Earthen pot tomato

A friend delivered this to my door this week. The earthen pot is composed of two twenty gallon buckets inside of each other. Halfway up the bucket on the outside there are small drainage holes in it to indicate when the pot is full. In the inside bucket there is a cup filled with soil that acts as a wick to draw up the water which is poured through a funnel into the black pipe which goes through the inside bucket into the outside bucket. The black plastic helps to retain moisture and heat up the soil. Of course the central idea behind this is water conservation.
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Mourning Cloak

The butterfly only exists because it has undergone metamorphosis. Until then it is only an egg or a caterpillar or a chrysalis. Only after it has undergone these other stages does it become the epitome of naturally beautiful. At some point will the hardships of our lives create a metamorphosis within and release an inner butterfly of great beauty?
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I caught this picture of a milbert's tortoiseshell in between its mesmerizing butterfly dance. The side of an old cottage provided a warm spot where each of them collected more heat from a fading sun before dancing on. The unison of their movement is breathtaking. Do they ever collide?

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From my flower garden

Columbines do well in my woodland flower garden. I have dark purple and white (tall) and short pastel pink and pastel pink/white. I will swap seeds with anyone who is interested. I am particularly interested in drought tolerant flowers.
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Remembering dad

Dad would want to know that although we miss him terribly Babygirl and I are doing ok. He would want us to celebrate the beauty of life and so we are. There is a rufous hummingbird nest high up in the cedar by the shed. Tonight we stood under the tree and listened and we filled up all the feeders together. The yard is alive with our feathered companions. I am thankful for the kind, loving father he was and for the years we had. And when I wake up in the morning although I will be sad I will thank God for all the blessings I have.
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Cowl

I used 141 grams of acrylic red heart yarn. The color I used was called spa blue fleck. This is a gift for a girlfriend next winter. I made it out of a favorite cable pattern of mine combined with rope cable and seed stitch.
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I think these two are thinking "Hey there camera woman where are the worms?" Baby robbins have such wonderful expressive eyes. What do you think their eyes are saying?
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Bye bye

Its a empty nest now nearly overgrown with greenery. I haven't seen the young birds as their parents keep them hidden in the sea grass. When we pass by the parents make their usual fuss and do their injured bird act until we are well out of the area. Late one morning I saw a raven up in a tree. Maybe the parents saw him maybe not. (they were busy making noise at us and a dog) The raven flew around to several trees perhaps to get a better vantage point and sat in each one for a bit before leaving the area. Because of the tree limbs I couldn't really see what it was doing but in one I did. The raven idly took out a few fir cones with its beak. Perhaps it had another agenda which didn't include baby birdies for lunch.
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I wish I was a better person. Lately I've become so adept at seeing my shortcomings that I struggle with what to do with them when they seem so blatant and ongoing to me. Sure there is self forgiveness but is it reasonable to give to oneself what seems like endless grace?
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Kill deer babies

Late afternoon the same day I returned. This time both parents were very protective. It makes me think there has been some bonding of the bird-type going on. Looks like their about ready to explore the beach. They were very alert but quiet and so still that not even their eyes moved although they were looking right at me.
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The sun had just come up over the low hills of the mainland when babygirl and I headed out the purple door to go check on things at the killdeer camp. Baby bird is looking all fluffed up. Mama (I'm assuming) was more protective of her offspring than ever before. The little bird sat very still and quiet with only its eye blinking. Because of all the noise she was making we were only there long enough to take this picture.
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Kill deer birth

The late afternoon sun felt warm on my back as I pushed the baby jogger down the road to the beach. One egg has been missing. I've been checking the 3 remaining eggs daily as the anticipated hatching time has approached. (24 -30 days) Turns out it was 29 days. The tide was coming in and the resident ravens were not seen or heard so after a bit I approached. The baby was tiny, wet, and blinking an eye at me. It raised its head and chirped several times. Its well developed feet were impressive.
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