They're Baaaaack!

Guess who's back in town? :)
This little stinker ransacked my garbage at about 5:30 this morning, and when i chased him off and cleaned up the mess, he decided to come back around 7am and do it again.
Apparently there was something in there he really wanted, and he absconded with this little zip lock baggie before i could get a better shot....uh, did i say shot...i meant photo :)
Looks like i have to start bringing in the hummingbird feeders at night!

Wildflower Wednesday

This lovely white flower with paper thin petals is called a Boulder Raspberry. They are very prevalent up here.

This unusual looking thing is called a Spotted Coralroot. Its actually a parasite that grows out of fungi, and its an orchid. "Several Native American groups historically used the stems dried and brewed as a tea for such maladies as colds, pneumonia, and skin irritation."(Wikipedia)
I dont find these often on the island, but was lucky enough to find one last week, and snapped this shot.

These are Leafy Cinquefoil, and they are popping up all along our driveway

And last, though not a wildflower...i thought you might like to see one of our new bees from the hive enjoying some of my garden chives.
Happy Wednesday!

Birthday Goodies!

Since i havent posted anything quilty in a while, i thought i would share this photo of my birthday goodies i received this weekend. The in-laws were quite generous, and i am very lucky to be a part of their family! The book is awesome, and if you arent familiar with it, do check it out...the entire book is illustrated using images from a gorgeously quilted and embroidered quilt.
The fabric is lovely, but i am very excited about the snowman panel in the front...that should make a nice wall hanging in the winter time. I also received some $$$ (i see more fabric in my future...and possibly some flowers for the garden) and Justin bought me a flat screen monitor for my big computer. Now i can work at my desk more easily with my Wacom tablet and laptop! Hurrah!

And just to show that i have been creating, here is a gift i made for Justin's dad for fathers day.
Cheers~

Wedding at the Butterfly Pavilion

A lovely ceremony took place at the butterfly pavilion on Saturday, June 20th....and a great time was had by all! Enjoy a few pics from this fabulous day!





Naturally, Jordyn had a great time...she loves butterflies...and they seem to love her too! :)

More Buzzing at the Black Bear.....

10 days ago, Justin picked up this new swarm of bees, and so far so go. They seem happy in their new home, and we left a few rows of combs from the last batch to help them get established. We received them a little later than we would have liked, but there are still plenty of flowers around here for them, and this swarm is much larger than our last one, so hopefully they will stick around :) Anyways, Jordyn is very excited to have new bees, as are we...so stay tuned for occasional bee updates :)

Wildflower Wednesday

Our state flower...the columbine...it comes in several colors, but this is the one that actually represents Colorado.

This is the sticky willowherb, and can be seen all up and down the canyon right now, adding a wonderful splash of purple.

The last flower is the Star of Solomon's Seal...tiny white stars against lovely dark foliage.
Enjoy!

visitors

Wildflower Wednesday

Since there are sooooo many wildflowers to photograph, i thought i would include several each Wednesday, instead of just one :) The first photo is a Scarlet Paintbrush, or more commonly known as Indian paintbrush. I remember seeing these on a hike in the 6th grade, and theyve always remained a favorite of mine.

This is Kinnikinnik and their blooms are very tiny...the foliage, however is very attractive. This grows all over the island and along our driveway.

and finally, Early Larkspur...these delicate looking flowers grow all along our driveway, and are very pretty.

Jordyn's Boo Boo

As i pulled into the driveway today on my way home from work, jordyn sees me, excited...jumps up on the chair in the kitchen yelling "mommy, mommy....mommys home"...turns to climb down and slips on the chair, falls back and hits her head......doh!
split it open and got this 1" laceration on her head....two staples later, shes good to go!
She was a trooper and didnt cry the whole time...in fact, when they were giving her the shot and staples, she thought they were pulling her hair and told them...."stop pulling my hair!"
Let me just say, as an EMT, its a lot different when its your own kid!

Morels!!!

Look what we found today...and only about 8 feet from our house...morel mushrooms :) I told you we've had a lot of rain lately! We dont find these very often, about every 4 or 5 years, so it was a real treat to discover them today. Justin came running in the house, totally thrilled, and i was lucky to get this shot of it still in the ground before he snatched them up and brought them in. Meanwhile, while i was reading about them on line, and checking out recipes...Justin had them cut up and cooking in garlic butter. The man never cooks, so you know he must have been excited if he was in there chopping and cooking in no time. We found 3 total...and im happy to report they were DELICIOUS! :)

1% Well Read Challenge ~ Treasure Island

This is book 2 for me of the 1% Well Read Challenge, and i must admit, i enjoyed it a lot more than Lord of the Flies. Im a little behind, and should really be on book 3 by now, but i read a few books in between that werent on the list...so i havent been completely slacking! :)
I chose Treasure Island for several reasons...the main one being that a previous book i read had some exciting pirate adventures, and i was having so much fun with that, i decided to stay with that theme! Besides, how did i get thru my childhood without reading this book? The story was fun and exciting, but i did find the writing a bit hard to get into sometimes. I tried to read some of it out loud to my daughter and that was a disaster! Once i got into the book, however, the writing didnt seem to bother me as much.
I imagine this would have been rather exciting to read as a child...Jim was definitely a likable character, and his crazy reaction to situations were entertaining as well. But i really enjoyed Long John Silver...what a shady, interesting and fun character he was, by thunder! Always playing the game...always the pirate :) For such a short story, it was filled with lots of excitement, and its obvious that Robert Louis Stevenson was a fan of the tropics, the seas and adventure. His travels helped to tell a thrilling story for folks that, at that time, probably couldnt even dream of those kind of places. A story well worth the read, even if just once!
pieces of eight...pieces of eight...pieces of eight!!! ;)

Wildflower Wednesday of the Rocky Mountains...

I thought it might be fun to collect and share photos of the wildflowers in my area...and with all this rain we are getting, i should have quite a selection to show you. This Wednesdays Wildflower is the Golden Banner (or Golden Pea). It grows all along our driveway and randomly out on the island behind our house. It is always a welcome to see this flower, as it is one of the first to bloom in our area. (that is if you dont count the dandelions :)
Happy Wednesday!