Hot Summer Greys

Underfoot the lichen are crispy crunchy

Even tree bark looks drier than usual

Must be cooler up there

Down here on land stitches are gathering

on my goosey piece.

Scritch Scratch

I'm a scratching Olympian

Well at least a marathoner

Remember chasing the raccoon up the tree?

On Thursday some of us gathered at Betsy's cottage

and watched four loons gliding around the lake

On Friday Diane and I made the biggest bundles you have ever seen

and even managed to stuff two of them in the dye pot

as we dyed the Olympics got under way.

Our bundles must have been about 36" long

On Sunday I planned to harvest the garlic

but it rained all day.

It's been so dry we really need this rain.

Have a nice week

Half Way Through

I'm really not here

Away for a couple of days

Away from computers

Playing with thready friends

Down on the dike

the dairy farmer has cut the long willowy grasses

preparing for winter feeding

When the bales appear

I always feel summer is half way over

and that makes me sad

but also reminds me to live every moment

geese know it too

and are gently preparing their young for the long trek South

Rusty Encounters

When Rusty Pups try to climb the crab apple tree

or sit on guard

you'll hear a squirrel chattering back at them

or quietly sitting there digesting all the seeds

he's just stolen from the bird feeders.

Meditation Interrupted

Walking with the sunrise

is a rhythmic meditation

breathing in and breathing out

allowing the mind to wander

and alight on whatever it fancies

and that's often stitching related

Walking rhythmically behind

two rusty bushy tails

that have their own rhythm

waving along behind rusty noses 

that are sniffing and assimilating the critter gossip of the day

and then one critter dared to cross the path

right under those rusty noses

Lucky for her an oak tree was available

She climbed as high as she could

then played like a statue

Perhaps she thought she had fooled us into thinking she was a branch.

A Scratched Week

First vegetable harvested this year

a delicious crunchy kolibri

Tuesday was the first day in ages

spent in the studio

to celebrate I picked up a scrappy strip off the floor

and stitched it down.

Thursday's broken chain poem inspired a broken chain.

Berries are ripening along the dike....

....and RP Kayla spends her walks

munching on them

Wonder what they taste like!

She has also started picking our plums as they ripen.

I'm hoping I can get to the pears and apples

before she does.

On Saturday I decided a few Sorbello stitches were needed.

As I wove crosses on Sunday I realized they looked like women

so gave them heads and one holds a balloon.

Have a great week.

Someone Was Watching Us

Do you see him up ahead?

not really

Let's zoom in

How about that.

We see him so regularly nowadays

that the rusty pups don't even give chase any more.

Day of Memories

On this day in 1994 we lost our son
Steven was a young man
He was studying art
full of plans for the future


As he drove to his summer job
he was hit by a car whose driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel
Our Steven had no chance

The Broken Chain

Author: Ron Tranmer

We little knew that day,
God was going to call your name.
In life we loved you dearly,
In death, we do the same.

It broke our hearts to lose you.
You did not go alone.
For part of us went with you,
The day God called you home.

You left us beautiful memories,
Your love is still our guide.
And although we cannot see you,
You are always at our side.

Our family chain is broken,
And nothing seems the same,
But as God calls us one by one,
The chain will link again.

God bless

What Caught My Eye This Morning

Funny what catches your eye

You've seen this seagull before

he greets us on our morning walks

This morning black, black crows

perched in his place

And these young ones

trotted along the road

right in front of the car

until they found a garden

with an irresistible tree

to nibble upon

Morning

Morning has risen

Rusty Pups have risen

I have risen

But the clouds still lie 

In cosy nooks and crannies

 Everything feels fresh

Ready for a brand new day

Time Scratched

Stitched

Journalled

The week flew by

Monday was a great start to the week for the RP's

A beautiful red fox made himself available

for a wonderful chase along the dike

Oh, such fun!

If you're a dog I suppose

Then as you know

the Internet went poof for a few days

and

of course Thursday was art class

The rest of the week....

.....Too hot to be exciting!

And Congratulations to Judy!

Connectivity Woes

No internet connection for days

Our lives changed for three whole days

Didn't quite come to a halt

but nearly!

Glad to be back

Shoreline rust

But just look at those blues

Quarry rust alongside soft grey blues 

and a lovely sandy sediment

I keep forgetting rust eats into things

Even weavings rust

And what kind of bird would want to bring up it's young

Hidden beneath noisy and rusty quarry equipment?

The new quarry equipment is creamy white

How long till the rust appears?

But let's end up with some lovely salt air rust!

Have a great day