Suprise Summer Thunder Storm!

I love the rain! Lately we have been blessed with many summer thunder showers and I went outside one day to took some photos while it was pouring down. This is what it looked like: and this is what it sounded like. People can do such wonderful things if they only work together. Never underestimate the power of team work. You see it in nature all the time. Even the tiniest creatures are a force to be reckoned with when they work as a team. I often ponder on how us human beings can do the most amazing things and yet are capable of such horrible cruelties...

Crocheted patriotic bee

Patriotic bee
Originally uploaded by Crocheting_in_Georgia

It's almost Independence Day and this little bee wants to show her true colors in red, white and blue.

I crocheted this little bee just to be silly.

As a reminder, you can find all my crocheted and knitted items in my shop on Etsy where I offer FREE shipping on all my patriotic items through July 4th, 2009. Just click here and use the search word: patriotic to see more of my red, white and blues.

Look who's famous!

My boy, Gizzy, is in print - well, if you print it. It's an article on the Animal Rescue Site that I wrote (and made just one typo as far as I can see.) I called it STILL HANDSOME AFTER ALL THESE YEARS And here is the full sized picture one more time of him handsomely posed on top of a log at Bank's Lake doing his Rin-Tin-Tin impression.

Pass it on: THE GEORGIA PUPPY CARAVAN is coming Aug. 19 - 23

ALSO FOR CATS! Let's work Paw in Hand to safe lives! THE GEORGIA PUPPY CARAVAN Please join THE MOMS RESCUE for the most rewarding experience of your life. If you are an animal lover ,please consider taking this trip with us. We are putting together a caravan of RVs, cars, motorcycles and planes to travel to Georgia on August 19-23, 2009. Rescue Ink as well as Animal Rescue Flights will be joining us. We are gathering donations of food and supplies to bring to these rural shelters and we will be saving lives. We will be saving these animals from inhumane deaths such as gas chambers and cardiac heartsticks with no sedation. The state of Georgia is eagerly anticipating our caravan and have scheduled very large arrival parties for the group. We will be followed by every media outlet from NJ through to Georgia. This is expected to be the largest awareness and rescue program Georgia has ever seen. You can help, please join us. Below is an e-mail I received today and I'm planning on passing it on to everyone I know. Please do the same! Just in: an e-mail from Karen Talbot of The M.O.M.S. Rescue M.O.M.S. stands for Making of Miracle Stories Good morning to everyone, As many of you already know, The MOMS Rescue along with ARF (animal rescue flights) and Rescue Ink from NY will be traveling to Georgia. Animal Adoption Center will be coming along with their transport van to bring home to Jersey their limited intake ,at that time of 25 dogs/puppies. I am reaching out to everyone here who are in the animal rescue world and have many established relationships with the GA network and saving their dogs. We want a mass exodus of GA animals. We all collectively rescue at different times throughout the year. If you already commit to saving animals and can find space at this particular time 08/19/-23, 2009, we will personally hand deliver the animals to your rescue group fully vetted and quarantined. We have attained monetary sponsorship to allow our numbers to grow. We can save as many as we have accepting rescues for. We have volunteer transporters set up to transport in this mass exodus. If I am reaching out to you and you are on the GA end, please reach out to your connections and the rescue groups you work with throughout the country to see if they can commit to any during this time. I need to know how many rescue groups can commit to even one starfish during this time to add to the exodus number while we have all the help lined up to pull, vet, quarantine and transport. We are coming by land and by air with over 50,000 lbs of committed dogfood/catfood to deliver on the caravan. Please let us all join forces and make a mass exodus of animals very large to capture nationwide media attention and possibly get to the root of the problems S/N!!! Please contact me asap if you can commit to numbers or if the rescue group you work with can commit. We are utilizing our network of already established credible rescue groups so the GA network is comfortable in sending their animals into the groups and not just sending dogs/ cats into the oblivion. CATS and cat rescues: Our main goal with the film crew that we have coming is to completely empty out one shelter which is Chattooga. I counted over 30 cats/kittens on PF last night (just figuring numbers) and over 40 dogs/puppies. We need to know if cat rescues can commit, at this time to taking in some. I know we have our own cat population in the North but for the purpose of emptying out a shelter, can we help the cats and kittens this time and bring them up. Our children then will go into an empty shelter and the film crew will film them being interviewed and telling our country "this is our vision for one day, that every shelter in our nation is empty". Please let me know. The animals that are pulled on that particular day of course will not be transported home with us from that trip-they will be quarantined and vetted. The animals that we will be transporting home w/the caravan would have been pulled already two weeks prior for quarantine purposes. We want the dramatic affect of walking into the shelter and having Rescue Ink, ARF, The MOMS and most importantly-children carry everyone of the animals out on that particular day in history, while being filmed. "NO ANIMAL LEFT BEHIND DAY"! Please feel free to contact me at anytime-609-665-1224 and the website- www.themomsrescue.com has constant updates. Thank you!!!! Kar One of the places on Themomsrescue website is called DOSGS ON DEATH ROW, but there are other ways you can help as a private individual. The best way is to tell everyone you know about this - word of mouth and keep the ball rolling! Let's get together and help our four-legged friends. The Starfish One day a little boy and his mother were walking along the beach. There were thousands of washed up ,dying starfish on the beach after a storm. The little boy was reaching down and tossing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one. An older, gruff man appeared on the beach and exclaimed to the boy "Why bother, there are too many of those starfish on this beach to make a difference!" The little boy looked at his mother and smiled and proceeded to reach down for yet another starfish and toss it back into the ocean exclaiming "Sir, I just made a difference to that one!" You can help us make the difference, one starfish at a time!

Good Morning from Roquemore Park

Last week Gizzy and I got up early to greet the sun at Roquemore Park while the temperatures were still bearable, as they have been around 104 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. Most people look forward to summer - probably in part because of summer vacation - but since I moved here to Southern Georgia, summers have quickly become my least favorite season. While I can handle high temperatures, having lived in California all my "American Life," it's the humidity and the mosquitoes (and other strange bugs) that I'm having trouble with. I have learned that the only way I can tolerate summer is by getting up very early in the mornings and hibernating with the A/C on for the remainder of the day. Even nights are rather unexpectedly warm. It is save to say that Gizzy and I spend more time indoors during the summer than the rest of the seasons, putting a significant damper on summertime, although I do love how green everything looks, especially as of late, since we had enough rain to end a three-year drought that Georgia was experiencing. Here are some photos I took when we went to Roquemore Park one day last week to enjoy the early morning hours. I hope you like them. I do. One of four weeping willow trees growing in Roquemore Park. I really like them. We had them growing around our ponds in Germany when I was a child. I like the way the morning sunlight casts interesting dimensions onto the landscape. My Gizzy dog in the grass. Reflections in the water. Gizzy coming closer. I liked the way the steam escaped from this water fountain. I had never seen it before. (...the things I miss when I sleep in.) Gizzy on a bench. View from the bench to the little pond. Gizzy even closer. I love pretty, green leaves. A close-up of these lovely leaves. "The sun also rises" ... as did my Gizzy that morning. Honey-Almond Sweet Pizza 1/4 cup honey 1 tube (10 oz.) refrigerated pizza dough 2 Tablespoons butter 1/4 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted cinnamon Mix honey and cinnamon; reserve. Shape pizza shell according to package directions for thin-crusted pizza; brush surface with melted butter. Bake at 450°F for 5 minutes. Brush reserved honey mixture over partially bake pizza shell; sprinkle with almonds. Continue to bake at 450°F until crust is golden, about 6 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Cut into 12 wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature. ENJOY! AND REMEMBER TO THANK YOUR HONEY BEES!

And The Winner Is...

Joy of BeeJoyfullQilts. She won my Poetry Challenge Giveaway with this lovely poem about remembering family: Special Memories Of Time Traveling Life With The Ones I Love My Daughter and I Dakota Sunsets Colorado Rainstorms Montana Skies Shared hopes and dreams, futures and pasts. My Son and I Honolulu Sunrises Botanical Parks Bus trips to everywhere and nowhere in particular Shared thoughts and stories, philosophies and life. My Firstborn and I Roadside Stops Parks and Venues Photographs and Dancing Shared scriptures and songs, picnics and poetry. I love YOU ! ! ! Congratulations, Joy, please feel free to chose any item(s) from my shop on Etsy called Honey Bee Crochet by Sturm DM in the total amount of $15 and I will pay for the shipping. A big CONGRATULATIONS to Joy and thank you also to all the wonderful entries. I really enjoyed reading your poems. Frankly, I had a difficult time deciding, but Joy took the lead an never looked back. If you are reading this, Joy, please contact me because I have no way of reaching you. Fat-Free Honey Berry Milkshake- Makes 4 servings - 1 pint nonfat vanilla ice cream or nonfat frozen yogurt 1 basket strawberries, hulled; or an assortment of berries, approx. 2-1/2 cups 1/2 cup nonfat milk 1/4 cup honey 4 small mint sprigs, optional garnish In blender, combine all ingredients except mint sprigs and blend until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately in tall, chilled glasses. Garnish with mint sprigs. Protein: 8 g Fat Total: <1 g Sodium: 122 mg Carbohydrates: 57 g Calories from Fat: 1% Cholesterol: <1 mg Calories: 247 Dietary Fiber: 2 g ENJOY! AND REMEMBER TO THANK YOUR HONEY BEES!

I found my thrill...on Blueberry Hill

(Does anyone remember that song? I was a little kid in Germany when it was popular.) "I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill On Blueberry Hill where I found you The moon stood still on Blueberry Hill And lingered till my dreams came true..." OK, it really wasn't a Hill, but an Orchard, but I did find my thrill. I love blueberries and being in that orchard - just the birds and I - felt like heaven on earth. I wish I could have stayed there all day, just to revel in the moment and to listen to the birds while picking - and occasionally tasting - sweet, yummy blueberries. Whenever possible, I like to drive to Valdosta to buy my fresh fruits and veggies from Mallory's Farm. They also have chickens and a pet Turkey named Tom (naturally) who has a girlfriend, plus a bunch of chickens for selling eggs, but best of all, they have a big blueberry orchard where you can pick your own blueberries for $8 per gallon. They give you a bucket and set you loose to pick at your heart's content. Boy, oh, boy, I thought I died and went to heaven... only I almost did! Die, I mean - it was so hot outside. By the time I got half way through, I started to feel light headed and had to go back into the air conditioned warehouse to sit down. I came really close to passing out - it was over 106 degrees that afternoon and I should have known better. Well, the nice people at Mallory's Farm would not let me go back out there, knowing how hot it was, so Shirley Mallory filled the rest of my bucket with blueberries they had picked earlier that day and charged me the "U-Pick" price, so I ended up getting my gallon of berries that I came for. Shirley came out right as I was taking a picture for my blog. A view as you're coming out of the warehouse where the veggies are kept. I also love tomatoes and Tony Mallory gets his tomatoes either locally in Georgia or from Florida (which is only about 30 miles from here) so that there's always a nice, fresh supply of tomatoes. I even have found some organic fruits and veggies here before and that really impressed me. I've been telling everyone about Mallory's Farm, because I am a strong believer in supporting local and organic farmers! Turkey Tom is showing off for the camera. Shirley said they keep him in the cage because one year, when they were letting their fowl roam free, something killed and ate them...well, at least he has a girlfriend and he's NOT going to be Thanksgiving Dinner. Some of the chickens roam free, but they stick around the caged area and I enjoy getting fresh, brown eggs from them whenever I can. They are really nice and big and the yolk is a deep orange-yellow. Looking at the blueberry orchard from the chicken coop. I brought a stool to sit on while I pick (how convenient - no bending down anymore) and a bottle of water and still got light-headed out there, but Shirley said I could pick early in the morning and that she would leave a bucket out for me. She lives right next door, so I will go at 7 am one morning before all the blueberries are gone. They are at their peak right now and oh, so sweet and delish! It was such a beautiful day, the birds were singing and rustling in the bushes, enjoying their share of the berries too. There were no mosquitoes bugging me and I was the only one out there - I wish I could have stayed there longer, surrounded by sweet blueberries - paradise on earth! ...getting closer... (remember to double click on the photos to get the full effect) Some bushes had branches with blueberries growing in clusters like grapes and they just fell into my hands as soon as I barely touched them, that's how ripe they are now..and they are the best ones I've tasted since I was a kid. The whole time I was picking, I was imagining how busy the bees must have been pollinating all those blueberry bushes and in my mind I thanked the honey bees and of course, God! Needless to say: I LOVE BLUEBERRIES! Blueberry Coffeecake 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour 1/2 cup honey 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup honey 2 eggs 1/4 cup milk 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 Tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Place blueberries in bottom of greased 9-inch round cake pan; distribute evenly. Sprinkle with flour; drizzle with honey and lemon juice. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine honey, eggs, milk, lemon juice, lemon peel and vanilla; beat with folk until well mixed. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in melted butter; mix well. Pour batter over blueberries in pan; spread to cover evenly. Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Invert cake onto large plate; cool. Protein: 5 g Fat Total: 10 g Sodium: 415 mg Carbohydrates: 60 g Calories from Fat: 27% Cholesterol: 77 mg Calories: 340 Dietary Fiber: 2 g ENJOY! AND REMEMBER TO THANK YOUR HONEY BEES!