May 2024 - P52 Challenge

[Cassel]

Do you want to challenge yourself to take photos every week for a year?

Maybe you want to practice your photography skills, or just try to capture "ordinary" daily occurrences.

Let's just encourage each other.

This is a no-pressure thread, and you can share the photos you took or the theme you are going for (if you are going with a theme).

And if you don't want to share the photos yet, and only showcase them once they are in a montage or a scrapbook page, you can just say that you did it.

And it is ok to start your 52 weeks at any time. It does not have to start in January!

[Ann Seeber]

My Week Eighteen - the Chipping Sparrow. They are tiny little birds and I love their rufous caps. They are all over the ground under my feeders. The photo is from Merlin which ID'd it for me.

[Sharla]

1 hour ago, Ann Seeber said:

the Chipping Sparrow.

What an absolutely delightful little bird! It really is quite lovely that we get to see them when they visit garden feeders.

[Sharla]

Week 18 We have bluebells everywhere. Spring has definitely sprung! I didn’t plan on photographing the insect – I was happily snapping away at bluebells but the little fella was so charming I had to choose this photo.

 

[Susan Ewart]

Week 18...caught up enough to get behind again. 😁

Background paper by RachelLm-seth paper15 (Digitalscrapbook.com).  Fonts Emil Love (Wk18) and Emely Love (creative fabrica)

and reposted here after posting in April by mistake (even after making a note that it should be in May).

[Sue Thomas]

Meg, lovely to be out riding  with longer, warmer days. 

Edited May 11 by Sue Thomas

[Sue Thomas]

Male Yellow Warbler.  I heard him yesterday, and got to take  a photo today. 

Edited May 11 by Sue Thomas

[Ann Seeber]

Almost all Torties are female - it's a genetic thing. "Brandy" is my newest visitor and is now showing up twice a day for meals. When I go out to feed her, I say "hello" and she answers "meiow!" ☺️ Torties are known for being a bit feisty. They even have a special term for it - "Tortitude."  The font is Valentina.

Edited May 11 by Ann Seeber
added data

[Susan Ewart]

3 hours ago, Ann Seeber said:

Almost all Torties are female - it's a genetic thing. "Brandy" is my newest visitor and is now showing up twice a day for meals. When I go out to feed her, I say "hello" and she answers "meiow!" ☺️ Torties are known for being a bit feisty. They even have a special term for it - "Tortitude."  The font is Valentina.

I love this Ann.  I didn't know that about Torties (being mostly females).  I had a cat for a short time (Emi) and the vet said she was a Torbie...A tabby tortie.  And she had such a zest for life and was the biggest cat I've ever had.  Sadly, she past suddenly due to a failing heart valve(we found that out later).  I didn't get enough time with her.

[Corrie Kinkel]

My week 18 is about Yosemite National Park where we stayed for the weekend. It is very imposing with the granite rocks and the waterfalls. It was still early in the season, so there were no crowds, but we have had all kinds of weather, including snow! At first it started to rain in the afternoon and when we were having diner the rain became snow. The temperatures dropped below zero and the snow blanketed the roads, which were closed to all traffic. Only one road stayed open and we had to use that one to drive to the camping where we had a cabin. It meant we had to take a detour of over an hour to get there in the dark on winding roads; luckily my daughter had rented a 4-wheel drive because of the weather predictions! The next morning there was a layer of approximate 5 cm of snow but is was sunny and the park rangers had cleared the roads with snow ploughs. When driving along a road we could see some cars that were stuck there and the people in them had been evacuated by the rangers; they had a busy night! It was quite an adventure in conditions that doesn't exists in the Netherlands.  

[Corrie Kinkel]

Week 19 marks the end of my stay with my family. I have enjoyed being there and taking part in their daily lives as well as going on some weekendtrips together. I spend some quality time alone with each of my granddaughters, which we both cherished. I even did some volunteer work in the class of my youngest granddaughter where they could use some help with the bookinterviews! The children had to tell about a book that they had read and they had to answer some questions about it. I got a list of questions to ask depending on the kind of book and I was very impressed how eloquent most of them were! Now I'm slowly adjusting back at home where my husband is glad that I came back in one piece😉.

[Ann Seeber]

11 minutes ago, Corrie Kinkel said:

Week 19 marks the end of my stay with my family. I have enjoyed being there and taking part in their daily lives as well as going on some weekendtrips together. I spend some quality time alone with each of my granddaughters, which we both cherished. I even did some volunteer work in the class of my youngest granddaughter where they could use some help with the bookinterviews! The children had to tell about a book that they had read and they had to answer some questions about it. I got a list of questions to ask depending on the kind of book and I was very impressed how eloquent most of them were! Now I'm slowly adjusting back at home where my husband is glad that I came back in one piece😉.

Welcome back, Corrie! So glad you got to experience Yellowstone, it is one of our Wonders! 

[Corrie Kinkel]

32 minutes ago, Ann Seeber said:

Welcome back, Corrie! So glad you got to experience Yellowstone, it is one of our Wonders! 

Thank you Ann, but I visited Yosemite, which is doable from the San Francisco Bay area for a weekend. Yellowstone is on my wishlist, maybe some other time in the future; who knows.

 

[Ann Seeber]

9 hours ago, Corrie Kinkel said:

Thank you Ann, but I visited Yosemite, which is doable from the San Francisco Bay area for a weekend. Yellowstone is on my wishlist, maybe some other time in the future; who knows.

 

Yes, of course! Sorry I got my "Ys" mixed up there. 😁 They are both wonderful. 

[Sharla]

Week 19 A quiet moment on a sunny May day.

 

[Susan Ewart]

9 hours ago, Sharla said:

Week 19 A quiet moment on a sunny May day.

 

Oh, that's so sweet.  Is this bird getting ready for bath time? 

[Ann Seeber]

P52-Week 20 is coming up this weekend. Here's one of my visitors that Merlin identified as an Eastern Towhee from its song. Pretty colors on a tiny bird. 

[Sue Thomas]

Since Tuesday I have had an influx of birds.  A large flock of Goldfinches and Siskins turned up on Tuesday.  A Pair of Brown Thrashers turned up a fortnight ago, and another pair arrived on Wednesday.  Two  female Rose breasted Grosbeaks arrived yesterday, along with the first of the Wrens.  I have photos of them all, as I have erected  several new feeding stations out in the trees using loose and fallen tree bark. You will no doubt see many of the photos in upcoming layouts.  The remaining  white-crowned Sparrows with their  eloquent song, are here to stay, as the majority them  had moved on over a week ago.  I chose this image to showcase, as between his posture and expression,   he  simply  melted my heart. The trees are now teaming with birds and bird song.   Photo taken yesterday afternoon. 

 

Edited May 17 by Sue Thomas

[Susan Ewart]

7 hours ago, Sue Thomas said:

Since Tuesday I have had an influx of birds.  A large flock of Goldfinches and Siskins turned up on Tuesday.  A Pair of Brown Thrashers turned up a fortnight ago, and another pair arrived on Wednesday.  Two  female Rose breasted Grosbeaks arrived yesterday, along with the first of the Wrens.  I have photos of them all, as I have erected  several new feeding stations out in the trees using loose and fallen tree bark. You will no doubt see many of the photos in upcoming layouts.  The remaining  white-crowned Sparrows with their  eloquent song, are here to stay, as the majority them  had moved on over a week ago.  I chose this image to showcase, as between his posture and expression,   he  simply  melted my heart. The trees are now teaming with birds and bird song.   Photo taken yesterday afternoon. 

 

So sweet.  He looks like he has a little helmut or cap on his head.  

[Corrie Kinkel]

A small pot of pansies that we bought just before I traveled to California has erupted in a big bunch of flowers! I have to deadhead them almost every day to keep it flowering! It is a joy to look at and I needed that because this week was all about rearranging a rack in our storeroom. Just before my trip we had to buy a new tumbler and everything was waiting until I was back to start altering things and deciding what we could do without and bring it to the recycle unit where we live. 

[Sharla]

Week 20 I have small acer tree in a container and just adore the bright colour of the leaves as they appear. I was pleased to catch this image with raindrops on the leaves.

 

[Corrie Kinkel]

On 5/20/2024 at 11:25 PM, Sharla said:

Week 20 I have small acer tree in a container and just adore the bright colour of the leaves as they appear. I was pleased to catch this image with raindrops on the leaves.

 

Sharla I wonder does your acer well in a container, do you have it in a fairly big container? I would like to have one and it must go in a container, we only have a small patio. However our local gardencenter is advising against it, so I would like to hear how well yours is doing. By the way the leaves are gorgeous.

[Sharla]

1 hour ago, Corrie Kinkel said:

I wonder does your acer well in a container

I’ve had it for a few years now and it’s a healthy little tree. I think it would have been much bigger if it was in the ground but it has adapted to being in a container (quite a large one). I really like it because of the colours you get over the seasons.

[Susan Ewart]

2 hours ago, Sharla said:

I’ve had it for a few years now and it’s a healthy little tree. I think it would have been much bigger if it was in the ground but it has adapted to being in a container (quite a large one). I really like it because of the colours you get over the seasons.

do you give it new soil every year too?  I have been doing that with my Rosemary and Thyme because I overwinter them in the heated garage with lights.  I'm just wondering if I need to be doing that.  My thyme didn't do so well this year, probably should have potted them larger at the end of the season.  I'm interested in people that do plants in pots and what they do, because I did the flowers (for the first time ) last year in pots so I could move them to different spots depending on the sun and backgrounds.  My herbs and plants only grow because of their own tenacity and because of my serious lack of experience.  I commend them for growing in spite of me.

[Sharla]

12 hours ago, Susan Ewart said:

do you give it new soil every year too?  I have been doing that with my Rosemary and Thyme because I overwinter them in the heated garage with lights.  I'm just wondering if I need to be doing that.  My thyme didn't do so well this year, probably should have potted them larger at the end of the season.  I'm interested in people that do plants in pots and what they do, because I did the flowers (for the first time ) last year in pots so I could move them to different spots depending on the sun and backgrounds.  My herbs and plants only grow because of their own tenacity and because of my serious lack of experience.  I commend them for growing in spite of me.

Hi Susan, I grow lots of things in raised beds and containers. The larger the container the least likely I am to change the soil but, in some cases, like with blueberries and the acer, I remove a couple of inches of the top layer of soil and add some fresh. If I don’t do this then I make sure that I give the plant a liquid feed during the growing season. 

Most of my annual plants like tomatoes, peas, and asters get planted into containers that still have some of last year’s soil within them – I just top up with fresh compost to give them a good start and feed them during the growing season. The old compost is added to borders or to the compost bin.

The idea of changing the soil is just impossible for me with the number of containers that I use so I generally don’t. To be honest,  I never found it very useful advice because it usually means that if the plant has a large root ball you need a bigger pot each year – and that’s just not practical as well as expensive. I just accept that some plants will thrive under my method and that some won’t.

 I never move pots around to catch the sun like you describe – once they have their spot that’s where they stay for the growing season. Out of the two you mention – if the conditions are good, rosemary really thrives (not in my garden!) but thyme always tends to get woody and needs to cut back drastically after each growing season or replaced. The best advice I can give you is to experiment, accept both the successes and the failures, and enjoy the process. And, if you don’t want to repot then start your young plants in a larger pot.

You’ll always have some plants that thrive and others that don’t. I used to try follow gardening advice but I’m not very good at following rules so I just experiment. I celebrate the good results and accept the failures as part of the learning process which never ends.