Welcome to Cape May NJ

America's prettiest cities were announced this week.
They include Cape May , NJ located at the very tip of the Garden State and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
Rightly so. It is a Victorian town with gas lamp lined streets, horse drawn carriages and homes to knock your socks off. Many of those homes are now bed and breakfasts and the rooms are lovely , the amenities are gracious and its all on the beach.
There is no wild night life, no wild board walk. It is a family town and there are no amusements per se. There is a nice book store, very nice restaurants, shops and boutiques , a movie theatre and some live theatre but that's it. When in Cape May it's about quiet relaxation, good food and lovely ocean.
You can take a trip to the very tip of the Cape of New Jersey to search for Cape May diamonds, clear pure quartz crystal that can be cut like a diamond. You can buy jewelery made from it and explore the light house.
There is a small zoo, and if you do like wild, Wild Wood has a huge jazzy boardwalk with every imaginable kind of ride and beach food known to mankind.
The beaches in Wild Wood are extremely wide by the way.
Then there is Atlantic City not too far north and you can lose all your money in the beautiful hotel casinos there.
The restaurants in AC are really beautiful.








Here is how the article describes Cape May

"Cape May was founded in 1620 by the Dutch Captain Mey, on the small hook at the very southern tip of the Jersey coast, jutting out into the Atlantic and washed by the Delaware Bay on the west. After being briefly settled by New England whalers in the late 1600s, it turned in the eighteenth century to more profitable farming and, soon after, to tourism. In 1745 the first advertisement for Cape May's restorative air and fine accommodation appeared in the Philadelphia press, heralding a period of great prosperity, when Southern plantation owners, desiring cool sea breezes without having to venture into Yankee land, flocked to the fashionable boarding houses of this genteel "resort of Presidents."

Maybe you would like to come live here? For a simple 1,900,000 you could own this simple cottage by the sea yourself.































The beaches are not too shabby either.
We have concerts in the park all through the year.
Winter is a busy time as the Victorians open their homes for Christmas tours.
Downtown has no traffic , cars are not allowed so you can wander safely.

Friday Again?

riday!

Wow, it seems to have come very fast this week but and the sky is clear, bright blue today without a cloud in sight. It's 61°F outside, not warm but not shabby either and as I am not a fan of high temperatures or humidity, this is just fine with me.

Things are blooming in the yard now. The lilacs are opening and the apple trees, both the macintosh and the ornamental Praire Fire are blossoming. The Macintosh is a bit straggly and not as full as I would like. He might need fertilizer. Growing in this sandy soil presents problems without top soil additions and lots of fertilizer.

Soon the Wisteria will be in bloom. It has grown wild up into trees and though I cut it back in the early fall, by late April it covers over the top of my backyard succah and makes a flowering roof.

As the succah gets older I will remove it's sides and just use it as an arbor for the wisteria to cover.

You can click on Mr. Lilac there to see it full sized.

I hope your weekend is lovely and relaxing.

Springing Along...

I get ideas of what to post from  friends sometimes. Guess we all do.
 Judy mentioned that she could never kill a snake or even see one in her garden so it got me to thinking about how I managed.  
What made me able to kill a snake and chase others with a garden rake? I think that being single mom raising kids is what did it. I had to stand up to things that I would never, ever have stood up to on my own. But when you have  children   you are their protector, you have to be the hero and there is no time for being girly and scared even though I was absolutely both girly and scared to death! For their sake I had to behave as if I were totally capable and just do things. It is hard because it isn't a woman's nature to take on battles etc. or to kill big creepy crawlies and animals that attack. But, when you are in a situation you never thought you would be in you have to just put away fear for a moment and act as if you had none. It's there though.

I get the Farmer's Almanac and use it for just about everything. It even can tell you good times to cut your hair for growth or to stop growth, good times for surgery to remove tumors and growths, just as for pruning plants. Those who have used it say it really does work. Many doctors are convinced of it too.

This month they have tips on growing tomatoes . Anyone can try though New Jersey tomatoes are considered the finest in the world. It is the acidy sandy soil that does it. Our tomatoes have the richest flavor of all. There is simply no comparison in taste.
But the Almanac does give good tips on growing tomatoes anywhere for maximum yield and ease.

Since the weather has been wonky in many places and not as warm as it might be they suggest the following:

• Plant smaller tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are foolproof in any climate. They bear fruit in high or low temperatures and rain or drought. Try the ‘Sweet 100’ variety, which is flavorful and disease-resistant.
• Garden in a container! You have more control over growing conditions and enjoy higher yields with a lot less work. Choose light-color pots; black containers will cook tomato roots in the middle of the summer.
• Mulch thickly to avoid cracking; it’s wet weather and fluctuation in soil moisture that causes skins to split.
• Consider raised beds with lots of organic material such as manure and compost. Nutrient-rich soil is the most important factor.
See our Manure Guide.
• Grow in areas that receive a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight daily.
• Start tomatoes at the right time! Set tomatoes out when the soil is 50° F minimum.


I even think you can grow tomatoes indoors in a very sunny window. I have a miniature rose bush growing in my kitchen window now and its bursting out in buds and beauty.
I love the tiny rose bushes you can get in the grocery store and have planted many of them in all colors around the little pond in front.
Right now, the large pond has been pruned back. The big Japanese juniper is whacked down to the base! It was way out of control. The damage to the Scotch Brooms has to be corrected too but its in bloom now.
I will be planting flowering things around the large pond and creating a "beach" around it with stones and sand as I originally had it. I miss that beach and i think the animals do as well.
Snooty old Egret doesn't miss anything he just plops himself down in the pond and tries to graze on my fish! I have caught him eyeing the front pond too whilst perching on a car hood!
Those Egrets are huge by the way . He is going to miss the front pond which is usually crystal clear and affords him easy fishing since I am moving the fish there to the big pond and will only house water lilies and plants in the front pond.

I took some photographs of the ponds today. I am still working on them but I love doing it.

small pond

The edges of the ponds are disguised by plants as they grow.

more of small pond

Big pond

Don't worry, the big pond will have plants around it again soon and a new beach.

My fish like to ham it up for the camera.
It's hard to take a full photo of it unless I am up higher or standing far away. Its not huge but it's not tiny either.

Garden Work

photo left: Scottish Broom hanging down into the large pond out back.






It has been a busy few weeks here with holidays, now past, but more coming and yard work to clean up trees and fallen limbs from winter storms. Getting the ponds summerized is a job in itself and they are , well one is, sparkling clear now and the large one well on it's way to being so

Filters on the big pond were cleaned out. The filter pads weigh a ton and by the time I am done cleaning I am ankle deep in water.
I found a snake under a plant I was removing and got rid of him. I do not like those critters.

But a huge Japanese spreading juniper got chopped up because it was just taking over everything. it looked nice hanging over into the water but in the end I think I made the right choice.

My Scottish Brooms now have to be trimmed after they are done blooming. One was destroyed in the big snow storms we had and two others are looking scraggly from it. I am most sorry about the one that blooms bright orange-red. It did not make the winter very well and has very sketchy growth on it now.
The others are white and pale yellow. I like them, they are very fragrant but they tend to get sloppy looking I think as they grow tall and thin and bend over a lot.

Next up will be trimming the woods that encroach over the fences and on into the yard. Being surrounded by nature is nice but it's a lot of work too.

Mowing grass is needed but the front of the yard is partly over an underground stream and so what with all the rain its soupy by the roadway. More rain coming on Thursday so not sure what will happen in that department.
Today, however is sunny and cool and a nice day to accomplish a bit more perhaps.
Hope your day goes well !



Oh, in keeping with Darylynn's discussion on state flowers and birds, New Jersey's state flower is the purple violet, which is one of my all time favorite flowers and I like violet perfume too.

Our state bird is the Goldfinch.

But take a look at this photo of an arbor made of growing vintage violets!

Amazing isn't it. You can click on it to see it in its huge size.

Before I forget:
Linda at Frenchless in France is having a drawing for jewelry made by her daughter in law. Its a lovely piece featuring Linda's photography and if you have not seen her photos please visit her blog , they are gorgeous.
Wander over and enter and you will be stuck on her blog just as I am.
I found Linda's blog a few years ago while looking for an image online. It lead me to her blog and I sat there reading almost the entire thing that very day. She gives you a chance to see France through her camera lens and she creates a very special portrait that will linger with you and make you long to visit there soon.

Sheepish Criminals!

Maximiliano Pereyra, 25,(left) and Ariel Diaz, 28 (right in photo)escaped from an Argentinian maximum security prison dressed like sheep. Downright adorable criminals if you ask me!
There must be some miscarriage of justice as no one so cute could possibly be deemed 'robbers'.


The pair, seen in the photo to the left in the original disguises, have been seen by locals running through fields at night .

Police have issued the following photos taken by local farmers along the escape route are asking everyone to be on the alert for animals or plants seeking food, water , fertilizer or any kind of unusual hand outs.



Here the pair were photographed in sunflower disguises. The farmer was tipped off to something being amiss when two of the flowers, unusually tall for this time of year, asked for water and some fish for 'fertilizer'.

"We never give fertilizer of fish in the spring time" said Juan Valdez the owner of the flower farm and former famous coffee grower. "So I knew something wasn't right".

Looking for the pair has become something of a Where's Waldo adventure for Argentinian authorities.
You can read the real story HERE





Photo of the two criminals stepping over the body of a fallen prison guard.

Southern Jersey

Elizabeth asked if I live in the south.No, I am in NJ. But we have many similarities being on the coast.


New Jersey has a problem! You see, southern NJ is very different from north Jersey and there is a great divide between us like our own Mason Dixon line!






But seriously, our salt marsh is quite similar to a lovely photo Elizabeth posted on her blog.



The water leads out into the bay but to the sides flows into piney woods filled with scrub pines, swamp maples , holly trees and scrub oak, known as the Pine Barrens.



The Barrens are similar to the great pine barrens of FLorida and other states and southern Jersey shares similar sights of those you see as you go southward.






When I visit Delaware, the Carolinas, even right down into Florida the scenes are very similar.



South Jersey , as I mentioned once before is a sub tropical climate. Hard to believe but, yes, it really is.

These photos are all taken just behind where I live.



I have been so busy with holidays and cooking that I had no real time to blog here. I am hopefully less busy now!
Have a lovely day tomorrow.