Debbie's Secret Garden

My Evolving Garden

2011-06-30T15:06:00.000-04:00

Book Review

2011-04-05T12:04:00.001-04:00

Winged Obsession: The Pursuit of the World's Most Notorious Butterfly Smuggler by Jessica Speart

An outstanding good read!
Obsessed and strange Yoshi Kojima is trafficking endangered and exotic butterflies. Time and again he has slipped through the net of the of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency. Rookie undercover wildlife agent Ed Newcomer, who sees himself as the sheriff in the white hat, becomes obsessive about arresting Kojima. Jessica Speart weaves a tale that is as old as time itself.
Winged Obsession highlights the damage the illegal sale of wildlife has on our environment and our broken governmental system that allows criminals to get away with these crimes with hardly any penalty.
Disclosure: I have received this book free through Goodreads First Read program.

View all my reviews

Spring Is in the Air and So Are Intoxicated Birds

2011-03-04T08:03:00.004-05:00

Spring Is in the Air and So Are Intoxicated Birds By Alisa Opar
What do Charlie Sheen, Christina Aguilera, and a brown owl in Germany have in common? Their drunken exploits make the headlines. Earlier this year German police responded to reports of an owl interfering with traffic and found the owl—one eyelid drooping—amid two discarded bottles of schnapps. After concluding it’d had one too many, they took the inebriated animal to a local bird expert who has treated sloshed birds before, Spiegel Online reports. It was given water and set free once it sobered up.
Yet birds don’t need manmade liquor to get drunk—nature provides the means for intoxication this time of year. “Fermentation toxicity is most common in late winter and early spring when thawing of overwintered berries allows for yeast fermentation of the sugars in the berries,” reports the National Wildlife Health Center.
Cedar waxwings and robins are most likely to gorge on fermented blackberries, pyracantha or juniper berries, crabapples or mountain ash fruits. “These birds may be tipsy, inadvertent victims of alcohol consumption,” Oregon State University’s Extension Office reports.
Last March a berry binge led to the deaths of about 50 cedar waxwings found along a road in Harris County, Texas. National Wildlife Health Center tests showed that berries collected from a nearby Ilex shrub contained 800 ppm ethanol by wet weight: “enough to produce intoxication in these birds that could have resulted in compromised behavior and subsequent fatal trauma.”
Tipsy birds may be more likely to smash into windows, so consider putting decals on the large reflective surfaces. (Check out our info on window decals and bird-safe building guidelines.) If a bird crashes into your window and survives, Jeff Picton of the Chintimini Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Corvallis recommends leaving it alone if it’s not in danger from cats or other predators.
If you think it might be threatened, pick it up gently with a towel, place it in a well-ventilated box, and put that in a dark, quiet place. Once the bird begins moving around, open the container and let it fly away if it can. If it doesn’t recover within a few hours, Picton recommends calling your local wildlife rehabilitation center for further instructions.

My First Gardening Experience

2011-02-07T08:42:00.006-05:00

To this day I still remember my first gardening experience. It started a few months after I moved into my first home. I thought it would be a good idea to start a garden so that I could have fresh produce and put my yard to good use instead of just growing weeds. At that point I knew very little about gardening but how hard could it be to start a garden and grow stuff? After all, it happens in nature all the time and nobody has to do anything.

The area in my yard that I chose for my garden was full of rocks and weeds. I spent several days of work clearing the entire area, leaving nothing but dirt. At that point, I didn’t know the difference between “dirt” and “soil”. I did not know I was dealing with unfertile, nutrition less, bare land.

Later, I went to the garden store and chose seed packets of whatever looked tasty. Carrots, squash, peas, it all sounded good. I dug a hole in the ground and poked the seed in. Next, I watered every day for several weeks before realizing that it was not going to grow. Even after I had that realization, I continued to water in hopes that my seeds would pull through in a last minute effort. But I knew there was no hope, and I was heartbroken. After all those hours of digging and pulling up weeds, I had no fruit to show for my labor.

Feeling like a failure, I went to the library and researched information on gardening. I quickly found many books and reference material that made me realize the true skill required for gardening. There, I learned about ideal soil conditions, when to plant seeds, how much to water and other valuable information. Now, information is available with just a few clicks of the mouse.

If like me, you’re itching to start gardening I would urge you to learn from my mistakes. Hopefully you won’t have to go through the emotional disaster that I went through.

Good gardening!

Arkansas Vacation

2010-09-13T10:24:00.000-04:00

Christmas Comes To Our House

2009-12-21T14:53:00.015-05:00

I've been really busy decorating for Christmas. This year I was determined not to spend ANY money. I used items I already had on hand. The mantle was done in silver and white using silver platters and white pottery that I already had. And it's amazing what silver gift wrap can do!

Thanksgiving Holiday

2009-11-30T12:59:00.010-05:00

We've had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We spent Thursday at Jacques' eating delicious food, playing games and spending time with the family.

William came to spend the rest of the holiday with us. We played more games and ate more good food. We hiked out at the Mounds on Saturday to work off some of the calories.

This is what it's all about!

Autumn 2009

2009-09-22T20:19:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted in awhile. My minds been hither, thither and yon. Books have been on the menu. I've been to Egypt with Howard Carter, the Artic with Tom Avery (a very modern day explorer) and now I'm in 1867 Africa with Stanley & Livingston. I've also read two different journals (diaries) written by women who own farms. One in Georgia and one in Connecticut. Very interesting writing. That's not including all the novels that I devoured in-between (dessert for the brain).

I signed up for facebook and the jury is still out on whether or not I'll continue in "that" vein. Facebook seems to have some technical issues.

For my birthday Andre gave me a modest gift card for itunes. So I found new great music which always make me happy. Susan Boyle's "Wild Horses" is worth listening to. Upcoming artist, Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons, are making a name for themselves.

Labor Day Weekend at Connie's. It rained but we still had fun.

The Vegetable Patch

2009-06-04T14:30:00.025-04:00

This just in...the beautiful produce from my garden is beginning to mature and here's the first basketfull.

I had to show the trumpet plant in bloom. Someday, I'll get that in the ground too!

Here's the vegetable garden in May 2009.

Here's the vegetable garden in June 2009

What a difference a month and a lot of rain makes!

Baby squash.

Even tinier baby cucumber.

Jalapeno's, easiest thing in the world to grow.

Bean's in bloom.

I had to include a picture of my fig tree. Someday, I will get it planted in the ground.

I didn't include pictures of the tomato's, radishes, bell pepper and carrots. All this growing in that tiny plot of land. Amazing!

My Little Bit of Heaven

2009-05-07T14:35:00.034-04:00

I've been working in my backyard garden for the last couple of months so I thought I would share a few pictures. Here you can see the pansies (the purple and yellow) that Andre brought home last month. Also note the cabbage in the pot on the chair. I've had that cabbage going on about 3 years now. It just keeps coming back every year!

These are double impatients (the white ones)that were in the flowers that Andre brought home. I'm not sure if you can see the aloe plants (look close at the bottom rungs of the ladder). If anyone wants aloe just let me know, I have more than I know what do with.

This is the vegetable garden. In the first picture you will see that I have planted cucumber along the fence and the three rows in the foreground are radishes. Also in the foreground in the square pot is a stake that I was using for a plant that died but now the stake decided to sprout and its from the peach tree!! So now I have a peach AND a pear tree growing. In the second picture you see the squash plants and I have wayyyyy too many. There's also a jalapeno and bell pepper plants. In the background on the left are bean plants ( I forgot what kind) and also tomato's (in the ground and in the pots).

Here's the peach tree. The fruit is about the size of an apricot right now. The fruit from this tree has never fully ripened but I don't care. The tree is just beautiful in the spring.

This is my version of an "inuksuk". Inuksuk were used by the Inuit as a navigational tool. What I was really trying to build was an "inunngauq" which is a cairn that is supposed to look like a human form. So much for that!! :)

A very relaxing spot.

Keep your fingers crossed that this bouganvilla will make it through the winter. I've had it a pot for the last few years and have brought it indoors every winter. Maybe its big enough to survive outdoors now.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed my slice of heaven I'll post more pictures as the vegetable garden matures.

A New Year 2009

2009-01-28T11:43:00.003-05:00

I guess its about time for me to post something new on this blog. I've been a little lazy in writing.

We have a new president, Barak Obama, yea!!! If you go to the website www.whitehouse.gov you can actually write a note to the president. Isn't that awesome and every week you can watch a video of President Obama's weekly address. This really is an administration for the 21st century.

I've been reading quite a bit lately. One book that has stood out is "A Lesson Before Dying", by Ernest Gaines. It's set in the early 1900's in Louisiana and tells the story of two black men (one educated and one uneducated) and their struggle with prejudice and ignorance. It is an exceptional story and I highly recommend this book.

I have started an exercise program again and also watching my diet. There's a really good website to help www.realage.com . There, you can answer a questionaire that will assess what your "real" age is compared to your chronological age. It also will help you in assessing what vitamins you may be deficient in. I've found that I've not been getting enough vitamins, C,D and E. I'm now taking supplements and am noticing improvements in my health.

Camping at Big Lazer WMA

2008-12-22T14:57:00.003-05:00

Andre and I just got back from camping at Big Lazer Wildlife Management Area. This area is remote and very primitive. It was fun but I think it would have been more fun if other people were camping with us. I slept very little since there were a lot of unidentified noises in the night. Early Sunday morning we were awakened by rain and wind. Since we had not tied down the tent we ended up in the truck for a couple of hours till daylight. The temperature had dropped 10 to 15 degrees and the wind was very cold so we packed up and left around 10:00 a.m. All in all I would go there again to camp. Maybe once the weather warms up and also I think camping longer than two nights is a must.

Reed Bingham SP

2008-10-13T20:49:00.003-04:00

Hi,

We just got back from Reed Bingham SP. This park is incredible beautiful and very well maintained. We didn't realized this weekend was a holiday weekend so there was numerous campers at the park. We hiked approximately 6-7 miles over the two days. We saw Pilated Woodpeckers, an armidillo, goats, deer and many, many vultures.

Camping at General Coffee State Park

2008-09-02T11:49:00.021-04:00

On Friday, Andre and I took off for General Coffee S. P. for camping. This picture of me is what we were doing for most of the weekend (bird watching). The bird highlight for me was a huge owl. I couldn't tell what kind it was because I only saw it for just a brief look but it was very large and light brown (possible a Barred or a Great Horned Owl). We also saw the following: Common Flicker's, a yellow/black bird (warbler?), olive colored birds (confusing fall warbler's?), a dove colored bird with a yellow beak, about the size of Wood Thrush, that I still can't identify, hummingbirds, Egrets, ducks, geese, titmouse (the largest I've ever seen), cardinals, chickadee, crows. We also saw deer and Andre saw a snake in a tree. We also heard birds (anyway, we think they were birds) making the strangest noises you've ever heard.

This lizard lived in the tree's right at our campsite. He's about 6" inches long, black and gray. When he's on the ground he runs really, really fast. Out in the forest we saw a neon green lizard and all kinds of dragonflies and butterflies.

We are so proud of our camp stove.
You won't believe it but we purchased
it for $7.00 at Walmart (clearance).
It worked perfectly.

On Sunday afternoon, I put my trusty iron skillet on the stove, threw in some chicken thighs, onion, sweet pepper, jalapeno pepper, rosemary and beer and left it to cook for several hours. I just kept pouring the beer on the chicken. This was the best chicken I ever cooked.

The type of forest where we camped is called a Southern Mixed Hardwood Forest near the Coastal Plains (according to a book I checked out of the library but to me the forest is just a plain old swampy/savannah). Pines, magnolias and live oaks with Spanish moss are the predominant plants along with the prickly pear cactus, saw palmetto, ferns, bald cypress (in the swampy areas). I saw many huckleberry bushes and muscadine vines full of ripe fruit. That's why the wildlife is so plentiful including the mosquitoes and biting flies. But we were prepared this time. Before we left I purchased "Repel" insect repellent. It repels mosquitoes, ticks, gnats, biting flies, chiggers & fleas and it WORKED!!!!! I only got 3 chigger bites this time and they were on my neck of all places. I guess they couldn't get under my clothes (ha ha!!). I did use the whole can though (6.5 0z.). I told Andre that my life expectancy was probably reduced by a few months because of all the chemical absorption but seeing all the birds was worth it.

These experiences really does get in your blood and I can hardly wait to go camping and birding again.

Summer's Beauty and Bounty

2008-08-24T19:17:00.018-04:00

Andre and I had an awesome weekend. Saturday we went out to the Indian Mounds for our usual walk and on the way I remembered that there are gazillions of muscadine vines out there. It just so happened that we had a grocery bag in the truck so I stuck it in my pocket just in case and boy am I glad that I did. While we meandered down the wooded path we came across thousands of muscadines. We spent several hours picking them off the ground (you couldn't reach the vines as they were in the very top of the trees). It was raining and we probably made quite a picture holding umbrellas and duck walking around on the ground :-) The wind was blowing quite hard (remnants of Fay) so the muscadine were literally falling on our heads. After tiring of this we went to a favorite bird watching spot and sat on a bench at the edge of the swamp and bird watched. What was completely suprising and amazing were the butterflies. Every size and color imaginable. Beautiful neon yellows, monarchs, white butterflies, a black and gray swallowtail looking butterfly. Andre asked me about the color of one particular butterfly and I described it as yellow-orange. I guess hurricane Fay blew them all to Macon. We saw Great Egrets, Ibis', lots of bluebirds, Turkey Vultures and an yellow and olive colored bird that I only caught a glimpse of. We saw our usual beavers, turtles and deer. After a couple of more hours it was time to return home. Sunday, we left early and went to our old house on Forest Ave. and picked pears (the resident is doing a lease purchase from us and a stipulation is that we still get to pick pears). We got four large grocery bags full. The pears are absolutely huge this year. I guess all the rain has been good for them. After returning home we decided to go and pick more muscadines. We just couldn't resist. After all its free for the taking.

Grayton Beach State Park

2008-07-09T11:56:00.006-04:00

We just returned from a few days in Florida and it was beautiful. We left on the 6th and got there around 2:00 pm. I guess I didn't pay attention to the website because we couldn't check-in until 4:00 pm. Well thankfully, there were some nice pavilions where we could have a picnic and sit in the cool breeze until check-in. We were very surprised at how nice the cabins are. They have 2 bedrooms (1 queen bed, the other has two twins and the living room has a futon) the kitchen was small but adequate and the living room/dining area was combined. What was really nice was the screened back porch (where we stay most of the time when we weren't at the beach). Whoever built this park really did a super job. The whole park where the cabins are situated is gated and the cabins are very secluded and you feel as if your really away from it all. It's about 1-1/2 mile walk to the beach. Sunday night me, Andre and the girls got the flashlight and did the night walk on the beach. The stars were brilliant. And its one of those night that will be remembered for a long time.
Of course, on Monday morning, we were at the beach really early. And yes, we did see two sharks (sand shark) the largest was about 4 feet long. But that didn't stop us from going into the ocean later on. The water was crystal clear. We spent most of the day at the beach with short breaks in between. (We didn't see anymore sharks). Leah stayed in the water most all the time using her goggles. She saw lots of fish.
Tuesday, it was hard to leave. I definitely would recommend Grayton Beach State Park.

Where the hell is Andre & Debbie?

2008-06-22T17:39:00.005-04:00

Since Andre & I have watched the "where the hell is matt" video we've decided we have a lot more traveling to do. So Andre has spent the weekend mapping out our travel plans for the next 10 years or so. So far he's listed 50 something countries and I believe he's hit on most all of the continents. So I guess we better get started. I'll keep you updated here.

Camping Experience!

2008-06-18T18:22:00.010-04:00

Hello friends. This past weekend me, Andre and the kids went camping at FDR State Park and had a wonderful experience. The park is absolutely beautiful, the temperature was exactly right and except for the after effect of the insect bites everything was perfect. We left around midday on Friday and since its only a couple of hours away we got there around 2:30 p.m. We setup camp within the hour. (You would have thought we were experienced campers). We then spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying nature. The next day after breakfast we decided to check out the hiking trails in the park. After stopping at the registration office, Andre asks what was the one thing we shouldn't miss in that area, and were told that we should see the Little White House. (FDR's Georgia home). And as a bonus, Saturday June 14th, was the one day out of the year that admission was free! The museum and home is certainly interesting and I would recommend that you go there. While there, a huge thunderstorm started brewing so we raced back to camp to try to put things away before the rain. We made it and I had the great idea of putting up a tarp for cover in case of rain. So between the four of us we actually got a cover up with a tarp, rope and trees. And boy are we glad we did because it poured!! We stayed nice and dry :-) After a delicious meal prepared over an open fire we all slept like babies. On Sunday I was sad to leave. I think I would have enjoyed a few more days. Well, here's to more camping adventures in the future. I can hardly wait.