On my internet travels this spring, I came across this neat project.

I just so happened to have one of those wire baskets. I actually have two – I don’t used them as hanging baskets anymore as I find they are too hard to keep the soil moist.

So why not turn one into a turtle. I bought some hens and chicks, sedum, elfin time, and moss several weeks ago, but didn’t get around to putting him together until this past weekend.

And of course, when I did… I didn’t actually go back and look at the instructions… I just kind of winged it from memory.

So my turtle is abit more… umm… laden than the one in the project, lol. I do have some sphagnum moss, left over from our adventure with Newt, so I’m tempted to go back and lighten him up a little. It’s not like I cant put a few of those plants somewhere in the gardens.

We’ll see if I get around to it. For now, he’s hanging out behind the cucumbers in Willow Grove, keeping an eye on the bird bath.

While the cross stitching didn’t see much love, the same can’t be said for my latest sock project.

This one seems to be just flying off the needles. As you can see, I’m through the leg, heel and almost done the gusset. While I did 2-2 ribbing on the leg, I’m doing the foot plain. It’s my favourite way to knit self-stripers. I also find it’s one of the best fitting ways to knit a sock.

Like the others, this pair is destined for the gift box. But I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself – I still have to finish this one and then make the second!

I finally decided on a new project for the hoop. I printed out the pattern, picked out a couple colours…

And that’s as far as I got. Saturday got eaten up by picking up Wilma (she was in a town 1.5 hours away), a little thrifting on the way home (Dave got stuff, I didn’t), and then a full evening of much overdue weeding on the front yard.

Sunday we ran a few errands, and by the time we got home I was just too burnt out to do much more than play games on my phone.

And I’m headed to Mom’s this coming weekend, so this poor project won’t see any love then either. Oh well – there’s always the weekend after. As you can see, I’ve decided on a moth this time. Like the butterfly, it will be on black 18 ct aida. My super bright task light has made working with the black fabric a much less daunting task. I’m looking forward to this one!

As alluded to in previous posts… I’ve been on the hunt for a new vehicle. Last month, I took Dory in for some possible brake work, and the mechanic called me a short time later. He told me not to put another dime into her and start looking for another vehicle. The sub-frame was rotted. It was time to say goodbye.

Now I really can’t complain. Dad gave her to me back in 2018 (he’d had her from new). She had a mysterious coolant leak, but as long as I kept any eye on it, and kept it topped up she’d be just fine. Though he warned me not to hope to get much more than a year or two out of her. The car I was driving (Dave’s old Buick) was barely roadworthy, so even a vehicle that lasted a year or two was a step up.

In the end… Dave and I accidentally found the coolant leak while boosting the Bonneville. That, along with other repairs normal for her age (she was born in 2008), saw her last me almost six years. She had 210,000 km on the speedometre when I got her, and more than 320,000 km by the time I had to say goodbye) Not bad at all.

But it was time to put her out to pasture. So, the weekend before last, Dave and I went out, and set things in motion for a new vehicle. This weekend, everything was finalized and we went to pick it up. For convenience, we traded Dory in for her scrap value. And I’m not going to lie… leaving without her made me feel a little sad. Kind of like we abandoned her there.

But… we did come home with Wilma.

She’s a 2014 Jeep Cherokee. Ten years old, but with fairly low mileage and in good condition for her age. And still the newest vehicle I’ve ever had. She’s a little smaller than Dory, with a touch less cargo space – but still enough room to haul plants and dirt. She doesn’t have a trailer hitch, so we’ll be installing one so I can still pull my box trailer when needed.

I’ve only had her since Saturday, so I’m still getting used to all her new fangled things… (like a 9-speed transmission that shifts when I’m not expecting it) but I think she and I are going to get along just fine. (And I have already ordered her a Hello Kitty sticker for the back window – just like Dory’s)

It’s been a while since I’ve shared any pictures of my backyard friends – but I’ve got some new ones for you this week

Last weekend, I gave the pussywillows a trim, and as I was bagging up the cuttings, I (luckily) noticed this little guy.

Google tells me he’s the caterpillar of some sort of Underwing moth (there are several and they have similar caterpillars).

I’m thinking it might be a Lesser Yellow Underwing moth…

Because a little later that day, when I was cleaning up some weeds in Edible Alley – I came across one! What are the chances?

A few weeks ago, Dave put up a rustic little bird house I’d bought last year. And it looks like it might have a new tenant…

When I was mowing the lawn earlier this week, I noticed this little one going in and out of it constantly.

It’s a House Wren. It has the prettiest little call. I don’t know if there’s a nest or eggs in the house (Dave put it up too high for me to peek in easily) but I’ve since seen two of them hanging around it, so I’m hoping.

Back behind the yard, our rear neighbour has a very large mulberry right at the property line. It’s branches over hang our yard giving us some nice shade in the evening. And right now it is full of ripe mulberries. The birds are in and out of it all day (the robins really seem to love the mulberries). And I’ve spotted a few of these guys.

Cedar Waxwings. They were particularly hard to photograph, even with my long lens. They were definitely wary, and hid behind the leaves more often than not.

Eventually, they got a little more comfortable with me, and I was able to get some good pics.

A very pretty bird.

And of course, a backyard friend post wouldn’t be complete without one of these guys.

They have been enjoying the mulberries just as much as the birds have.

This picture popped up in my facebook memories the other day

That was how the front lawn looked in June of 2021 after we took possession of the house.

This is what it looks like now. It’s amazing what you can accomplish in just a couple years if you’re not shy about wielding a shovel.

The roses on the arbour are just blowing me away.

That’s Eden on the left, and Quicksilver on the right. And they are both just STUNNING this year.

If nothing else goes right in the garden this year, these roses would carry me through the rest of the season. They just make my smile every time I see them.

I recently bought a small piece of fine art for the bedroom…

I don’t think poor Burton approves…

Oh dear…

On Saturday, Dave and spent most of the day out looking at potential new vehicles for me (more on that soon). But we got home with just enough time to do a little sewing before it was time for dinner.

So Burton and I banged out one more block for our Blockhead Bee quilt. (You can see he thoroughly enjoyed himself.)

We are only doing blocks that lend themselves to fussy cutting the centres, so there are quite a few blocks we haven’t done.

We have 12 blocks total. And I think it’s shaping up to a very nice quilt. There’s only a few weeks left to the sew along, so it’s hard to say if we’ll add more to the quilt or not. 12 is a pretty good number for a quilt, and I think I’d need to add at least four more if I were going to go bigger.

So… we’ll wait and see what these last weeks bring us – then make a decision.

Burton says “that sounds like a plan!!!”

With Emotional Support Chicken off the needles, I needed something new on.

Yep – another sock. I generally knit in the evenings after work, and just don’t have the mental capacity most nights for anything big or complicated. I don’t mind, because working on some fairly mindless socks means I’m slowly completing my Christmas list. I’ve got three pairs in there already – this will be a fourth.

Nothing fancy here – just a two-two rib for the leg, and I’ll do a plain foot. There’s not much point in doing a pattern with those stripes anyway.

I can’t tell you what the yarn is – it was a thrift store find with no label. I’m assuming it’s Regia, or Opal or a yarn like it.

Its looking like it’s going to be a nice, cheerful knit!

FINALLY…

Depsite another busy weekend, I finished up those last leaves around the bottom flower (I did modify them from the pattern), added a few last stitches, and that is that! This beautiful butterfly is finished. It’s been a very enjoyable project, with a beautiful result. Naturally, there are a few small mistakes, but nothing that really matters.

I look forward to doing more in the series. But I think I need a break from the black aida. I’m not 100% sure what I’m going to start next – but it will be on some lighter cloth!