Dragonfly

Although I don't like insects, well anything that flies, crawls, slithers, creeps, buzzes, etc., I like some of their structures. The dragonfly's wings are very fascinating to me. The tiny veins that you can see in the photo, are so finely do that I could study them for some time. It's the science teacher that still in me, I suppose.

Anyway, I found this dragonfly on the grill of my Jeep in near perfect condition and had to get a picture of it. Mr. Cowboy just laughed but did suggest getting as close as my IPhone camera could get.

It's possible that one day, I'll make an attempt to make a mini quilt from the regal dragonfly. You never know!!

Rattler

I don't know if you can clearly see this bad boy or not but it's a four foot rattler my son Gabriel was lucky enough to escape injury. The snake crawled very near to where he was working. Someone else killed it, thank goodness. Gabriel immediately sent me a photo. When I saw it, I nearly dropped my phone. Thank The Lord nobody was hurt!

Did I mention that I don't like anything that crawls, slithers, flies, creeps, gallops, flutters, etc. You get the picture and this snake was nowhere near me.  Eeeeeeeek!

Mini Wednesday

It's deer season here in Texas. We have plenty of the critters roaming around the pastures & lake along with wild hogs, some ducks & a couple of beavers Mr. Cowboy is attempting to trap (hunt)!!

This mini is in honor of the deer which we do not hunt.

I've traced the design onto adhesive.

Here are at least two fabrics I'll use.

Here love cut the silhouette & placed it on the wrong side of the dark sky fabric.

The next few photos are of placement. I've also added a background batik fabric.

Here's the finale. I added a tree that's leaning on the others just for a bit of interest. It measures 10 1/2 by 9 3/4 inches.

First Kill - Masticophis flagellum

Warning, if you're afraid of things that slither, don't go any further! Stop now & turn away!!!

Yesterday Cowboy was opening the gate at the cattle guard when out of the corner of his eye he saw something long & black very near him. 

I'm sure you've guessed by now what critter it was. A snake & not a very friendly one either. It was, what we Texan call, a black runner.










Normally, Cowboy doesn't like to kill them because "they are one of nature's way to keep mice, rabbits, birds, etc. under control, among other critters," so lectures Mr. Cowboy (eye rolling and long suffering sigh)

Unlike me, the huntress,

whose motto is "the only good snake is a dead snake!"
Notice, I'm dressed with all the proper gear; safari hat (optional but makes me look good), gloves, calf boots and of course the old  trusty shotgun. Anyway back to the scary moment. Mr. Cowboy tried to ignore and then shoo the snake away but it just kept coming so he dispatched the snake with little fuss as I was nearly screaming my lungs out in panic because this thing is fast but not venomous. Did that matter to me? Nope! Refer to motto!!
So, it you live in snake country, please be aware that with all this warm weather so early, the snakes are roaming.
Be safe!!

Bird Brain

       Heart pounding, heavy breathing, sweating profusely.....that's what happens after chasing a fledgling bird from my garage. I'd just come home from grocery shopping, which in itself is a torture. 

       With the last load of bags hooped on each arm, I noticed something from the corner of my eye I thought I saw something. But at my age I chalked it up to those floaties that break loose & float across the iris. I closed the garage door & went inside to put up all those groceries. When I went out to do a load of laundry.......once again, there was a blur of movement just out of my line of sight but this time I could have sworn I saw something. And then it happened........a bird flew by my head. Mind you, the garage doors were closed so I'm in an enclosed area with that little bird.

       Let's just say I went one way and the bird went the other for the time being. Of course I raised the doors and you'd think the little critter would fly out those doors but oooooohhhhhh nnnnooooo!

We went round and round and round until I was dizzy, the bird flew up into the loft to perch and looked down his beak accusingly at me. 

       That was it, I had had it!!!! What to do, what to do???

Granddad's shotgun??? Too brutal, plus there's not guarantee that I'd actually hit the little birdie. The pepper spary???? Too over the top and who's to say it wouldn't blow back somehow on me. 

       Think girl, think.

       Lightbulb!! (from Despicable Me - movie)

       Out came two cans of canned air (one of each hand cause I'm an old western fan.....six guns and such).....and it was on again. When all the air was gone, my blood pressure through the roof that little birdie decided to flitter away. I ran for the down buttons and thank goodness, the doors closed and I crawled into the house.

      Can you see the sweat on my brow????? I hope not because after 10 minutes with a cold ice pack on the back of my neck, my blood pressure and breathing finally under control, my shoulders unlocked and my spine relaxed.

      Did I mention that I don't like things that fly, crawl, slither, hop, flutter, gallop, lope, meander, etc.....you get the picture!!

      Note to self: Remember, you live in the country with wildlife so always drive into garage and immediately lower door!!

Monday, Monday

I finished the borders and machined "The Duke" last week. Some of you aided me by voting on your favorite setting, 1 or 2. I went with #2 because it was the last one laid out and I just didn't have time to rearrange it back to #1....who has been in that situation...I was just too lazy tired to rearrange.  The last border was done from the leftover strips and last bigger pieces from the kite fabric, which, BTW, is one of my all time favorite fabrics. Why I didn't purchase several bolts of that fabric, I just don't know (LOL).
The quilt measures 36 inches square and will be given to my help hands ladies.  I was determined to get this one finished even though I was canning and baling hay, (Oh, I'm the helper in the hay baling process but it's still takes up a lot of my time).  If it doesn't rain again any time soon, we'll just do a couple more weeks of baling. I can't believe I'm hoping for no more rain in the near future. It's been unseasonably rainy and wet here in central Texas......don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining one bit.
I've scheduled this post to appear on Monday and I hope it works. It's Friday now and I'm off to do more canning and mow the yard plus a few more chores that have to get done.
Make sure to stop by our wonderful hostess, Judy to see what other are doing in the great month of JULY!!

Near our hay fields some of the cows were grazing. We rode over to give them some cookies (range cubes) and I spotted this little heifer, a tiger stripe. She stands out in the crowd with her coloring and boy, can she run.

Inquisitive

 

First....if you're looking for a new project in 2014, try out my "Lazy Hearts" BOM.

 It's from a project I designed a couple of years ago and it's free.  I love sharing with everyone.  Just click on my BOM & BOW page near the top of my blog to find all the designs.

 

 

 

Milkshake is investigating the bottom of a mineral bucket.

 "What's all the fuss about taking you vitamins," is the caption I'm giving this one. 

 She is too funny to watch and that white "Nike" mark above her eye is so unusual, it makes her look like a mischievous  child. Her mommy is, as always, neck deep in the feeder. Little Milkshake as become a very independent girl........LOL

 

 

New Home

BB has yet another new home & has settled in nicely along with her sisters.

As you can see she is participating in one of her favorite pastimes......feeding😜

What, another move?

 

Buzzard Bait (AKA Sugar and Cream) and her friends are moving yet again. She was not happy about the move but had little choice in the matter.

If you aren't familiar with cows/cattle, they need to graze often so they need to be moved from pasture to pasture so that there's little over grazing.

Goodbye BB. I'll see you soon!!

 

A big Thank You

 to those who voted for my

Barn Lovers quilt

over at Quilting Gallery. I came in second place with 92 points. There were quilts from

all around the world. All the entries were beautiful and I was very happy to place.

Again, thank you for your votes!!

 

Buzzard Bait Update & Tiger Winner

As promised, here's an update on little Buzzard Bait (AKA) Sugar & Cream. 
She is happy living in her new place.
As you can see, she has developed a trait from her momma.....head in range cubes ignoring everything else. You can't tell from this photo but she is slowly and methodically pushing her girlfriends out of the way. It is a maneuver her momma had as well. She wants all the food for herself.
I need to stop called her a little girl because at this point she weighs about 350 pounds....ideal for her age.

The other day I posted about silhouette  designs and the tiger below is a form of that type of design. I'm giving this "unfinished" meaning not stitched down, tiger away.

I asked bloggers to leave a comment mentioning their favorite animal. Thanks to those who participated, BTW.

I used a random name picker.......I just love these widgets, they can be so helpful.

And the winner is..............

Scan down to see who it is.................



Connie!

Congratulations Connie. Leave a comment and we'll converse via email. If it takes a few days for me to get back to you, I'm doing a little "me" stuff is why!!

So Sad

You may remember little Buzzard Bait (AKA: BB)  (AKA: Sugar & Cream).....well, she's a big girl now and was very happy the other day when I visited her frolicking in the pasture. She even stopped and posed for the camera

but..............

 

today, she's not so happy. She is being weaned from her mommy and has a long face as she looks at me from the trailer. Her mommy is very happy that BB is going away for awhile. She didn't even notice when BB was loaded into the trailer. Mom's face was buried in some range cubes, as usual.

I'm saying goodbye to BB for a few weeks but don't worry, she'll be back before we know it.

Full of Milk

This baby is full of Mother's milk.....see his milk mustache!

 

And here's little Buzzard Bait (AKA) Cream & Sugar posing for the camera.

"It's time for my close-up"

She weighs approximately 375 pounds. Can you believe it!

A Bridge Too Far

Well, actually it's a crossing but very scary. Have I mentioned that I don't like bridges!  If you're wondering why I'm posting about this particular photo, let me just say that across that planked bridge is little "Buzzard Bait/Sugar & Cream," the calf.

Some of you may remember her plight and shaky start to life.

Click HERE if you'd like to read all about it.

So where was I? On yea.....She'd somehow gotten away from her mother and is now lost. Where is her mom you ask???? Her attention is  busily munching on bales of hay with the those heifers. It fell to me to shoo little Buzzard Bait back towards her mommy.

OMG, are you kidding me!!!!

This is not happening. Did I mention that I really don't like to get involved with cows and babies.  I parked the Jeep and walked over the bridge. Sorry, no photos of the walking across said planked bridge but I know you can use your imaginations on this one. 

Finally, I m' safely across but where is that pesky calf?? In the underbrush, way back in that thicket stands little Buzzard Bait staring at me.

Did I mention that I don't like tight spaces! 

Needless to say, I lost my cap, dropped my glasses, nearly stepped on them and wound up with several scratches before little Buzzard Bait bolted for the herd. It's very difficult to get sand off the lenses of one's glasses.

 

She went straight for her momma and the milk. I'll retrieve my cap another day, cause I'm headed for the house and a nice long very hot bath! Where's I park that Jeep?

I'm okay, really!

 

 

 After I recouped and downed a couple of aspirin, I got busy on a mug rug that I'd been playing around with. I love green fabrics and have loads of scraps laying around waiting for a project. Decided to do a turtle. 

Seaweed or Kelp

Turtle pre-stitching faze

After stitching.

 Now all that's left is the quilting. This little guy will appear in one of my

Thursday give aways very soon.

Hope everyone is having a peaceful week rather than the type of strenuous time I've had.

Working Here!

Yep! That's me in the Deere about to feed those pesky cows. Imagine them wanting to eat all the time....range cubes, hay, salt, minerals......it's endless, I tell you....Sigh!!

 

I did manage to start a new project of squares. You remember those two and a half inch squares I've had and am trying to get rid of use up.

 

Remember to pop over to Judy's to see what others are have on their designs walls.

I know you can't see what it is yet but give it time.

 

 

In These Shoes - Update & Home On the Range Story

Hope everyone is having a great holiday time.  I can't believe that this year is almost over.
It's freezing here in central Texas, around 25 degrees at night which is rare for this time of year. The temperature isn't much higher during the day.....burrrrrrrr, great sewing and reading weather.
So that's what I've been doing.  I'm stopping at nine shoes, I think. Now I just need to figure out how I want to stitch the blocks together. Any suggestions???? I'd love your input!

On a different note.....

Meet little Buzzard Bait!

He's a newbie in the herd, about 10 days old and unfortunately a color easily seen from the sky by buzzards. The other day we were feeding the cows and noticed a bunch of buzzards circling to land near this little one. They were very close to pecking her alive. Luckily we got there in time to do a quick rescue and a move closer to her mommy who was busy munching on hay.

 

 

After all that drama, for several  nights the temperature dropped to freezing and when we fed again little Buzzard Bait was nowhere to be found. Where had that mama cow hidden the little critter?  We look everywhere, hoping that the little goober made it through the cold nights.

Believe me we looked high and low, near bushes, fence rows, tall grass. How hard would it be to spot her with that near white coat?

Oh dear, she must be a goner but her mama was not worried, in fact the mama was stuffing her face with more hay and range cubes.

 



Then late yesterday, here she stood amongst the others.....thank goodness.

Did I mention that cows can be a pain!!

First July Finish

I added a butterfly and spider to the mix of hand embroidery critters.

Next I cut 1 1/2 inch strips to sew between each block. I wanted to have the blocks appear of center so I trimmed them with each insect and arachnid a little to the top, bottom or side of the blocks plus sewing the strips at the beginning of one block and at the ends of the other two.  Was that confusing or what??? 

Finally, here's the results and I love it!!

It measures 22 1/2" by 32 1/2" inches.

So, I was mowing.....

When...... I spotted these two creatures in my yard:

 The spider had made its web from several branches of an oak tree to the ground. In its web are a hapless grasshopper and one tiny beetle who almost got away.

Next, in my waning garden, I found this rather large caterpillar hanging just as you see him/her (note my finger which illustrates an measure of how large the critter is and him/her position on the tomato vine.

Did I mention that I don't care for the sometimes cute yet slightly frightening critters who have made it their business to surprise me in my back yard!!!

Them I captured these two delicate mushrooms near my back steps.

 And finally, Monica from Button Counter was the wonderful hostess for Big 10 and these are my ten inch squares from that swap that I can't wait to get into.  Thanks for hosting Monica.