Sea of yellow...

DW's been consumed with the barn project, so the mowing has taken a back seat. And that's good for me... the back pasture and the orchard are awash with bright yellow and green, with the dark backdrop of a forest of evergreens.



I waded out into the yellow, sat down, and focused on the forest of buttercups. I walked around and looked through the viewfinder, looking for photos, and finally making my way to the old orchard and the orchard pasture between the farmhouse and the pumphouse.



I've always wanted to plant foundation gardens around the farmhouse, but there's a deep clay layer next to the house, and plants (and grass) don't grow well there. But the lawn, that's another story. Just go out twenty feet from the house, and the grass grows lush and green.

Kissed by the rain...

It rained today, so I took my camera out into the garden, looking for water droplets. As beautiful as flowers are on any ordinary day, they are so much more lovely when kissed by the rain.

Quilt room...

I love my guest room. It's nestled in the dormer of my 1923 farmhouse, cozy and comfortable. It's also become the quilt room. Not where I create quilts, but it's where my collection of antique quilts lives. And a bear made from an antique quilt. And a stack of antique yellow suitcases, watched over by a Boyds bear (my whole collection of collectible bears lives in the walk-in closet off the guest room).



It's also where I display the tiny hand-made quilts I love to make from orphan quilt blocks. The blocks either side of the hearts quilt are orphans; the hearts quilt is a panel I bought in the late 1970s. On a visit to me in the Tri-Cities, my sister taught me how to hand quilt, using this panel. My passion for quilting had its roots with her, and I am very grateful.



My ribbon-winning quilt, Field of Flowers, was always destined for the guest room. The colors fit perfectly in this room, with the cream-colored bead-board walls and pale green carpet.

It took Madison exactly five minutes... maybe six... to discover the new addition, and make herself at home.

They're engaged!

When we head out for an evening, we go south. It's too hard to get into downtown Seattle these days; we have (I think) the world's worst traffic problems. Well, maybe not the world... but certainly the traffic is worse here than anywhere else I've ever been. California? Piece of cake compared to Puget Sound traffic today. And I've lived in the Bay Area, so I have a legitimate opinion. Just saying.

So, we go south to Tacoma. But lately, with all the I-5 construction, and nearly weekly lane changes and diversions, no one knows what to expect when they go south on I-5, and the traffic snarls reflect this.

So... we make sure we know the back roads, the alternate routes... ways around the freeway routes, which actually is what I prefer. Give me a back road, and I'm very happy.



So tonight we headed for downtown Tacoma for an engagement party. Jordan, a friend from geocaching (and a former geocaching.com employee), who always made a point to go to local events, got engaged to Emily. They took a long vacation to Europe to celebrate their engagement, then came home to a perfectly fun engagement party thrown by the caching community. A bunch of cachers, the happy couple, at Seven Seas Brewing. Couldn't have been a better time.

Congratulations, Jordan and Emily!

Polka dots...

Are the rain drops on these Verbena blooms just like polka dots? So beautiful.

Skagit barn...

Washington's Skagit Flats is home to dozens of farms, complete with barns and farmhouses. But the properties are so large, it's sometimes hard to get close enough for detail. We were heading for a trailhead when I spotted this farmstead, and stopped to take a photo. I love the way it's nestled between two small hills, against a backdrop of Whidbey Island and the Olympic Mountains.

Check out Tom's Barn Collective for more barns.

Share where you live... wet car

It's been a year since the MX-5 last got a wax job... but it still beads up perfectly. That shows how much time my little car has spent in the garage since last summer!



This is #12 on the @twistedroadstudio summer photography scavenger hunt

Share where you live... swingset

This small park isn't visited by many. At the end of a dead-end road, you can't see it easily, and the nearby school has been closed. So the neighbors know about it, and those in search of a geocache will eventually visit here.

The park is peaceful, full of mown green grass lawns, and has big islands of towering trees, perfect for kids to play in. Because of the staggered islands of trees, there's lots of privacy for those wanting to set up a picnic lunch, or a croquet set, or a badminton net. There is also a brand new playground, including this bright blue swing... the real topic of this post for Sarah's Share Where You Live photo scavenger hunt.



This is #14 on the @twistedroadstudio summer photography scavenger hunt

Cottage gardens...

We met friends in Fall City for breakfast this morning, then we walked the "Other Side of the Falls" trail to the end, and a couple of benches overlooking the Snoqualmie River. Once upon a time, there was a view of Snoqualmie Falls from here. Unfortunately, you can't even see the river anymore. Maybe in the dead of winter, when the leaves are off the trees. I might have to make the walk again and see.



When I got home, I talked cottage gardens with my niece, Jessica. She spent the winter growing plants from seed, then rented a sod cutter to clear out two huge borders for new flower gardens, and planted them in time for the plants to be in bloom in time for her wedding in July. She succeeded perfectly.

My own garden is coming along. I put in a completely new perennial garden last fall, and it's doing well. I plan to put in more perennials and some lavender sometime next month, to fill in the blank spaces, to let them grow strong roots over the winter. For now, it's beautiful.



I started out with a connection with my niece based on horses... I had horses, she was just learning. I went to her lessons, helped her parents find her the perfect first (and second) horse, even hauled her horses here and there for lessons and clinics. And I loved every minute of it. It's great that as she grows, our connection is growing stronger. Besides a love of horses, we now have cottage gardens in common.

Quilt show, day three

Last day of the show. I worked, but unofficially. Yesterday I worked the bazaar, and also walked through the quilt aisles as a hostess, answering questions and giving directions to visitors. Today it's less busy, and I had a chance to take photos of some of my favorite quilts. My guild has a lot of really talented quilters. See what you think... I'm sure you'll agree.

Our raffle quilt for 2020

My friend, Peggy, made both the paper-pieced elephant and the black, grey, blue sampler quilt

This gorgeous red scrap quilt got the Grand Champion ribbon

If I recall correctly, this quilt got the People's Choice ribbon for all three days

Just a few of the quilts entered in the Kaffe Fassett block exchange category

My friend, Kimberlee, designed and made this applique quilt.

Peggy made this cute kid's quilt, full of colorful bears