Thursday 31 May 2012

On This Last Day of May


Lupins rule here in the Maritimes


The irises are magnificent as always


Swaying in early summer breezes


Fresh fir cones are forming
and soon the breeze will blow their pollen
coating everything in yellow.


Last year's seed pods 
still dance above the new ones forming.


Wednesday 30 May 2012

In Search of Lady Slippers


We walked my favourite woods


where rustic stairways
help us across the biggest of rocks.


We came to see if the lady slippers were in bloom...


and there they were
pretty in pink.
Clouds of big fat mosquitoes swarmed around us
and landed on skin as soon as we stopped. 
Made for a brisk walk!


We still took time to enjoy the forest canopy above scraggy trees


and I spied a lovely rotting moss covered stump.
But boy was I glad to get out of there!

Tuesday 29 May 2012

A Gathering of Moths


Forgetting to turn off the outside light when you go to bed
means waking up to a wall covered in moths


This one obviously thinks himself a stealth bomber
blending into cedar


Finding comfort snuggled up against the back door.


Trying to look like an armoured bug I believe.


This one was tiny
perhaps 1/2" between wing tips


Glamorous beauty wearing fur


Like autumnal crunchy leaf


Washed in Tide


Just gorgeous maarkings.

Monday 28 May 2012

Last Week's Scratchings


Up here we anticipate the May 24 weekend
because that's when the humming birds arrive.
And guess what...
Last Monday at breakfast time
this little fellow practically knocked on the back door
as if to say
'We're back"!
A batch of nectar was immediately brewed
and then we hunted high and low for the feeders
Couldn't find them anywhere
Still haven't found them
Rushed out and bought a new one!


The next day a carload of tiny pots of this and that came home with us
and of course the trowels danced all day Wednesday
finding homes for them all.


On Friday the RP's and I found the biggest owl we've ever seen
watching us from the woods.


Then on Saturday our early morning trudge up the mountain
found us walking through low moist clouds.


My trail of daily scratchings 
trudges past purple cornflowers and hostas
in the early morning light


and nestles among columbines and primula


Flowery shadows fall on January's scratchings


Taking a turn across the hostas.

Thursday 24 May 2012

White


This beauty drapes over a retaining wall
Just love it
Haven't a clue what it is though


Here's a close-up showing the flowers
and the old star shaped seeds
left over from last fall 
Know what it is?


A wild flower with a tutu


Wednesday 23 May 2012

Flying Geese Triangles up at the Quarry


Back in the studio I'm playing with triangles of 
the flying geese quilt pattern


The magic of the creative subconscious
has me seeing triangles everywhere I go


Even upside down triangles


There's a triangle in there somewhere
Perhaps


Tuesday 22 May 2012

Rust in the Morning Light



Quarry equipment
not my usual source of inspiration


but after a long climb up to the quarry
the morning sun lit up
all that rust and blue paint
and
what a blue it was!


Silently reaching for the sky

Monday 21 May 2012

A Week of Jumping from one Piece to Another


The week's scratchings
honour water birds
and the fuchsia colour of my lovely magnolia.
So to the left you will see twelve duckling footprints 


and a row of flying geese in as few stitches as possible.
I'm working on a goose piece and want some flying way off in the distance.


Jumping from one piece to another...
On the dappled sunshine piece
some suns rays are growing longer than others
The sun has finally come out here
and I see that some rays manage to penetrate the woods more than others.

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Twelve Tiny Munchkins


They appeared on the pond on Mother's Day
Mom was motionless on the bank
until she thought we were getting too close
and then she did the broken wing act.
Father flew in circles watching from above.
You will remember we tried to discourage mom and dad.
We tried to warn them about the dangers of....


....rusty pups
and the coyotes were howling the other night


We'll do our best to protect them.

Monday 14 May 2012

Thread Play


Thread scratchings for the week.


Threads in piles cover every surface


Unravelled threads stretch across bits of cloth


then get changed


and more colours gather in piles everywhere
Such a messy part of percolating!

Friday 11 May 2012

A Landscape of Mudflats


"The real voyage of discovery consists
not of seeking new landscapes,
but in having new eyes".

Marcel Proust

Words of wisdom I try to remember
when exploring the world around me...


even the ugly low tide mudflats.
Perhaps if I look with new eyes
I might see some beauty in them.