Butterflies, Summer Flowers and an Old Quilt

We have had a special visitor to our garden lately.  Kristi has taken some wonderful photos of this pretty baby.. and identified it as an Oregon Swallowtail Butterfly.  He or she was enjoying the pretty Sweet Williams yesterday.

And then moved on to the Rose Campion.  I love the blue spots on the tail.  

I did a walkabout the farmyard yesterday and admired the sun shining through the Lilies that Kristi planted.

I enjoy seeing the baby tomatoes growing.

And I peek down into the Zucchini plant to see a tiny miniature zuke at the base of the flower.   

And this pretty flower?  It's NOT a good thing.  It's a Deadly Nightshade.  And I found that it had completely enshrouded my golden bamboo and it was down for the count!  Kristi is working on pulling this icky plant out today.

I am happy that my Day Lily is finally blooming.. now that Dayle has stopped mowing it.  :-)

I took this shot from up by the garden shed looking back at the deck and back door.  Someone needs to blow the pine needles off the roof.. but I also don't want Dayle up there.  So.. I think I will look at them as picturesque.  :-)

The flowers baskets are thriving.

My 4th of July rose continues to bloom and I continue to find them a feast for the eyes.. they do indeed look like fireworks exploding in the sky, don't they?

There are many flowers on each shoot.

Love my Lantana.

My Brachyscome - "Surdaisy Strawberry Pink" is happy.  See the pot on the right?  I made that when I had a pottery studio in the barn at our first house in Corbett.  I threw it on my potter's wheel - a Lockerbie kick wheel - and I glazed it and decorated it with Cattails and finished it off in my own kiln.  :-)  I did so love making my own hand-thrown pottery.

I planted a different variety of Moss Rose this year, but although the foliage is pretty, I don't think it has as many flowers as the other variety.  We'll see if that improves over the summer.

Kristi accidentally cut this Clematis when pruning and brought it in to me to put in a vase.  Pretty, huh?

Have I shown you one of my family treasures?  It's a quilt made by a friend of mine in Louisiana named "Granny Nell".  I was babysitting 4 children whose mother had run away and left them with their father who worked with my husband flying helicopters.  I made friends with the old woman who lived with her son and his family across the street, Granny Nell.  She was an accomplished quilter.  She was a wise and wonderful woman.  I would tell her how much I missed Oregon.. and my family and one day she said this to me.  "Teresa, you need to bloom where you are planted."  Such wise words!  I found that I was going to have my first baby while we were friends and I asked her if she'd make a quilt for my baby - after she was born and we knew she was a girl, soon I had this quilt for her.  I treasure it.  Are you blooming where you're planted? :-) 

The pattern is called "Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam".  See the little Scotty dog?

What's fun about this pattern is how you can use scraps of old fabric.. here she has two balloons.

Sam is chasing a butterfly.

And flying a kite.

Sue watering her flowers.  Each tiny stitch is done by hand by Granny Nell.  She's watering Hollyhocks.. and Hayden just opened the back door and told me our Hollyhock buds have begun opening.. and told me the color.  I promise to show you a photo in my next post.

While in New Orleans my daughter, sisters and I visited a shop that sold wonderful French tablecloths.  I fell in love, but did not buy one as quite frankly I did not have the room in my luggage.  So, a few days back I found them on Amazon.. and you know what I did, don't you? "Click".  Isn't this pretty?  Is it daring to put a fuchsia pink and lime colored tablecloth on one's table?

Time to pack my swim bag and head to the pool.  I hope you have a fun day ahead or if you're on the other side of the globe.. had one.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)