Wednesday, August 27, 2014

A Lovely August Day

I've been working along on Cottage Garden Samplings "September's Morning Glory".  The blue flowers are composed of six different colors of floss, the purple of four different colors.  Now I need to stitch seven leaves and some assorted vines, and this WIP will be complete.

Everyone agrees, even though it is to be in the 90s today, it is a lovely August summer day.  Let's take a walk and look around.


The tree canopy now sports a hint of yellow.

The Douglas Fir are draped in cones. 

In one week's time these have gone from green to a semi-ripe brown and green. 

I am always looking at the tree tops - they are perfect bird perches.

Oh, have care, there's a bunny on the edge of the driveway!

He's just about the same color as the ripe grasses.

Late August wears taupe.

The Big Leaf Maples are stressed from lack of water.  They are beginning to shed their leaves.  Going straight from green to brown with no pretty yellow in between.

The Cottonwoods have a yellow cast to the leaves.

The Bracken fern are a mix of green, yellow, and brown.

The Dogwoods now sport a bright red leaf or two - a sign of things to come.

Look at that blue blue sky!

The Vine Maple also have the beginnings of a red cast to the leaves.  

More taupe.
The seed head of Cow's Parsnip.

Nothing beats the color of False Solomon's Seal berries. 

Rose hips - just starting to turn color.
These should be lovely in a couple of week's time.

In late August even the Teasle is taupe!

I hope you enjoyed today's walk. It's time to find a spot of shade and something cold to drink!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Bees and Cats and Flowers

Design - "Spring and Summer"
Chart - "Quaker Seasons Purse II"
Designer - Crown and Thistle
Fabric - 30 count R & R Iced Cappuccino 
Fibers - Crescent Colors & GAST - 2 strands over 2 threads
Started - 29 June 2014
Completed - 22 August 2014

I changed the colors and used: GAST "Baby Spinach" for the vines, GAST "Tarnished Gold" for the bees, and Crescent Colors "Ye Old Gold" for the hive.

After stitching and stitching and stitching this month I've finally turned a UFO into a WIP and finished it!

Today's theme is flowers and bees (and cats).  

Perfect for taking part in the Tuesday Garden Party.

Today we'll take a look at the Front Porch area.

On the right side of the porch the bed has a couple of kinds of Rudbeckia.

These are 'before' photos as the deer seem to love Rudbeckia.

So do I - I just wish they'd stop munching on the plants.

But even with fences, they manage to nibble.

This coneflower is blooming up a storm.

My verbena self-seeded much to the delight of the small finches.

It's August. It's hot.
So I bought 24 pansies and violas!

The north-facing Front porch stays pretty shaded so I sprinkled some yellow violas among the ferns on the bench. 

And I added white violas to my mix of fuchsias.

This has been a perfect summer for my begonias.

They are lush and healthy and loaded with blooms.

A small success - I was able to start a couple of begonias from the tubers that I saved from last fall!

I bought the watering can on the right at Ikea in Portland on Friday.

It's been a good summer for coleus too and I've managed not to over-water them for a change!

I bought a couple of ferns to 'freshen up' some tired looking pots.

Here's the long side of the Front Porch. The cats have taken to spending the afternoons here as it is the coolest place (outside) to be. 

Despite competition from the deer...

...my sister was able to pick several pounds of blackberries.

That inspired me...

...so I made a couple of cobblers!

Monday, August 25, 2014

A Contented Cat and Interesting Birds

My Mom, sister, and I took a trip up to Portland on Friday.
I was able to stitch a couple of hours on the way up as well as coming back home.

I took Prairie Schooler's "November" on the trip and made some progress. 

This is Parvati's new Happy Spot - on top of the piano. 

As you can see, Parvati has several Happy Spots - inside and outside. 


Thanks my sister's great observational skills Saturday morning, I have some nice photos of a Western Tanager.
  
This is a female Western Tanager. She has a bright pinkie-red bill and a canary-yellow breast with an olive back. 

She made my day and posed nicely for several shots. 

She was watching out over her fledged offspring.
The juvenile is looking up at her while she peers down.
Off to the left is a Goldfinch which provides a nice size comparison.

The last several mornings I've had a Sharp-shinned Hawk hanging around the bird feeders.

The chipmunks sound the alarm and the birds stay away.

This hawk as a touch of bright yellow near the beak and on the feet.

There are lots of Flickers out and about. This is a female. 

She has working close by to this male Flicker.