PITCHIN' A FIT

Around here "pitchin' a fit" is a good thing.  It means that someone GOT BUSY!  As in, he pitched a fit in that potting shed!  Or, she's out there pitchin' a fit in the border!  Both Scott and I assigned ourselves to yard duty this weekend, despite the heat and humidity.  Since I've been spending so much time in the vegetable garden, all of the other gardens have suffered my neglect, but none more than the long border.  It's a jungle out there with the plume poppy standing well over 15 feet.  I was hacking pruning the poppy when Scott wandered over and shouted for me to retreat!    We stood staring at this most magnificent and private creature that my pruning had revealed:

I didn't even see him/her, but luckily, Scott has better eye sight than I do.  Its wings serve as perfect camouflage.  I could not believe how beautiful this moth is - does anyone know what kind it is?

It's body must have been at least three inches or longer.  Nature's perfection.  This moth reminded me of another garden mascot that I haven't seen in many years - the praying mantis.  There is so much herbicidal spraying done in the surrounding orchards that we never see them. (I wish the same was true of the japanese beetle)  I miss them.  (the mantis, NOT the beetles!)

This is what was left of the poppy when I finished my fit ...

It's a bad idea to neglect all other gardens in favor of the vegetables.  I have my hands full with this long border- it's embarrassing to realize what a MESS it has become in my absence.   Look at this sweet little veggie garden, all tucked in and planted - I think that it might have been worth it.

The birds are enjoying these gardens - my "downtown" girls are back ... I cannot figure out how pigeons arrive at my rural setting ... to me, they are and always have been a city bird!  But no!  

The lacecap hydrangeas are very beautiful this season - this one came all the way from Chatham on Cape Cod to live in my New York State garden.  I scattered some sand around its perimeters so that it wouldn't miss its Cape home!

There was some sewing.  Sadly, no knitting.

More bathmats - one for me, one for Hilary who is painting her upstairs bath a pretty salmon and cream combo.  I have been trying to finish the 4th of July flag as well as a fabric banner.  I LOVE the banners for all occasions.  This one is simple to make.

8" squares, right sides together - mark the halfway and cut off the corners -

Sew a scant 1/4 seam around three sides, trim corners and turn -

I then topstitched mine - you don't have to, but I think that they hang better.  I purchased bias tape (gasp!) because I am a lazy girl sometimes, and you simply sandwich them between double fold, double wide bias and sew -

When I run out of this package of tape I plan to use a royal blue, and then a white, and then back to red ... a real patriotic banner for the 4th!

It's a special banner - one that I will look forward to pulling out in July.  I'm planning to make birthday banners for the children - and, - get this - I'm going to do paper-pieced alphabets spelling out their names .. woo-hoo!  Don't I wish that I had this kind of energy and TIME when my adult children were small?  Many regrets - single parenthood, not a good time!  SO!  We do what we can with what we have today.  It has to count for something, yes?  Grandbabies.  NEED. THEM.