What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving this month with the family here as usual. The neat bouquet in a real gourd they brought me is hanging on. 

On our last day of Fall Fortnight, let’s have one more fun post of ideas, this time in the garden and the kitchen. Then we’ll wrap it up with some special sale announcements!! Last weekend, before the temperatures got chilly, I went to the planter box and picked the last of the tomatoes.

I brought in the last of the parsley and basil to clean and use fresh as much as I can. I freeze the rest. The leaves will crumble easily when frozen, yet the flavor is bright when used. It is closer to a fresh herb ...

It was time for Gemma's trip to the vet for her annual vaccination.  She has been very healthy all her life so this is the only time so goes for a visit.  I had to be a bit sneaky in the morning.  Gemma has her usual routine, get up, have breakfast, then a morning snooze.  I didn't want her getting in to her hidey hole in the cat tower since we were going out.  If  I went to pick her up by reaching right into the tower and she didn't want me too, she has been known ...

This is Gladioli by the artist, Adrian Paul Allison. Here is the link to Adrian's Wikipedia page.

Gladioli are the flower of August, my birth month. It blooms large and showy and in many colours. As much as I wish it were my favourite flower, it is not. In fact, if I lined up all flowers it would probably land near the end of the pack. It's a little too over the top for my liking. While I admire showy, it's not me. I prefer the wild flowers, the tiny, the ones that bloom against all odds ...

 I wonder if your head is spinning like mine. Each day is like the blink of the eye. I'm no sooner up and starting the morning when it seems I'm closing drapes and shutting the house down again. Perhaps that is a good thing as it means I'm busy which I feel I certainly am. 

Outside, the world has come alive and so quickly it seems. It's always a pleasant surprise how much colour there is this season of the year. Even the Dandelions are so welcome. I'm calling this one "Me and My Shadow ...

 Here are the dogs taking a dip one day when the clouds did a very unusual thing.

My Merlin Sound ID ap is identifying ...

Yesterday morning I sat down on the front steps to tie up my walking shoes and suddenly stopped... where there had been abundant Geranium blooms only the afternoon before, now there were only chewed-off bare stems!  Groan. The midnight munchers (deer) have been at it again. I use a product that works well in the perennial garden but hadn't even considered our front steps! I've never known

Yesterday morning I sat down on the front steps to tie up my walking shoes and suddenly stopped... where there had been abundant Geranium blooms only the afternoon before, now there were only chewed-off bare stems!  Groan. The midnight munchers (deer) have been at it again. I use a product that works well in the perennial garden but hadn't even considered our front steps! I've never known

An early morning view from the veranda this past week showed fog in the valley, and low clouds. We so desperately need rain that this was a welcome sight. The fire danger in this area is huge, as the downed trees and dead limbs from Helene are still prevalent all over the county, and may never be cleaned up.

Hearing a commotion one day last week, I looked out the front to see about 2 dozen crows were pecking around in the front yard. As the least bit of movement will startle them, they all flew into the trees.

There ...

 It has been raining all night and all day. But that's good; it will help clean up the ground. The wetland on one side of the pond is finally free of ice and I flushed a pair of ducks when taking this photo last week. The Peepers are finally making their spring calls early morning. They can sound quite raucous and I read why...the females choose their mates by the volume of their sounds. 

 Here is one of the Mother trees near our laneway featuring in a photo taken Wednesday. 

The male Cardinal is even more beautiful this far into what should be spring. He may be the showiest bird we have in Canada especially against a winter landscape.

And I'm so happy the Barred Owls have returned to Jim's nesting box in Indianna. They were ...

We had sun in spurts yesterday but today we are back to a white world out there both sky and landscape. It has continued to snow a lot- small flakes but they add up. The saying at home was "small snow, big snow" and when the snowflakes were large...."big snow, small snow". This has been a winter of small snow building up. The dogs love it all of course. I'm so happy that having obedient Petey, who comes when called, join us has meant Ned stays close too and no longer needs to be on a leash. This ...

It is finally March, and I am ready for spring. The birds have been here a lot, getting their fill of seeds. It has been so cold, and they really need the extra calories. There are so many, they’ve been going through a feeder-full every two days. I need to get a couple more suet cakes done and hung up so they have the extra fat and protein. Here, a bluebird and a nuthatch grab a bite.

A goldfinch looks down from the bracket waiting his turn.

On the feeder, the rosy bird on the left is a male ...

Our first drive with the MINI club was this weekend. Everyone was excited to get together again and drive our mountain roads. Even with it still being winter, with no leaves or flowers yet, the countryside is still beautiful. It had been raining up to half an hour before our meeting time, and the skies were still overcast. We started out at a local grocery store parking lot to meet and have our driver’s meeting.

Then we were off. No rain fell on us during the drive. It was overcast most of the way to the interim stop. Since ...

I was up early and out the door to refill the bird feeders. I've added a third this winter as it's turning into an especially cold one. Wind chill then was -35C ( up from the -39C low overnight) and wind in strong gusts made it most uncomfortable. That cold makes it such a relief to be out of it and back into the warmth of the house. But there are drifts over the front steps so I'll be back out there soon to shovel which will warm me up. 

I always feel lucky to get a glimpse ...

Another weekend of cold and dreary weather, with snow! At least not as much ice this time. Still, it is enough to empty out the stores of bread and milk, LOL!! Luckily, I had shopped earlier in the week. The birds have been here in big numbers all week. Ones I haven’t seen in a while, like a pair of towhees, are showing up now to get their share of the suet. Here, a cardinal on the left shares the seed with a chickadee. On the suet, a Carolina wren sits on top, while a downy woodpecker works on ...

A few days of warmth have been followed by a really cold snap. The deer have been here several days looking for food. I think it is fine for them to eat the vines and weeds out of the hosta garden.

This gal did her part.

Three of them moved through, and I wish they’d stay a bit longer and finish off the weed removal. But, it is hard to find good help these days.

In the birdhouse, I thought I saw a bird sitting in the opening with its head looking around. I realized after taking several photos ...

Several mornings this past week had such colors at dawn that I had to step out to the freezing cold to take pictures. This day had purple clouds low on the horizon, almost looking like a second mountain ridge with the sun coming up in front of them.

The birds seem to like the new feeder. A pair of chickadees take advantage of the bounty on a very cold and overcast day.

Here, a Carolina wren gets his share while a downy woodpecker has a meal on the opposite perch.

Another dawn in golden yellow and peach hues.

Morning fog ...