When I got back from Mom’s I wasn’t sure what I’d come back to in the garden. We got a couple nights of frost at Mom’s though technically, I’m a little further south (latitudinally) than Mom’s – but not a tonne.
And while the garden was definitely showing signs of wear – there was still lots standing.
Zinnia and Dahlias are still going pretty strong.
I was planning on digging up all my dahlias before now, but I read that it’s actually good to let them get hit by a frost to make them go dormant first. That said, I’ll probably dig them up this weekend because if I don’t take the opportunity now, I might not have time later. It’s hard when they are still blooming.
Same with the roses – I’d planned to wrap them all in burlap.. but when the flowers still look like this – how can I?
Almost all the bushes have buds on them too.
And the Chrysanthemums are still looking pretty fab to – especially those ones on the right. They are just sooo darn cute with those fluffy button centres!
Temps are dropping this weekend… will it all be gone by Monday?
Nothing warms a heart more than seeing a former stray living his best life, upside down on a couch.
Or how about him curled up with his adopted brothers on the bed?
Now there are a couple of unusual things in this picture. The first is that the bed is unmade. At one time, that wouldn’t have been abnormal – until I started making quilts. Now I almost always make my bed so I can see the pretty quilts on it. Even if Rupert or Lemmy was sleeping on the unmade bed, I’d make it – because after a couple of treats, they are content to just go back to sleep on the made bed.
But Furby being in the bed, coexisting peacefully with BOTH of them. Now that’s unusual – I wasn’t about to disrupt it just to make the bed.
The muscle car quilt was not the only one I quilted on the weekend….
I also had the quilt for Muscle Man’s older sister. Like with brother’s quilt, this one was kept simple and the fabrics and colours really shine.
Like her brother’s quilt, she also got a nice flannel back
Dave helped pick that one out and I think he made a good choice.
Like with the muscle car quilt, Mom did all the binding for me. And man does she do a tidy job! One of the reasons I do a hand-sewn binding (in addition to the fact I enjoy doing it) is that I am just not that tidy with the machine sewing!
This one finished at 64″ square and like it’s sibling, is now tucked away in the to-gift pile.
And now… I have NO quilt WIPs on the go (other than my leader/ender, which doesn’t count). The possibilities are ENDLESS on what I can start next… I just need a free hour or two!
Every November, Canadians (and people in many other commonwealth countries) proudly wear a red poppy as a symbol of remembrance, honouring the courage, sacrifice, and service of those who have served our country.
It’s a small flower with an extraordinary history, forever associated with the battlefields of the First World War and the words of Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae’s famous poem,In Flanders Fields.
And while the red poppy has become one of the most recognizable symbols of remembrance in the world, it represents just one species among a remarkably diverse group of flowers.
Several of which, I grow in my garden..
Corn Poppies.
These are these iconic flower of remembrance, but they come in many more colours than just red.
Corn poppies are annuals, producing slender stems topped with delicate, tissue-paper petal. Their flowers are relatively short-lived, but a patch of poppies can provide weeks of colour as new blooms continually open.
Oriental Poppy (Papaver orientale)
If corn poppies are delicate and understated, Oriental poppies are their flamboyant cousins.
These hardy perennials produce enormous flowers, sometimes measuring 15–20 centimetres across, in brilliant shades of orange, scarlet, salmon, pink, and white. I have white, red, pale pink and some gorgeous burgundy ones in my garden
Oriental poppies bloom in late spring or early summer, often disappearing from view as temperatures rise. Their foliage naturally dies back during the hottest part of the season, but sometimes we get lucky and they pop back for a second blooming when the weather cool again
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
The California poppy belongs to a different genus but shares the same botanical family as the familiar garden poppies.
Native to western North America, this cheerful wildflower produces brilliant golden-orange flowers above finely divided, blue-green foliage. One of its most fascinating characteristics is the way its flowers respond to light. They open in sunshine and close during cloudy weather or at night, protecting their reproductive structures when conditions are less favourable.
These little guys were so robust in my garden, and there’s STILL some blooming out there right now!
Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule)
Despite their name, Iceland poppies are not native to Iceland. They originate from cool northern regions of North America and Asia. I had them at the townhouse, and they thrived, but I haven’t been able to get them to establish here.
These graceful flowers are famous for their silky, almost translucent petals in shades of yellow, orange, white, pink, and cream. Unlike their heat-loving relatives, Iceland poppies prefer cool growing conditions and often perform best in spring and early summer. In warmer climates, they’re frequently grown as annuals, although they’re naturally short-lived perennials.
Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum)
Few flowers combine beauty, history, and controversy quite like the opium poppy.
These striking annuals produce large, often ruffled or densely petalled blooms in shades of pink, purple, red, and white. Some varieties resemble enormous peonies, while others have simpler, elegant flowers.They have been cultivated for thousands of years, both for their ornamental beauty and for the seeds used in baking and cooking. However, the plant also produces alkaloids used in the manufacture of medicinal opioids, and its cultivation is regulated in some jurisdictions, including here in Canada. Despite its complicated history, the opium poppy remains one of the most visually spectacular members of the poppy family.
So, this Remembrance Day, take a moment to appreciate the little red flower that carries such enormous meaning. Among the many beautiful varieties of poppies, it is the humble red corn poppy that has come to symbolize courage, sacrifice, resilience, and remembrance. More than a century after the guns fell silent on the battlefields of Flanders, its delicate petals continue to remind us of the lives lost, the freedoms we enjoy, and the generations who have served to protect them.
A simple flower. An extraordinary legacy. A reminder that must never fade.
Thank you for all the lovely comments on wee Oliver. He certainly is a cutie patootie!
And… he got a first introduction to quilt sandwiching while I was there…
I’m not sure if he found it TOO stimulating, or not stimulating enough… because he quickly crashed out in his downstairs basket…
And I got on with the quilting process.
The first quilt completed was the muscle car quilt for a nice young man.
As you know, because of time constraints, I kept the pattern simple. And honestly, with these fabrics, I think that was the best route to show them off.
For the back, I got a nice, snuggly plaid
Normally, I would sew the binding down by hand, which is my preference (I enjoy doing it) but Mom, knowing my time has been super tight lately, offered to do it on the machine for me. I very gratefully took her up on that offer!
It was nice to come home with a completed quilt, and not have to get the binding done before taking pictures.
The quilt finished up at about 61″ x 72″ and is now tucked away in the gift pile waiting to be wrapped for Christmas!
Burton is always a little sad when I head to Mom’s for the weekend.
Since, I won’t be home until tonight I wrote a little poem to cheer him up.
The Ballad of Lord Burton Bearbottom
In a kingdom of quilts, where the soft blankets lie, Lives a Lord with green eyes and a rather sharp eye. With a coat black as midnight, magnificent and grand, Lord Burton Bearbottom rules all of the land.
His whiskers are splendid, his tail is divine, And he surveys his kingdom with a gaze most sublime. The chairs and the cushions, the beds and the floor, All his royal possessions, and he still demands more.
He supervises the quilting with critical grace, Leaving tufts of black fur all over the place. Each quilt must be tested, each fabric inspected, Any attempt to move him is swiftly rejected.
His servants work tirelessly, both day and night While His Lordship reclines in beams of sunlight. He contributes no labour, pays nothing in rent, Yet somehow believes he’s the house main event.
When evening falls softly and the day’s work is done, He curls up beside me, his mischief all spun. A rumble of purring, a slow, sleepy blink, And suddenly he’s sweeter than anyone would think.
For beneath all that grandeur, that pomp and that fluff, Is a heart full of love (though he’d deny such silly stuff). A tyrant? Perhaps. A spoiled little brat? But what else would you expect from so grand a cat?
As I’ve said before, I try to wait until November to turn on the heat. Toward the end of October, I endured some very chilly mornings in the house with tea, sweaters and quilts to keep me going until the house warmed up with the sun. But on Halloween morning, I broke. I woke up and the house was about 12C – so I flipped the switch!
I enjoyed a nice toasty house, we had a wonderful (cool) Halloween night outside… and then BAM! Mother Nature flipped a switch and decided she’d raise the thermostat again. Since Nov 1, the temps steadily rose until day time temps topped 20C by mid week. So the heat went off.
The temps are on their way back down again…but who knows how long they will stay there.
But right now – the gardens are loving it!
The Raspberries keep coming! I’ve got a lot of jam to make – hoping to get to it next weekend. I’m hoping to make three batches – blackberry, yellow raspberry and some red raspberry jelly.
As for the flowers… pretty much everything I showed you last week is still blooming. I won’t hit you with all of it, but here are my favourites.
I interrupted a bit of a snuggle session in the catio the other day
I wish I’d gotten the pic about 30 seconds sooner. They were were sound alsleep. And it’s so rare to see them sleeping while touching.
They eventually went back to sleep, but apart. Which is how they sleep more often.
And while they may not snuggle much, of all the cats they are the most “paired” in the house.
And though they are the oldest (Rupert, 11) and the youngest (Lemmy, 4) you’d never know it. They play and rough house like they were from the same litter.
My Christmas socks are on the needles and I’m happy to say they are going swimmingly!
I’m using the Mary Maxim Festive feet I just bought, and though it’s hard to see at the moment… my Undine pattern. Something about those colours and sparkle just called for something lacy.
As you can see, the yarn is a fairly long some-what gradient striper. I’m just getting into the cream now. But these are going pretty quick. I don’t want to jinx myself, but I’m hoping to have them off the needles and on my feet by December 1.
I have no other knitting planned for Christmas this year – in fact, other than making some more jam, and quilting those two quilts – everything is ready for Christmas gifting! I dare say it may be a fairly stress-free holiday for me!
