I Like Thursday: May's Finishing Touches

Gardening seems to be taking up most of my spare time, so I don't have much to show for my quilting creativity.  Projects are clamoring for my attention.  May has been a wonderfully productive month with so many things I enjoyed (and to share with I Like Thursday).

Rob had been telling me of a covered bridge in Greenfield (after our covered bridge adventure last December).  Friday's weather was so nice, he took me on a quick tour along the Green River.  We came across a lot of people enjoying the sunshine and the cool water.  I can certainly imagine plunking myself down by the water for a quiet afternoon.

We continued north into Vermont before we crossed over (yet another covered bridge).  This one was just below a crib timber dam.  The beams in the dam were huge.  I've never seen a wood dam like that before.

Walking the loop around the neighborhood is always an adventure.  My mother and I happened across a truck bed of women last week.  Turns out one of them had run out of gas going to a woman's group meeting, so they brought the meeting to her while waiting for AAA.  They asked me to take a photo.  Their attitude was so buoyant and contagious I had to snap a photo of my own.  What a grand old time (and perfect weather to pull it off).

Local wildlife update:  Wednesday afternoon, as I was admiring the gardens, I heard scuffling in the sunroom.  It took a while to pinpoint the noise - it turned out some critter had gotten trapped in the wood stove flue.  It was a hot, hot day and I really did not want a dead animal trapped in there!  I donned gloves and goggles, half expecting something to come flying out of the stove when I opened it.  But the critter was on the other side of the damper.  I swept the ash and partially burnt wood out of the stove, set up a small bowl of water, covered the top opening with some wire, and eventually remembered how to open the damper.  

As I pondered my next actions, a bluebird suddenly appeared in my stove!  I didn't want to let him loose in the room, envisioning soot marks all over the ceiling and walls by a panicked bird.  Turns out my old guinea pig carrier fit perfectly over the stove opening and it has a little sliding door.  Bluebird quickly and obliging flew in.  I slid the little door close, carried it outside, opened the door and whoosh! He was gone.

I decided to properly clean out the stove, in which I discovered a little house wren that wasn't so lucky.  <sigh> 

On a happier note, Ghost has been regularly visiting, usually with a friend or five.  Just as long as they stay out of my garden... 

 

Oh, the garden!  Those purple irises are still blooming strong (there's a few in this picture, but the majority are just out of sight).  Greens abound in this photo, but trust me, there's a lot of purple irises and sage out there, too.. 

 

My sister and I spent a couple of hours this weekend decorating my car.  She put together the decals for my birthday last year, but this was the first time we had the time and the weather to play with them.  We had a blast doing this. 

I spent Sunday working on the headboard project.  Building the frame was a joy.  The quilting... not so much.  I'm hoping to wrap it up this week.  Maybe figure out how to assemble it next weekend. 

All ready to jump into June?