Adventures

How I Tuned Into Childhood Memories of Soup Made Out of Weeds And A Colorful Discovery About Turkey Feathers

Ah, the dog days of summer are upon us as August gives us two full moons and Mother Nature blesses us with extreme temps. With a childlike attitude, I chose to forge ahead, deal with it, and play while I could in the ever-pressing reminder of the limited remaining dog days of Summer 2023.

Here is my photographer’s attempt at capturing moon # 1. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to see moon #2 too.

The past weeks’ temps started in the upper 40s, jumped to the 70s, and even topped out in the 100s this week. As I type this morning, we’re back down into the upper 40s/50s. Burr…Autumn is teasing us with its chilly air.

Frankly, it’s been hard to know what to wear. A jacket, headband, and gloves or denim shorts and a t-shirt. Anyhoo, what does a gal with her camera ready to snap away do to survive and thrive in gathering photos to delete or use?

Grab it, of course, to play and fine-tune the art of abstract selfies to prove the preferred outfit for the summer days. With my hair in a bun, I went outside to have some fun.

Live your days on the positive side of life, in tune with your most treasured values. And in each moment you’ll have much to live for.

Ralph Marston

Come along with me as I reveal what I found while I squatted around the yard and played with my camera.

As I walked around, I thought of what I did as a child to play. We had a neighborhood full of kids to play with. The girls played “House” and we pretended to cook corn and pea soup made out of weeds for the boys who were hunting salamanders and snakes. What weeds did we use in our soup?

Well…there was the “corn”. (This is where your imagination needs to run alongside mine 😉)

Known to those who know the proper titles of weeds as the Yellow Toadflax Linaria Vulgaris.

The “peas” were made by stripping the stalks of Ragweed. Oddly, or thankfully, I have never had allergies to this menace that bothers many in the late summer and fall.

When we weren’t making soup, we’d scout out the milkweed so we could shake the seeds and chase them in the wind. It didn’t add anything to the soup.

Our volunteer milkweed crop is looking beaten up by the bugs.

This Milkweed Longhorn Beetle either came in for a crash landing or is digging its way into the silky fluff that will blow in the wind soon. What do you think?

As I stood up and looked around, I thought of how much fun it was to play all day long as a child. Ah, to be a carefree kid! I wonder if kids do that much nowadays. I hope so.

How cruelly sweet are the echoes that start, When memory plays an old tune on the heart.

Eliza Cook

I hope kids shine as the stars of their little world of play.

Meanwhile, I noticed how the up-and-down temperatures are helping the soybean crops finish maturing. The yellowing leaves on the soybeans are the first indicator. The oak trees in the distance aren’t ready to give in to their gorgeous fall colors yet. That’ll happen after the first frost. Sorry to swear…I’m not ready for winter yet either.

The pampas grass is gearing up to burst into its fluffy self stage. Do you see the subtle red tint to the trees in the distance?

It was from the bright sunrise to the East.

As I strolled around the yard, I heard voices and laughter. And they weren’t in my head. I hid behind the wing wall and snapped a photo of the 3 joggers passing by. I wonder if they saw me? Hide and Seek was a fun game we played as kids too.

After they passed by, I got back to the mission at hand.

The cloudy morning wasn’t the best to show off the red crab apples.

The Soldier Beetles were busy giving each other a hand while gathering pollen from the Black Eyed Susans.

I watched them march around in a full circle.

The sun broke through the clouds as I dashed over to see the daylilies on the other side of the fence.

With a hopeful stride to my step, I wondered could this be the day I get a good photo of them? This week I learned that sprinting is better for your health than jogging miles. Hmm…sprinting in flip-flops might not be a good idea though, but if the mood strikes I do so to run toward moments in the sun!

The Sedum Autumn Joy that I had transplanted this spring is almost ready to bloom for the bubble bees.

I noticed some feathers on the grass. They were too big to be from the Mourning Dove that spread out its wings to cool itself off one day this summer.

Nope, it was the neighborhood turkeys that had strutted through the yard. They were either fighting with each other or they were molting. They do both at this time of the year. I giggled to myself – it must’ve been quite the Gobble Squabble. 😂

As I looked closer at the feathers, I was reminded of the turkeys I made as an art project at school when I was a kid. I remember making the tail feathers as colorful as possible.

The underside is black and gray.

Upon closer look in the sunshine, the feathers have a rainbow of the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue mixed in. Did I learn that as a child? I don’t remember, but the stacks of colored paper presented by the teacher inspired me at the time.

Well, I’ll be…I didn’t know that the feathers were that colorful in real life. Now I do! I guess I’m not too old to fine-tune my kind of play like a kid all low to the ground to learn something new.

How about you? Do you see the red, yellow, and blue colors?

Post Inspiration: Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “tune. Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy! Terri Webster Schrandts’ Sunday Stills: Aug 27 Hints of Autumn (or Spring) and Sofia for Lens-Artists – Primary Colors

PS – What’s new with you – what did you learn this week? It’s your turn to share a childhood memory about summer fun or how about a story of “What was I thinking as a kid?” I hope you all have a great rest of August!

79 thoughts on “How I Tuned Into Childhood Memories of Soup Made Out of Weeds And A Colorful Discovery About Turkey Feathers

  1. Your post brought up some fun childhood memories for me as we made real mud-pies in my grandma’s yard in San Diego. Your weed soup is so creative! Your selfies look great–how do you stay so slim? Thanks for the reminder that we have a blue moon coming! Have a great week and enjoy the beginning of Fall

    1. Yay, I’m glad to read about your mud-pie memories. Now that you mention them, I remember making those too. The crackly crust from drying in the hot sun was fun to peel.
      Aw, thanks – it must be the sprinting in flip-flops 🤣
      I hope the skies are clear and you get a great photo of the blue moon!
      Thank you – you too! 🥰

  2. Fun post Shelley – loved your creative selfies! Life was far simpler “back in the day”. We had a neighborhood full of kids who went out every evening until we were called in for dinner or for bedtime. I’m sure kids still play that way but you just don’t see it as often. And that’s a shame.

    1. Thank you, Tina – I’m glad you enjoyed the selfies and thanks for sharing your thoughts of back in the day. I experienced the being called in for dinner or bedtime ritual too. My mom could whistle the best in the neighborhood. A gift of hers that I never inherited. 🤣 I agree, it’s a shame that kids aren’t out playing like that as much these days.
      PS – I adore your vivid colors post – well done, so dang colorful, it brightened my day viewing all the photos. Your sentence fits so well too: “IMHO, the beauty of travel, as well as of blogging, is that it makes us both notice and capture the interesting minute of everyday life.”
      Thanks for stopping by – it’s great to hear from you!! 🥰

  3. A wonderful read, Shelley. Your post is a joy of words and photos. I love your selfies, and your nature photos, those feathers are so beautiful.

    1. Thank you, Sofia, I’m blushing – I appreciate your words of encouragement and you stopping by to check out my post.
      Thank you again for hosting this week’s Lens-Artist challenge. The vivid Primary Colors are a hit!

  4. Every year we have a turkey family in our neighborhood. THis year it’s two adults and 9 babies, now teenagers. They roost in the trees at the back of our property at night. I find turkey feathers often, found one similar to the one you found just the other day. They are beautiful.

    1. Turkeys are interesting to watch. That’s cool that you know where they roost at night. This is the first year they’ve gotten this close to our house. They’ve been eating the droppings from the bird feeders.
      I was surprised at how pretty those feathers were. 🥰
      Congrats on your star-filled night photos! Very enchanting, I’m glad you and your sister ventured out to get them!!

  5. I love your fun photos, Shelley, and your comments along the way, it’s like I am there with you! I remember staying outdoors until the street lights came on and my mother yelling for me to come home in the distance. A time before the internet took over. It is a better, vanished time.

    1. Thank you for coming along on the walk with me John and for sharing your thoughts about childhood.
      Ah, the good ol’ days when we could lose track of time and need to be called back home.
      I agree, the internet has taken so many of us away from the simple joys of playing for hours on end. I think your bike rides around Vegas provide for playing time though, and that’s a good thing!!

      1. You are right., Shelley, I do seem to forget about anything stressful when I ride! Just need it to
        Cool down, 102 today.

        1. Riding is something you need in your day then! Yikes…that’s still way too hot, hopefully, it’ll cool down some so you can get out more!

          1. Yay, that’s good – get out and ride that bike!
            We’re going to have a week of 90s to send us off into the 60s. 🎢

          2. Yes, I miss riding! My dad and sister echo what you say about the weather. You are just a few hundred miles from each other.

          3. I hope you get to ride your bike soon!
            Michigan has been getting worse storms than our area this year. I hope the winter is kind to them!

          4. You’re welcome. I bet, I can only imagine how hard it is to go from the heat you’re used to to the cold temps in MI!

          5. Well, it’s cooler in winter here can be as low as upper 30s and highs in the fifties or more. Vegas is in the High Desert. My home is 2800 feet above sea level.

          6. It was 44 degrees here this morning! That big Blue Moon brought with it some chilly air before it lets loose with the HEAT due to arrive tomorrow.
            I’m so happy you enjoy where you live, that’s a special feeling to celebrate!

          7. That’s a huge temperature swing! I can’t see myself moving back to Michigan anytime soon. It’s the bitter winter that stops me.

          8. Yes, it is/was and we’ll be going through that swing again this weekend!
            If we ever move to a climate that doesn’t have the extreme winter temps, I’m sure I’d feel the same way you do about MI.

          9. I’ll bet you are 100% right, Shelley. We had thunderstorms overnight, it was great to wake up to the rain and thunder!

          10. YAY, I’m glad to hear no damage. It’s so odd that after all the monsoon rain you’d still need more rain. I feel like rain is a foreign sight for us this year.

  6. Great memories brought to the surface in your delightful photos, Shelley. I don’t see the colors in the feathers, but I’ll take your word for it that they are there. I do hope today’s children know the freedom of a day of play and the beauty of using one’s imagination. I hope you have a great week.

    1. I’m glad I sparked some memories for you Dan. As in every photo, especially the moon and white/yellow flowers, the colors in the turkey feathers were more vibrant and noticeable to the naked eye.
      I hope so too, play is so dang important. So is learning lessons about how to navigate getting in and out of trouble – maybe Knuckleheads should be required reading 🤔😉
      PS – I enjoyed seeing your photos in your post and your abstract selfie too! 🤩

      1. I don’t think kids are allowed to play in an unstructured manner very much these days. Everything seems to have a purpose. It’s sad.

  7. Our gathering place was the alley behind our apartment building. There must have been fifty kids in the neighborhood, and especially in the evening we’d all be out there. Great times…

    Love the pictures! Especially the ones with bugs in them…

    1. Wow – 50 kids, that’s so fun. I bet there were lots of games played. Do you think they gather like that now in the same neighborhood or not?

      Thank you – glad you enjoyed the bugs, I find them fascinating to watch too!

      1. I kind of doubt it. Families are nowhere as big as they were in the ’60’s. I think there was a three-kid minimum in those days, and some families had five or six kids. There were only a couple of only children back then.

        1. You’re right! It is rare to find larger families. We had one in our neighborhood and their house was the place to hangout – they were used to the large number of kids running around.

  8. I loved your abstract selfies, Shelley. And I can completely relate to your weather wonder. Last time I wrote we were amazed at what humidity looked like and last night I had my long johns on as we are in Canada. Loved your bug photos too. Have a nice week.

    1. Thank you, Donna. Oh, my, yes, you’re right in the mix of the crazy up/down/middle ground weather! Good thing you packed long johns and shorts!
      I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and the bugs. I enjoyed your colorful post – you’re so gifted at capturing eye-catching things in photos. I hope you have a great week too!! Happy travels to you!

      1. Thanks Shelley. Moving along with lots of smily moments. Even as we sit in a deluge today (don’t forget we are camping). I am chasing raindrops. lol.

        1. You’re welcome! Aw, that’s wonderful you’re able to enjoy camping even when it’s raining – I hope it’s a warm rain.

  9. As I’m from across the world your words and images were well received although some your ‘fun’ were a bit alien to me – crops, turkey visits. I do love your selfies and attitude to childhood fun being for everyone! Thanks Shelley for an entertaining post. #sundaystills

    1. Hi Debbie! For the longest time I had Australia on my bucket list for a place to visit. Until then, I love seeing photos like you share in your posts. It’s fun to read that you’re in an area that experiences all four seasons. I look forward to seeing your magnolia tree flowering – seeing one where I live would be quite alien to me.
      Thanks for stopping by – I’m glad you enjoyed the post.

  10. Lovely Shelley. Selfies ✔️ Views around the place ✔️ Childhood memories ✔️ Mud pie making ✔️ Yellow Lily ✔️✔️ My Mum didn’t whistle Dad for meals, she had a cow bell 😁 which is now my front door bell 😂

    1. Aw, thanks Brian, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. ✅😁
      The cow bell reminded me that I have one too – I believe my grandfather and grandmother used it to call my mom and her brothers home when they were young and then did use it to call their cows in from the pasture too. That’s neat that you use it as a door bell, clever idea!!

  11. This was a fun post Shelley. I think if I squatted down like that, I likely would not make it back up again without calling someone … note to self: make a new year’s resolution to use the yoga CD and flash cards. I haven’t thought of this in years, but as a kid, I used to do something with plantain leaves … if you held them the right away, you could peel them away in layers – not sure why we kids wanted to do that but it was better than Donny Murdock (one of the kids in our group) that got a bee once and pulled its legs off … showoff? For what purpose? Ugh! His dad had a tank full of piranhas that we kids used to go see them get fed raw hamburger. We used to pick sweet clover from the yard and pull the “petals” (if that’s what you call them) and sip the nectar from where they attach to the plant. A little weird too and I guess we didn’t have weed killer on the lawn? But we had a dog? I didn’t die from doing it, but pretty sure my mom didn’t see me doing that or she’d have asked me if I lost my mind. I did see the tinge of red and in sorting thru photos today for upcoming posts I had taken some pictures in early August of red leaves on trees … not every leaf, just random leaves – sigh. I am ready for Fall this year … Summer weather has been nightmarish here in SE Michigan as you know. Tomorrow, I might wear a cardigan – it will be 55 when I leave the house.

    1. Aw, thanks, Linda, I’m glad you enjoyed the post and that it sparked such fun and interesting childhood memories. Oh, and that you’re inspired to use that yoga CD this winter.
      That’s odd that someone would pull off the legs of a bee. Made me remember a short video I saw on a gardening page I follow on FB. There was a bumble bee that was rescued by a guy who noticed it only had one wing – he took it home, made a cozy nest for it, brought it flowers with pollen, and essentially adopted the bee. 🤔😉
      My grandfather encouraged us to suck the nectar out of the flowering alfalfa buds. It was really sweet. We picked them from the pasture that the cows roamed on. Yikes – never even thought about the mess cows make and potential stuff on the buds. 🤔 Back in the day it was good to expose ourselves to bacteria to build up our immunity I guess.
      Yes, you’ve had such a horrible summer. I hope you have a great fall! You’ve won the endurance prize so you deserve a win when it comes to Autumn. It’s 57 here this morning, so I’ll be grabbing a coat and headband and gloves for our walk!

      1. Glad I inspired you on the yoga CD … mine has been in the shrink-wrapped jewel case since I ordered it from Amazon after taking a tumble in a snow bank and couldn’t get up … well, the fact I had my compact digital camera in hand didn’t help as I didn’t want it to get wet.
        I looked at a photo of an alfalfa buds – hmm. Well it would probably be similar tasting to the clover where it tasted like honey. Yes, we were exposed to lots of things and lived to tell about it … if you survived cows traipsing through the alfalfa, you can overcome any germs!
        It was chilly here too and except for Tuesday afternoon rain/thunderstorm, good weather ahead.

        1. We have to have some alternative exercise to do this winter if we can’t get out for our walks!
          Yes, back when we were kids, playing outside and not worrying about germs was part of building our healthy immune systems. Probably why I kind of enjoy pulling weeds the first time each spring. After that, I’m good until they are so bad I HAVE to pull them!
          It’s going to be an up and down temp kind of week. Enjoy the good weather!!!

          1. Well now I am leaving as rumbling is getting louder. My mom would say “God is moving his furniture.” 🙂 My weeds are really bad … I just pulled a bunch of them about 10 days ago and they are big again.

          2. My mom used to say, “God and the angels are bowling.”
            I hope the storm wasn’t too bad.
            I’m right there with you on the weeds taking over. It hasn’t been wet enough here to make pulling them easy. 😏

          3. Cute expression too. The storm wasn’t bad, just noisy, but not severe. I’m hoping that’s all we get to break this hot spell coming up. I had a couple of dandelions in the front yard last week – what happened to having them done by Memorial Day? Not amused. Nor was I amused by the live ant I found in my room yesterday – was it a hanger-on from the Spring?

          4. I noticed a couple dandelions too! Our yard didn’t have any after the scoundrels ate them all. But now they’re popping back up. Odd.
            Yikes on the ant. It must’ve snuck in somehow?

          5. I don’t every remember dandelions this late in the year. The ant boggled my mind and I squished it in case it was pregnant (I mean … who could tell that?). It’s always something!

          6. The dandelions have since fried in the hot dry air.
            I chuckle when you talk about the ants being pregnant? How could you tell? Glad you took care of it just in case!

          7. I hope the huge spider I saw sitting in a web spun from the house to a bush, blocking my entrance to the backyard, fried in the 90-degree heat … no such luck he’d cook like the snake in your driveway! I couldn’t tell on the ant, but my luck it would be pregnant!

          8. Dang, spiders must know how to stay cool! You’ve intrigued me about pregnant ants. I’ll have to research their life cycle. Hopefully you’ve taken care of the queen and since you didn’t see any workers along with it, you should be safe right?

          9. I hope I did kill the queen, but this was just a small ant … we had the Carpenter ants a while ago. I found a flying ant downstairs buzzing around the fluorescent light fixture. It was likely pregnant as shortly thereafter we had ants. We had a pest service come in and the nest was in that lamp. We had a large pest control service (Orkin) come in first and they didn’t find the nest and we still had ants so we eventually terminated them. But two years later we hired a small pest company that found the nest right away.

          10. I hope so too! Ants can be very nasty when they build nests and move in where they’re not wanted! Someday I’ll have to tell you a story about ants in a rental property. Now we have wasps so we might be looking for a pest control company!

          11. We were not happy with Orkin – they sprayed every other month and when they didn’t spray they puffed poisonous dry granules into holes they drilled in the woodwork. I believe the holes were 18 inches apart, tiny holes but noticeable. When we were done with Orkin after we called in another pest management company (small company recommended by our HVAC guy who had rental properties that had roaches) I sealed up each hole with wood putty and painted over it … that was a fun job, toothpick with wood putty on it and using a mask at that time because I didn’t want to breathe in the granules. Wasps are not fun either. Last year or year before at the Park, I happened to look up in a tree at a Blue Jay who was shrieking at me and saw a huge wasp nest. It was amazing to see – first time for me seeing one. I took photos of it, then called the City to have someone take it out before someone got stung … wasps were going in/out of it. They did take it down later that day.

          12. We’ve only used an exterminator once the year the ground hornets built a network of hives in the ground squirrel tunnels. They were everywhere and it wasn’t safe to walk around the yard. I was chased by one and said, “That’s it, call an exterminator!” They were astonished at how big the network of hives was. Thankfully they never rebuilt.
            That’s great your city took down the nest. They can be quite protective of their hives. We’ve had those before too.

          13. That’s quite an ordeal. I found a small mud dauber nest in my garage on the garage door. There are about five holes but I don’t see any buzzing around the holes, so I suspect it is dormant … I happened to be running the car in the Winter during a storm and looked up … I was quite surprised.

          14. It’s amazing how fast they can build those nests. I’m glad yours was dormant. I wish they’d just build in the trees instead of on our buildings.

  12. I’m not familiar with Yellow Toadflax but will admit I like its name. Is that wrong? I do know about black-eyed Susans and yours are thriving. I remember summer as a child as being a time to run wild, like a weed, and eat fresh fruit and veggies, like a health nut! Thanks for reminding me of who I used to be.

    1. Hi Ally! I was surprised when I found out the real name of our pretend corn for the soup. It is an interesting name, I can see why you like it.
      My wild garden with the Black Eyed Susans reminds me of childhood days and how fun it was to make a mess and beam with joy about how much fun it was creating it.
      Aw, your childhood memories made me smile, thank you for sharing them! 🥰

    1. Thank you, Kirstin! I made another attempt on the Blue Moon that I’ll share soon. My daughter reminds me that I really don’t have the proper equipment to catch moon photos so I should cut myself some slack 🤣😂 It’s fun to try and see what happens.

  13. What a lovely look around your garden, Shelley. I can never get good moon shots at night, it’s much easier in the day. The day lilies are gorgeous and I love the colours in the feathers.
    Such a shame children can’t be as free as we were. I remember being given a deadline to be home by, we didn’t think twice about being out and about.

    1. Thank you, Cathy, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. You’re right, it is easier to get moon shots in the daytime. I made another attempt on the Blue Moon as the sun was starting to come up, it helped!
      I agree, it’s a shame children can’t be free to play like we did as kids. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about kiddos!
      I so enjoyed your Autumn post – as I sipped my coffee I scrolled through your photos and felt so relaxed. It was enchanting way to kick off my Friday morning before work!

  14. I love how your nature photography gets you closer to nature–when one might think it’d be the opposite. Fun seeing those feathers, plants, and even joggers through your “eye,” Shelley!

    1. Aw, thanks, Rebecca! I’m playing outside as much as I can before the snow flies! Thanks for stopping by – I hope your end of the summer fun leads to a great school year for the boys and a happy adjustment on your part to the new found freedom to not have to run back and forth from school so much. I can’t wait to see what you’re up to next!

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