Turkey Tracks: Honey Days

Turkey Tracks:  September 3, 2019

Honey Days

Collecting a year’s supply of local, raw honey happens in late summer/early fall.

Down this road lies the honey shed:

I leave my 12 bottles by the mailbox, and David Smith of Sparky’s honey picks them up when he comes home.

About a week later, he calls, and I come home with these…

…beautiful, local honey!!

The only white sugar I’ve purchased for many years now is for the hummingbird feeders.  And, perhaps, for grandchildren who want to bake something yummy for dessert.

Turkey Tracks: High Tide at Duck Trap River Estuary

Turkey Tracks:  August 2019

High Tide at Duck Trap River

These views are from the back side of the bar—at full high tide.  It’s a bit warmer as it is also sheltered from the prevailing bay breeze.  But, it’s…cold water.  They are hearty souls for sure!

Look at that wonderful old bridge in the background.

AC waded but said no to swimming.  The drop off was a bit scary for him.  But he LOVES to swim.

 

 

Turkey Tracks: Karen Martin’s “Can Can” Quilt

Turkey Tracks:  August 26, 2019

 

Karen Martin’s “Can Can” Quilt

Wow!

What else could one say about this amazing EPP (English Paper Piecing) quilt top?

The pattern is “Can Can” by Willyene Hammerstein.  It’s in one of her newer books, MILLIFIORI QUILTS 3.

Karen plans to put on a border to set off the center.  She’s thinking about what color now.  Options she discussed were black or the dark magenta.

 

 

Turkey Tracks: A Lone Star Quilt?

Turkey Tracks:  August 24, 2019

A Lone Star Quilt?

First, I finished AND HUNG the 6-pointed star project—designed by Tara Faughnan in the class I took last winter from Sewtopia, called The Color Collective.  I called it “Geometric Explosion” since you can see so many geometric forms in it as you look at it for any time and from different angles—from big hexies to tumbling blocks—in addition to the stars.

I quilted it with size 8 perle cotton and kept to the dark colors as I didn’t want the brights to disrupt the geometric “explosion.”

I hung it in my bedroom, replacing an older quilt that has been hanging for some time.  It’s good to refresh wall hangings (and pillows!) every so often.  It’s good to let an older quilt get a nice washing and to “rest” in peace for a while.

I finished and trimmed this big Lone Star block (30 inches unfinished) yesterday.

Oh my!

I have to make MORE of these.  I have to.

Maybe 4 of them, which would make about a 60 by 60 lap quilt.  And, possibly, one more that will hang on the wall at my quilt room door?  The older quilt there needs a rest as well.

I’ve always been terrified to try a Lone Star block.  No more.

 

Turkey Tracks: They Love Maine

 

Turkey Tracks:  August 24, 2019

They Love Maine

All the kiddos are back in school now—in both families.  But all of them had some really good time here in Maine.  And I had a really good time having them here.  Their visits replicate what I experienced as a child when visiting my grandparents in Reynolds, Georgia.  There was time, there, just “to be.”  There was time for reading, for watching a movie all together, and time for a nap.  And lots of time being able to spend time in nature.

Here are some pics of the older crew:

Barrett’s Cove, for a swim.

 

Picking lavender at a local farm.  My whole utility room smells of lavender as the strands dry.

They visited alpacas, up close.  I bought a sweater!

 

We played LOTS of a card game called “Hand and Foot.”  And drank lots of Irish black tea.

The morning they left—on their way back to their busy lives.

How did they get so big so fast?

Watching them grow up is such a pleasure.

Turkey Tracks: Summer Readers

Turkey Tracks:  August 2019

Summer Readers

Summer vacation can provide time for lots of reading.  We are a reading family.  When we moved to Maine, I lost count of how many trips I made to the local library with my Jeep filled with books to donate.  We just could not move them all.

Mike takes advantage of some quiet time.

Above, he’s ripping through the new Tana French, which is a stand-alone novel, different from her earlier detective novels which are set in the Dublin, Ireland, area.  I read it and saved it for him.  I also finished French’s BROKEN HARBOR and am now reading her THE SECRET PLACE.

He also brought:

Tami was reading and really enjoying this one, which she highly recommends:

The girls:

And the fellows:  Kelly’s book provided some good conversations that involved many of us.  He started high school last week!

And we kept losing Bo to this one:

Turkey Tracks: Painting/Art Central

Turkey Tracks:  August 16, 2019

Painting/Art Central

They are gone now, but you might get a kick out of this art effort…

The girl kiddos love crafts/art/painting.  Talula set up an art station on the front porch—which stayed for some days.  First there was a painting, using John’s acrylic paints and his easel.  Next, collected rocks to paint and put all around my garden.

Lined up and ready to go.

The painters—just back from a swim at Duck Trap estuary.

 

Turkey Tracks: Archery Practice

Turkey Tracks:  August 14, 2019

Archery Practice

Mike, Tami, and the 4 kiddos just returned home Monday.

Boy do kiddos grow up fast!

I got good bows and arrows a number of years ago (and a target), and getting the equipment out and having a morning of practice has always been high on the boys’ agenda when visiting.

So, we had a delightful morning over at the baseball field early in their visit—before Mike had to return home.

 

 

The girls arrived and got a quick lessone from their big brothers.

 

 

While parents watched…

Turkey Tracks: The Summer Garden, July 2019

Turkey Tracks:  August 14, 2019

The Summer Garden, July 2019

And it is already mid August as I post this update…

The vegetable/flower garden is thriving.  We are still eating lettuce from the cold frame patch I seeded and covered last fall, but the heat of this past week is making the lettuce bolt now.

Here is part of the right side of the veggie garden—the fence is there because there is a sheer rock wall drop on that edge.  I have started planting flowers along this edge as I don’t need so many veggies these days.  Oh, I eat a LOT OF VEGGIES every day, but I have the Hope’s Edge CSA and there is, most of the time, just me to feed.  Plus, I want to have more plants that will feed the bees.

The garlic is ready to harvest now.  The zucchini is fruiting.  The daffodils have dried up.  The strawberries were so good this year.

That’s a row of Haricot Vert (filet) beans to the left of AC.  I need to pick them now.

I have not wanted to cut these garlic scapes because they look so light and airy.  Something about them took myl fancy.  This bunch of bulbs volunteered in this spot, which is fine with me.

I cannot even begin to tell you how many people have helped eat all this lettuce, which has been going strong since May.

These raspberries are huge with all the rain.  They are turning a dark purple though.  Years ago I planted some dark raspberries on the other end of this row of fruit, and now, via cross pollination, most of the raspberries have turned various dark shades.  I had no idea the dark ones could change the red ones.

I’m planning to replant raspberries next spring and to put them in the veggie garden where the garlic is growing at the moment.  This current bed was planted with plants that would deter small grandchildren from getting near the rock wall/sheer drop.   The youngest is 4 now, so it is time to rethink this bed—which is a nightmare to weed.  I have fallen down this sloping bed several times with one mis-step into a hole or just loss of balance.  It’s not fun to tumble into Rugosa Rose bushes……even if they do stop your tumble.

So, I’ll pull out all these dark raspberries this fall, sheer down this bed, and start over with raspberries (and more blueberries) next spring.  I’ll replant low plants in this bed:  day lilies, hostas, and the like.  With black plastic and heavy mulch, things will go better.