RED

A neighbor did a blog on the color Red the other day… at the moment I was reading it, I was taking a break before peeling apples for an apple pie. Red, apples are red, well, some of them are. I was using Macintosh apples which are not really supposed to be red-red, but I suppose you know they spray paint them to make them look more appealing to the consumers. The apples were set out on the counter next to one of my favorite kitchen gadgets – my apple peeler, which is also red. I have worn out 3 apple peelers. I always bought them from LLBean, but this last one I had to buy from the Vermont Country store. I am so not into recipes or blogs with recipes, but my apple pie has a fan club. One crust (usually) to cut down on those carbs and gluten, sweetened with honey, thickened with arrowroot, and flavored with cinnamon. Very low-cal, very healthy and yet tasty. I HATE real sweet pies.

After the pie was in the oven, I glanced out the window at the bleak landscape looking for a hint of red. Fortunately, the sun was out that day so my little camellia was bravely trying to open. Give it a bit of sun and it will bloom even with the temps in the 30s.

There are a lot of red berries around here. I have numerous “girl” holly trees.   Then there are the berries on the Nandina and the pyracantha. Even the azalea bushes have a bit of red in their leaves.

Then, of course, there are the cardinals. I am lucky to have at least 4 families living here, but just try to get all 4 males in one picture! I really love it when their color contrasts not just with the green, but also with the snow.

Looking around in the back yard, I noticed the red in my new Prayer flags. The old ones had just about disintegrated. I love the bright colors on them. While I was out there, Spook came to get a drink out of the nasty birdbath. Even though I clean it almost everyday so it is not too bad, he still loves to drink out of it. There is an old Iroquois story about an old man’s dog saying he got his vitamins by drinking from what appeared to be a muddy puddle. Maybe that is what keeps Spook going! The red metal thing in this picture holds the clematis in the summer time. Check out that little pink tongue! 

Anyway, I thought it was fun to see what was red out there this time of year. I guess I am lucky to have as much color as I do.

UNTITLED

Could not think of an appropriate title for this post - so, we will just skip that part.

A strange piece of information - might be true - might be just one of those things editors put in the paper to fill space... I dunno. But, they SAY Virginia has more vanity license plate than any other state. Well, I have no idea if that is true or not - but I DO know they (DMV) have nearly a wall full to choose from... local plates - the Eastern Shore has a little map of the peninsula running thru the middle of it, and most, but not all, plates have an ES on it. There are plates for the various colleges and universities - even some out of state ones. Penn State, for example, is there... and I think Duke... but I don't remember any others. The military have a whole section. There are plates for hunters, watermen, wildlife lovers, horse lovers, mallards, butterflies, shriners, masons, Knights of Columbus, boaters, autism, Redskins (the team, not a derogatory nastyness) various vets, bass, brook trout, bears, eagles, (not teams, the critters) diabetes, the civil war (any uncivil wars listed?) bowlers, bicycle enthusiasts, boaters, breast cancer, organ donors, parrotheads, and CPAs... well, gee, you name it - and it looks like if you have an idea, they will start a whole new series, just for you. You can see some of them at http://www.dmv.virginia.gov/webdoc/citizen/vehicles/plate_search.asp. Please note, this is only one page - there are more catagories... see the note at the bottom of this page.

What started this interest in vanity plates? Someone sent this to me, and I am glad I have outgrown this stage of life... but I thought, hmmmmm, that might have been fun...

Anyway, that looked like fun... but I don't spend my money on vanity plates. It is interesting to note who the people are who DO have vanity plates... often the people who can least afford them. Come to think of it, I don't know anyone who is what most people would call "well off" who has one of these. And I have never been tempted - until I saw the Support Tibet plate. But, the money spent on that plate would do better going to the Support Tibet foundation, wouldn't it?

But it is interesting how people spend their money. But that is a whole 'nother post, isn't it?