It’s So Different From a Year Ago

January 1, 2025January 1, 2025 — Eclectic, Other, Personal — 2 min read

With nearly 500 Vivaldi blog posts to my name, a year ago at the end of 2023 I gave up on posting any more because of a problem with my images not posting true to color. That was a mistake on my my part and I must own up to it. Sometimes emotions can over rule logic and what I did was a prime example. With that said, I am looking forward to a full year of posting in 2025.

And since I didn’t post in 2024 with a minor exception or two I’ll give brief mention of two of the highlights of 2024. The first was a 127 day around the world cruise at the start of the year. The second was writing and publishing two more children’s illustrated books inspired by several of the photos we received of our great grandson doing something interesting.

As I look back , I realize more than ever that with each passing year there is less time to do all I want to do in life. It’s not that it’s been 79 years wasted, it’s making the most of the 20 or so years I have remaining. May you also make the most of the one chance you have to live the year 2025.

Dipped Veggies

October 12, 2024 — Other — 1 min read

Just to be on the safe side we dip the veggies we get at the store in a vinegar solution before storing them. Thought them laying out dying made for an interesting photo.

One of the Approximately 5.5 Million Species of Insects

October 9, 2024October 9, 2024 — Nature — 1 min read

Each morning when I go out to the coach house there are “bugs” around the door. Likely attracted during the night due to the light being on all night long. I didn’t recall seeing this one before.

Starting a New Cactus Plant

October 8, 2024October 8, 2024 — Gardening — 1 min read

A house up the road from us has an interesting cactus plant out next to the street. It grows vertically with the paddles coming if a single main ‘trunk”. They girl I am married to was walking by it some time ago and noticed a couple of paddles had fallen off the plant.

It’s been about a month since she laid a paddle on the ground in this bed and look what has grown.

The original paddle is slowly drying up while the new growth looks great. This is not where we want it to grow, so in another month or so when it is better established we will transplant it in our cactus/succulent bed next to the back fence.

It Didn’t Take Long

October 2, 2024October 1, 2024 — Gardening — 1 min read

It was as if those Morning Glory seeds could wait to send up seedlings to replace the old vines. It onlt took some 30 hours for them to emerge from the soil,

Setting up this spray head likely had much to do with them popping out of the ground. They do like plenty of water when they are little. Look for periodic progress reports in the future.