowers till they are all cover or even an inch above them. close tied and leave it on your counter top where it will be safe for that 2-4 month time. I would also write on the top what you have done on the top.. and the dates too. That way you know when you can open it. After the time you strain the flowers and get another clean jar for the new oil you have made and there you go..
4-Now if you don't have a garden or flowers you still can do this fun activity - At your local herbal stores they should have the flowers too.
If you want you can even put some of your oil in the tiny essential oil jars too.
I hope you all have fun with this... I now I did and my jar is still sitting😄💖
lavender chocolate truffles-
Well, lastly how one cooks with lavender. I thought you all might like this one that I found,
the Lavender Chocolate Truffles. The darkness of the chocolate and the fragrance of the lavender
just goes together in my book...
Ingredients-
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1cup heavy cream
1teaspoon dried lavender
1cup unsweetened cocoa
Make the Truffles-
Grate the chocolate in a bowl
Bring the cream and lavender to a simmer in a small
sauce pan for 1min, then strain out the lavender pieces.
Add the lavender cream mixture to the chocolate (which you should put in metal bowl)
stir to melt stir slowly.
Mix it well. Chill for at least 3 hours
Then roll into 1inch balls(I would use a 1inch ice cream scoop).
I would also put them on wax paper so they don't stick. later roll the
truffles into cocoa or anything else you would like.
Makes 24 Truffles.... Enjoy..

Well, my dears I hope you all enjoyed my
second post and I am truly try to get back on track.
I love you all so very much
Your Friend always Wendy









Sunday, October 2, 2016

LARGEST PUMPKINS OF 2016~

LARGEST PUMPKINS
OF 2016~
Good afternoon my dears friends & Followers. I am truly sorry for not being around
these last couple of months...But with all my personal problems and the crazy stuff that has
been going on with Goggle I have had to take a break. There for a bit  I was wondering if
I was going to stay with a the #*$#@ that Goggle was doing with their G+page & my Blogger/Blog
Too! Yes there was a couple of days that I thought I would lose everything that I have worked over
the almost 4years coming this Jan 2017, however nothing happened. I am grateful that everything
worked out because I would have missed all of you my dearest friends, followers and so many people that view my G+page and blog too! So I have decided to stick it out and see what happens.
I have protected myself however... I have copied every post I have done since Jan of 2013 and all my links, widgets, and gadgets too. Bookmarks all on my word 2016 too... Which I implore any of you my dears who have a blog with Goggle to do... You never know what may happen.. For the last two years this has been going on...
Now as I promised a wonderful viewer and dear follower that I would start up with my blog again...😄❤
With the spirit of October, I thought I would start with a Pumpkin post...
This one is about the Largest Pumpkins of 2016, which I found in South Africa's Great Giant Pumpkin of Feb 29 of this year... I thought it would be fun to show a different country this time. In how they celebrate Enormous Pumpkins too!
It happens to be in a small town of Heidelberg in the Western Cape. In the last couple of years the tiny town has delivered record breakers in the LARGEST PUMPIN - in South Africa.
It would seem in that weekend of Feb 27 2016, at their Giant Pumpkin Festival there were 28 pumpkins that competed for the crowned champion in the town of Heidelberg.
At the end of the completion it was Louwrens van Deventer with the wining pumpkin weighing in
at 373kg[822.324pounds] with his wife, Theresa in second place pumpkin weighing in at 354.5kg
[781.581pounds]...It was said by both the two years winners that the conditions weren't as good as some years, for growing the Giant pumpkins as in the past years, yet they were very happy with their result and the one-two finish with his wife said Louwrens van Deventer after being announced the winner of their small town. However, in this year entries there were a few reports of weights that could of beat Louwrens record. This was by the announcement that Pinkie Swart had said who was the current winner of their small town of the last two years in South African with weight pumpkins of 497.5kg [1096,7998]. Sadly in this years
competition, he discovered his pumpkin was rotten, in the week leading up to the weekend of Feb 27 2016, at their Giant Pumpkin Festival. So he had to not compete. However, his wife, Ronel Swart, kept with the winning tradition in the family by finishing in third place with a weight of 342.5kg.
The current world record is 1054kg [2,323.672pounds] set in October of 2014 by Beni Meier Switzerland...
Year Winners in the Giant Pumpkin Festival of Heidelberg South Africa.
2012 - Henry du Plessis - 390kg
2013 - Johan du Plessis - 417.5kg
2014 - Pinkie Swart - 497.5kg [Previous SA record]
2015 - Pinkie Swart - 483.6kg
2016 - Louwrens van Deventer 373kg
Additional prizes were also awarded in other categories such as the smallest, pretties and the
Ugliest Pumpkin too!
Growers of the town can enter the competition with pumpkins grown from any seeds, however the seed Growers that do enter the competition are required to be very careful in planting the pumpkin seeds when preparing the soil they plant them in...The soil that is provided for them is by
Freshmark which is very special soil. It is not genetically modified in any way at all! And it originate from the Giant pumpkins from the North American Dill's Atlantic Giant variety too. Each pumpkin grower has his/her own secret to growing methods which spark speculation and anticipation leading up to the event every year... Around the world. The result is an exciting and tightly contested competition between pumpkin growers.
At the Heidelberg Pumpkin Festival, they have many other kinds of events other than the main event of the Giant Pumpkin contest...Like that of variety of different kinda stalls and activities for the young and old.. For this year of 2016 there was a MTB XC Race, Golf Day and bowls Competition...
There is another event that is strong in their community spirit of the town. This is the most possible pumpkins that are donated by their growers all over the small town for a most charitable cause... It is for a 400kg Pumpkin Pie which is baked in the most large portion like that of the spirit of the largest pumpkin too.  Giant Pumpkin Festival encourages the public to enter next year’s competition, for more information visit the official website
Well, I hope that you all enjoyed my post on the largest pumpkins in South Africa my dears I will  try to do more post this coming month as I have put lots more new images on my G+...
I truly am grateful for all your support over the last year and coming 4years I couldn't have done this without you all ... I love you all so very much
Your Wendy your friend...hugs❤❤❤🎶🎶🎶😄😄😄😍😍😍🎶🎈✨✨❤💜💜☀🌞🌟🌟













































Saturday, September 17, 2016

SUMMER AUG RIVER OTTERS 2016

Summer Aug River Otters 2016~
Well, I know that I haven't been around of late. And I've have tried to be a good
blogger as putting new post for you all my dear friends and followers however, life happens.
My life has been a bit difficult these last couple of months. In fact the entire year has
been full of ups & downs. That's is why I haven't been on my blog that much this year. Also I not so sure I like what is going on with the new look with the G+ page but that is out of my control...So I
am hoping for a much better year for 2017.
But I did have a lovely Vacation with my family in Northern Calif. In the Redwoods. My Parents and
my sister, brother and everybody lives there so now every summer I get to go home to my family
which really helps my soul and my heart for missing my family so very much.
This post on my Vacation is again at the Sequoia Park Zoo-www.sequoiaparkzoo.net- which I truly love going to
every summer. I have left the website so you can see the zoo, where I go if you would like❤ Its called the Watershed Hero of sorts. It another of my favorites the underwater world of the very playful
river otters that you can peek inside their world as they swim and play. These amazing creatures do flips and turns in the water that are truly wonderful to watch.
I have always love the otter since I have been in my late twenty's in college. When I lived in northern California in the Redwoods. I would go to the beach all the time with my dear Katie who is now my spirit dog when every I could to watch the otters at Trinida Beach near the Pier. They loved swimming around there. And I would see many times a mom with their pups too. However, there was the great Exxaon Oil Tanker that had spilled during that time which was heart breaking to see on the news.... And I had to do a drawing about something that truly sadden me and hurt the environment.
but that oil pasta painting I will only show if you want me too.
So on to the happy River otters of the Sequoia Park Zoo. An little history on how the Otters came to
the zoo, was around 2011 when they received the exciting news that they had been awarded the grant to proceed with the next stage of 'the foundations of the Native Predators exhibits in the form of the
Watershed Heroes project - the River otters! This project brought the River otter back to the zoo!
It is a wonderful exhibit for both child to adult meaning that it starts with an open space for children to play and to explore with a real watershed and investigate of the salmon images in the shape of a salmon run beneath the children feet. As you go forward there is a tumble of logs that looks like what would be a shelter for either river otters or a salmon run where they would have to jump over to spawn. To me it looked like a lot of drift wood make into a art piece and a waterfall coming down for the children to play and to learn too. It would have been great when my son was young. But even now at 16years old he enjoyed the underwater exhibit as you walk pass to where the otters are into a area made to look like how they live. the deep river part where you can see through which my son and my self loved. And the other part on the top that is dry for them to lay in the sun . I believe there was 4 otters ...And they come from the northern Coast.
My family and I had a wonderful time watching the otters at the zoo. And I believe the Birds and the Otters, Red Panda, a few barn animals were are favorites... Watching them swim around was so fun
I got some great photos and videos too. I will try to put the video's on too! if it does work I will put them on my G+ page. This was my vacation at the zoo with the River Otters
Love you Wendy...



I hope that you all enjoy the birds from the Zoo
as much as my family did...
I will be trying my best to add more post of my vacation
of the Zoo and other parts of my vacation too.
Love you all
Wendy


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