Friday, June 30, 2017

Quilt of Old.......Suit Samples.


I inherited a quilt that was made 65 years ago.  Its being made is the result of my grandmother having lived through the depression.  Nothing is thrown away and really it was a repurpose of an item not normally ever done.  The quilt is made up of men's material  samples used to sell mens suits back in the 40s..  The quilt has been around as long as i have been alive.  I remember seeing it as a kid in the early 50's because some of the suit samples still had parts of paper from labels still attached to the cloth.  Wool is what each piece is made from and that makes it an undesirable quilt. It is so rough to touch or feel on a bed and houses are now heated as when it was made I am sure the wood stove was not bring during the night. I have another quilt that was made with which tobacco pouches for the white squares but that is a different story.

  The big clue as to who made the quilt is the use of embroidery thread used for the ties of the quilt.  I watched my grandma tie off quilts so many times.  It was done to hold the inside layers of filling in the quilt.  The layers could be made of new thin layers of blankets but in poor times they would have layers of old, used sheets. I like the light colored samples and can imagine the suits that were made out of those materials.

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Seeing Red Plumes......


The old traditional cockscomb flowers was not in this shape.  This plume-like one really is a great batch of color.  They grow in the front garden planter and do help make a bright statement in the group of flowers

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Grazing in the Sun.......


"Fake geese" who live in my backyard.  The grass does need to be mowed but it is raining today. I did have more photos of flowers to share but I thought I should find a non-flower image. 

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Cone........flowers.


This is one of my favorite flowers to photograph.  It was not a popular plant when I was a kid growing up.  The back to nature movement brought out natural prairie plants into the market and now we have different colors of them. The front garden has the two colors and the above photo is now also planted in the back yard.  I need to invest in a red one this fall.


The white one is stunning in its form and color.  I have never had a white coneflower before and am glad to watch it bloom.

Monday, June 26, 2017

Deep in Thought......


It is pretty isolated over in the far corner of the yard. We really don't get to enjoy seeing the angel so he may get a major move. Maybe the bricks can be straighten and lined up better.

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Saturday.......


The morning has a clear sky with lots of sunshine.  It is going to be a good day with good temperatures and very little wind.  The new petunia planter was set on the  patio table yesterday.  It looks good there so will never make it to a hook downstairs for display. These things are dropping in price as we head for July.

Friday, June 23, 2017

Full Rainbow..........


I have not seen a full rainbow in years. The other end didn't photograph well but you can take my word on it, that it did fill out to the horizon on the other end. The rainbow was fading quickly and I almost didn't get any image.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Splashing Colors........


My marigolds that surround the tomato plants are holding their own in the hot sun and pounding rains. I am not certain that this is a marigold but the nursery places it among the marigold plants.  It will be a 92 F. degree day today so they will be challenged again. My tomato plants have buds and some of these days I can post tomato plant blooms.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Lilies of the Day.......


A visit to the old home place gave me a chance to pick a few of the lilies that are in bloom.  The day lilies are slow starting up there but I should be able to pick them as they bloom.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Growing Up.........


Our one baby bunny is growing up fast.  He isn't full grown yet but I can see he is doing well. The mother rabbit is still in the back yard but there are no others. When I  go down the deck stairs, he comes shooting out from under the lily of the valley. Earlier when he was smaller he would hang out under the rhubarb leaves.

Monday, June 19, 2017

Evening Sky......


The underside of the cloud picks up the sun's glow as the day turns to dark. A clear sky for the most part allows small patches of clouds to be more highlighted in color and shape.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Sunday's Blooms......



The majority of the roses are fading but some branches of the rose are coming on strong.  I started watering them to help keep parts of the them going.  Next to the house it got really dry during the hot spell that we had. The last couple of days did help things out and the yard grass seems to be in better shape now.

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Waiting for Rain.......


The sculptural item at the end of my drain spout is shown here.  I think I have photographed it before but this one shot seems to better show the boy's expression. He and his dog anticipate water flowing out of the log. The former owners of our house left this behind for us to enjoy. My future goal is to go out in the rain and take a shot of it with water gushing out of it.

Friday, June 16, 2017

Junkyard "Feng Shui".....


A junky natural looking workshop area in my basement reveals the need for organization.  I have yet to get a pegboard up to handle the tools.  I have a monster load of toys that need to be tamed.  Taming means throwing some of them away and storing the rest in bins for later use. The cedar wood lamp has a great story behind it but not today.  It also has a layer of dirt on it that will be removed and everything will shine with some polish.

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Young Ones........


One house finch pair succeeded hatching and raising out a batch of birds. I had three or four of them lined up on the deck railing. They were trying to figure out how the sock feeder works. I do thin that the one background bird is an adult female but the other two are young ones.

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Welcomed Rain.....


At six o'clock this morning the rain gauge showed a half inch of moisture.  As I write this it has started to rain again.


The sun is actually showing through that small bright hole in the clouds. I won't have to water the flowers and tomatoes today.  Our grass was starting to go dormant so it is good to get rain.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Pine Cones.......


My blue spruce is putting out cones at the top of the tree.  I have seen every kind of bird in the tree. I know that a pair of house finches did raise a batch of babies among the branches. Those young ones frequent the seed sock learning how to feed at it.  One young one spent a long time trying to see if he could get seed out of the knot at the top of the sock. I suspect that there are a lot of insects on the evergreen and that is one of the draws for the birds.

Monday, June 12, 2017

Monday's Petunias........


When I was a kid in the 60s, petunia's were not white.  In fact I think the only color sold at that time were a bright reddish maybe orange color.  You could travel from Iowa to Colorado and everyone had the very same color of petunias. I don't think the color is sold anymore.  These flowers are destined to go into the front planter today to help fill in some empty spots.

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Playing with Light........


The peonies at my new place are all gone.  The one old fashion variety of peonies at the old place are still putting out blooms. Having two places of ownership gives me more fresh flowers in the house.

Friday, June 9, 2017

Pink Chair........


After taking photos of some new flowers, I walked back through the garage. As I glanced over I saw an Andrew Wyeth painting with the arrangement of common things. The pink chair was a garage sale find.  It still has not been refinished since its purchase years ago. It escaped the dumpster twice and then I brought it to the new house. I am hoping that I can move into the furniture refinishing sometime. The larger chair is a classic farm chair with a past that goes beyond the people that owned it.

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Bird Wars.......



A young goldfinch sits on the deck railing wondering what the feeder is all about and why are there so many other birds up here.



The bright yellow male has just driven off three birds from the sock feeder and he seems to be pretty proud of his victory.  The sock was empty for quite a few days and when I filled it up with seed again the goldfinches all seemed to swarm in to eat.


These two are waiting their turn to get to the feeder.  A bucket of hot water and a scrub brush will clean up the railing.  Getting to see these birds is all the worth of having to clean things later.

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Dreamy Sky.........



Soft colors in the sky at 5:30 in the morning are a pleasure to see.  I never know what will be out there as I take the dog out the front door.  I look over my shoulder to see what the sunrise will be for the morning. I am certain to take shots quickly as the colors disappear in an instant.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Color Combo Questions.......


The previous owner placed the primrose all around the bases of seven peonies.  It looks good at a distance but the two colors seem to not blend very well. I am not going to change anything in that flower bed though. I am busy deadheading the peonies as needed so they don't shed all over the neighbor's yard.  The primrose will be around a lot longer than the peonies so it will be just a yellow flower bed then..

Monday, June 5, 2017

Iris Season.......


The iris season seems to be closing down. I should have some later ones that will still bloom but the bulk of the iris are finished.



Saturday, June 3, 2017

Backview........


A custom tailgate and added back bumper with hitch adds to the good looks of the back of the truck.

Blurry Blue Cup Day.....

 It is Monday and I am a little blurry eyed today. It is fitting then my blue cup is blurred a little because it is in low light. I was too ...