Iris

The iris are blooming at McCrorey gardens at SDSU in Brookings. I help weed them once a week for one hour. It’s amazing how many weeds 8 to 12 women can pull in an hour. The blooms are bigger and more numerous than last year. They got rain and sunshine at the perfect time this year.  They were glorious before the wind today. —Ann—
 

Flowering crab apple trees

 

The flowering crab apple trees are in full bloom here. The next strong wind it will look like a snowstorm of white and pink petals. The watercolor was done with a couple clicks on the Waterlogue app. Enjoying the colors and warmer days. —Ann—

Pasque flower

 One day last week I looked through my old sketchbooks, I have a pile. This page sparked memories of the day I sketched the pasque flower. One of my PEO sisters had been out to the ranch and picked a bucket full of pasque flowers, we each took one home so I sketched it the next couple days. I think it was 2007.  Sadly so much native prairie has been tilled or over grazed that finding a pasque flower in the wild is a rare sight.  The top pic is a print I did 30 some years ago when I was doing a lot of calligraphy and trying to sell it at art/craft shows, I might have broke even on my printing costs. It is hand painted and I still have a stack of them.  We are having the same kind of weather as in 2007 I wonder where the pasque flowers are blooming. —Ann—

Just 1 hour

 

The iris crew weeded the iris Tuesday six women worked for one hour and filled a large leaf bag. Then we sat on our buckets in the tulips for a drink of water. What a treat! All those beautiful blooms! Last summer we weeded a total of 135 hours, 6-10 women just 1 hour a week maybe twice a week but not often.  Ann

Flowers

 

Cheap souvenirs for me taking pictures of flowers.

--Ann--

More iris

 

I think the iris were at their peak bloom yesterday when the iris crew was there to work.  Many more blooms than last week. We mostly deadheaded and pulled the obvious weeds. They were gorgeous.  Ann

Spuddle

Isn't that a great word for not getting anything done!  Spuddle......like combining spinning my wheels and muddled or befuddled state of mind.  Some days and weeks are like that..........

No projects to show for the last couple weeks but I have helped in the iris patch at McCrory Gardens, part of South Dakota State University.  The iris are late this year because spring was so slow to warm into summer.  But they are glorious and even more will be blooming this week.  --Ann--

 

Reading list #2

Not much blog worthy going on in my life. Oh wait that’s because I have been reading.  Some have been very good books and some just ok. This has been the coldest, windiest, greyest April that I can remember I know it’s May but it finally feels like April after 60 some days of March.  Great weather for reading. Always look for a bright side…The scillas are finally blooming. I’ve driven past this yard a couple times and gasped at the expanse of blue, yesterday I stopped to take a couple pictures.  The house used to belong to a lady in my church, her yard and flowers were always perfect. Now it looks like a student rental and much neglected. To the memory of Mrs. C. She also taught 6th grade I didn’t have her for a teacher but a classmate told me she was the last teacher who read aloud to her class. Happy reading ~~Ann~~

1.  The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear Maisie Dobbs book #15
2. Life in Stitches by Rachel Herron a series of essays about knitting and life.
3. The Existential Worries of Mags Munro by Jean Grainger about a middle aged police woman in present day Ireland
4. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman again for book club
5. It’s Better That Way by Debbie MaComber just fluff for fun
6. The Girl from Ballymor by Kathleen McGurl takes place in present day and 1840’s potato famine in Ireland present day art history student is researching second great grandfather who was a very successful portrait painter.
7. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie another murder mystery 
8. A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin romance takes place during WW2 Christian novel the power of prayer.
9. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman I had to read it again about a young girl dealing with the death of her grandmother.
10. The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear Maisie Dobbs #16
11. Shadows Reel by C.J. Box newest Joe Pickett Wyoming Game Warden mystery
12. The Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear #17 of Maisie Dobbs mystery series
13. Stuff by Daniel Frost a researcher looks into the minds of hoarders.
14. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie a Miss Marple mystery 
15. Stars over Alabama by Sean Dietrich the story begins during the depression of the 1930’s with 3 different small groups of individuals, their lives finally converge the last few chapters of the book.
16. The Good People by Hannah Kent takes place in rural Ireland in 1820’s some people still believed in fairies. 
17. The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin the ages of the two main characters add up to 100 both are in a long term care / hospital for book club very good 
18. An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon book 7 of the Outlander series it ended on cliffhangers for a couple characters. Good thing there is a book #8.  Most of the story takes place in 1777 and 1778 Revolutionary War in colonial America.

Spring

Nothing says let’s party! It’s spring! Like a bunch of daffodils and rabbits.  —Ann—

poppies

 

These poppies are so slow stitiching even on the machine.  I am using the heavy buttonhole stitch I did try the lighter version of the stitch which was across and back then forward a stitch, 1- 2 -3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3,  like a waltz,  but the bold version looked so much better:  across and back across and back 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 then forward and back and forward and back and forward 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5.  It takes forever and then all those turns in the leaves.  I keep telling myself all those stitches and thread will be worth it.  In between stitching  time I'm cutting parts from my plaids: bow tie parts, square in a sqare parts -- same measurements as bow tie, 1 1/2 inch log cabin strips and 3 1/2 inch strips for tri rec stars to mix with the log cabin blocks,  goal here is to use all the plaids and be done with plaids until I spy the next round of fabulous plaids in the quilt shop.  --Ann--

One row of poppies

 One row is almost done still have all those leaves to stitch. This may be a very slow project. —Ann

June flowers

 Another block done! But I think it needs a ribbon or a bow around the stems I'm thinking yellow.  I’m not going to meet my goal of completing all the blocks in June but only one left. click to see all the blocks —Ann—

June flowers

 I dug this out of the closet because I thought I was going to need a little go project but we didn't need to go so instead I have been working on this with my afternoon coffee.  I started it in 2017 I think.  I had all but a couple leaves left on two of the four now finished blocks.  That was so easy to complete that I kept at it, the stems are now finished on the pink bouquet.  I may finish the last 2 blocks before June is over and as hot as it has been it is a very doable goal.  I'm going to add 4 patch and little pinwheels all in a row to fill in and square up these blocks.  Thankful for central AC.  --Ann--

Irises

 I think iris are the most elegant of flowers.  They are blooming in mass at McCrory Gardens where I help tend them.  --Ann--

Flowering crabapples

 

The flowering crabapple trees have been magnificent this spring now that spring has made it clear it’s her time to shine. The city planted flowering crabs along the bike path where I frequently walk.  I wish I could put a scratch and sniff patch on this post, so you could smell them too.  Soon all these petals will fall like snow, when I see the pink petals on the ground it always makes me think of the pink in Dr. Seues's book The Cat in the Hat Comes Back  the Cat in the Hat leaves a pink ring in the bathtub and in trying to clean up the ring spreads the pink onto everything.  Savoring spring --Ann--

Memorial Day Peonies

 Peonies always make me think of my mother, she planted Memorial Day peonies all around her house, my oldest son lives in the house now and doesn't fuss with the flowers the way she did.  They are blooming this year for Memorial Day.  These pictures  are of my peonies from a couple moves ago the bottom picture is a fern leaf peony which I got from my mother years ago.  She always said if you plant something in my memory plant it were you can see it.   --Ann--

Pondering and the back side of August

I slept late the other morning, there were four digits on the clock -- that late. I took my coffee to the deck to soak up some vitamin D, I think the deck faces southwest so it is late morning when the sun was hitting it, our house is not square to the world so it makes me more directionally challenged than usual. It was a beautiful morning too bad I missed most of it, bright blue sky, no wind, no bugs  and comfortable temp, the birds were chirping, a goldfinch was sitting at the very top of the maple tree. Too far away for a photo then it flew and a red finch took its place and then another joined it.  The tips of the maple are starting to turn color.  Too soon for me. Does that mean we are going to have an early fall and earlier winter?  I hope it just means we are going to have a more colorful fall.  Wet summers do that to our trees here.  Savoring the rest of the summer  --Ann--

Sunflowers

I don't think there is anything that says August better than sunflowers except maybe sweet corn.

         























I pulled weeds and trim the iris at Mc Crory Gardens this morning, I got there early so I could look at the flowers and left a trail of foot prints across the dew covered grass.  The sunflowers were spectacular its fun to see what the seed people have done to change the color of the blossoms.  I still like the bright yellow best.   The upper left blossom just looks anemic with the pale yellow and rust.  The lower right flower is brighter in the photo than it was in person.  I always thought the short wild sunflowers were like a class of second graders with their faces looking every direction.  I hope you are enjoying August its slipping away too fast for me.  --Ann--