A Particle of Sunshine

The morning sunshine didn't last long, and it was cold enough that I had my earmuffs on. Nevertheless, I managed to get out between rain showers and plant my annuals yesterday. I was really glad I'd picked them up the day before so I could take advantage of the dry weather. On the upper patio, I planted snapdragons, lantana, and gerbera daisies in each of these three pots. Stained glass garden cat appurroves.

The pots that line the sidewalk were planted with geraniums. It's one flower the deer won't eat. Sadly, the squirrels have taken a liking to them.

Usually, I plant marigolds in this pot, but they're never very satisfying. This year, I decided to try dahlias. Whatever I plant in our garden has to stand up to the deer and squirrel test. Sometimes things get eaten to ground level overnight. I don't actually know how these will fare in our critter-infested surroundings.

In the lowest shady pot, I planted impatiens. I tried these for the first time last year, and they thrived in this spot.

I tried again with the sun gold cherry tomato. The one I planted from the farmer's market died practically the second I put it outside. This one is larger and stronger. It even has a flower on it. It is surrounded by fencing to keep critters out.

This next picture doesn't look like much. It's the grape hyacinth bulbs Sue gave me for my birthday. She dug these out of her own garden to share. What you see here is the dying greenery, and we're hoping we'll get some grape hyacinths next year.

You might remember Mike bought me a pretty pink azalea for Valentine's Day earlier this year. We were traveling at the time.

Yesterday it was planted in its forever home. One wonders if a Nevada azalea will be happy living in Oregon.

There are plenty of poppy buds on the poppy near the greenhouse. Here are just two of the golf-ball-sized buds.

I've not seen a single bud on the poppies on the upper patio. These are a biannual, and so something must have happened to the seeds two years ago. It would have been seeding itself while we were evacuated for a wildfire. And COVID was running rampant at the time. Do you suppose it was infected? Oh well. It's always been a good bloomer, and so we'll hope for more flowers next year.

The rhododendrons are opening in more profusion now. A warm day would help them along. This one is up near the catio.

This one is farther down.

This one is out front. Of the rhodies, this one is my favorite.

Most all the lilacs are at the top of this tall bush. We're thinking we might try pruning it this year and see if we can get more flowers down below.

The lithodora is beginning to bloom. Eventually, this will be a carpet of these bright blue flowers.

The red azalea is opening more now too. We sure could use some warming sunshine.

I backed away from the clematis so you can take in its magnificence. This was planted by the original owner, and we've been in the house 20 years this year. It has always been a stunner, every single year we've lived here. And it stands up to the worst of our weather.

Around the corner and toward the back, I noticed some more volunteer catnip coming up. There was more here earlier in the year. I was going to let it grow, but then Mike pulled it all up. When I noticed it coming back, I implored him to leave it alone. We often get catnip coming up in different areas of the garden. This is the only place I've seen it so far this year. We like to dry it for the kitties, and they prefer it over the stuff we buy in the store. And, honestly, who can blame them? Home grown is always best.

We continue seeing the Western Tanager on a daily basis. It has been so exciting to see him hanging out regularly...for now, at least. I follow some bird pages on Facebook. Folks in the Pacific Northwest are spotting them all over.

And...well...did you know that yesterday was National Apple Pie Day? Of course I had to bake a pie. I used my last jar of apple pie filling made a couple of years ago from apples on Erik and Mae's tree. This is a Dutch Apple Pie for Two. These are so simple. I use a Pillsbury pie crust for the bottom crust. The filling is a single jar of apple pie filling. (A single can of store-bought would work too.) And then the topping is simple too: 2/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats, and 1/4 cup melted butter. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Add a scoop of ice cream, and you've got yourself one decadent dessert.

Smitty does not care for pie. He hid under the breakfast bar while I made this.

I spent a good part of the afternoon top-stitching the Taco block. It's all finished now. It just needs borders and that damnable fringe added at the bottom. This'll be the last time I have to do that dreaded task.

Sadie turned up her nose at this block. 

What is this? Ground beef? I wanted fish tacos!

Okay, so I'll finish off the Taco block today, and then I'll be starting something new. Either it will be another scrappy flannel quilt, or it will be the new Purrfectly Pieced quilt from Bonnie Sullivan I showed you recently.

It hardly matters because whichever one I don't start today will be next on the list. There's a little housework on my agenda, but otherwise, it's probably going to be a mostly sewing day.