Same walk, different day!

On Tuesday, Gracie and I headed out again to the bike path along the river... just a little later than on Monday. There was no wind, so the water was as smooth as glass... as you can see from the reflection.

 

This one is for you, Susan!  As I was taking a picture of some grasses, I looked down and saw Gracie's shadow!

Lovely piece of driftwood and some late-blooming wild phlox (I believe).

I was happy I actually caught the cruiser in the photo.  He was really scooting along.  The Mohawk River is now the New York State Barge Canal System... Erie Canal followed it originally, but was eventually replaced when there was equipment able to dig a deeper channel in the river.  There is a whole system of locks between the Buffalo area at the far western edge of New York and Cohoes, New York, where the Mohawk flows into the Hudson River.  There are still remnants of the original canal... which was the main route used to transport goods "into the wilderness" for a long time.  It boggles the mind that it was dug entirely by hand!

The bench is a lovely spot to sit a while before heading home.

 I tried to capture the lovely grasses along the path.  

These are especially sweet with the light behind them.

Morning by the river

Good Morning!

I live near the beautiful Mohawk River.  It runs from East to West sort of through the middle of New York State.  When I was a child, the river was not a pleasant place to visit.  Many places dumped their raw sewage into it and it smelled very bad. Didn't look too great close up either! However, some years ago there was a very powerful movement to renew the river and it has been amazingly successful.  One can now swim in it and eat the fish.

The section of the bike path where I like to walk with Gracie runs along the (high) bank of the river.

Here are some pictures taken this morning.

The view from the parking lot down to the Kiwanis Boat Launch site.

Along our walk, heading West.

The railroad bridge in "The Junction"

The fall flowers are doing well with all our rain!

I love the little asters, especially with the goldenrod!

These seed heads look exactly like the ones on my cultivated clematis.  I wonder if someone planted them or if the birds helped.  Next year I must get to this spot during the flowering season to see if it really is clematis.

That's all for today.  My camera ran out of battery before I ran out of beautiful subjects.  Perhaps more tomorrow! 

Done!

Well, I did get to a garden shop and filled my car with big pots of mums that are mostly buds.  I want them to be blooming the first weekend in October when I am hosting a reunion of sorts.

This morning I actually planted the mums and did some other garden cleanup.

Here's how the newly tidied area looks now.

Next year I will add taller plants between the mums.  So far, so good.  I have a lot more tidying to do in the next few weeks! Wish me luck!

From Messy to Tidy

Good morning and welcome to 2014... about 8 months late!  (I didn't realize how long it's been since I last posted.)

For a long time I've wanted to do "something" to tidy up the area next to the most-used entrance to my old house.  I tend to use it as a gardening catch all... with plants and pots and junk.  There is a flower bed against the wall that was originally held at bay with rebar holding back some landscape timbers. The timbers have long since rotted and the earth spills out onto the pavement... not very pretty.

The pile of retaining wall blocks are obstructing the view of the mess, but I bet you get the idea!

I have postponed tackling this project all week since we have been having some of the hottest, most humid days this season.  However, this morning is much cooler, there is a breeze and it's slightly overcast.  Also, this area is pretty much in the shade early in the morning.  So... I weeded and moved all the potted plants from the dirt area, scraped the mess off the pavement to just beyond its edge and started placing the blocks. As you can see, the back edge of the bottom side of the block has a "fat lip" that I hooked over the edge of the pavement.  Then I just went back with a second row, centering them over the space between the blocks in the first row and hooking the "fat lip" over the block below.

I had originally figured it might take me a couple of mornings to complete the project and was DEE-LIGHT-TED to finish it in less than 1 hour!  Why, oh why, did I ever wait so long to do this?  I even hosed down the blocks and the pavement before declaring the project done!  (I have 5 blocks left over... one of them needs to be split in half to finish off the ends of the second row... I will figure out something to do with the other 4!)

The steps on the far right are the everyday entrance.

Now I can get myself to the farm stand and buy some BIG pots of mums to take the garden through Fall.

A Walk around the yard

Spring is upon us in the North East US.  We've had many days of the most perfect weather imaginable... clear, sunny days and cooler nights.  The sky has been the most amazing shade of blue and the baby maple leaves are a beautiful complement.

I mowed almost all the mow-able property on Wednesday afternoon... and it really could use another mowing again... Yikes!  I can only imagine how quickly it will grow once we get a bit of rain!

As I wandered around checking on the state of the plants and shrubs, I took a few pictures....

This flowering quince was on the property when I moved in 13 years ago.  It needs pruning each year to keep it from encroaching onto the driveway space, which is quite narrow at this point.  It is giving us a very special showing this year.

The pulmonaria used to be in a back garden and I completely missed its blooming a couple of times, so I've moved it to a spot where it gets my attention!

My girl, Gracie, from behind the fence of her exercise yard.  She never has gotten the hang of staying in the unfenced parts without being tied.

Those quince blossoms up close.  Anybody out there have suggestions as to how I can put to use the wonderful fruit they generate later in the year?

Here's Gracie keeping watch on the road.... just in case anything happens that I need to know about.

With Gracie on watch duty, Marco can take a little cat nap. (I call this his cat-erpillar pose.)

Any Excuse to be Outside

It is so beautiful outside today that I can hardly contain myself.

One of the several things that I dabble in is hand-built pottery.  A friend has a studio in her home and we typically meet once a week to "make stuff."  I have been fascinated with tiny, little houses lately and decided to take some pictures on this breezy, slightly chilly, Sunday morning.

The tallest house in 1 1/8 inches tall, the littlest is a mere 3/8 inch tall.  Susan Black's post this morning inspired me to take them outside to a patch of lush moss to photograph them.  (I still need to figure out a good way to get in close to the really tiny ones and still keep them in focus.)
While tromping around my yard looking for photogenic sites, I looked up at my guest room windows...

...where my geraniums flourish all winter long...  reminding me that it is almost time to bring them out into the fresh air and unfiltered sunshine...  almost.  (it was 29 degrees F here last night!)

I've been sewing

Ever since the first week in January, I've been sewing. Sewing clothes for myself mostly. I can't seem to stop, nor do I want to.  I have had a glorious time up in my sewing room with all my incredible fabrics, the sun streaming in the windows and the ideas flowing much faster than I can make them up. The dog and the cats wander in and out to check on me as the day progresses, and I listen to recorded books when I'm doing parts that don't require too much concentration.

I've been wanting some new things in my winter clothes closet.  Things that are little bit different from those found in stores.  Perhaps it's a fabric choice or the style.  I had purchased two pieces of beautiful, double-napped, cotton plaids at the very end of December and wanted tops in styles that are not what you usually find made up in flannel.

My first inspiration was this:

from FLAX, a favorite clothing line of mine. As you can see, it is not a winter garment.

































I took a pattern I had that fits me well, and modified it.  (the pattern I used is Silhouette Patterns #625 Kaitlyn's Blouse)

I made my changes to a copy of the pattern...  changed the shape of the front neckline, shortened the body of the blouse, and added "flounces" to the sleeves and the hem of the body.  I used the Paprika-colored flannel.  Here's the outcome!

It is cozy and soft and cheery.  I have since made the same pattern from a vintage damask tablecloth that had several holes and some stains, but there still were just enough good parts to make the blouse. 

The other flannel is a medium-size black/white/gray Buffalo plaid and I used a commercial Burda pattern, Number 7220, as it was designed!  Another "just right" top!

The office where I work a couple days a week is usually much warmer than I'm comfortable with, so the open necks and loose fit of these tops works perfectly. 















So far (today is February 17) I've completed eleven (that's 11, folks!) garments since January first.  Can't wait to see what the next six weeks produce!