The month of May is quickly going by. So much needed rain last weekend quenched the parched ground. Rain water is so much better for the garden than using a hose pipe.
Mountain bluets, Centaurea montana, or batchelor’s buttons. This variety is Alba, with white flowers with mauve/blue centers. Keep spent blooms snipped off and it will produce more blooms.
The red bellied woodpecker is a regular visitor to the garden and really enjoys the peanut feeder.
The white crowned sparrows can be found in many parts of the garden.
The grey catbird has a lovely song, sometimes it tries to imitate other birds and sometimes it has a soft mewing sound, hence its name.
One of the resident rabbits is helping to keep down the stalkers (as I call the stalks of the dandelions).
The baby robins are growing so quickly. The day after this photo was taken the young robins left the nest. I has been a joy to watch them grow and take photographs of them.
We hear the phoebe around the garden but haven’t been able to get a photo of it yet. I’ll keep being patient.
Check out Saturday’s Critters and see lots more wonderful wildlife photos.
Slow stitching this week was cross stitch on a wood cutout which was cut from a Glowforge laser cutter (from Quinte West Library). This was a craft session at the Frankford Library branch.
All supplies and directions were supplied by the library.
These discs aren’t big and I put a dime beside one of the photos so you can see the size.
Stitching was slow going. I started out following the pattern but did waver and end up adding my own touches to it, including some of the pattern and colours of embroidery floss I had on hand.
After finishing I added a circle of felt to the back and a keyring through the hole. It was an interesting project to work on.
The second one I did had a simple chevron pattern in 3 colours. I used 12 strands of floss to complete this one and covered the back with a circle of felt.
Both have key rings added to them. I haven’t decided if they will be keyfobs or not.
I get lots of inspiration from other stitchers at Slow Sunday Stitching and appreciate all the visits and comments from there. Visit them and gather some inspiration for yourself.
Find a yummy recipe to cook.
I’ve been enjoying wraps for lunch now the weather is getting warmer. I use gluten free wraps, but you can use any wrap you prefer. I choose a selection of fillings from mayo, lettuce, carrots, boiled eggs, chicken, rice & scrambled eggs. The combinations are endless, depends what is in the fridge or growing in the garden. As always you can see how to make them here.
If you are heading into spring, I hope you are enjoying the lovely weather and all the growth in the garden. Thanks to those that follow along and leave comments or send messages. All are appreciated.
More from the gardener side: garden areas, bulbs, corms & tubers, plant profiles, seeds & seedpods, veggies & herbs,
Alphabetical posts A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
My series on Alphabetical gardening and my personal alphabet.
Gail
We have bachelor buttons in our garden too but ours are purple. I have never seen the white ones before. Your key fobs are pretty…I have made Christmas ornaments out of wooden discs with holes and cross stitch before.
Crafty Gardener
The embroidered wooden discs would make nice tree ornaments, I’ll keep that in mind for future projects.
Jennifer A. Jilks
It is wrap season!
I love that craft. Well done!
Crafty Gardener
It was my first time with that craft, fun, and I would do it againgor sure.
KB
Lovely photos ❤
Eileen
Hello,
Beautiful birds and flowers. I do not see the White-crowned Sparrow here, they are lovely. The sandwich wrap does look yummy, a great choice for a summer lunch. The disc and stitch work looks wonderful, a nice project. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.
Crafty Gardener
The white crowns usually just pass through for a couple of weeks in spring and then again in fall. So I make sure I get lots of photos.
Shiju Sugunan
Lovely flora and fauna!
Crafty Gardener
thank you, glad you stopped by
Adam Jones
I like the Woodpecker, and the White Crowned Sparrow. Both are more colourful than our native species.
Crafty Gardener
The red bellied woodpecker comes in just about daily, so always lovely to watch.
Karrin Hurd
Lovely bird pictures and garden pictures. Great projects you are working on. I am enjoying working in the garden, and have a lot that still needs to be done.
Crafty Gardener
The weather is finally nice enough to plant the tomatoes, peppers and veggies in the big tubs. I have a feeling we won’t get much rain now, so will rely on watering with the hose so they get established. Happy gardening.
CathieJ
I have to start making wraps for lunch. I don’t know why I haven’t thought to do so. Yours look yummy. I love the stitching on the wood cutouts. I have a similar project on a wood box. Your wildlife photos are great. We had torrential rains a week ago and now aren’t expecting any rain for more than a week. I agree that the rains seem to nourish the plants better than hose water.
Crafty Gardener
I imagine the wood box will be lovely. That was my first time stitching on wood, and it won’t be my last.
Diann@LittlePenguinQuilts
I love your bird photos! You get some there that we don’t see in Colorado. Your wooden stitching project looks very fun!
Crafty Gardener
My first time stitching a wood project, hope to do some more.
Jenny Benton
It is so nice to see the beautiful birds visiting your garden. Wonderful too that the little Robin family was reared successfully, I did worry that the nest was so low it could well be in danger of predators. When I first saw your wooden cross stitch I thought you were sticking coloured studs in each hole. But no, it was indeed cross stitch, what a novel idea. Was it difficult to get the needle and thread through?
Kim
Those stitched wood pieces are such a good idea, and are lovely. You certainly have sweet birds visiting your garden in your little corner of the world.
ANN OLSON
Sweet flowers! I am a poor waterer, so put in lots of low water use plants. Love your bird pics. We have a pair of wrens flying in and out of our front porch rafters; not sure if there is a nest. Love the cross-stitch on wood. I had to use pliers to pull the needle through on one project, at the very end :)