youngsters

We're already in the second half of the year ...

time flies.

I've been busy making new textile jewels,

bigger ones than my Pink Ribbon's this time,

using all kind of textile "beads".

Like the ones in the last post.

The bright blue one is finished

and another pale blue one.

Little pieces of black-and-white fabric

are waiting to become the next one.

(I'll have a Textile-art Market in August

and one in September)

But today daughter was busy on my sewing machine

to make a farewell present

for the schoolteacher of her youngest.

The children that move to the next grade

did some drawing with textile crayons !

The teacher can lean on a sweet memory cushion.

While most of us enjoy the warm sunny weather

the garden is longing for a good bit of rain.

The drought gives already problems :

like forest fires, trees losing their leaves,

yellow lawns, desperate farmers ...

We heard of birds leaving their nests and young

in the eastern part of the country,

but here some of them are doing still fine !

A young blackbird waiting by our front door

for mum or dad to come with something juicy.

The grebe family passed by in the water.

Must be hard to find any fish under the duckweed ...

And this evening, just before we had our outside dinner,

a bunch of eight blue tits came by to forage

in the garden : no corner or crevice remained unexamined !

(ha, one even sat on my (still empty) dinner plate !)

*

So all the young ones seem rather happy here !

summer solstice

Ohhhhh, not much summer right now :

a cold north wind and no sun.

So I made a bit of  "summer" myself !

Little bits and pieces for a new necklace.

Daughter and I also did the last brushstrokes

on the window next to the door at school.

(looks like a bit of summer here ...)

 So, HAPPY  SOLSTICE ! 

*

(Oh yes, totally forgot my special date post on the 18th,

well ... what about it ... not very important,

that's how days rush by sometimes !)

colours ...

This week daughter and I were busy at school.

It's the school where I worked,

where daughter went,

and the grandchildren

(now only the youngest)

When I worked at school, I loved to use the windows

as a third (fourth) wall, and painted on them

whenever I needed it in a theme.

Later on, others asked me to decorate their windows as well !

When daughter "took over" that task I always helped her out.

The painting at the entrance door was damaged

(by scratchy little fingers)

and because the white paint we used

for some unknown cause started to peel ...

So, time to do the painting once again.

Some background, and then it's done !

*

The garden thrives ...

not only the flowers, but the tiny visitors as well !

Each year the Polygonatum is attacked by caterpillars,

it was no different this year

They start at the juicy seedpods

and then work from the top down ...

Well,

if you want butterflies ...

you have to endure these little buggers !

Of all the plants I bought through the years

a  LOT  disappeared, while others thrived

(and became too many sometimes)

I thought I'd lost this beauty

a Sanguisorba (menziesii, I think)

until I found it here again on the stairs to the water !

Must leave it there, I can't move it !

(NO .... my stairs are not very tidy !!!)

And in the water :

another beauty struggling ...

This Campanula lactiflora "Prichard's variety" is slowly getting bigger !

*

When Man is too busy with his "colours"

Bella surely has her ways to persuade him

to pay more attention to her !

"You have to pet me ..."

(Alpaca) knitting club

After our Alpaca farm friend stopped

having us every first Saturday of the month

we smoothly changed into the habit

of hosting our group in turn

(we are 12 so that is no problem)

Today was my turn again

Sadly sitting in the garden was no option,

but there is room enough inside

We were (only) eight this time.

After the first round of coffee and tea

we always have a show-and-tell round

(the last pic : my everlasting socks, little knitting at the moment !)

A wonderful getting-together !

Thanks ladies !

Later I found a new Campanula : a blue one ...

the white ones were there a bit earlier

And ooooooh that rose ...

Wet, from a loooong night of rain !

garden

After the late start of the growing season

things are back on track now.

Plants and flowers take their turn.

One day you see the young start of something

and two weeks later you take the leftovers

so the next group can start flowering,
that's the way it always is.

The trees (we have four,
three in the backyard garden and one in front)
have leaves and no flowers anymore.
No more forget-me-not's, the blue bells, most of the irises,
the allium roseum and the early persicaria ...
all of it in the "green bin"

(I really don't have room for a compost heap !)

The lovely flowering polygonatum
is now under attack of the same caterpillars
that attack every year ... hmmm clever guys
(I made a quilt about that years ago !)

But
the foxgloves are beautiful

(this is a stray one ...)

and these buttery yellow digitalis grandiflora
(who starts with it's head down   ;-) ...)

And of course
the roses are starting to flower :
"New Dawn" and a darker pink bush.

Let me introduce : Mrs. BIG Allium christophii,

she will be a BIG delight for a loooong time !

Then there is that lovely

 Ornithogalum magnum

After yesterday's thunderstorm
there were dozens of these little visitors

tiny toads !

Early in the evening another thunderstorm building
gave these beautiful sun rays

The garden loved the rain that came later ...


With all the work in the garden
there was no time (read : energy) left for painting, felting or stitching.
But, now that most of the redundant "greens" are gone
there will be time for that again soon !

18 - 5 - 18

It is soooo hard to remember

how small he was :

our birthday boy of today !

Six years ago to the day :

only a few hours he had to stay in the incubator,

just to keep warm.

He's such a big boy now compared to this !!!

Though his legs are almost getting in the way,

he still loves to play with the wooden cart

(that his big sister and brother used before him)

Tomorrow we will throw a BBQ party for him !

*

The garden is still flowering like mad

Drawing each and everyone takes time ...

(much easier to take pictures !)

:-)

green !

Spring is really here now

and the garden is an explosion of

green 

So I completed the drawing / painting

of a few days ago

with a lot of green too ! 

Camassia leichtlinii

 Now it looks more like standing in its

natural surroundings of green and tiny bits of colour.

This is the Camassia's neighbour :

Polygonatum multiflorum,

only a few stems of a big wild bush !

Thanks Vicky !!!

(the sister of my dear garden-friend Rhonda

went to Australia and couldn't take her garden with her ...)

Many years ago from "wild" France

we brought this beauty home :

Asphodelus albus

This is the white Wisteria against the house.

though I've got it heavily pruned last year !

Such a lovely fragrance !

*

And now for something completely different :

the eldest grandson is the proud owner of some new "wheels" !

He started speed skating last autumn

and in summer they train on skeelers,

on 10 cm high wheels !!!

(almost as big as us now  ;-) ...)

This Saturday, while daughter and me

were at the "Alpaca-knitting club",

Man went to see the training !

(training with the grown-ups !)