Luginbuhl Planter

 

This planter was a gift from my uncle Darvin Luginbuhl, made in his home pottery studio.  (With an apology to my cousin Gregg if he was the potter of this piece.  Their work was sometimes, but not always, similar.) 

Both were professors at Bluffton University.  Darvin's first studio there was on the third floor, and he carried many bags of clay up the stairs.  There is now a lovely light-filled building with a pottery studio and art  classrooms.

Both gifted me a few pieces, and one of my regrets is that I didn't buy a few more.

Yesterday I strung wire through the three loops and planted a sweet potato vine, with hopes that the vine will soon cascade down.

I'm beginning to appreciate a touch of whimsey in the garden.  Soon I'll show you a toad house, one of my favorite pieces.

Tomato Cage and a Question

 

I just liked the way this tomato cage looked from a different angle.

The tomatoes are recovering from the deer chomping, and so far the deer repellent is working.

Goodness, it's hot again.  I've been wondering why I get so little done, and I think it's because it's hot inside as well as outside.  I really, really need to make the call to replace the air conditioner.

Yesterday I was musing about overthinking, and I've gone way too far with this.  I don't know how old my air conditioner is, but it's more than twenty years old and probably more than thirty. It just can't keep up.

The thing is:  should I replace the air conditioner or put in a heat pump, using my gas furnace as cold weather back-up?  The furnace is four years old, high efficiency.  The heat pump costs about $1000 more than a replacement air conditioner.

If anyone has words of wisdom, I'd love to hear them.  I realize that with a heat pump I won't get that warm air feeling from the vents in cold weather, and that isn't an issue.

Pink and Green

 

Pink and green is my favorite color combination, so no surprise that this was on my cutting table early this morning.  Now, after two hours before the heat drove me downstairs, all the pieces are cut and on the design wall.

I took a picture of the design wall before I headed downstairs.  It's always surprising what an hour or more away, or a photo, points out errors in triangle rotation or color placement.  Both are even better.  Then fix and repeat.

I'm reminded of the different types of people:  those who push to get the project finished right away.  And those whose tendency is to overthink the project.  (That latter would be me.)

And why it's important to have both types on your team.  Those who might miss out on important information by acting too quickly, and those who need a nudge to move thinking into action.

I just looked at my photo and saw two blocks that need to be transposed.  That makes me smile.

White Coneflowers

I have lots of pink coneflowers, a  and this is their year.  The white ones, though, are new.  I didn't plant them, they just appeared.

A couple of years ago a neighbor asked me in the spring for a start of my red coneflowers.  Which I never had, but now I've been wishing for some.  She must have seen them in someone else's garden.

From my reading tonight, this quote from George Bernard Shaw: 

 "You see things and you say, 'Why?'  

But I dream things that never were  

And I say, 'Why not?'?

Isn't that really what art is?  Imagining things that never were and guiding them into being?

And isn't that what some goals are?  Dreaming of changes we'd like to make, and dividing the dreams into steps to make them come true?

Big Block This Time

 This week's Moda Blockheads block is a big one, 18".  You'll find it at the top left.

The previous blocks are just laid around it, most likely the configuration will change, and perhaps the big block will end up in the middle.

It was the nicest July 4 weekend, poolside lunch with family on the actual 4th, and just relaxing the rest of the time.  I still have a few groceries to put away from Friday, I've been that lazy.

Watering has taken up some of the time, we've had a stretch once again to temps in the 90's and no rain.  There's a possibility of thunderstorms at the end of the afternoon today.

I've staked my tomato plants and scattered Liquid Fence - one day too late.  Several of the tomato plants got chomped.  It will be ok, they are hearty plants, and I'll be more diligent going forward.

There is one tiny squash starting - you know how I love summer squash.

Happy July 4

 

Happy July 4, everyone.  May happiness find you today.

July 4 baseball trivia   only one team in Major League baseball has not been swept in a series so far this year, and that team is the Cincinnati Reds.

Days of the Garden

 

A card from a friend, and there is glitter and there are sparkles.

A few days ago we had the summer solstice, bringing us to the down side of daylight in our days.  And now that we're into July, the year is half over.

This is not about gloom and doom, just marveling at how quickly the days are passing.  The wonder of smmer has just begun.

This evening I was watering a friend's plants.  She has a lovely polinator garden in her front yard.  And a wonderful vegetable garden in big containers on her upstairs balcony.  The deer can only dream of her goodies, way out of their reach.

Last summer my garden soothed me during the hard days of eye surgery complications.  I would go out in the evenings and water in the days's coolness and go out in the morning and marvel.

This summer I'm counting down to another eye surgery at the end of this month, and I believe all will be well.  I'm watering in the evenings once again, except for Monday, when we had the most amazing rain.  And each morning I'm marveling once again at the growth that happened during the night.

My dream of morning glories on the back porch railings is beginning - the plants are vining.  Those squash I love will surely have blossoms any day now.  For all their late start, the tomatoes look amazing.  I planted basil in a container today.

I always am a little slow getting started in the spring, and I'm always so happy when the plants are growing.  While I'm hanging back a little, the perenniels appear and I remember what I love about growing things.