In the Cool of the Garden......

 It hailed today. I couldn't believe it. Well, yes I can believe it....storm clouds have been brewing for two days, and I've had a migraine  to prove it. Today was better. Once the hail thundered down. The Pasque Flower survived the  icy onslaught. And then the sun popped out for a full 20 minutes. Lucky us.

 Lucky Spencer. He toddled up to the gate to lie in the sun while it was out.  But the wind picked up and he didn't stay long. Just me. Wandering about in the chill. Brrrrrrrrrr.

 

 The Columbine is starting to show. Romantic looking things, aren't they?

 And one transplant decided to bloom. Early. The Cranesbill. Usually not out till June. This one  decided it would bloom......one stalk only.  Brave. (Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr 0 degrees, 32 F.)

 And the Mauve Pasque Flower ( also known as Passion, or Windflower) . One of the early spring ones to show up in the cool. In the garden. When it is brrrrrrrrrr.

      I love the back as well....I love the droop....nodding heads in the wind.

Then there's the plum one. On the hill. Covered with melting hail. It 's still 0 degrees. And it still blooms.

Days of Meow Wine.

 I've got this thing about the wine and cider we make.  Can't just call it "White Wine" or "Apple Cider".....too dull....so instead, every batch we do is name after a cat that has adopted my garden as its second home.  So, today we bottled "Cordelia's Concord Cordial" ....

 .........and "Spencer's Smoky Cider" after the two young ones .....

The best part of today was dropping off a couple of bottles at their homes when we were done. Just because. Never actually met their humans  before. It was fun. It was different. I highly recommend  it, just because.

 

 And now the larder is full. Full of wine we will never drink. And that's the funniest part.

 These labels I did before we knew Cordelia's name...so just called the batch "White Cat Wine".

                         Here is the wine, at Willow Point Wines,ready to be siphoned into bottles.

                                          Making labels is one of the coolest parts.

 Full bottle of Cordelia's Wine. Grape vines that she sleeps in when it is warmer.

                                                         Filling.......

 Bottles in freezer ready for Cider.The bottles have to be very chilled.

                               Filling bottles with "Spencer's Smoky Cider"

 Bubbling to the top and over...........................

 ....and of course, then there's Grey Cat ( not sure of his name.....have yet to find out):

There he is. Sitting on the back porch. Waiting patiently for his treat.

A nice gift: housewarming, birthday, anniversary, friends, and just because......

Antique quilt in progress....

This is a quilt I have been designing for a while. All 12 inch squares with soft colours with pops of some accent colours, bordered with a pale gold leaf fabric that I just love. Only had enough just to do the borders.....just.  I have yet to tea-dye the entire piece. That's the fun part. Make a sinkful of tea, strong tea, then soak the entire thing  in the bath. When it dries, the colours will meld with each other and it will have an antique sheen to the fabric.  This weekend I have to get proper quilt batting for it...wide enough that I won't have to piece it at all, and backing...cream I think, to match the colour them and thread.   Decided to keep this one. I often give lots of quilts away. Love doing that. But every so often I keep one....
   Even toying with the idea of taking my time and hand quilting it on my frame. I just might....ntohing fancy, but I want to keep it looking antique, and hand stitching would be perfect. Love quilting......

PHOTOS worth a second look......

 These are some of my favourite old photos I'm getting enlarged,cleaned up and all that sort of thing.  Everything seems to be still when I look at them. In the one above,my grandparents with their youngest son, Stuart,on the left, stand with their other son, Bill, in front of the old homestead in Bethune, Saskatchewan. It was May 29th 1940. Stuart left  that afternoon to  go to the war. My grandparents were NOT happy about it. To them, the war was far away.

 Stuart, May 29 1940, with his buddy.  Pretending to hitch a ride, down the long and winding road. Stuart survived Dieppe. His buddy did not.

 The "Norman", Montreal , 1932. One of the last air ships to toddle up and down North America before it was scrapped, after the explosion of the Hindenburg.

 The Shiels clan, about 1933, Bethune. Stuart, Isobel, Nessie ( mum), Bill, Isabella and Robert Shiels in front with their favourite dog ( I think her name was Jessie). All of them together. One of the few photos where they were all in one place.

 Medicine Show, Aug 30 1935. Huge show came through that summer in the middle of the Depression. I think he is stunning with the head dress, all handmade...

Victoria, Government Street Wooden bridge, around 1936 ( the date is not for sure). Mum and Dad , newly married, getting ready to go off on the Princess Kathleen for a "cruise".
                  The people are long gone, and I had no idea these photos existed until a few years ago. Now I'm fascinated by them.
       

Moai in the garden

 Easter Island is really a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, 2000 miles from Tahiti and Chili. The Island is famous for weird statues scattered all across the volcanic rock.  Some authorities on the  gigantic Moai, believe that aliens dropped them off there......don't think so......Rapa  Nui was the site of an ecological and cultural disaster.........the Moai have become  sentinels. I find it all so fascinating..........  and the heads have company:

       The Pasque Flower, one of the first spring flowers to  appear. One of my favourites, soft and elegant and droopy, especially in the rain.

                                                And the heads, the Moai, holding watch.

                           Pasque flowers running wild .....

 You're probably wondering where I got Easter Island heads: Home Hardware. They have everything. I picked one up a couple of years ago, but the HH in town never got anymore. Thanks to my friend, Donna, who sent me the link, I found out they could be ordered in. Reasonable as well.

                                White Bleeding heart bleeds besides the Moai

 The Moai don't say much. I'll probably never go to easter Island, but at least I can bring a bit of it here.

                      Lungwort.....likes this cold , soggy weather that we call  spring.....and the heads look pretty good sitting on their hill, watching the clouds roll by. I wonder if Home Hardware will get any pyramids?

EVER CHANGING MOUNTAINS

 Tonight Thor is thundering away in the mountains. They change so much every day. From dark to light, to sun, to pink cotton

 The same mountain range can look like this the day before...........

 Then clouds move in and  wind picks up.

Day before yesterday it was pink, blue, tropical.......

 And today the mountains trembled.................

I prefer to just sit and watch.........I can hear rumbling come from the mountains tonight. ..