Do You Play Wordle?

 I have never played a "game" on-line, or on my phone....

until Wordle.

New York Times Wordle is a free online game where you get 6 chances to guess a 5 letter word.

The hubs and I play together, on my phone...we take turns picking the first word,

he one day, me the next.

The hubs picked "cream" today for our starting word.

Dark green letters are the right letter in the right place.

Light green letters mean the letter is in the word but in a different place.

I then picked "tribe" and then "bride"...

after picking "tribe" there were not too many choices.

Here's a look at today's Wordle!

It's a fun game and I like that we play it together.

In addition to Wordle, 

at some point during the work day, I take a break and work on an

Online Jigsaw Puzzle

This site has really nice ones with only a little bit of a challenge.

Most take less than 15 minutes, with just enough challenge to keep it fun!

They offer 2 each day and these are today's puzzles. 

- enjoy today...it is one of the good ole' days you will miss in the future -

Tis' The Season

 It's baby deer season and I have only seen a few.

The hubs was the first to spot this family, mom and 2 little fawns, I was not with him.

When he got home, 

he offered to take me back to the area but I was sure they would be gone by the time we got there.

Then he saw them again, 

in the same spot, and realized they had set up camp there.

They were hanging out in a retention basin on a piece of property not far from home.

He picked me up, took me back and there they were.

- we can judge the heart of a man, by his treatment of animals -

What's Left From Great Adventure

 We went to The Safari at Great Adventure recently, you may remember previous posts about that trip 

here and here.

We go kind of often, not into the park or for the rides...

just to drive through the safari in our car "4 wheel drive off road rig" 

a wonderful experience on days when it is just too hot and humid to be outdoors.

Every time we go we enjoy something different...

everytime we go, I get hollered at for having my window down.

I just open the window for the occasional picture, I don't leave it down but I always get caught.

Brown Bears

Black Bears

Lioness

Lion

The Elephants are another of my favorites, the gentle giants who always look happy.

Buffalo/Bison...

the name carries a small debate which I did not clearly understand when I read about it.

These housing units are scattered throughout the safari. 

Mouflon

Longhorn Cattle

Ibis - a bird not commonly found in this area.

Elk

If you look closely, you can see a baby nursing.

- until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened -

Wise Words On Sunday

 

Saturday Critters #506

- Where Have All The Butterflies Gone - 

I planted all the things...

tons of dill, lot's of wildflowers 

and I even planted 2 milkweed plants to attract monarchs this year.

I have not seen any butterflies here in my yard.

The butterflies I have seen were seen in other gardens when we were out and about.

If you follow my blog, you know I raise butterflies,

you also know by this point in summer I have probably captured 50 caterpillars 

and released as many butterflies.

By the end of summer, I have at least 12 that overwinter with me.

This summer I had 2 caterpillars, both turned into butterflies which I successfully released.

I have not seen 1 monarch in my yard.

If you are interested in raising butterflies, you can read about my successes here, here and here.

This site is a wonderful place to read about the joy of raising butterflies indoors.

These pictures are from last year...

One Black Swallowtail Butterfly...

two...

three!

Sharing today's images with Eileen at 

Viewing Nature With Eileen 

for Saturday Critters

Is Fall In The Air Already?

The mornings have been cool here, evenings too, crisp leaves are laying on the ground. 

Is it happening already?

I am not always ready to say goodbye to summer and welcome autumn.

This year I am so over summer, I can't wait for fall.

We have had some serious heat waves and I just can't explain it but to say, 

- bring on autumn -

I am ready for all things fall, fall scents, fall flavors, football and mostly warmer clothes like hoodies,

and the opportunity to wear all of my hand knit scarves and shawls.

The Panicled Hydrangea have gone from white to pink, a true sign that summer is coming to a close.

- summer gone and autumn not yet born...the odd, uneven time -

How To Save The Basil In Your Garden

 If you are like the rest of us gardeners, you have a lot of basil growing that just won't quit.

I love basil, it is a delicate herb and while dried basil has a nice flavor,

the flavor vanishes relatively quickly.

Freezing basil locks the flavors in more clearly and for a longer period of time.

Here's the first dilemma, should you wash it first or use it straight from the garden.

The jury is out on this one, many people don't wash it first because it takes a long time to dry.

My plan was to "not wash" it first but as I started to pick the leaves off the stems, 

I noticed there were small, clear colored spiders crawling around in the bowl and on the leaves.

Change of plans, I decided to wash it...lay it out and wait for it to dry.

Once it is washed and dried, you have 2 options, freeze the basil leaves whole,

or chop them up and place them in a silicone tray with olive oil...

I went for the latter. 

Here is the basil I harvested.

You can see a few of the stems had already gone to seed - flowers had formed -

I picked 2 cookies sheets of leaves...

and this little bit that I decided I was going to freeze these leaves whole.

After washing and drying, I chopped the basil and placed it into this silicone tray and added olive oil.

This silicone tray is designed just for this.

The leaves should be pressed into the olive oil, so that none are exposed, I forgot to do that.

I also froze the remaining leaves in a freezer bag, whole, 

to see how they would stand up in the freezer.

I froze them first in a single layer and then transferred them to a freezer bag.

Doing this first prevents the leaves from sticking together, 

so you can grab a single leaf when you need it.

I have never done this, I will keep you posted on how it works out.

Here it is after one day in the freezer,

I think I should add a little more olive oil to be sure the leaves are covered.

Now I can pop out a cube when I need one for making sauce, soup or any other recipe that calls for basil.

I froze the whole leaves...

Making pesto is another great way to prepare basil and freeze it.

Whatever you do, get it all picked, prepared and preserved so you have fresh basil all winter long.

The Giraffe At Great Adventure

Their are so many giraffe here at Great Adventure, they are my favorite animal in the jungle. 

They are the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on earth.

A few fun facts...

A giraffe's neck is too short to reach the ground.

Giraffe's spend most of their life standing, they give birth standing and sleep standing,

they only need 5 - 30 minutes of sleep in a 24 hour period.

 A giraffe only needs to drink once every few days.

They can run as fast as 35 miles per hour.

- always be yourself, unless you can be a giraffe, then always be a giraffe -