The Poppy Has Popped

Yesterday's effort in the sewing room was devoted to finishing up the poppy mosaic. And there it is...all 1,120 one-inch squares of it.

It still has a border of square-in-a-square blocks. There will be 72 of those. I'll be able to chain piece them, and so they shouldn't take too long. I was kind of tempted to quit here, but I'll keep working on it until I get the borders on, and then toss it onto the quilts to be sandwiched pile. I haven't really explored my options for a quilt back yet. I might need to purchase something, so we'll see.

And then I was kind of curious...what does the outdoor poppy from Ireland think of all this poppy mosaic quilt business? So, I went outside to take a look. Ooooh...this is looking promising.

But let's just back-up to the start of the day, shall we? I checked into the greenhouse and found one of the zucchini seeds has sprouted.

There are also a few sunflowers. And take a look at the Cat Grass. It's starting to look more lawn-like. In a few weeks, the kitties should be munching on this.

After that, I went back to work on my slow-stitching. I'm off to a good start on one of the snowmen. It was nice to be back to my beloved embroidery. It's such a nice, calming way to start a day.

After that, I spent my time finishing up the quilt. But I wasn't finished walking around the yard afterward. When I'd checked the poppy, I headed over to the golden chain tree to check on its progress. It has lots of flowers, and I expect they'll open in the next day or two.

Also, I noticed these tiny little flowers growing among the grass. They're weeds (as is pretty much the whole field at our place), but they're so pretty and delicate. The flowers are about half the size of a dime.

Then I checked on the peonies. I can see the colors of the petals on some of the buds.

And here's something I know about peonies. They secrete a sugary nectar that is beloved by ants. If you've ever grown peonies (I have grown one before), then you've noticed they are covered in ants. The ants do not harm the plants, and the plants do not require ants to open. So, take a look at this next image. I can see the nectar there. We don't have a lot of ants in our yard, but I'll be watching for them now that they've been provided with a sweet treat.

Also, I noticed another bud on the purple poppy.

Only, here's the thing: Mae showed me her poppies while we were at their house. The purple ones have completely different foliage. Apparently the new ones come up purple, but after one bloom, mutate to red ones. So these will be just the same as the others...red...and the new ones I've planted will be too. It's very mysterious, and we haven't figured out this transformation of foliage and color. Obviously, I'm going to need to pay a visit to my friend The Google for more information.

Here's our sad little apple tree, but it's very pretty right now. It's covered in flowers. I don't think I've ever seen so many blossoms on it. Maybe after 15 years in the ground it will turn into a big boy apple tree after all.

The flowers are so pretty right now.

Also, the rhododendron in front of the house is getting ready to bloom. Of the rhodies, I think this one has the prettiest flower. It looks something like an orchid when it opens.

The little cherry tomato is only about five inches tall, but it already has its first flower. It's growing in a whiskey barrel with strawberries all around. I have to go out each morning and move the strawberry foliage away so that it can get some sunlight. Eventually, it will grow taller than the strawberries, but it's not there yet.

Mike has done a lot of work getting the garden plot ready for planting. We're still a couple of weeks away from that, and he's waiting on some fencing for the ends of the plot.

I've marked with an arrow where there's a stake marking the insertion point for the fence pole. He cleverly made the ends removable so that he could take them off to get the tractor and mower inside the fence. Some of you have observed that this is a large plot...yes, yes, it is. It's a lot of work, which is just one more reason we haven't planted anything here in a long time. We'll only plant about a third of it this year, and then increase year-by-year as we feel up to it. Or maybe not at all. It depends on the success of this year's garden.

We were sitting on our garden bench when I took that picture of the garden. While we were sitting there, the first of the black-headed grosbeaks showed up. These are kind of the slow pokes of the bird population. Of the migrating birds, they are the last to arrive each year.

Smitty was happy to see him.

So let's just check back on that poppy. When I looked at it this morning, it looked like this.

It looks like my poppy quilt strategy has worked splendidly. Also, I noticed another bud on it, for a total of five.

But if that's not enough to brighten your day, then check out the ears on my bat cat.

It's going to be a nice day...maybe a little coolish...but we're going out for a drive. It's Cinco de Mayo, and my birthday, and so we'll splurge and get some take-out Mexican food this evening. What are your plans to celebrate the day?