A LITTLE OF THIS.... A LITTLE OF THAT

I've done a great deal more work in the gardens since the last post. I also had the opportunity to meet with a group of vintage sewing machine aficionados for a day of drooling over some of the sweetest antique machines I've had the fortune to see!

Here are some of the machines. I particularly was captivated by the various decals. I am a complete amateur at recognizing the various models and dating them, but I still find them beautiful. The group is officially for treadlers and hand-crankers.

Other than coveting a hand-crank machine to make my collection complete, I am never going to be like some of the group members. A few of them literally have tens of machines! True collectors. In the first place, I don't have room for more than the few I currently own.

The garden continues to take shape.... one morning the dew was particularly heavy and I captured photos of the unique beauty.

 Morning flowers are the best! Some of the areas I've been focusing my attention....

This is a milkweed plant. I am trying to attract monarch butterflies before they become extinct! (lousy cell photo)

And the highlight of my week.... I know the owl visits the bird bath at dusk each evening, particularly now that the days are getting so warm. I try to go outside to get a prime bird-watching spot well in advance of his (her?) arrival. Last night the visit was earlier than normal; light enough to capture a fairly decent photo despite the cellphone camera being the only handy device.

Knowing the owl can arrive earlier than expected, tonight I headed to the patio before the usual time. He didn't visit as early as last night, but I listened to him call from the trees for about 20 - 30 minutes. It's unusual for the owl to stay put for such an extended period, so I decided to walk toward the calls, hoping I could figure out where it was sitting. It was sitting in the opening of the owl box!!! I was shocked. Other than the week in late March when I spied the owl in the box right after it had been installed, I'd not seen the owl in the box since. I figured the box had been erected too late in the nesting season and had been abandoned when a mate wasn't found. But there he was tonight! Leads me to believe he's been using the box all along. I've read they are masters at staying hidden even when one is purposely looking for them in their natural habitats. This discovery was one of the best of the week.

Until I have more to share.....