Moooving Along

There was a lot more to do outside yesterday than expected. I went into the garden to hoe weeds, only to discover several of the sunflowers had fallen over in the recent rains. They were not damaged, but I took some time to stake them up as insurance. When I'd finished with those garden chores, it seemed like a good time to pick the flowers from the sage plant. I picked as many as I could find and then took them inside for a run around the salad spinner. 

Usually I do this with chive blossoms, but the sage has inundated the chives for the past couple of years. It will take them awhile to re-establish themselves. In the meantime, sage blossoms will do. I just pour white vinegar over them. Some people like to use white wine vinegar. Now it'll sit in my dark pantry for two weeks. When it's finished, we'll have sage-infused vinegar. Of course, I will show you when it's finished. It's nice in vinaigrettes, but it can be used the same as any vinegar.

Smitty stood guard while I picked the sage blossoms. Doesn't he have excellent posture?

Moments later, he was joined by his partner in crime.

I still needed to fill the bird feeders, but then I took a little walk around to check on the flowers. The hydrangeas are gearing up to be the next stars of the garden. One plant has already produced a flower.

Most exciting in yesterday's walk, I noticed one of the calla lilies had poked its head above ground. There are two calla lilies. One is pink. We're still waiting for it to show itself. I believe this one might be yellow. I have a vague recollection of finding one on sale and sticking it in the ground to round out our lily collection. It's always hard to wait for them to bloom.

Also, I spied the first flowers on the echinacea. 

It was after lunch before I made my way into the sewing room. I finished quilting the cow and the two sunflowers pictured here.

Now there is just one pig left. That will get finished today. After that, I'll quilt around the appliqued border, and the applique top-stitching will be complete.

That was all the sewing I did yesterday, but I selected the fabrics and cut strips to sew the next row of blocks for the City Bank quilt. If the farm quilt doesn't take all my time, I should be able to get these blocks made up today.

Smitty was in a reflective mood at the end of the day. He hadn't killed anything all day long, and he was beginning to wonder if he'd chosen poorly when he decided to become a Rodent Hunting Superhero. 

He was encouraged when I reminded him that tomorrow is another day.

So no jury duty for me again today. Fingers crossed for none tomorrow either. We've had rain off and on the past couple of days. The rain has barely been noticeable, but it has kept the flower pots watered. I'll check them again this morning, and water if I need to. Aside from sewing, we have grocery shopping in our future. Oh. Joy. How can I contain my enthusiasm?