Sunny Day

Good morning, my friends! What a lovely day it was yesterday! Even our weatherman was grousing about the cold and wet April we've had. He claims it's one of the coldest and wettest on record. I don't know about that, but I can tell you it was wonderful seeing some sunshine and warmer temperatures. It was a perfect day to get out for a walk.

But, of course, no day can start without a little slow stitching. I took the first stitches on the "Spring has Sprung" piece. I believe April must be my month for bunnies.

Checking the outdoor temperature, it had warmed up enough for me to get outside. On my way, I noticed Sadie found the sunbeam shining in on the kitty tree. Every kitty I know loves a good sunbath.

So, I thought my best chance at seeing any wildflowers would be at the bottom of our hill, and so that was where I went. I took So. Many. Pictures. You might want to fill your coffee cup for this. I don't know the names of most of these. I was just taking pictures of every blooming thing and every other little thing that caught my eye. I'll just post them without saying much. Here's what's happening in our part of Oregon right now:

The next images are of our state flower, the Oregon Grape. They do not produce grapes. Instead, they produce a purple berry. I'm told the berries are edible, but I'm also told they are too bitter for eating. In any case, they were budding up and blooming yesterday. These were the first ones I noticed.

Walking on, these buds were just about ready to open.

Walking farther, some of them were open and blooming.

Here's a hedge of them:

Here's another one I don't know, although a friend tells me they are Indian Plum. I believe it. She described them as a "weed tree," and I believe that too. They grow everywhere in our woods.

There were quite a few daffodils. Ours are just beginning to open.

Something else I don't know.

This next one is red flowering currant. It's my favorite of the Oregon native plants. We have one growing at the edge of our woods, but ours isn't showing any signs of life yet.

The last of the holly berries.

This next one is my favorite of the spring flowering trees. These are flowering plums. They do not produce fruit.

I just love their delicate pink blossoms.

This is a star magnolia. Ours is still in buds, but I'm thinking it might open today.

Here's one I don't know.

When I reached my turn-around point, this guy was sitting on a fencepost.

This is a Western Bluebird. I've only seen one other in Oregon, so this was quite a treat.

Here's some kind of blooming weed.

This is red dead nettle, which I'm told is edible.

Here are some wild daffodils.

They're growing in this field. How do they get there? My friend from above tells me they can sometimes go to seed, and then birds or other furry mammals carry them around and plant them in places they wouldn't ordinarily be seen. Works for me.

And here's the lowly dandelion. Back when food was scarce for everyone, these were some of the first edible plants to arrive on the scene, preventing starvation for some people.

Okay, and back home, I needed to fill the bird feeders, so the kitties and I went out for a walk. I left them to do their grazing while I fed the birds.

Taking a little walk around, I noticed one lonely tulip. It's rare for us to see tulips since the deer or the squirrels usually eat them before they bloom. The squirrels will dig up the bulbs and eat them. This one is protected by some fencing, and it's growing in the whiskey barrel where we plant our cherry tomato.

Here are some of our daffodils. They got flattened by the snow from a few days ago, but they've perked up again.

All five peonies have shoots, and this one is the tallest.

I thought I might find trilliums in the woods, but there are none yet. I found some wild violets though.

Walking back up to the house, I noticed the hairy bittercress blooming in the field. I don't care if it blooms here, but I hate it when it blooms in my cultivated planting areas. It's the worst weed ever...broadcasting its seeds everywhere. It is also an edible weed, and I've added it to salads in the past. We've even had it in restaurants.

All four blueberry plants have new growth. I was happy to see that since they are fairly new to the landscape.

The cherry trees are getting ready to bloom. We're promised some warmer weather next week, although we have another several days of rain in the interim. I'm hoping they'll hold off until the insects can fly around and pollinate them. Thus far, we've seen almost no insect activity, which is a little concerning.

Okay, but enough of this botanical stuff. It was time to do some sewing. Smitty was not at all happy about doing more papurr-piecing.

Sadie's been doing more than her fur share, and so he submitted for this one afternoon.

I spent the next three hours working on this one, and this is all I have to show for it.

When I reached section "J" and saw all those tiny pieces, it seemed like a good time to stop. I left my tweezers in the image below for scale. 

Smitty bailed on this project long ago. I found him outside on his catio, soaking up the afternoon sunshine.

Okay, so I'm writing fast today...although it may not seem like it to you. I need to hit the showers and then take off for the farmer's market with Erik and Mae. It's going to be another warm day, and I'm looking forward to it. I hope your spring weather is treating you well.