Holiday Lane Table Runner

 

My new neighbor has a cottonwood tree in his back garden. It’s not entirely his fault. It was there before he moved in. But the last two residents ignored their yard; this one is watering like mad. All that extra water has made his trees – especially the drought-tolerant cottonwood – grow like weeds. For the past two weeks, the tree has been “snowing” in my back garden. Two small dogs and every stray breeze keep carrying it into the house. I’ve been dusting and vacuuming, but I just can’t keep up. The bad news is this cottonwood fluff is extremely flammable. It’s sort of like Mother Nature is dousing us with kerosene just in time for fireworks season. The good news is the trees really only dump fluff for about two weeks, so we should be nearly done for this year. And cottonwood only lives about fifty years. So, we’ll only have to go through this forty-four more times!

Hope of Hartford

 

The first king-size quilt I made was a sampler called “Sea to Shining Sea.” It has seven rows and seven columns of 12” blocks, one for almost every state in the union. It’s been in use nearly the whole time since I finished it in 2007. A well-cared for quilt can last generations, but a quilt on a bed where people sleep and recuperate from illness, and where pets and grandchildren play doesn’t fare so well. I’ve thought for a while I may need to retire it. I found a likely candidate for replacement among the block-of-the-month kits at Stitchin’ Heaven in Quitman, Texas. It’s a sampler, but also a medallion quilt designed by Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts called “Forevermore.” I didn’t realize until the first package arrived that most of the blocks would be an eye-straining 3” finished. It’ll be more of a challenge than I’d bargained for, but I’m looking forward to the journey.

One Dozen Houses

 

“Our eternal perspective not only enlarges our understanding of those who are continuing their journey beyond mortality but our understanding of those who are earlier in their journey and just now entering mortality. Each person who comes to earth is a unique son or daughter of God. Our personal journey did not begin at birth. Before we were born, we were together in a world of preparation where we received our first lessons in the world of spirits. Jehovah told Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee.” For us, there is no question that spirit daughters and sons of God are on their own personal journeys coming to earth to receive a body and experience mortality.” – Elder Neil L. Andersen

Three-Inch Sawtooth Star

 Today is National Forgiveness Day. Typically, we see forgiveness as something that applies to only someone else; someone who has wronged or hurt us in some way. But when you really think about it, you’ll probably agree the person who has hurt you the most is yourself. Forgiving others is vital to a balanced and happy life. So is asking for forgiveness when you realize you’ve wronged someone else. But I think it’s just as important to let go of feelings of resentment and regret over things you’ve done that you shouldn’t have (or didn’t do that you should have) that hurt yourself. Today’s a good day to look at the mess you’ve made and remind yourself that you’ve grown since you made it – whether it was a decade ago, a year ago or yesterday. Do your best to clean up the mess, and move on.

Six Trees

 

I know we’re in the middle of a drought, but I won’t apologize for watering my postage-stamp lawn. I picnic and play with my dogs and my grandchildren on the grass in my backyard, and even total strangers cross the front lawn to use my tree swing. (I never dreamed my swing was this popular. Aren’t doorbell cameras wonderful?) Beyond that, having grass to the east and west helps keep reflected sun’s rays from overheating my house. I’ve heard some communities are paying people to rip out their lawns. It sounds tempting until you consider replacing grass with gravel, wood chips or bare dirt can nearly double your cooling bill. Cultivating trees, shrubbery, flower and vegetable gardens, swimming pools, fountains and even lawns doesn’t “waste” water. Instead, it increases the ambient humidity, which increases the likelihood that it will rain.  

Three-Inch Crossed X

 

Chicora is a tiny borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Its claim to fame is that on this day in 1938, a meteorite fell. Witnesses spoke of an enormous fireball trailing black smoke. When it exploded, the blast shattered windows for miles. At first, people were afraid it was an accident at the powder magazine in West Winfield, twelve miles away. The force was compared to the Halifax explosion in 1917. As Chicora was a rural community, casualties were low. Some contemporary newspapers reported a cow was struck and hurt, and others say the cow was killed. The general consensus was if the event had happened in nearby Pittsburgh, there would have been few survivors. The meteorite is estimated at 450 tons, but only a few small pieces (a total of about 10 ounces) were ever found. These have become part of the collections at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. 

Nine Houses

 

Dormice look like regular mice, except their eyes are a bit larger and their tails are furrier. Their name comes from a French word meaning “sleepy.” Most people are only familiar with the species because of the drowsy character from Alice in Wonderland. Hazel dormice are native to the British Isles, and in Lewis Carrol’s day they were a common sight. Their home is the shrub layer of the woodland. In many places, this habitat has either been stripped out, or trees have been allowed to overgrow so the underbrush dies out. Once widespread, the tiny mammals have disappeared from 17 English counties. An effort is underway to rectify the situation. Through a collaboration between wildlife charity groups, the University of Cumbria and several English zoos, a thousand captive-bred dormice have recently been released in carefully selected locations. They’ve even been provided with special handmade wooden nesting boxes, courtesy of prisoners incarcerated in Doncaster and Humber.