froggie

There have been lots of sweet little tree frogs enjoying my flower garden this year.
I talk to them while I'm watering.
The other day I found a large snake in the highest reaches of the dahlias and wondered if he had been feasting on these little guys.
A very large rat was seen eating our blueberries last week, which has probably happened lots of times before, but I had never seen it, and it just made me feel so deflated about enjoying berries straight from the garden. They better stay away from my vegetables! Fortunately our cat has been putting a dent in the mousie population around here lately. It makes me wonder if I should get more cats!

Best in Show

Rembrandt

My itsy bitsy dahlia Rembrandt, which measures a wee 1" across, was named Best in Show for Novice, in our county's annual dahlia show last weekend. I visit this show every year since I'm always at the Fairgrounds anyway for some 4-H activity or another, but this year I decided to enter the show for the first time. I won lots of section championships (for peony, anemone,Rembrandt ball, + collarette types of dahlias) for novice submissions. Novice is characterized as someone who has not exhibited before and does not sell their dahlias. I was cajoled into clerking at the show, which turned out to be fun and quite educational. Plant people are so nice and fun to be around. The surprising thing was that when I picked up my ribbons the next day I was awarded prize money! Delightfully it was enough for my yearly manure delivery, which I use primarily for my dahlias.Purple Queen Beans are coming on strong now. We will be eating them every day for quite some time, only to be sick and tired of them by the time they stop producing. This is a fantastic year for basil, it's so lush and vigorous. Last night I made pesto . There are a few tomatoes but I'm waiting for some significant ripening. I tried a new cucumber this year and I won't be going back to growing lemon cukes again after the sweet juicy crunch of the latest variety. It's fantastic!The Morning Glory has topped out it's support and is searching for something to grab onto. If someone stands nearby I fear they will be entwined in no time. That thing must grow a foot a day.

Bracelet

Daiso cotton thread yarn
Pattern from a new Japanese crochet book that I just love!
There will be many more projects produced from that book.

New Crochet

pincushion

Last week I started teaching a crochet class at our local yarn store.

This week I teach the class how to read Japanese crochet charts.
Hopefully my students will become as inspired
as I am by the gorgeous designs coming out of Japan.
The above photos are my latest crochet projects.

neck

here's this week's collage made from the following assigned images:collage images from "Collage Play with Crowabout" flickr group

nest

I was asked to join a collage group and this is my first collage using elements from the given images plus my own stuff, all manipulated in Photoshop. This should be fun to create new pieces each week.

Happy Mother's Day

I am in love with our local bakery.
Everything they make it delicious, delightful and gorgeous.
When I stopped in last Sunday and found these carrot cupcakes I could not resist.
I have taken photos each time I buy a decorated cookie there
since they are just exquisite and charming.
I should write a letter to the editor of the paper thanking the bakery
for bringing such simple joy into my life.
When have you ever read a letter to the editor about the
great products that bakers produce day in and day out?
Thanks Blackbird Bakery!

Happy Anniversary!

I followed the directions yet my anniversary cake did not turn out nearly as beautiful as the photo featured in the Sunset Magazine article. I will never make this cake again. The cake rose up and then imploded like a caldera. The meringue was far more than needed. The sugar content was extreme and it made all of us go on a sugar rush that lasted for hours. I feel horrible today from that cake. I'm going to throw out the rest of that cake that is currently resting unaware in the refrigerator. And the worst part was that it took a very long time to make and created much cleanup from all the stages of manufacturing.
On to a more cheerful story....

While working in the garden yesterday I discovered this robin's nest. I ran inside to get my camera and when I held my camera over the nest one of the chicks sprouted up instantly wanting me to feed him. My daughter later told me the biological term for that response but I've already forgotten it. That orange throat was amazing! Such a beautiful nest neatly crafted of moss, twigs and grass. Young life is so extraordinary! Best of luck birdies in your new life.

New

Here are a couple of projects I have finished lately.

I need to find a source for more colors of cotton lace thread, especially in subtle colors.
I used DMC Pearl Cotton for the edging of the potholder
and won't be using that again for crochet.
It isn't dense enough for crochet and starts to fuzz while crocheting.

Hook Case

I'm very happy with how my crochet hook case turned out.
It's great to have my hooks so organized now.

Octomom

As the 4-H rabbit leader I receive calls from lots of folks regarding rabbits. Yesterday a call came from a family that had found a couple of rabbits that were sitting at the edge of one of the busiest roads on the island. They went right up to the rabbits and were able to pick them up and bring them home. We were summoned to assess them and when we arrived we found a couple of very sweet cross-breed rabbits that were totally calm. It seemed that the doe was the mother of the younger buck. He would nuzzle up to her and she seemed protective of him. They seemed in good health. This morning I received a call from the family about the doe going crazy overnight and breathing heavily. I suggested putting a nest box in the cage along with newspaper and hay. The family was gone through most of the day and came home to the doe and eight kits. She had plucked her fur to make a nest in the newspaper, which is amazing that she hadn't plucked herself days sooner before kindling her kits. We went over to check out the kits and all were healthy and the mother was in good shape too. Kits are born fur-less and with their eyes shut. There were black ones and white ones with all sorts of markings similar to English Spot rabbits. They will be oh so cute as they get their fur. More later.

Goodbye Old Friend

Tomorrow will be the last publication of the venerable Seattle Post Intelligencer. The morning ritual of reading the paper with breakfast will never be the same. Why didn't the paper ask their readership if they would fork over another few bucks a month to keep the paper printing? Perhaps that wouldn't have been enough to save it. A newspaper is something so elemental to one's life that you take it for granted that it will keep cranking out day after day, year after year. What happens to society when newspapers disappear? Where will the oversight come from of political corruption, business and fashion trends, medical breakthroughs along with cooking recipes and gardening advice. Will Betty the Blogger become the only, unreliable, source of social information? The importance of newspapers is even written into the Constitution. I'm just so upset that newspapers are folding across the country. I've heard that the San Francisco Chronicle is also on the chopping block. These papers are such an integral part of place making. They speak of the issues that define a place. In the constant spiral of bad news the loss of newspapers has to be the greatest threat to the integrity of our country. Where's the bailout of the newspaper industry? I would be far happier to have taxpayer dollars going there than to pad AIG's executives' bonuses! What a world turned upside down! Reward the idiots that create massive debt and ignore the valid needs of the nation. Have you seen the 1976 film "Network" lately? Watch it. It is very relevant and timely. Pete Finch's character Howard Beale is one of the most memorable in all of film.

When the world is so oppressively convoluted I retreat to my little sanctuary and sew. Pictured above is a corner of that world.

In the Garage

It has been too cold for the bunnies to be outside for the past few days (nights rather), so they are in the garage where it is much warmer than the arctic freeze outside. There are windows in there so they get some nice light. It's much easier to feed them in the garage instead of slogging through the tundra to get to the hutch corral. I have lilies to plant but the ground is frozen solid. This has been one relentless winter. But I do very much enjoy the sunshine we're having. The sight of the low morning light illuminating the iridescent feathers of a pheasant yesterday was a moment that I just wanted to park in my brain forever. It was spectacular. As the pheasant moved about, pecking away at the ground right at my back door, shiny brown feathers would magically transform into mauve, aubergine and orange.
I've been copicing my pussywillow, next up is the eucalypt to keep the juvenile foliage going strong. I think the crocus are a bit late this year, likely because of all the cold weather we have had. The stripey purpley ones are my favorite. The solid purple ones have taken over my garden.

New Crochet

bracelet
using Daiso Cotton Lace Thread #40
The bead end was fun to make

bowl
Optima cotton thread #10
This will hold my tiny crochet projects that are in progress

What a Beauty!

It's a startlingly gorgeous morning. Snow, sunshine, visibility to the Olympics, new flowers, pheasants and bunnies. The cherry tree is just starting to bud out. The hamamellis is at its peak, crocus are bursting and narcissus are sprouting. Spring is on the way despite winter's grip on the temperature and white precipitation. Oh my oh my it is just gorgeous out there! It's a day to say, thank you for being alive!