I Need Help with Stolen Content!

I should not be surprised that one of my pictures has been stolen from my blog and placed on another. There are so many dishonest people in this world. When I find them, it makes me so sad. I had a new follower and went over to visit her site and the first post I saw contained a picture from my post on the Walled Garden of Glenarm Castle. The picture still has my logo on it.  So, please stop by http://cloudthunder-thisistheday.blogspot.com/ and check that one of your pictures or text has not appeared on this site.
How can I stop this from happening again?

Watery Wednesday - Floating Flower

One pretty Rudbeckia floating on the water.

More watery pictures can be viewed at Watery Wednesday.

Mosaic Monday - August in the Garden

As the month of August fades into September, I reflect on this last month of summer.

The garden was a great teacher. It taught patience and carefull watchfulness;

it taught industry and thrift; above all it taugh entire trust.

We head into my favorite season, Autumn. There is not a thing I dislike about this season.

The crisp mornings, the leaves having their magical color change,

the early morning frost sparkling in soft morning light. The smell of

wood smoke in the air, a warm woolen sweater and a wonderful quilt to snuggle into.

Perfect.

Have a wonderful week!

Please join Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Typing Challenged

I received this beautiful bouquet of roses for my 31st wedding anniversary

 from my wonderful husband.

And the same day I tired to cut a 1/4" slice off the top of my baby finger using my rotary cutter.

Boy did it smart and then pound when all the bandages were applied.

It is amazing how useful that digit is. Everyday jobs are a challenge.

So I have been playing on Photoshop and doing a two finger peck at the keyboard. Ugh!

Here are two results from my playtime.

 

I think they turned out very well.

Sorry the commentary is short, two finger pecking is hard work.

Enjoy the weekend!

Wildflower Wednesday

Today I thought we would start with a couple of native plants that grow in a prairie setting.

Liatris aspera, Rough Blazing Star, grows two to four feet tall and is blooming in the garden.

 It requires little maintenance thriving in dry soil and full sun.

Rudbeckia laciniata, Green-headed Coneflower can grow three to six feet tall

 in sandy soil and in full sun to part shade.

It is over seven feet tall in my backyard and is visited by butterflies, bumblebees and birds. 

I thought we would head into the woodland garden and see what has changed.

 We are standing under one of the many Ash trees growing in this area.

 Maianthemum canadense, Canada mayflower, has developed berries. It makes a great groundcover plant for the woodland, growing only 2 to 4 inches tall. Loved by the chipmunks.

Maianthemum racemosum, False Solomon's Seal, has also developed small berries.

Actaea rubra, Red Baneberry, is a volunteer I received two years ago from a bird, chipmunk or squirrel. 

It grows 24 to 32 inches tall with creamy white clusters of flowers in the spring. 

 It perfers moist soil conditions, but it is growing well in my dry woodland.

Today, I am linking with Clay and Limestone for Wildflower Wednesday.

Have a great day!

Mosaic Monday - The Vegetable Garden

This weeks' mosaic shows our bountiful vegetable garden.

Squash flower, squash, swiss chard, beets, tomatoes and a marigold.

I would like to thank our gracious host Mary for holding this meme every Monday.

Please drop by Little Red House to view the fabulous Mosaics for this week.

I hope everyone has a lovely week!

Busy! Busy!

I work part-time as a pattern tester for Border Creek Station Pattern Company, the designer Sherri, broke her knee a few weeks ago and everything is a bit behind schedule. Imagine being in a leg cast for 3 months. I have been working on the new mystery quilt and cannot show you to much as it is a mystery.

Drop by her website to learn how you can join the fun. Her designs are fabulous.

For this quilt I was able to decide on what fabric to use because when it is finished I get to keep it.

My selection is bright and cheery.

When I was not busy in the quilt room I was in the kitchen,

the tomatoes have been ripening in a steady stream.

 I wait until I have enough to can a few jars at once and this week has been a marathon.

In the pot.

In the jar.

Next group ripening on the counter. 

I do not mind, they taste wonderful in February.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Mosaic Monday - The Baby Shower

The Baby Quilt was wrapped in a white bag with pink, blue, green and yellow tissue peeking out the top. Into the car we went to attend the Baby Shower on Saturday. The afternoon was humid with a nice breeze, which made it comfortable for the mother-to-be. We ate, played baby games, ate, played more games, opened presents and ate. So many wonderful gifts were received, all that was needed was baby. Which has not arrived yet.

So for my mosaic this week I am showing pictures of our lovely afternoon.

Please stop by Little Red House hosted by the lovely Mary to view the most amazing mosaics.

Have a great week!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

The 15th of every month is when garden bloggers show off what is blooming in their gardens. Most of my summer bloomers have finished but the ornamental grasses are just starting to show their blooms.

This is one of my favorite, Chasmanthium latifolium - Northern Sea Oats.

 It will grow in full sun, part shade and full shade.

The Butterfly bush 'Nanho Blue' is putting on quite a display and

 has hummingbirds and butterflies visiting every day.

This is the native Rudbeckia laciniata, Green-headed Coneflower, and it is 7 1/2 feet tall.

The Floribunda rose 'Golden Fairy Tale' is reblooming.

This spring I bought a mixed bag of Dahlias to try, I usually do not grow summer bulbs

 because I have a hard time keeping them from drying out over the winter.

 But I hope this dinner plate size one survives this years' storage.

   

The hummingbirds have been visiting the cosmos daily, a new behavior this year.

 "Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful;

they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul."

~ Luther Burbank ~

Drop by May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in other gardens.

Happy Gardening.

A Flower in Your Heart

I am reading a wonderful book called The Meditative Gardener by Cheryl Wilfong and I would like to share a passage from the book. A gift of a flower to my blogging friends.

'Imagine strolling through a garden and chosing the most beautiful flower.

Feel its presence in your heart. Invite this blossom to grow in your heart.

Offer this flower of love to your most beloved person, without expecting anything in return.

Hand a flower to each of your friends, giving them the gift of love and Goodwill from

your heart, in the form of a beautiful flower.'

I am joining Claudia at Dipity Road for Finding Beauty.

A Tour of My Garden

It is a beautiful day here at A Garden of Threads and I thought you might like a peek into my garden. We will start out front, by the side gate.

This phlox is growing to the right of the gate, it was a rescue from an elderly couples garden. I do not know its' name, but it has a wonderful scent. I will open the gate so we can go into the backyard.

This is the north side of the house and the garden receives only one hour of sun so there are many shade loving plants growing here. Heucheras, Japaneese Painted Ferns, Maidenhair Fern, Hostas and Bergenias.

This is the geranium 'Rozanne', it grows just inside the gate on the left and flowers from spring to fall.

To the right is a pea gravel patio with 4 chair. A wonderful place to sit in the evening.

Just before one of the veggie gardens is a garden full of Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Cosmos, Big Bluestem Grass, a Pagoda Dogwood Tree, a Weigela and a small Hop Tree. 

 We are heading for the woodland garden.

Let us step through the arbor into my native woodland area. It is so peaceful and cool among the trees.

Feel free to sit on the bench and watch the pine trees swaying in the breeze.

 The chickadees may stop by to see what you are up to.

Thank you for visiting today and have a wonderful day.

Lazy Day

It has been one of those lazy days of summer, the weather was perfect. A light breeze and the temperatures in the mid twenties. So, I went to sit on the stairs leading from the deck to the garden to watch the birds. I am really waiting for the hummingbird to come to the feeder so I can get some pictures.

I have three watering cans sitting on each step full of water, you can just grab one and go. But they have become the watering hole for the chickadees, nuthaches, finches, squirrels and chipmunks. I often wonder why, as I have a pond and four birdbaths.

But as I sit on the steps a baby chickadee keeps landing on the sprinkler and looking at me, as if to say I need a drink.

I move down one step and it hops over to the watering can to get a drink.

I take several shots, but the noise of the camera causes it look over the handle to see what I am doing.

Everything is Ok and a few sips later off it goes.

The hummingbird feeder is very busy, but not with hummingbirds,

the goldfinches and chickadees also drink from the ant moat.

The female hummingbird arrives for a drink of nectar and I get to take my pictures.

What a wonderful way to spend a summer afternoon.

Quilt for Baby

The baby quilt I was making is finished.

The nursery will be painted green or yellow.

So I used blue, green and yellow with a brown check as an accent.

I used a nine patch block and a snowball block to construct the center of the quilt. Two 1 1/2" borders are next, a 1/2'' brown check flap border is nestled against the bright checked 3" border.

The binding is cut on a 45 and when sewn onto the quilt gives a lovely diamond pattern.

The backing is a taupe color with a darker brown swirl pattern.

I hope the new Mom will like it.

Mosaic Monday - Annuals

It is hard to believe another week has passed and it is Monday again.

Time certainly races along when I am not watching.

 I have been in the garden the last few days deadheading, weeding, picking veggies and staking unruly plants. By mid afternoon I call it quites as I am hot and wet...

'Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration',

 Lou Erikson quotes and this week I agree.

This is a selection of the annuals I have in the garden;

petunias, poppies, cosmos, dahlias, million bells, brown eyed susan and candytuft.

Every Monday, Mary from Little Red House hosts Mosaic Monday,

 make a mosaic of your chosing, post it to your site and link to hers.

 It is so fun and the selections are fantastic.

Pop on over to see what everyone has produced this week.

Hope everyone has an amazing week.