Time for a Sunday chat, so get yourself a cuppa and settle in for a long and picture heavy post. There has been a lot of activity in the garden lately, as it is in lovely bloom now. The day lilies have been giving us two or three blooms each day. The orange ones I don’t like are still in the garden, but it has been too hot to dig them up. This is the only one I have left that I like, pretty ruffled edge apricot with a yellow throat.
The goldfinches have been here daily, sporting their bright yellow summer color.
A young buck was here with a doe, calmly grazing on the grass.
They wandered over to the hosta bed, eating a few leaves and a bud or two before moving on. Note that the hostas are full of buds just a day or so away from bursting into bloom.
A couple of days later, I found this, bare stalks sticking up as every flower has been eaten! They’ve never done this before, usually just eating a few leaves but leaving the flowers alone.
Ah, well, I have other flowers. The hydrangeas are doing beautifully.
Another visitor made his presence known, looking for a handout.
Well, yes. Of course he got one. He took his sandwich to the retaining wall to eat it.
More visitors this past week, wild turkeys were scratching in the yard for seeds.
This flock of females was small, and I didn’t see any little ones. But they are likely out there in the forest, as they should be about half grown by now.
When it is this hot outside, using my slow cooker in the kitchen keeps the kitchen cooler. This day I had scored a lovely beef roast on sale, and put it in the cooker with onions and mushrooms.
I use a McCormick mix called Slow Cooker Pot Roast which makes a wonderful gravy. It cooked while I sewed, and later dinner was ready to eat.
I served it over noodles, with my Squash Casserole (using my little oven for just 30 minutes).
There is a new Mountain State Fair cooking contest for summer squash, and I may enter this dish in that competition. Here’s the recipe for this squash dish – click on Summer Squash Casserole
Earlier in the day, My Sweet Babboo put out a suet cake for the birds. Normally we don’t do this in summer, but the package had broken open. We decided to just go ahead and let the birds have it rather than try to save it for later. First one to find it was this titmouse.
A pair of cardinals found it next. The female grabbed a beak full.
Then the male came for his share. It took me a day to get his picture.
The suet was gone in a matter of a couple of days. Here, a chickadee gets a meal before it is all gone.
In the back on the hill side, the gladiolas have come into bloom. The pretty apricot color is dotted all on the hill. Three stalks bloomed next to each other, making a lovely spray.
These were close enough to the fence to reach over and cut for inside the house.
I filled a vase, and set it alongside the violet which continues to bloom its heart out. The orchid blossom is still lovely as well, a month later!
The second bloom on the orchid has not progressed at all. The picture is a bit blurry as I could not get the camera to focus on it, but you can see it is the same as it was before.
While I was sewing in the basement, I noticed movement through the basement door window. A hummingbird was busy on the hosta blooms behind the garage. She is hard to see, so I circled her for you.
These hostas have escaped the notice of the deer, and are blooming well. The hummingbird comes by regularly now.
Then, the most amazing thing happened. She seems to see me though the glass, as I swear she is looking right at me.
Then, she flew right in front of the glass and hovered, as if to give a greeting. It was so surprising that I almost forgot to press the button on the camera. She left after only a moment, and I went back to the sewing machine.
For Koi Pond, I coffee-dyed the water lily applique to further darken it and it worked for the Koi Pond wall hanging. I fused the applique on the piece, and it is now done. My blogger buddy Vicki suggested adding a bit of watered down fabric paint to create some definition and shadowing in the water lily, and I may do that. I also put some diamond dust on the fish using a dry paintbrush, then spritzing it with spray starch to make them sparkle more. You cannot see that effect in this photo, but it is amazing in person.
Now I need to decide if I can get the summer lemon zest, sky blue butterfly and mason jar quilt made in time for the State Fair this year. I started this quilt in March at retreat, but have since changed my mind as to how I am going to put it together. I’ve decided not to make it scrappy, but controlled with only four fabrics and lots of white tone on tone prints for background.
The prize money has significantly increased and I am going to try to finish it in time to enter it. I’m only making a throw size so I should be able to get it done. But, I am down to seven weeks left to finish! We’ll see!
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Fat Quarter Shop July specials – Get 20% off the Basic of the Month – Magic Dot from Lelia Boutique, 30% Off the Notions of the Month – stabilizers and notions By It’s So Emma, 30% off Patterns of the Month by Lelia Boutique, and see the Book of the Month selections from Vanessa Goertzen of Lelia Boutique. Then, check out Today’s Flash Sale and see the Precuts of the Week.
P.S. to Kim J in SC, your quilt went to a lovely family who had to place their mom in hospice while dealing with repairs to their home. The quilt is bringing much comfort. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. I didn’t have your email to let you know.
From My Carolina Home 
I agree that the Lilly pad needs more definition. I love the hummingbird picture. My granddaughter has gotten into birdwatching and she set up a hummingbird feeder. It drew hummingbirds like crazy. I’ve never seen one for real. They are amazing.
So happy you’ve continued blogging after a brief layoff as I always enjoy your posts. Have you considered an air fryer for cooking without heating up the kitchen?
I’d love to have one, but my very tiny kitchen has no room for one.
I’d love to have an air fryer, but my very tiny kitchen has absolutely no space for one.
I love gladiolas but have never had luck growing them. The peach colored ones you have are gorgeous. I love seeing the wild life you have in your yard. We are staying at a cabin in Wisconsin this weekend and have been enjoying seeing 2 adult loons and their young ones on the lake. They have been very vocal. While out in the kayak, my 8 year old was surprised when one of the adults surfaced 6 feet away from him. He was even able to collect a feather off the water that was left behind.
Wow, Carole! What a great sequence of photos of the hummingbird you captured! I bet you’re glad you were there with your camera at just the right time. And glad the deer didn’t get to those blooms, too! Love seeing all your wildlife photos. The squash casserole sounds yummy – I’ll have to try it. Have a great Sunday!
I love all your flower pictures. Thanks for sharing. I would love to see Koi Pond in person. I can only imagine it’s beauty.
I am amazed by how long the orchid blooms last. We wait for what seems like a long time for a bud to bloom, but it’s so worth it by how long the flowers last. Love all your critter pics. So sweet the interaction with the hummingbird. Happy the deer found enough hosta buds to satisfy their hunger but left enough for the hummers. Such a peaceful post.
Of course the hummer was coming by to say Hello to you..I think all of the mountain creatures know who you are and stop by just to say Hi.
Wow! That picture of the hummingbird looking at you is a one in a million shot! Nature has its way of entertaining us!
Hostas are like candy to deer! With the flowers gone, the hosta leaves will fill in fuller next year. Hostas are rugged plant that don’t give up even when the deer give them a sheering.
Reading your blog is a great way to start the day!
the deer never eat my hostas for some reason or the lilies. All of your flowers look really nice and so nice getting a hummingbird up close. I don’t know why but my hydrangea’s are bad this year. They opened pretty like also beautiful color and then within weeks they turned brown the flowers just all burning up – we did have heat waves but they don’t usually burn up in June – they have been like this about 2 weeks.
On my way out this morning I noticed my hostas are blooming. The deer will probably finish them off later. They think the yard is their salad bar. We have a lot of youngster squirrels now. They do silly things like stand up & peer in then knock on the glass doors. We had a hummingbird flutter in front of my husband’s face one morning; the feeder was empty! Those animals are smart & know how to get refills.
I love your hostas! They do not do well here in central Texas but I always enjoy seeing them where they flourish. I’ve never seen gladiolus growing in amongst other plants! They are lovely! In fact I cannot remember seeing them growing anywhere in recent years. They are mostly seen on church altars!!!!!
So that’s where are Gold Finch are (NJ State bird). We have robins, cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, galore but no Gold Finch, hummingbirds or butterflies to speak of! He
Carole, I enjoyed your blog very much today! Tried to comment
Forgot to mention I am enjoying the Stacy Willingham’s books. Third on local library list for newest but in meantime, Only if You’re Lucky, I finished with a wow and Flicker in the Dark is my current read. Thanks for the recommendation….
Enjoyed all the photos and commentary. Our daylilies and glads are finished for the season!
I love Koi Pond. Your pictures are great as usual. My mother loves birds so I plant hanging baskets with flowers they like and hang them and a hummingbird feeder on her front porch so she can see them through the window. A few weeks ago I was watering the plants when a male hummingbird flew up. I was wearing a red shirt and it came about six inches from me. I could feel the air off its wings. It hovered for about 30 seconds then left. I was thrilled to see him that close. Have a great week.
Your garden is looking lovely. Shame about the deer gobbling up all the Hosta blooms! Jolly Rascals. Gladioli, just beautiful. I think all the little animals and birds know where the best pickings are and where it is comparatively safe to come to get them. 😃
The Koi is lovely and your added flower looks good too.
I have a big pumpkin waiting to be eaten so will try your Squash recipe as well.
Mary :))
The humming bird shot is magnificent, but I love Mr. Squirrel coming right up to the door! I wish ai could give you an idea about the water Lily. I agree, it needs some more definition, but I haven’t figured out how to do it yet!
I just printed your squash casserole since I have a number of squash we need to eat . (I may double the recipe). Then tomorrow I’ll cook a Pork Shoulder in the Crock Pot for BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches.
I love your woodland friends stopping by. Have a great week.
thanks for all the pictures of the gorgeous flowers. My husband was partial to Gladiolas and always grew them in the different places that we lived. Your crockpot roast looked really yummy. Makes me think I’m going to try one this week.
Your garden is spectacular and good job getting the hummingbird photo!
I sympathize with your hosta buds being eaten by the deer, Carole, as they got some of ours recently, also. But my, they sure cleaned house with your big patch! A crockpot for the summertime is a great idea! Your glads are so pretty! And of course, great job on your koi quilt!!!
What a wildlife haven in your world this week! The birds are fantastic — that suet cake was “model” bait and they all posed! I can’t wait to hear how your quilts fare in the fair but I suspect you’ll be walking home with plenty of prizes again. That koi is fantastic! Checking out the squash casserole!
That is a gorgeous colour in your gladiolas.
We used to see a lot of them in gardens here, but they seem to have gone out of favour recently.
Lovely to see yours.