What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

The NC Mountain State Fair this year has been as much fun as ever. I worked the quilt take-in table for a shift on Labor Day, then back to the Expo building on Wednesday to work as a judge for the Professional Crafts Division. Both days were fun, and so inspirational to see the wonderful projects and quilts coming through. Back to the fair on Friday evening for the first cooking competition, I had a chance to look around the exhibits to see how my entries fared. I was so excited to see Koi Pond with a First Place ribbon ...

Our goldfinches have been here about twice a day lately for easy meals. The whole flock stops by at once and it is fun to watch them vie for position and argue with each other. Here, nine of them are on the feeder at once.

Then, there were four more on the ground in this photo, plus a few more to the right of the photo range.

A male Eastern Towhee came by to pick at what the other birds let fall from the feeder. They prefer to eat off the ground.

In the garden, the larger of the squashes ...

It is hot and humid here now, not my favorite time of year. I really do hate the heat, especially when it climbs above 80 and the humidity is high. The good things about summer, though, are pretty birds, beautiful flowers and fresh produce. Our local flock of goldfinches are feasting daily at the feeder. Here, six males are cooperating nicely, sometimes they peck at each other. The ladies were all hanging out in the oak tree.

At the farmer’s market produce stand, the strawberries were amazing.

The tomatoes are delightful – huge, red, and so flavorful! I gathered some ...

Rain fell off and on last week, and one drizzly morning these boys came by for a visit. Both males, they strutted around and loudly gobble-gobbled. I threw some sunflower seed hearts out for them.

They were happy as clams to do a bit of hunt and peck.

The goldfinches and a woodpecker got their share in the feeder. There is a titmouse on the back side as well.

The garden is winding down, but the squashes refuse to fully ripen. I’ve moved the leaves around to get more sunlight to them, and I am still waiting. The largest ...

Planting pots and my veggie garden the past two weeks was a lot of work. On a cool morning, I got out early to do the heavy work while it was still nice outside. It warmed up fast, though. First up was to pull the weeds in the front flowerbed. Luckily, there weren’t too many, and this was done fairly fast. The snapdragons have started blooming, and I loved the colors coming out. This lavendar pink was so pretty.

There are white ones…

and this two tone, lovely!

Next up, plant some tomatoes, basil and squash that I got ...

Morning coffee on the veranda is a calm and serene beginning to the day.  Bird song fills the air, and fresh mountain air brushes past in a gentle cool breeze.  I breathe deeply, and enjoy the dappled sunlight through the forest, shinrinyoku.  Again, I reflect on gratitude, and the concept of shoganai – a situation over which one has no control that I explored in my post on Gratitude during my Japanese Inspired February series.  Certainly that applies nowadays.  On this Mother’s Day, I reflect on the memory of my mother, and the special relationship I have with my mother-in-law ...