Summer

 

Hello Summer!

 Awhile back, I posted on my embroidery blog , Yesteryear Embroideries, about a mushroom stitchery that I was currently starting.  You can see the post with this link:

MUSHROOM STITCHERY

and I wanted to add flowers and such to the mushroom design.

For weeks I stitched up a storm, thinking how wonderful this would all look when 

I finished......I was shocked at how awful it looked.......as you see in the photo above......the dark green thread, the beads, the over clustering of the pink flowers, took the eye away from the mushrooms.  Sometimes, 

too much........is......too much!

I never have a problem with ripping out stitches.....even days and weeks of stitches.

As you can see, decluttering the stitching now has made everything look pretty. 

I can now call this piece "finished" and get it ready to place into my 

Stitch Book.

I have been working and planning on a stitch book for quite some time.

It's not the typical stitch book where I show the work of different stitches in 

embroidery accomplished.  This is a book for the different pieces I embroider over

the years and ones that I do not frame.  I wanted a place to put them all......

so a stitch book seems to be the right place.

 I have always loved this design and 

embroidered it for the cover of my stitch book. 

This is the front

and when folded, this is the back.

I wanted the inside cover, front and back to have some 

of my favorite quotes, so I cross stitched these on 25 count, 

stitched it to the outside cover, and now when folded, it makes a great inside 

cover for the stitch book.

I only have a few pages, but am hoping to have quite a few more 

by the end of this year.  I am not sure whether I will complete the book this

year or maybe stitch more into next year. 

There hasn't been much else happening here.......our lives go day

to day at a quiet pace.  I did come up on a hognose snake

and scooped it up for a better photo.  No worries.....this little snake is quite

calm and nice........never tries to strike.

I also came across this whimsical toad......who seemed to smile at me as I said hello to it.

I hope this finds you are having pleasant weather and pretty summer days.  

 

We had ourselves a little adventure.....

We headed out to visit our youngest son by flying over snowcapped mountains and through fluffy clouds

We were offered very nice meals during our flight

Soon we were back on the ground and we found ourselves surrounded with flowers in  gardens,

flowers by buildings,

flowers on almost every street pole, along with flowers on the very busy freeway and roadside.

I could not take good photos of the freeway flowers or roadside blossoms because traffic was very much in a hurry.

There were mountain tops to look over the city and to look out over  the Cascade mountains.

Have you guessed where we have been?

There were wonderful markets filled with wonderful things and the offering of coffee was everywhere we turned

A robot named Jarvis......yes.....a robot........made me this wonderful latte. It tasted so good!

The most enchanting places of all......were the forests and 

waterfalls. I could have stayed among these areas forever!

Many of the trees were covered in a coating of soft moss

and other growth.

Did I mention waterfalls.....??......

and flowers??😊

The weather was rainy.......a gentle rain where we could walk with umbrellas and still enjoy the sites......the temperature was in the 60s and low 70s.  We wore jackets on some days.

There was so much for us to see......in the city.......outside of the city.........and above the city!

and then........there was the beach......a long stretch of magical sand and the Pacific ocean.

Yes, if you have guessed , we visited the Pacific Northwest.  

Time sped by so quickly and in a blink of an eye, we were saying goodbye to our son and  we were back on the plane, taking one last glance at Mount. Hood

As  Mount Saint Helens disappeared into the distance and we were once again in the clouds, 

my heart was already longing to be back among the trees, flowers, and waterfalls. 

We were welcomed home with a gust of 106 degree wind that blew through the west Texas airport doors. Now we are back to our normal quiet pace of life with so many wonderful memories to look back on. It was wonderful to get away and to see one of our children......and it is also great to be back home.  As one of my favorite authors once said........

I would be willing to go around the world

if I came back in time to light the candles

and set the table for supper.

Gladys Taber

So tell me........have you been on any adventure lately??.......or do you have one planned soon??

I would love to hear!

We have been fortunate to have

 

much needed rain.  For those who have asked if we have been part of the terrible flooding in Texas, no and thank you for your good wishes. 

This is the time of year when the cactus flower is in full bloom

The blossoms are truly beautiful

The rain has been good to keep the cement water troughs I have made over the years full for the wildlife to get a drink. 

The wild bushes that grow here on the acreage, many with thorns, are heavy with wild berries

from blue,

 To reddish brown,

and then some just have pretty blossoms. These are just a few of the many that  grow here, wild, every year. And every year I am in awe to see them in their beauty.

To cap off all of this beauty at the end of the day is a wonderful, vibrant , sunset.

I hope this finds that you are having pleasant and calm weather as these spring days go quickly by!

Here's wishing you a very happy Mother's day!

 

Everything lovely is springing up!

 

It has been a lovely rainy day today and we have been getting much needed rain off and on these past few weeks. With this heaven sent moisture, the acres are dotted with color from the many variety of wildflowers.  There is a sweet fragrance on the April breeze that blows across the wild fields. 

 

From the white ox eyed daisy,

the red Indian blanket, and purple prairie aster,

to the many varieties of yellow and orange daisy, the ground 

floor is covered. 

The woods holds it's own beauty with the red berries of the turkey pear

cactus

and the conifer bush. 

one of my very favorite of yellow daisy that grows here is called 

Thymophylla tenuiloba (Dahlberg Daisy)

It has very tiny, vibrant, yellow daisies and dark green fringe type leaves

I dug up a clump and planted them in a terra cotta pot.

There is a container of purple prairie aster behind this.  They 

make this one spot in the garden......cheery! 

I am not a big television watcher but I do like to watch a movie

now and then.  I just watched the movie .....(link below)

THE DARK DIVIDE

Don't let the title mislead you........it is not a dark movie. 

It is based on a true story of a man who searches for new and rare breeds of

butterflies.  There is a little humor and a bit of sadness in this film.

I enjoyed watching it. I hope this finds that  you are enjoying pretty 

springtime days.  Tell me, what is springing up in your back yard?

I would love to hear!

 

Wishing you a happy Easter

 

“The very first Easter taught us this: that life never ends and love never dies.”

 Kate McGahan, “Only Gone from Your Sight”

Hello Spring!

 

The Spring has come again

For the grass is growing green,

And among the fields of clover

Bright butterflies are seen.

The little birds are singing sweetly

As they fly from tree to tree...

The busy bees are gathering

The honey from the flowers,

And the merry birds are building

Their nests in sheltered bowers...

Josephine D.C., "Spring," c.1887

Unusual Hot February Days and Unusual Visitors

 

Here in Texas the February days have been up to 86 degrees.  The Italian Jasmine

is glimmering in the sunshine and is full of buzzing honey bees. 

One day we got a large rain .  Along came the same coyote that I have shown to  you 

in previous posts.  It looks pretty wet this day.  There is a large section of woods that surround our home and for years ,I have taken the kitchen scraps out to the woods.  I no longer have chickens to eat the scraps.

The coyotes and the raccoons enjoy this feast. I have noticed now, 

when I bang the scrap bucket, in just a few moments, the coyote has shown up to 

eat.  If I dare say hello ......it runs away.  It is good that it is scared of me. 

This morning we had two unusual visitors to the feed and water spot.  I am braver to greet a pack of wild coyote compared to these two wild hogs.  They have razor teeth, courage,  and extremely angry attitudes. They can be very dangerous.

I let them hang around just long enough to get a few good photos then I yelled at them

very loudly and thankfully they ran away.  I hope they don't come back for another visit, but now that they have found water and feed, they will more than likely stop by again. 

While these days are almost like days of summer.......we who live in this area know that in a blink of an eye, Texas can get a big snow.  We don't dare plant anything at this time because of this unpredictable weather. 

Are you enjoying sunny and pretty days?  Are snowflakes still falling by your window?

Have you had any unusual backyard visitors?

I would love to hear!