Red Wings and Red Buds

Very often I miss the hustle and bustle of living in metropolitan New York. But there are two things I could never find there and that I treasure about living in rural Ohio.....The Red Wing Blackbird and the Redbud tree. Both are native to the Eastern section of the US, but I seem to only see these two wonders of Nature in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. As I am not gifted enough to photograph them myself I have found these lovely photos on Google Images. Prairie Schooler "Birds and Berries" also has a wonderful rendition of the Redwing Blackbird.

Not quite Spring-like warm, but nice enough to work outside both yesterday and today. The red cabbages (I'm on a 'red' kick this weekend!), Cippolini onions and leeks all went into the newly tilled garden. I worked a bit to clear off the flower beds and planted some zinnia and sunflower seeds. It seems most of my perennials have survived the Winter so I won't be buying much new. Not that I can afford anything new right now. Waiting for the "Economic Stimulus" check to arrive from the government. A nice idea, but I am not going to stimulate the economy with mine, just pay back previous economic damage. Hopefully Joe will be back to full-time work soon, now that the weather is getting better.

Bud is doing well. The big plastic collar came of last Wednesday and all 16 staples came out as well. He is totally loving his freedom.

Not much stitching going on. Lots of ideas flowing through the vacant spaces in my head, but I just can't seem to settle on a new project. Only three little stitchy finishes. A red, white and blue doll quilt in the Churn Dash pattern, a pastel patch doll quilt, leftover from scraps from a quilt I am making for my niece, and a small Blue Delft Tile theme from the Reader's Digest "Big Book of Cross-Stitch". Read about this book on Staci's Blog and just had to buy it. I know I must make a decision about the up-coming Quaker Animals exchange a Quaker Inspired. It is my first exchange and I want to get it right. I finally caught up with most of my usual blog-reading and I discovered the "On-line Needlework Show". Wow, there is tons of new stuff out there. I found a new (well, new to me) designer from Germany, Wiehenburg Designs. They have some great Quaker-themed charts. I also love this little beauty from Carriage House Samplings called "Frederick". I just adore animals with 'human' names! I am also obsessed with all things Ackworth these days. That series of books/charts are amazing, but incredibly expensive. I had my local library do a regional search for "The Schoolgirl Samplers of Ackworth" ( $101 at Amazon!!!). Does anyone out there have any of these books? If so, where did you get them? I got a postcard in the mail yesterday saying that the library couldn't find a copy in the area to loan to me.

Back outside for a few more hours. I know tomorrow it is back to the gym for another hectic week. For now it's fun to watch Coal enjoy the catnip.