Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Alpaca Faces
Alpaca Faces With Such Personality
Halle
Blackberry
Tallulah
Isabel Too - sunning herself
Jenna Marie
Poppy Tillie & Pintada
The Three Amiga's
Isabel Too - smiling
Isn't This The Sweetest Face ever! Alpacas at Moonacre Farm. This is CHAF Amber Pearl
There are two kinds of alpacas. These are Huacaya alpacas, (pronounced Wuh-kai-ya). Huacayas are fluffy like teddy bears and Suris have long shiny locks like very soft, slightly curly hair. Alpacas are bred specifically for their fiber. High quality fleece from both species fetches top dollar on the international market. Some hand spinners like to spin alpaca fiber mixed with cotton, wool or Silk. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, similar to wool. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, ponchos, sweaters, socks, coats, bedding, and a wide variety of textiles.
My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.artfire.com
Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!
© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Water Lily
Water Lilies & Cattails
Water Lilies and Cattails are found in a variety of wetland habitats.
Almost all waterlilies (Nymphaea and Nuphar species) are edible and can be gathered most of the year. During the summer months, when the rootstocks become mushy and rather tasteless, they're still an excellent source of survival food. Additionally, the young, unfurling leaves can be eaten raw or with unopened buds prepared as a potherb. The seeds, high in starch, protein, and oil, may be popped, parched, or ground into flour, and the potato-shaped tubers of the tuberous waterlily (N. tuberosa) can be dug from the mud and prepared like, potatoes.
The cattails (either Typha latifolia or T. angustifolia) can be utilized at almost any time of the year, because at each stage of its life cycle it has a number of edible parts. For example, you can mash the root up in cold water to separate the soluble starches, and—once these have settled, and the fibers and water have been removed—add the material to stew or mix it with other wild flours to make bread. The new shoots can be eaten raw, and those up to a foot tall may be prepared like asparagus. The head, before it emerges, can be cooked and eaten like corn on the cob. Finally, it's possible to collect cattail pollen for use in soup or as a flour.
Water Lilies & Cattails
Water Lilies
This photo reminds me of an Oriental Painting
Water Lilies & Cattails
Waterlilies In A Friends Greenhouse
The white water lily is the national flower of Bangladesh and State flower for Andhra Pradesh, India.
Water Lilies Landlocked
The water in the lake is so low that you can actually see the water lilies and some other water plants growing out of the ground.
My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.artfire.com
Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!
© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.artfire.com
Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!
© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Art Show
Ceramic Still Life
This photo was awarded Capture My Vermont, Photo of the Day, for August 11, 2016.
Pottery at the 10th annual, Farm & Open Studio Tour, in Grand Isle.
The Face Of Raku
Demonstrating Raku Pottery at the 10th annual, Farm & Open Studio Tour, in Grand Isle.
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Sea Gulls
Gulls At The Waterfront
Gulls Flying Over Lake Champlain
Gull In Battery Park
Coming In For A Landing
Coming In For A Landing
Gull Under An Apple Tree
Ring Billed Gull At The Park
Gulls Flying Over Lake Champlain
Gulls Flying Over Lake Champlain
Gulls Flying Over Lake Champlain
Seagulls are intelligent, adaptable and often beautiful birds. There are over 50 species of seagulls worldwide, there are 28 types of gull species seen in North America.
They, are seabirds. The average lifespan for a seagull is 10-15 years in the wild, but there have been cases where they have lived up to 30 years old. Seagulls can eat up to 20% of their body weight in food each day. They can achieve average flight speeds of about 23-25 mph in headwind conditions and 29-30 mph in tailwind conditions. Gulls have an impressive sense of smell that allows them to detect the faintest trace of food from over 3 miles away. Some types of gulls nest on the ground or on cliffsides while others build nests on the water’s surface. Seagulls have incredible vision- they can see clearly from as far away as 2 miles, their eyes are set at the side of their head, giving them a panoramic view.
They have excellent memories and can remember specific people’s faces and places where food has been hidden from days ago. Seagulls also recognize other seagulls who they associate with as friends or enemies, by their calls.
They mate for life and form a lifelong bond with their partner. They work as a team to find food, protect the nest, and raise chicks. The male seagull brings most of the food while the female cares for the eggs or young chicks at home. Many species of gulls have an amazing ability to return to their original nest year after year. Some gulls even return in a span of two years. Gulls also share the same nesting site for generations
Seagulls feed mostly on seafood like crabs, clams, mussels, shrimps and small fish but also scavenge for scraps of human food left behind. They also eat various types of insects and worms as well as sea vegetation like seaweed and kelp.
The seagull is a symbol of healing, wisdom and tranquility. The belief that the seagull is a messenger from the creator has been traced back to Ancient Greece. In Native American symbolism, the seagull represents peace and prosperity, as well as emotional balance and strength in numbers.
My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.netThanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.net
Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!
© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
Disclaimer
My blog is meant to inform and I strive to be totally accurate. It is solely up to the reader to ensure proper plant identification. Some wild plants and mushrooms are poisonous or can have serious adverse health effects.
Monday, August 1, 2016
Balloon Flowers
Balloon Flowers, also known as Chinese bellflower, (Platycodon grandiflorus). Though I'm partial to the blue, this white one caught my eye.
This plant is known for its root. In the greater Campanula clan, the root of the Balloon Flower, Platycodon grandiflorus, is very popular in Korea where it is cut into strips, seasoned with chili’s, vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce and eaten as a salad. It is also used in soups, stews, dishes with vinegar, and is one of the ingredients in Toso, or sweet Japanese sake. Boiled young leaves are eaten in salads. Its blossoms are sweet in taste, have a bit of texture, and are used in salads, stuffed, candied or dipped in butter. The Balloon Flower is so called because before the petals open are fused at first making the blossom look like a balloon.
My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.artfire.com
Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!
© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Having A Ball With Bees
Bees congregating on Blue Allium.
Ordinary Onions They're Not
Onions, shallots and garlic are members of the allium family that belong in the vegetable garden. But there are many ornamental alliums that deserve a hearty welcome in your perennial gardens.
There are more than 700 different types of alliums in the world. It wasn't until the late 1800s that this vast group of plants started to intrigue plant lovers. Russian botanists began collecting some of the spectacular alliums from Central Asia and introducing them to avid horticulturists through the Imperial Botanical Garden in St. Petersburg. Of course, it didn't take long for the consummate plant hunters, the British, to get wind of this "new" family of garden-worthy plants. Their expeditions yielded many more interesting alliums varieties.
My photographs are available for purchase through EliseCreations.artfire.com
Thanks for your visits, favs and comments. As always, appreciated very much!
© all rights reserved by Elise T. Marks. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
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