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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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.