While I didn’t have a tonne of time the weekend for sewing (just Sunday), I was determined to get another Christmas top together.

It took a little prep. I did all the cutting the weekend before. And I stole an evening after work to sew up some blocks.

Then I was able to hit the ground running on Sunday and sew the top together.

It’s not a huge top – Just 49 blocks, so it didn’t take too long to sew it all together.

I added a few thin borders, and built it out to a respectable 57″ square. Perfect for a small lap quilt

Here’s a closer look at those fabrics.

Aren’t those fabrics cute? I only had two fat quarters of each of the prints, so I had to get creative with how to use them. I think I did pretty good.

I had several yards of the red polkadot fabric so that helped. And I buy plain white by the bolt, so I had lots of that.

So… that’s two tops complete before the middle of the month! That’s excellent progress in my book! Can’t wait to see what I manage this weekend!

Compared to my poor moth, the second sock has definitely seen more love. We’ve had a couple doctors appointments, and I’ve managed to blast through almost all of the leg.

I’m almost ready to start the heel. I was hoping to have the whole pair done by the end of June, but if I finish them by mid July, I’ll be happy!

Not many stitches were stitched this weekend…

Many stitches were ripped on that left-side tail, and then re-stitched so they were correct, but that’s all I managed to complete.

The main reason is we were gone for a good chunk of the weekend. Friends of ours in Long Point were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. So we took the Big White Whale for a long drive (two hours) and celebrated with all their friends and family.

Along the way, we stopped a little food truck/farm market for lunch. Dave also grabbed some pepperettes, and this gnome decided to follow us home.

I think I’m going to have to paint him white though, because as you can see, he doesn’t show up so well in the garden, lol.

By late afternoon we made out destination.

I took the fancy camera and shot a couple pics of the old girl from their front lawn. (They live on an absolutely amazing plot at the start of the causeway, overlooking Long Point Bay)

Another reason I took the fancy camera is an amazing place for birdwatchers. You may recall that Dave’s Uncle Bill’s wedding was held here a few years back. I didn’t have the camera then, an missed out on some amazing pics of Turkey Vultures nesting in one of their trees.

Unfortunately, the vultures weren’t there this year… but I did get some cute Purple Martins

There was a lone swan out on the bay, but my long lens wasn’t quite long enough to get a really good pic.

Between birdwatching and socializing, we didn’t get home until very late that night – which mean no stitching until Sunday. It was worth it though – that moth isn’t going anywhere.

It’s that time of year…

While I managed to stay (mostly) ahead of the Red Asian Lily Beetle this year, and so far, the Sawfly larva damage to the roses has been minimal… we have now begun battle with the dreaded foe….

The dreaded Japanese Beetle!!!!!

Okay – they look a little more like this, but seeing them is totally more like that comic image (thank you AI!) For the uninitiated – Japanese Beetles are an invasive species and they are a HUGE problem for several reasons:

• Japanese beetles feed on over 300 species of plants, including many agricultural crops, ornamental plants, and turf grass. This wide range of host plants makes it difficult to manage their population effectively. For me – they LOVE the raspberries and my roses. But also the Hollyhocks and Willows. I also frequently find them on the Coneflowers, Bee Balm, Hyssop, False Sunflowers, Asters, Rose of Sharon, Marguerites, Peas, Beans and Butterfly Bushes – a good 40% of the plants I have in my garden.
• Adult beetles feed on the leaves, flowers, and fruits of plants, often skeletonizing the foliage, which can severely weaken plants and reduce crop yields. The larvae (grubs) feed on the roots of grasses, causing damage to lawns and turf.

• Japanese beetles have a high reproductive rate. A single female can lay between 40 to 60 eggs during her lifespan. This high reproductive capacity can lead to rapid population increases.
• In Ontario, Japanese beetles have fewer natural predators compared to their native habitat in Japan. This lack of natural control allows their populations to grow unchecked.
• Japanese beetles are highly mobile and can disperse over large areas, making it easy for them to spread and establish new populations. And they send out pheromones to attract mates – meaning just one female can attract dozens (I literally think its hundreds) of males. And once the are there – they just start snacking!!

Because I don’t rely on my garden to live (ie, I can go to the grocery store if I don’t get a good harvest) I try to be as gentle and organic as I can. That means no pesticides that might inadvertently hurt my beloved pollinators or birds.

And that means the only way to remotely control (ha!) the Japanese Beetles, is to pick them off manually. They say to do this early in the morning or later in the evening when they aren’t as active. I do more – I pick several times a day. Whenever I need a break, I go out and walk the garden with a container of soapy water, and I knock the beetles into it. Sometimes I pick them up and put them right in. They are definitely more active during the day (they love to fly at your head, or right down your shirt!), but I still manage to get lots in the water.

This is the picking from just ONE day (with a few Cabbage Worms thrown in from the broccoli). I estimate there at least a few hundred

I finally cracked this year, and got some Japanese Beetle Traps. They consist of a pheromone lure over a bag that the beetles fall into and can’t get out of. They do catch beetles, but not NEARLY as many as I get on my daily walkabouts. There’s also some controversy over whether they actually draw MORE beetles to your yard.

I’m definitely ready to try something else – I’ve seen the Beetle-Begone Max… and apparently it’s pollinator safe…

Of course, what we really need is something that will eat the beetles naturally…. maybe I just need to get some chickens in the garden…

While I might not be great with Dahlias – things are going well with the edibles! Almost everything is in bloom with evidence of veg soon to come

Like the squash above.

I expect to be picking beans very soon!

And the peas and cucumbers aren’t far behind!

And that looks like the start of broccoli heads!!!

It’s so rewarding to enjoy the literal fruits of your labour!

Despite repeatedly saying I’m not buying more plants….

I’ve totally bought several more plants. Clockwise from top left

Double Scoop Coneflower: I actually bought two of these, but it’s Dave’s fault. 1) These are SUPER expensive through my plant catalogues. Basically two of them at Home Depot were the same price as one from the Catalogue. 2) I asked Dave which colour he liked better (there was red or dark pink) and he couldn’t decide – so I got both. Of course, when I got home, they seemed to be much closer in colour than they were under the canopy at Home Depot. The one pictured is Strawberry – and it’s only slightly more red than the other (not pictured) which is Watermelon. I put one out back and one out front, so no one will realize how close they actually are.

Pink Clematis: I feel no guilt for this – my pink Clematis didn’t make it this year, so this is just a replacement. I didn’t put it back on the catio fence though (there’s a rose bush there now) – it’s on the new arbour. I have some perennial sweet peas there, but only one side is growing well. So I put the clematis on the other side, and they can share.

Purple Veronica (aka Speedwell): Also a replacement. I lost both my pink and purple Veronica’s this year. Both were in the catio, and I think Lemmy was just too hard on them (he’s currently working on destroying a coneflower and a black-eyed susan). This one is much more robust than mine ever was, but it won’t be going back in the catio. I also got a pink one too – just no picture.

Peach Agastache: Agastache is a plant I’ve wanted for a while, but never see it at the nurseries. Lowe’s had it but they wanted too much for them (they only had it in big pots – I prefer to buy smaller and cheaper). But… eventually it came on sale, so I snapped it up. Not only do I love the colour, it has a lovely licorice smell when you brush the leaves.

Also not pictured is a new rose. Well actually and old rose – one of my first. Walmart is also clearing out their garden centres and all their roses already cheap ($15) were on sale for $10. Most were not in great shape, and I’m not great at bringing roses back to life so I passed on most, but I found one Tournament of Roses (ToR) that was pretty healthy.

Long-time readers will recall my ToR that bloomed beautifully for several years at the the townhouse.

Not my pic, but it’s a beautiful peach pink rose that just blooms and blooms! Now I just have to find a spot for her!

And this last one is for Vera

This is not a new addition, but a Dahlia I bought at the start of the season. In fact, I bought four dahlias… one died off completely and this one is doing the best of what’s left! I love Dahlia’s but they just don’t love me! Guess my green thumb doesn’t work on everything!

Rupert would like to remind you – that even though that OTHER ginger takes up most of the screen time – he’s still here…

And don’t mind his scratched-up face. That’s just from repeatedly putting that other ginger in his place (Lemmy is a VERY slow learner).

Now if you’ll excuse him – he has a shark belly to nap on.

You may have seen this on the Bearbottom Facebook page already – but in an effort to have some Seasonal items in the shop in time for December, Mom and I having a little Christmas in July – or Yule-y – if you will. For the rest of the month we’ll be focusing on Christmas-y quilt projects.

Mom’s already got a few in the works. I’m hoping to complete three small (lap-size) tops by the end of the month. Of course, July is a pretty busy month in general so that may be hoping for too much.

But Burton helped me get off to a good start. We decided to start off with a chandelier quilt, using some of our leftover Christmas Gnome fabric and some fat quarters I had in the stash.

While the Chandelier quilt looks complicated, it’s made of one block and it’s SUPER easy. It’s also super quick. In a long afternoon we had all the blocks cut and sewn together.

And we even ended up adding two more fabrics into the mix because four just wasn’t enough for a good visual variety.

But that was enough for one day, so we left top assembly to the next afternoon.

I’ve gotten quite good about on-point assembly. The hardest part is not mixing up the order of your blocks. We had to do a little ripping a couple times, but overall the top assembly went pretty well.

The Chandlier pattern is just perfect for a Christmas quilt…

It’s almost like strings of dangling ornaments. Here’s a closer look at all our fabrics.

I’ve got a couple options for back and binding, but I’m going to wait until I finish my other tops to decide. Now this weekend is fast approaching – we have an engagement on Saturday… but I’m hoping I can keep Sunday free to churn out another top – stay tuned!

One of the things I love most about my little garden is how much wildlife I can see without even leaving the yard. Some days I could happily sit out there all day with my camera and long lens.

When the weather has been nice, I’ve taken to working from the sun porch. I don’t get as much work done on those days. but I do get some wonderful pics.

Like this one of Mrs. Cardinal. The cardinals are VERY elusive here – especially the females. But this one hung out on top of the catio fence for quite a while.

And do you see that orange streak behind her????? I didn’t notice THAT until I downloaded the pics. I’ve been seeing orioles quite a bit this year – but always in flight. So I was delighted when this one stopped for a wee second on top of the squash tunnel.

And in anothe moment of “Hey – I didn’t notice that when I took the pic” – see the second bird on the right? Well – I saw him as soon as I put the camera down. Thankfully, he stuck around longer than the one on the left did!

A fledgling oriole!!! Isn’t he a cutie?

He flew off just a few minutes after the adult, but I was beyond THRILLED to have seen him, and get pictures!

Now these next pics are not quite as good, because I was shooting through the screened window of the sunporch

But I finally got a picture of the darn hummingbird. There hasn’t been as many as last year – my Honeysuckle had a bad case of aphids this spring, and it didn’t get many blooms. It’s set to bloom again though – and my neighbours trumpet vine is starting to bloom so I expect to see them a little more.

This one was making do with the Culvers Root. Though they do like the bee balm as well and I have lots of that.

Of course, it’s not just birds that come to visit.

There’s butterflies too. Other than the Red Admirals (above) and the Cabbage Whites, I haven’t seen too many other butterflies. I did see my first Monarch on July 1, but it didn’t stick around. There’s lots of Milkweed in Willow Grove now, so I expect more will be visiting.

I chased this Banded Hairstreak for days before I was finally able to get a few pictures. By the time I did, he was missing the little blue bits that are normally on the end of his hindwing. Hairstreaks are VERY tiny butterflies – the centre of that flower he’s on is only about the size of a nickel.

And speaking of those Cabbage Whites – they are the most abundant butterfly in the garden. And I do love them… but I’m struggling with that love because their caterpillars are just munching away on my poor broccoli! I think I’m staying on top of it enough that I will still get a harvest, but I’m pulling the little green guys off several times every day!

And a backyard nature post is never complete with out our other regulars – our funky red-tailed black squirrels… and…

The beautiful bluejays!

Who are the regular visitors to your yard?

I got plenty of stitching done this long weekend.

Mr. Moth now has his hind wings mostly outlined and is starting to look more moth like. I have to do some ripping back on the left side of the the dangly bits though – I’ve got a couple stitches that are over two, instead of one, and it’s thrown the count off. It’s definitely a downside of the black aida – it’s a very easy mistake to make! But, boy does it make the colours pop!