Sweet, sweet spring

An explosion of petals everywhere I look!

How I love this time of year ....

purple-leaved plum in the parking lot at the post office

variegated dogwood, 'Blue Muffin' viburnum, 'Midnight Masquerade' clematis, and a

spritely pink volunteer aquilegia in the front garden

a rose and her bud in the back garden

street rose gone wild behind the grocery store in Friday Harbor

and my favorite petal of all, snoozy in the back of the car,

riding with her new cotinus bush ['Royal Purple' all a'bloom]

and baskets from the Thrift

for the new studio digs  ...

More on that wonderful story in the coming month.

HAPPY SPRING

to all my pals in the northern hemisphere

(and a beautiful autumn to you southerlies)

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Jade Dog's spring bead challenge

Whatever came over me, I'm not quite sure ...

participate in a bead challenge at the start of spring when the

tasks outside are too numerous to list?

oy vey.

I must be crazy.

It's just that when I saw this bead kit, I couldn't help myself

... such an organic feel, earthy tones, seed pods,
with a beautiful balance of textures that set my mind

right down a new path of inspiration.

I couldn't say no to that - that doesn't happen all that often -

that
is inspiration worth listening to.

Besides, I was already a big fan of Jade Dog Beads.
Cool stuff from a real swell gal.

~ 2015 Spring Bead Challenge, Kit #5 ~

Each kit has basically the same ingredients with only slight variations in color and

detailing marks on the large cab [at bottom].

The ingredients:

wood disc bead

vintage aluminum ring blank

polymer cab (50mm x 34mm)

radraksha beads

sea urchin spikes

strand of pellet beads

bag of size 8 transparent picasso finish glass seed beads

I think I should elaborate ... I won't be making jewelry.

[That ring is soon to become  not  a ring]

There may be cloth involved ... there may be embroidery.

Because there are no limitations on what we can create, ANYTHING beaded is fair game.

The only rules: we must use ALL the beads in the kit

and we must be finished by April 20th.

But we can add whatever we want to the kit stash

and  anything beaded  goes, including 3-D.

oh boy.

There are a few kits left ... anyone want to join in the challenge with me?

You can view them over on Etsy

and also find The Jade Dog on Facebook ... more info over there, too.

Darcy [the owner] is super speedy with answers if you have questions.

: : :

for those not swept up with bead madness
- or maybe even if you are -

I offer you this video rush

:: Danny Macaskill: The Ridge ::

Isle of Skye

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Moon watching

What a moon we've had developing the past few days ...

clear, star-filled nights make for contemplative viewing;

being out late with the dogs, a delight for stargazers like me.

A few days back, while it was waxing,

I posted this image on Instagram

"what night feels like towards the end of winter when spring is on the cusp

but wearing her icy mantle ..."

because although nights still call for two layers of warmth,

daytimes are for shirtsleeves and wide-brimmed hats already.

The full moon last night was glorious and I was extremely grateful for a kind winter

with very few dark days ... both in the weather, and in my mind.

I'd like to share today's "mindfulness poetry" originally posted on A Year of Being Here,

for the record - my record.  My winter of eleven winters here ... the first without seasonal angst.

Because it just might have something to do with acceptance.

: : :

Dear Ezra

I have to confess:

there are abstractions

I no longer go in fear of.

Take loneliness.

I've started calling it solitude.

It feels so new and improved now,

I can honestly say it soaks up time

better than a sponge soaks up water.

The other day I actually washed this poem with it.

Ez, let me tell you,

aging is a Laundromat,

and eventually you find yourself

watching what you spurned

and dreaded for years

spread out in widening gyres,

like sheets fluffed in the dryer.

Life is quite a bit cozier

when you let all the bugaboos-

you know- say, sadness and fear

crawl into bed with you.

Pace them with your breathing

and they fall asleep

fast as a couple of kids.

The other night we huddled together

staring at the moon

as it slid past my window:

big-bellied sail on a wet black sea.

~ by Eileen Moeller. Text as published in Poems of Awakening: An International Anthology of Spiritual Poetry.

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this moment :: May Day .... wheeeeeeee!

Joining Soulemama, and many others, in  this moment

described thusly ...

A Friday ritual.  A single photo

~ no words ~

capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

:::

... today's reflections are  HERE.

You are welcome to share your moment, too.

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What the hedgerows had to say

Last evening, although it was getting late,
there was good sky

so the woofies and I went out for a walk.
Our land is surrounded by pastures to the south,
mixed Douglas fir forests to the north, east, west
and everywhere in between is the smell of the sea
and the wild scramble of the native understory.

Willows ... catching the late light in their freshly leafed out canopies.

Over time, mostly when I wasn't paying much attention,
I've built relationships with these plants & trees ...
they all serve an important purpose in our small ecosystem
and no matter how annoyed I might be with hauling another fallen branch
across the footpath or disentangling myself for the umpteenth time from the thorn-hold
of wayward blackberries,
I deeply believe everything residing here holds value.
Bitter berries for songbirds, rotting stumps for the tree frogs,
the mucky pond shallows for salamanders ...
the list is long
and diverse
and has become a great source of inspiration.

I'm often up late, with the owls, doing handwork ...
This bead weaving stitched to willow-dyed cloth became a personal story
about my Salix friends with branches.

On the trek home we spied this native elderberry [Sambucus caerulea]

setting off some frothy firecrackers.
If I'm very lucky this season
I may get to some of the gorgeous blue-black berries
well before the birds.
Must be quick - they always beat me to it.

I admit to being taken aback 

by the sheer size of her this year.

Why, she must have put on two more feet

upwards and sidewards

since last summer !

Me & my furry pals may head out again this evening for another ramble
for there's so much going on out there ...
and what the plants are saying now
is foretelling a fine future.


: : :


joining in with the folks over at
Our World Tuesday
[because it's Tuesday in Australia  ;>]
pop over & be transported around the globe ...

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Kicking back

Been laying low ...

one moment at a time as they say while

my wonky tooth figured out what was gonna happen next.

I suppose one advantage to having a root canal during tulip season

is that driving to and fro across the Skagit valley

is nothing short of   splendid

and although I'm allergic to a large number of antibiotics

at least I am not allergic to Novocaine.

A  not-so-small blessing

that has kept me sane.

I stitched on the wishing cloth awhile

because there was calm in that

and admired the sea reflections having dance time in the belly of the boat.

But mainly I swooned over spring,

the miles of GLORIOUS color,

and although I won't be doing much of anything besides

watching my own grass grow the next couple of days

at least I tip-toed amongst them.

[apology to Tiny Tim for the lame reference]

What a surreal experience  ...  being ruled by a measly tooth.

: : :

See you a bit later.

I'm heading for the hammock.

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Full of beans

No reason to not use your best china for everyday events.

This bowl may not look like your typical "fine china" but believe me,

that's what it is around my digs.  

I needed to soak the Borlotti seeds overnight, you see....

since they're hard-shelled and all that...and since one of the raised beds has a new trellis

destined to be filled with beans.

Constructed the  sucker  trellis all by myself.

Sometimes you just have to build something when you don't think you can.

This one is heftier than the first ~ these bamboo poles are a whopping 1.5 inches thick.  Thankfully,

 not the bear I was expecting when it came to assembling...amazingly light, albeit a tad unwieldy...
all eight feet of them.

Borlotti beans are commonly called cranberry beans in the states.  Considered heirlooms,
they came over with the colonists from England around 1825.  The seeds

are red-speckled just like their pods.

Can't wait to see those pods!

Kaite, although you're heading into winter where you are, my growing season is starting

with this bean inspiration from your blog.  Thanks again.

I purchased organic seeds from these great folks

and found a whole bunch of interesting information and yummy sounding recipes over here.

I'm not sure any potter could have created better glazes to show off this bean gathering...

Here's a show off.  She is ALWAYS *full of beans*...'specially if you bring out her friz.

S'cuse the brief digression.  She has that effect on me...pretty much all the time.

Now, I have a question for all you bean-growing peeps who come a'wandering here...

got a minute?

I still have room on the other side of this trellis to sow another variety.  Thought it might be fun to

grow a 2nd, somewhat different type of bean....oooh, but there are so many choices...which one to choose???

I'd be so pleased to have you tell me one of your favorites...send me in a direction, puh-leeez...

shall I go with a yellow wax, some kind of gourmet Frenchie variety, perhaps something with Cherokee ancestry?

There's even a pole bean called 'Lazy Housewife.'

That one seems appropriate.

I've got six and 1/2 feet of space looking for a purpose.

Thank you.

: : :

All photos from my iPhone, processed with ScratchCam

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My springtime salmagundi...

Over the weekend, on & off, I muddled around in an attempt to put a new post together.

But it was useless ... a little of this, a little of that, nothing was gelling ... you know how that is.
And now it's Monday and I still have no *plot*... so guess what?  There won't be one.

Blame it on spring ... thoughts like weeds, all over the place.

I like what it says on the steering wheel of my jeep:

resume
accel
cancel
COAST

... the phone app made the view look like a vintage cyanotype ... love that.


For those of the knitting persuasion, likely to swoon over improvised stitches, here's
a tutorial (and video) for Five Stitches Cast On with Twist ...
the author states she had a "zen moment."
Must try this with a bead placed on each ellipse, I'm thinking.

I do a lot of that at the kitchen sink ... thinking, that is.
That's where I spied the first hummingbird of the season, out on this floriferous lovely ...

usually I hear the hummers first and spot them later, but not this year.
Ribes 'White Icicle' ... irresistible.

Also irresistible.  To some.
Amazing where spring color can pop up.  I think those gals who work at Ana-Cross Stitch
have way too much fun at their job.  Earlier in the year this pole in front of their shop was wearing blue.
Paid to YARN BOMB?!?  oh yeah.
When you think about it, what better free advertising for a yarn & stitch store?
Click here for an entertaining collection of yarn graffiti ...
scroll down to the military tank covered in pink, my fave.
Some think of it as, "improving the urban landscape one stitch at a time."
I'm fine with that.

Trying my own hand at some stitched shibori.  For this one, mokume (woodgrain effect).
I haven't a clue what I'm doing yet ...
just following the pictorial how-to trails through the internet and spending time
with like-minded gals to work on our stitching projects together.

To be followed by glorious messes with dye baths!

I'll be swearing off the chemicals and may be flying solo in our group in my determination to
use natural dyes.  Maybe one or two will eventually join me.
I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for some WOW factor results (to better coerce them).

While following those internet pictures I was sent the link to Mieko Mintz
and her exquisite kantha work.  Do be prepared for swooning.

Shall I add some cherry blossoms to this potpourri post ... for the young trees by
the railroad station in Anacortes were glorious in their pink petticoats.

The sun has come out and now it's time for walking with you-know-who...

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Desperately seeking flowers...

Found some.

{{{  big grin about the size of Texas  }}}

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Texture Tuesday...pink

...borrowed some pink-nesses...

Tickled pink:  to be happy

In the pink:  in good health

Pinking shears:  scissors with serrated blades

A pink elephant:  term to describe hallucinations during intoxication

Pinkie finger:  the smallest finger on the human hand

Pink slip:  notice that employment is ending

Pink collar:  refers to a particular class of jobs once only filled by women.

But today,

I'm really thanking Audrey Hepburn for saying this...

“I believe in pink.  I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.  I believe in 

kissing, kissing a lot.  I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. 

I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls.  I believe that tomorrow is another day 

and I believe in miracles.” 

: : :

For this Texture Tuesday challenge, my cattail received two layers of Kim's 'Aurora'

and a sweet (pinky) texture

from Sarah Gardner, the Renaissance Collection...

...some of my faves from our group pool:  I want to sit right here,  I want to be as openly raw

and honest as this, and I'd put these on RIGHT NOW if I had a pair!

: : : 

Till next time, my friends...

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