Friday, June 27, 2014

Bees and Dragonflies and Reptiles

Design - "Happy Summer" (freebie)
Designer - Homespun Elegance
Fabric - 25 count raw Dublin linen
Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads
Started - 20 June 2014
Completed - 22 June 2014 

I made several small changes to this pattern.  I did not stitch the word "summer" that was to appear between the vine and the hive.  Instead I added more leaves and flowers to the vine.  I changed the flowers from blue and pink to all pink and stitched them as eyelets.  I then added the two bee buttons.  I'm pleased with how it turned out.

We'll take a break from birds today and look at some of the other critters that appear in the Summer.

Most folks tend to think of bees as having a pretty bucolic life gathering pollen to process into honey.  

But sometimes bees are taken unaware.  The white spider killed the unsuspecting bee and is taking steps to keep his meal safe at hand.


We've had warm enough weather that dragonflies are out and about.
This one was resting on a stump in the sunshine.

My sister's Dahlia Garden is bordered by a creek on one side, and springs on the three other sides.  One of the small springs has two resident frogs.

The much larger Quarry Pond is home to lots of frogs, and now dragonflies as well. I was disappointed not to see any turtles last time I visited.

Tom-Cat found this nice sized Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer).  It is the largest snake in the Pacific NW and can reach up to 4 feet long! It is non-venomous and kills rodents by constriction and suffocation.  The distinguishing mark for this snake is the dark band that passes through each eye and forms a teardrop mark that extends down to the snake's upper lip. This guy was only about 1 foot long I'd guess. 

One year ago today Mom and I visited Vita Sackville-West's famous garden at Sissinghurst.

11 comments:

Vickie said...

Ack! I was doing alright til the last photo! I do NOT like snakes. I scream when I find them. Or should I say, they find me.

Green Bean said...

The frogs! The dragonflies! Be still my heart. What beautiful pictures.

EvalinaMaria said...

Lovely stitching and lovely photos. My favorite is the frog.

Barb said...

I like the way you chose to finish Happy Summer! So many curious looking little creatures. I found the photos very interesting!

Margaret said...

Eek! I could do without the snake. lol! Frog is cute though, and love dragonflies. Love the finish.

Magiczny Świat Krzyżyków said...

Piękny haft! Wąż przerażający ...brr

Chris said...

Nice to see some of your other visitors!

Maggee said...

EEEW--the spider is yucky! I don't like bugs! Or snakes... But you take great pictures!

Melody said...

What a nice group of patriotic stitches in your July header. I recognize several of them that I have stitched.

Your pics are great, however, I am not a fan of snakes at all and would not want to encounter one!

Bonnie said...

Count me in on the Hate of snakes. Scare the blank out of me.....

Catherine said...

Looking at your latest posts while enjoying my morning tea! Always love seeing your gardens, birds and critters. The white spider was well hidden! Cute stitches you have been working on as well!