How Does Your Garden Grow?

Despite having been away for a month, we found lots of flowers still blooming when we returned, along with lots of weeds. The hummingbirds love the coralbells but the irises are long gone and waiting patiently to be divided and replanted.


The daylilies are providing lots of color. This one I purchased for the name, Chicago, and just love its beautiful colors.
Chicago

Our roses have been very late this year, but that meant they are blooming now instead of when were weren't here to enjoy them. Unfortunately one of the tree roses died while we were gone, so we'll have to find a replacement. Now there is only one left of the original three, Brandy, which was always my favorite.
Brandy

Mr. Lincoln came to our yard after a windstorm broke off its predecesor right at the stake. A work friend recommended "him" because its very disease resistant, and she was right. I think its a beauty. This year for some mysterious reason none of the leaves have any bites from them, not that I'm complaining!
Mr. Lincoln

Every year I search until I find a Black-eyed Susan vine for our pots. Its flower with its very black eye intrigues me. So far it hasn't bloomed a whole lot, but Dick did catch this offering. In catching up with our magazines, I found this plant resource in Sunset magazine and thought someone besides me might enjoy its features.
Black-eyed Susan Vine

The birds have been plentiful also. The other day I saw a pileated woodpecked in our neighbor's yard, and we've had lots of visits from a hummingbird. So far, it hasn't stayed still long enough to photograph, but Dick did get this little guy who is one of two different kinds of chickadees that visit our feeder.
Hungry Visitor

Lastly, and not plant related, is a very tardy photo of my ORT jar for TUSAL. So sorry YoYo! The yarn scraps have buried most of the other pieces, but I have done a bit of stitching these past few weeks as well as lots of knitting. It's almost as colorful as a garden, don't you think?
TUSAL

Smiling for Opa

This was my third baby sweater of the spring and was actually finished in May. Because we hand delivered it, it wasn't posted earlier. It was actually fairly challenging to knit: the stitch is called trinity or sometimes blackberry stitch. I incorporated the bobble effect in my standard hat pattern and found a bootie with bobble trim.
A sweater set for Daniel

It was NOT sweater weather in Chicago except when we first arrived, but Jill made sure we got a photo of our new little guy modelling it, and what do you know, he kind of even grinned. We love you, Daniel! And Sophia! And David!
Look at me!

Pieces of Friendship Fun

When we finally got through a month's worth of mail, I discovered that Pat Winter had sent out the puzzle pieces from the Pieces of Friendship swap. I received 3 very lovely ones plus an IOU from Pat herself.

First is the one from Arlene White. I especially enjoyed her seam treatments. I wonder where she got those cute flower buttons? In reading other blogs I learned that she is from the UK but doesn't seem to have a blog. Or at least if she does, I haven't found it yet.

Thank you, Arlene!

Second, from Canada, is Maggie R's nice piece. Her use of beads was fun to see, and I liked the gold leaf because it reminded me of a very fancy music note!
Thanks, Maggie!

And last, but not least, from our old stomping ground, California, is the one from Terisa of Running with Scissorss. She demonstrated an interesting combination of machine and hand embellishment that gave me some ideas.
Thank you, Terisa!

This was a fun and challenging exchange. I enjoyed seeing and touching others' creativity up close as well as figuring how to make the pieces to Pat's specifications: 4 inches square. It was also fun to discover some new blogging friends. Apparently Pat will run this swap again in the fall, so you can experience the challenge yourself!

Celebrations

While we were in the Midwest celebrating the arrival of Daniel, we found many other reasons to celebrate. One of them was my birthday! We had a lovely brunch at the home of Jill's inlaws and a surprise cake. I can't remember when I last celebrated the passing of another year with most of our family in attendance. Phone calls from our other two kids back home in Seattle made the day complete!
Surprise!
Sisters and Brothers

The folks at Sylvan Lake really know how to celebrate the Fourth! They kicked off the day with a parade, which I watched from the window, because Dick and I babysat for Daniel so Jill and Michael could attend with David and Sophia. You can see that David participated with great enthusiasm. The afternoon rains didn't deter the picnic at the beach, and the day closed with a private and very impressive fireworks display put on by the neighbors across the street. We also celebrated with a nice picnic at Michael's folks' house in nearby Vernon Hills.
Bicycle Parade

Enjoying the Fourth

We also celebrated seeing my sister and her hubby Ted twice in one month, first at Sylvan Lake and then in Minnesota. We had a fun time catching up with our niece and nephews as well as meeting the two newest grandchildren, Analise and Libby.
Analise and Libby

Lastly, we celebrated the good news that our friend Debbie was recovering well from heart surgery on June 1. To speed her along, we sent a prayer shawl that I finished during our visit. Thank God for modern medicine!
for Debbie

Home Again, Jiggitty Jog........

After an extremely fun and busy month in the Midwest, mostly at Sylvan Lake, we are back home with lots to do in our garden. While we were gone, it looks like there have been several additions to the raccoon population. Carl caught this photo last night while Dick was cooking burgers outside. These little guys are cute, but not as cute as our newest family member, Daniel, who is now a whopping 6 weeks old! Garden Visitors
When we arrived, Daniel was just becoming more wakeful, and when we left this past Tuesday, he was just beginning to smile. What a busy household! Both Dick and I just shake our heads in wonder. We raised three kids ourselves; how did we ever manage? Then it hits: we were 40 years YOUNGER! Anyone who says age doesn't matter hasn't chased three kids around all day!
Daniel with his Opa
During the past month, I spent a lot of time reading......children's books to David and Sophia. I love Richard Scarry as well as the the 1001 Things to See series, but even so they began to pale after the first hundred or so times! Thanks to David's interest in trains and anything else with wheels, Sophia is able to identify dirt diggers, excavators, and taxis! After two recently acquired books from our nephews, she now has added some words like ballerina and tutu to her ever-growing vocabulary. Reading Time
In the middle of our stay, we snuck off to Minnesota for a quick visit with my sister Jane and Ted's family. Unfortunately Dick only managed to catch three of their grandkids, but needless to say, that was a lively gathering also. We also enjoyed a couple of quiet days, exploring Madison, WI. I'd totally forgotten what a beautiful town that is, and what do you know, we found a couple of interesting shops to explore also.
Analise, Libby, and Sydney
With our comings and goings, I did find a bit of knitting time, and I'll share those projects soon. Right now, though, the sun is shining, and I'm headed outside to work in the yard.

Bits and Pieces and We're Off!

Yesterday Pat created a Poppy Tag, and since we still have some blooming in our garden and the light was still good, Dick took a couple of photos for me. One kind of poppy I love and can't get to grow is the California one; I think the birds eat the seeds before they can sprout! Heike has a beautiful blue poppy and a free embroidery design on her blog. Friends here have said the only place they know of them in this area is Buchart Gardens in Victoria, BC. Leftover from the Wizard of Oz?

Thanks to a clump from Janie, we have lots of these in our garden, and judging from the abundant seed pods, more to come.
Yellow Poppies

Lately, I've viewed everything through the CED Sound lens. Here's a fellow that has several sounds at his command, a most impressive screech as well as the sound of hammering which proves his woodpecker family status. Check out that beak!
Our big-beaked visitor

Lest you think that all I've been doing is playing in the garden, here are a couple of finished projects. I finally finished a striped Noro scarf which was easy and fun. The directions can be found on Ravelry. Joseph's Coat Scarf

Just the other day Knitting Daily had some free baby patterns, including these duck booties that I just had to make for Sophia. Jill told me once that Sophia likes ducks; hope they fit! Quack, quack!

Back to the garden because this is my absolute favorite time of year with all the flowers in full bloom. They don't make any sounds but cause the viewer to Ohhh and Ahhh. How was this beautiful columbine scrunched up in its bud? Columbines

Who paints the spots on these foxgloves?
Foxgloves

Did you ever sing the song "White Coral Bells"? Here they are, only they aren't white!

And speaking of noise, we are hoping this little critter and its friends won't do too much damage while we're gone.


Yep, we are off to Chicago in the morning. David needs help with his landscaping job!
Slow but Sure!

Creative Every Day Ponderings

The days seem to fly by without my writing anything about the CED challenge. This month's theme is Sound, and soon after I read this, I received a photo from Jill that fit the theme perfectly. What is more distinct than the cry of a newborn? And then before you know it that sound is different, not to return until another baby arrives. As you can see David doesn't mind this sound one bit!
The Sound of a Newborn
Then there's the sound of laughter, or at least my laughter, because that's what I did when I saw today's picture of Sophia wearing her new hat. I wonder what mischief she's planning?
Silly Sophia
April's theme was Color, and in thinking about that, I realized that my color choices are pretty predictable as you can see in Sophia's hat and sweater. So, one of my new goals is to expand my color horizons, and we'll see in the coming months whether or not I can do it.

The theme for May was nature, and despite the fact that I never posted anything, we enjoyed taking lots of photos with that in mind. I should say, Dick took the photos, and I chose the subjects. During the month of May, it was pretty easy to find lots of colorful examples of nature almost anywhere you looked.
Eastern Washington
The day Cascade Pass opened following its winter closure, we drove to Winthrop, WA, and were amazed by the yellow hills, covered with a daisy-like flower, and all the fruit trees in full bloom.
Melting Snow
The snow was still present at the top of the pass but elsewhere we saw lots of cascading waterfalls, the very kind that gave our mountains their name.

Our own yard had lots of hyacinth, crocuses, camelias along with lots of tiny little bunnies looking for snacks. The appearance of this trillium was a lovely surprise; I had so hoped it would survive the winter!
Surprise!
Late one afternoon we went for a walk at a park in Kent where we saw more skunk cabbage than we'd ever seen before.
Soos Creek
True to its name, it does smell rather like those furry black and white critters.
Pretty but smelly!
We also found this example of what happens in the rain forest where we live. The trees often are covered with moss or lichens, and sometimes its a struggle to see which will survive.
"Hairy" branches

The signs, colors and sounds of nature are all around us, just waiting to be noticed if we but take the time.