One of My Favorites

Design - "Banded Bee Skep"

Designer - Arachne's Silken Web

Fabric - 32 count Vintage Nutmeg Lakeside linen

Fibers - DMC, Pearsell's Silks, and Gloriana Silks - 1 thread over 2 strands 

Started - 1 August 2012

Completed - 9 August 2012

This piece probably makes it into my Favorite Top 10 list of everything I've ever stitched.  I love the variegated silks and the color of the linen.  This was a challenge to stitch, using 8 or more different stitches for the different rows of the bee skep. It was charted so well and the instructions were so clear, that I had no trouble learning each of the new stitches.   

I've had a Brown-headed Cowbird come by several times. It is very vocal - some of the many sounds are liquid trills - very pretty.

An American Goldfinch couple.

A male House Finch.

Papa Quail up high - standing guard.

Quail family.

Baby Quail atop the deer fence.

Several of them checking out the big wide world.

The Bee Skep

Design - "Banded Bee Skep"

Designer - Arachne's Silken Web

Fabric - 32 count Vintage Nutmeg Lakeside linen

Fibers - DMC, Pearsell's Silks, and Gloriana Silks - 1 thread over 2 strands 

Started - 1 August 2012

Completed - 9 August 2012

Oh, am I ever in love with this beauty!  It will I vow, be on the top of my list for framing next year.  I was a bit worried as there was literally no cross stitching - just the bees and the date.  Everything else was a speciality stitch - each row different. I stitched Ray Stitch, Double Leviathan, Smyrna Cross, Algerian Eyelet, Rice Stitch, Bosnia Stitch, Herringbone, Montenegrin, and Mosaic, as well as several others.  It certainly wasn't boring!  

I know it's too hot to walk today.  We'll just stay inside and enjoy this Virtual Walk.  

The Quarry Pond water table is low and the pond is full of algae.  I saw a couple of bullfrogs before they hopped into the water and one pond turtle who slid off his log into the water.  No one wanted to pose for pictures!  

While most of the Spirea has finished blooming, I did find this one pretty stem. 

The Bracken Ferns are beginning to get fall color. 

Yes, I'm enamored of new Douglas Fir cones.  Look closely and you can see droplets of sap on some of them, as well as last year's brittle brown cone at the bottom of the photo.  

The Canada Thistle are Cumulus Clouds of seeds.  The Gold Finches are working and working eating seeds.

Here's another surprise for this time of year - a spray of blossoms on the Pacific Ninebark.

I'm no sure that I've ever seen as many Oak Galls as this year. 

This Oak is covered with them.

I think they are kind of cool looking.

I'm still keeping an eye on my Columbia Lily seed pods!

Mid-August - Blackberry time in western Oregon!

I'll end the walk with a mystery.  I found this insect trap on our property along the road.  I wonder what the state of Oregon is monitoring? I went to the Oregon Department of Agriculture's website and I think it is a Gypsy Moth trap.  In the 1980's Lane County trapped 19,000 moths.  Helicopters sprayed to eradicate them.  It was a little bit like living in a war zone with noise of the 'copters.  Since then there's been just one small outbreak in Lane County.  I hope the trap is empty!    

All Things "Natural"

Back on June 27th I posted that I was going to stitch "Banded Bee Skep" by Arachne's Silken Web.  Well, what with one thing or another, I didn't start working on this until the beginning of August.  And now I don't know why I waited.  I LOVE IT!  Each band is a different stitch and it had been so much fun.  I need to stitch the year (between the two bees), the entrance to the skep, and then the grass.  It has been a blast and I've enjoyed working with Pearsell's and Gloriana silks. 

The weather has cooled down a bit to the mid-80's.  Much more comfortable than this past weekend.  So no excuses, let's take a stroll.  I think in the heat of August a leisurely stroll is best!

 

This is Wooly Mullein (Verbascum thapsus).  It's considered a pesky weed and is often found growing in the hard dirt along the side of roads.  My Mom brought one home, and now I fight an on-going war against a Mullein explosion.   The seeds, the size of grains of pepper, can lie dormant in the soil for decades.  I do usually keep 4 or 5 plants - the woodpeckers love the seeds - and they make great roosts for them while they wait at the suet feeder.

I found some Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) growing in a pile of loam.The name originates from a Greek word which means “ground apple” which refers to the apple smell of Chamomile plant. It is a native to Asia and Europe.  

And here is this week's Mystery Plant.  It too was situated in the pile of loam we are slowly using to fill in a flowerbed. It's a pretty low growing plant - shiny green leaves, bright red stems, and these pretty pink cascades of blossoms. 

The wild Iris have produced scads of seedpods.

Here's a close up of a pod.  The pod has split open and you can see the chocolate brown seeds.

The Canada Thistle has also gone to seed.

Here are the tiny berries of Star Flowered False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum stellatum). The berries will turn blue-black as they age.

We have a couple of patches of Scouring Rush (Equisetum hyemale).  Scouring rush does not produce flowers or seeds. Instead it develops a brown, cone-shaped, spore-producing strobilus at the tip of fertile stems, which are shorter than the infertile stems. The spores themselves are microscopic. Scouring rush also spreads by shallow rhizomes.

I could not resist a photo of this grass.  It grows along part of our Big Creek.  The grass is tall - probably 6 feet or more - and has these lovely long seed heads. 

The Field Mint (Mentha arvensis) has been in bloom the past month or so.  It thrives in a damp ditch along our driveway near the Big Creek in the company of the Rushes. 

I'm watching these seed pods closely.  They are the pods of the Columbia Lily and I'm hoping to snag some seeds and plant them closer to our house.

This plant looks a bit like a dandelion, but more delicate.  It is Scouler's Hawkweed (Hieracium scouleri). A Oregon native plant, it grows in open shrubby or wooded places.

I'm all strolled out.  It's time to sit on the Front Porch and watch the world go by. 

 

Stitching and Strolling

My fabric arrived, so I've kitted up "Banded Bee Skep".  Each band of the hive is a different stitch, so this should be interesting (and challenging) to work on.

I don't know how Wednesday rolled around so quickly once again.  Fortunately the rain has ended, so there is no need for wellies and brollies today. 

Let's walk! 

It's late June and the Daisies are a dominate force in the meadows. 

I have a soft spot for grasses too - it is amazing how many different kinds there are - each with a unique seed head.

And we can't pick Blackberries in August unless they bloom in June.

Our wilding apple tree has set some fruit.

High up on a sunny bank I found this aptly named wildflower.  It is called Oregon Sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum).  It grows in many habitats, most often in dry lands with sandy or rocky soils.  It's on dry, rocky soil here.    

The Pacific Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus) is about done blooming.  I like the contrast of the red spent blossoms with the white.

In contrast with the Ninebark, Douglas' Spiraea (Spiraea douglasii) is just now coming into bloom. 

I was surprise to see the bright blue of a Bachelor's Button (Centaurea cyanus) happily growing in the ditch along side the road.  Though it is considered a noxious weed, I like it!

The cherry trees are setting fruit - I'm finding pits already near some of the bird baths.

I found another nice group of Blue Dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum) in one of our meadows.

There's a new crop of Oak Apple Galls too.  The gall wasps have been busy this Spring.  You can read more about Galls in this post.

I've saved the best for last.  I found a group of over a dozen Columbia Lilies (Lilium columbianum).  They are a wonderfully bright orange tiger lily.  The deer love to eat them, so it's rare to see them in bloom.  Sharp eyes will notice this plant is surrounded by Poison Oak!  I think of lilies as sun-lovers, but these plants were in deep shade.

That's it for today's walk - our next walk will take place in July - wow!