Blog for adaysouting.com

Since I have been writing about my travel adventures for A Day’s Outing, I have done many new things. I have taken trips to natural bridges and caverns, visited botanical gardens and recently, I have begun to stop by roadside graveyards.  I know that graveyards are not a typical destination, but I have come to appreciate their quite serenity and the glimpse they offer into the past and into the history of a community.

In most parts of the world, stone is the material most often used to mark graves.  Many of the headstones are marble, granite, slate, sandstone or some other local stone that could be carved or inscribed.  Markers can be a simple stone or an ornate, carved statue.

I really like the old headstones and statues.  The design, inscription and the personal information all help to paint a picture of the person and their life.  The graveyard itself is often surrounded by an old wrought iron fence or stonewall that lends a sense of permanence to the place.  On a recent trip to Abingdon, Virginia I stopped by a graveyard that had a tall, mounded hill in it. I have never seen one before, but I believe this is an earthen mausoleum.  There was an iron gate in front that one could open, but out of respect, I didn’t go inside.

Visiting graveyards might not be for everyone, but if you do see one on your travels, you might want to stop by for a peek at history and a moment of quiet contemplation.

I am guessing you have heard of a gristmill before, but have you ever visited one?

Luckily, you can find old mills all around the world.  Mills were a central part of local communities for hundreds of years, maybe a few thousand years. The earliest reference to a mill is from 71 BC – from a king’s palace in Asia Minor.

Growing up, I have heard a mill referred to as a gristmill or a corn mill – these are really any mill that grinds grain. Historically, a local mill is where the farmers brought their own grain and had it ground into meal or flour. They gave the miller a small percentage of the meal or flour as the “miller’s toll,” instead of cash.  Most towns and villages were dependent on their local mill to turn their crops into flour because bread was such an important part of their diet.

While the local mill may be long gone, millstones can be easily found. The millstones are what grind the grain. They are laid one on top of the other. The bottom stone, called the bed, is fixed to the floor, while the top stone, the “runner” is mounted on a separate spindle. A wheel called the “stone nut” connects the runner’s spindle to the main shaft, and this can be moved out of the way to disconnect the stone and stop it turning, leaving the main shaft turning to drive other machinery. This might be a bit confusing, so here’s a really fun graphic of how a water driven gristmill works. (the two gray circles at the top of the graphic are the millstones)

Keep an eye out for historic mills as your traveling. You might come across a millstone in a town’s square or find a working mill and bring home some freshly ground corn meal. Here are just a few that you will find on A Day’s Outing:

Bale Grist Mill, Napa, CA

Cedar Creek Grist Mill, Woodland, WA

East Rockaway Grist Mill Museum, Rockaway, NY

Historic Prater’s Mill, Dalton, GA

Kerr Mill at Sloan Park, Mount Ulla, NC

Pine Creek Grist Mill, Muscatine, IA

Find historic districts gristmills on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

I have a fear of the open ocean.  It’s not rational, but I do.  So it’s pretty exciting that I went out on a sea kayak for the first time this summer. My family has kayaked each year in the ocean, but I had only watched from the shore. This year, I psyched myself up and joined in the fun, and I am really glad that I did.

My bravery was rewarded with the sighting of a swarm of cannonball jellyfish all around the kayak.  The ocean was particularly calm, which was a big factor in getting me into the kayak in the first place.  We could easily see 15 feet down into the South Carolina water. The cannonball jellyfish were amazing colors of peach and pink. Oddly, half of the jellyfish had small, yellow crabs riding on top of them or attached to their undersides.  I learned when I came back from the kayak adventure that spider crabs often hitch rides with cannonball jellyfish.  The jellies have a symbiotic relationship with the crabs, which eat the zooplankton off the jellyfish.

I was so excited by the cannonball jellyfish that I reached out of the kayak to touch the tops of the jellyfish.  I had heard that the tops of jellyfish didn’t hurt and since they were so close to the surface it was fun to touch many of them. Another fact I learned when I returned to the shore, do not touch jellyfish!  While cannonballs do not commonly sting humans, the jellyfish still have toxins that can cause cardiac problems in animals and humans.

My last fun jellyfish encounter was with a sea turtle. We could see a huge turtle in the water 50 yards away from the boat, but it wouldn’t let us get close enough for a good look.  We could see partly eaten jellyfish in the water every now and then, but wondered why a turtle would eat jellyfish.  Apparently, leatherback turtles eat cannonball jellyfish and as an endangered species we were really lucky to have encountered one.

Now that I am safely back on shore, I will continue to enjoy jellyfish at aquariums and in the ocean. I know now that I won’t touch one ever again, even the cute cannonball jellyfish.

Find a local beach or nearby aquarium to visit on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

I have always liked the look of cobblestone roads, but had never thought about their history or function before.   It wasn’t until I was being guided through historic Richmond, VA that I learned where all those rounded “cobble” rocks came from.

In the 1700 and 1800’s, ships arrived in port cities up and down the east coast of the United States. The ships unloaded cargo and took on new cargo at each port. To keep a ship from riding too high in the water when the cargo weigh was low and to control its buoyancy and stability, ballast was added to weigh the ship down. Cobblestones from river cobble and quarried stone were used as inexpensive ballast weight.

In port cities, the earliest streets were little more than sandy and muddy avenues.  As sailing vessels arrived, the cobblestones they carried as ballast were often deposited along the shoreline.  For many cities, such as Richmond, Jamestown and Savannah, cobble ballast became an inexpensive and durable material for paving sandy or muddy streets.  Cobblestones prevented ruts from forming in the road during dry weather and allowed roads to remain passable in wet weather.  Cobblestones were the perfect recycled material for building roads.

Find historic districts with cobblestone streets on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about. Then the next time you are walking down a cobblestone street, you can imagine the stones as ballast cargo that an ancient ship carried from some far-flung place to that port city.

It’s National Rose Month and there are garden tours, rose festivals and beautiful blooms to be enjoyed all across the country.

Did you know that rose colors range from white through yellows and from deep red to pale pinks?  Blue seems to be the elusive color for rose growers.  I have seen “blue” roses advertised for sale, but really these are pale lavender roses.   While most rose species are native to Asia, there are a few that are native to Europe, North America, and northwest Africa. And one last rose fact — while we may call the sharp objects along a rose stem “thorns,” they are technically prickles. Who knew?

To find roses in bloom near you — search A Day’s Outing for parks and gardens in your area.  If you’re enjoying a weekend trip or a summer vacation away from home, you can use our handy iPhone App to find the nearest blossoms.

Here are a few rose gardens around the country in full bloom:

Ben Lomond Historic Site & Old Rose Garden, Manassas, VA

Rose Garden at FDR National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY

Rose Walk of Fame, Carlsbad, CA

Heritage Rose Garden, Gray, IA

Owen Memorial Rose Garden, Eugene, OR

Walnut Springs Memorial Rose Garden, Seguin, TX

Find rose gardens near you on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

Have you ever seen the blossom of a Tulip Poplar tree?  I am guessing that you haven’t. Usually, the blossoms are dozens of feet in the air and all you can see are the petals that have fallen to the ground.

Living in Charlottesville, Va, the home of Thomas Jefferson, I have learned that he described the Tulip Poplar as “The Juno of our Groves” when he forwarded seeds to a Parisian friend in 1805. The Tulip Poplar, also called Yellow Poplar or the Tulip Tree, is a fast growing tree and the tallest hardwood species in the eastern North American forest. It is a massive and graceful tree with branches that sweep downward. In the spring it has large ornamental, orange and green, tulip-like flowers. In the fall, it’s tulip shaped leaves turn a golden yellow color.

I am a huge fan of the Tulip Poplar tree. I am fortunate enough to have two massive trees near my home.  I am guessing they are more than 250 years old simply because of their size. If you find yourself at a State Park this summer scan the top of the forest for a Tulip Poplar, they are often the tallest trees you will see. You might not see one of their blooms, but the tree itself is a sight to behold.

Find historic districts gristmills on A Day’s Outing…. and don’t forget to download the iPhone app so you can find new places to visit while you’re out and about.

There are markets in the warmer parts of the country that already have flowers for sale from their local farmers. For other areas, your corner florist has beautiful blooms that can brighten your home. Whether you grow your flowers yourself or buy them from someone else, you want to take care of them to help the flowers last longer.

Here are a few simply steps to extend the beauty of the flowers once you have them home:

Trim the Stems
Use clippers or shears for woody stems and sharp scissors or knives for other flowers. Cut the stems at a sharp angle. This angle prevents stems from sitting flat in the bottom of the vase and it creates a larger surface area to help the flowers absorb water. Never hammer or crush stems - this shortens the life of the flowers. If possible trim the stems under water. This helps prevent air from getting locked in their veins and helps them draw the water up more easily.

Remove the leaves
Trim all the leaves off the flowers’ stems that will be below the waterline of the vase. Leaves rot when submerged under water, encouraging algae and bacteria in the container and shortening the life of the blooms.

Treat the Water
Using warm water in your vase allows the water to be absorbed more quickly. A bouquet purchased from a store often comes with a packet of cut flower food for conditioning the water. For flowers you bring in from your own garden or the farmers’ market, add 1 teaspoon of sugar, per gallon of water. This will help to prolong the life of the flowers. Also add a drop or two of bleach to the water to prevent bacteria and algae from growing. Be sure to change the water in the vase as soon as it appears cloudy.

Beautiful purple, white and yellow crocus are beginning to bloom across the country.  I was looking closely at the purple flowers in my yard and wondering if my crocus were the same ones that produce the delightful spice saffron.

The true saffron flower is the ‘Crocus Sativus’.  The bright orange stigmas of this heirloom crocus bulb are the source of saffron. When the flower is in full bloom, the bright orange stigma are handpicked and then air dried.  It takes approximately 150 flowers to produce one gram of saffron, which is why the spice is so expensive.  You may have never purchased saffron, but you have surely tasted it.  Saffron is a quintessential spice in dishes throughout the Mediterranean, and this food simply wouldn’t be the same without it.

What I have growing in my yard is lovely, but it’s not the famous spice. Now I know that I have to plant ‘crocus sativis’ to get saffron, I might plant a few dozen bulbs next fall and give growing saffron a try.

Today is the first day of spring!  While there is still some snow on the ground in towns across the country, signs of spring are all around us.

Here are some photos — taken with my iPhone — to help get you in the mood for spring.

With the days getting warmer, it is a great time to visit a botanical garden near you. You’ll get to see hundreds of plants and maybe find a new plant or two for your garden.

If you are looking for something fun to do on a beautiful spring day, A Day’s Outing is here to help you discover local things-to-do all across the country.

It’s time to welcome birds to your home by giving them a place to nest.  Small birds, such as house wrens, chickadees and blue birds, will happily raise their young in birdhouses.  Here are a few tips to attract birds to your birdhouse.

•   Hang a birdhouse at least five feet off the ground.

•    Birdhouses can be attached to a tree, but a freestanding pole with the birdhouse mounted on top is best.  This way you can also attach a guard to the pole to keep unwanted predators out.

•    Clean out old birdhouses to remove the prior season’s packed bird’s nest. New birds will rarely want to nest in old materials.  Cleaning will also help control insects, mites and lice that can hurt baby birds.

•    While a perch on a birdhouse is cute, birds don’t need one. A perch really only helps predators get a better grip.

Early March is the best time to get a new birdhouse or to prepare your old ones for the new season.  You want to be ready when the weather warms and birds start looking for a new place to raise their fluffy brood.