The Barn Collective

The barns in our county are disappearing at an alarming rate.  I like to get photographs of them while they are still here.  Our regard for our past reflects our thoughts of our future.

Many barns are still kept up and used - and even more are in disrepair and abandoned.

 Some are old and shabby

 Some are falling down

 This is a very typical hay barn for our area

 Some have been repainted and reroofed

 Some need paint but are still in partial use

And some have a lovely view of the mountans

The Barn Collective  
Rubbish Tuesday  

Mt. Baker Mosaic

The lenticular cloud over Mt. Baker is a sign of turbulence - thank you for that info Margy - and they are avoided by pilots - but to those of us on the ground they are a great chance for some fantastic photos.  Because the weather is turbulent when the clouds are visible, the shape and size of the lenticular clouds change constantly.

Mosaic Monday  
Sunlit Sunday  

Saturday's Critters

I have been out with a big winter cold for this week and so thought I would share a post from a few years back - hope you enjoy it.

In the PNW you see a lot of chain saw wood carving - in yards, for sale along the roads, in towns - it is everywhere.

These bears look friendly enough, maybe they want to share your picnic.

And eagle in the woods

Two bears trying to climb up  to visit the Bald Eagle

The chain saw artists are quite talented

Then last weekend we were traveling a new road and found a place that sells chain saw carvings.

A nice brown bear

Joined by his friends, the giraffes

The Giraffes?  Did we drive too far?

A horse

And a very old bear

Please won't someone take me home - I've been here a very long time.

Saturday's Critters  

Hand Embroidered Tea Towels

Do you like hand embroidered Day-of-the-Week dish towels? Or do you call them tea towels?  Either way, I love to make them.

I showed you some back in September - HERE.  And now I have more to show.

 Kitties going about their daily chores

 Puppies having fun

 Raggedy Ann - helping around the house

And pretty dishes with flowers

These have all gone to Alaska - to a hospital gift shop that a high school friend runs.  Each set has sold almost as soon as she puts them in the display case, two sets sold before she could even put them on display.

I just finished a set of Mousie Day-of-the-Week towels and am working on a set with silly dishes - dancing and singing, and have another set stamped that is called Sassy Suzy - a cute little girl doing housework.

I get the tea towels from Colonialpatterns.com - used to be Aunt Martha - and use Aunt Martha iron-on transfers.  The towels are extra heavy and very large - so I cut them in half to make two from each tea towel - a better size for doing dishes.

It is nice to have a project sitting nearby to pick up to work on in spare moments.  I also stamped two pair of pillowcases - one with hearts and ribbons and another set with hearts, ribbons and two hummingbirds.

Mosaic Monday

Sunlit Sunday

We haven't had much sunshine lately - lots of rain and fog and clouds - but those moments and few hours that the sun shines are fabulous.

 The cold temperatures early in the week have caused the ice to buckle in a swampy area in a county park.

 The ice isn't very thick, we had hoped to see some ducks on the water

 But all we saw was the pretty chips of ice

And a fabulous view of Mt. Baker from another angle.

Sunlit Sunday  

Review of 2014 By Seasons - Autumn

Our last review of 2014.  Autumn is on the bottom of my list as favorite seasons.  It heralds the end to our fabulous summers and the start of the rainy season.  I love a good rainy day - but spring and summer are my absolute favorites.  Since we don't suffer with unbearable humidity that some do, and no bugs to speak of - I never wish summer to be over.  I want it to go on and on - like it did in 2014.  The best summer ever!

Now on to my remembrances of Autumn.

 Mullein blooms on the roadsides.  I once grew some in our yard and our oldest daughter and I picked the tiny blossoms off each morning to make ear oil.

 The garden spiders begin to make their Autumn webs

 And apples hang heavy on the trees

 Rain drips from leaves

 A plane trip gives a view of the leaves turning color

 Leaves drop and mingle with the waterfalls

 The perfect time of the year for a ride to Edison, just down the road - for lunch at our favorite little cafe from the 40s - and an old car going past.

The autumn colors are stunning around Bellingham, just a few miles south and the colors are not as vibrant.

 Ducks gather on the lakes

 Sheep and goats grow woolly coats for the coming cold weather

The harvest moon glows in the sky

 And on the sunny days the farmers get in their second and third haying for the year.

 Rainy days are good for indoor projects - like sorting and winding bobbins of embroidery floss.  In the top left you see the pile of floss - and the others show the bobbins of floss sorted by color.  This photo is for you, Julee and Lynn.

 Time slips back an hour - bringing earlier evenings

The perfect time for tea and scones, using the vintage Sears Cattail dishes

 Canada Geese settle in for their winter stay on the nearby lakes and ponds

  And  farmers load up their trucks and sell pumpkins for kids, young and old

Wild blackberries ripen, ready for the picking - pies, cobblers and jam are on the menu now

The eagles return from their summer nests - waiting for the fish to spawn in the rivers. 

 Clouds move in and remind us the old weather adage - "If a man leads his sheep to water, can rain be far behind?" 

 The moon peeks through the trees and clouds - it is almost Halloween. 

And the Sisters Mountains get their first dusting of snow - signalling the end of Autumn.