Hello! It’s early afternoon here and I’m gazing out my window at the cloudy sky and the trees moving in the wind. The weather app tells me it feels like 0.9 degrees outside so I won’t be venturing there. Yes, I’m a wuss. I like to stay cosy.
We’ve had three frosts this month. Yesterday’s one was thick and I could hear the crunch of frozen grass underneath my shoes as I quickly snapped some photos before scooting back inside. Frost, that thin layer of ice that forms on a solid surface, is a sure sign of a cold night. Meanwhile, we burrowed more deeply among the flannelette sheets and snug quilts as we slept.
I suspect we’ll be having an especially cold winter this year. We had a slight scattering of snow throughout the Southern Highlands in the first week of May; it fell as sleet here but other villages had a full covering. It caused great excitement throughout the area but it’s an uncommon event. We’re 690 metres above sea level and rarely does snow develop at that level here. We’ll see.
Quilts
I’ve started another quilt project. Yes, another one. This time it’s Botanica from Treehouse Textiles, a gorgeous pattern that combines piecing and appliqué. Fabrics I am using are all from my stash and I’m tweaking the design by replacing the hexagons with circles so I can practise my circle appliqué. These are some blocks I am prepping. I’m looking forward to stitching these.
Making quilts for challenges – do you love them or leave them? I’ve had struggles when making challenge quilts over the years. You can read about that here.
Gardens
I’ve planted dozens of bulbs, mostly ‘Erlicheer’. I like these ones because their petals are cream, not yellow, and they have a light scent. Thanks to a friend who was sharing extras from her garden, I’m looking forward to enjoying them in a few months.
I have yet to plant more tulips. There’s a bag of bulbs in my pantry, waiting to be buried in the cold ground. There are already tulips from past plantings slumbering in their beds and I’ll pop some in pots as well. You can never have too many tulips, can you? These are assorted colours so I won’t know how well they combine until they flower. Ooh, what a risk-taker I am.
The dahlias have all been cut back. Luckily, I did this before the frosts started because there’s nothing more unattractive than black, soggy plants that have been hit by frost. I’ve dug up and divided some tubers but there are still some that need the same treatment. Surplus tubers have gone to the garden club for others to plant.
A hailstorm shredded many of my windflowers that were in bloom. It’s been quite a month for extreme weather here and that’s had an impact on my garden. You can read about that here.
Writing and books
My reading of novels has slowed this month, probably because I’ve been reading more magazines instead. I did read Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood (disappointing, I expected I would enjoy it more than I did); The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry (the plot interested me but I found the flowery language annoying); and The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (enjoyed this one, although I worked out who was the mother of the baby long before it was revealed in the story). Kate Morton’s writing style appeals to me so I’ll be reading more of hers.
I do enjoy the stories of people I meet. While attending a memoir writing workshop, we participants were encouraged to share a story if we were comfortable doing so. You can read about my story here.
The Friends group of my local library organises an author talk each month. I try to go to them all so I can support the Friends, meet other people interested in reading (and sometimes writing), and to support the authors, whether they be established or newly published. There’s so much to learn.
Would you like a book shed in your backyard? Melissa Boyes did!
What are you enjoying? Are you making quilts, nurturing your garden or reading good stories? I’d love to know.
