International Peace Gardens [Marcottes go West pt 3]

Yesterday my sister Jeanne took us to the International Peace Gardens on the border of ND and Canada. The gardens (there are several) are stunning. Added to that fact is that the Dakotas are in a deep drought and it's amazing how much care the volunteers put into their mission of peace.

1. The two drives include lakes, native trees and wild flowers, and a variety of native fauna. The main gardens are simply breathtaking. Although I recognized many of the plants, the variety and color is well beyond my knowledge. One example of this is the cone flower. 

I'm calling all of these cone flower but they could easily be daisies or perhaps they are related. The point is that the colors are fascinatingly varied.

For more photos of the scenes and flowers at the International Peace Gardens, visit my Facebook page. 

#marcottesgowest    #fleurdelisquilts   #marymarcottequilts

Angled Surprise ~~ a finish!

A finish! A finish! Last weekend I had a few hours of downtime in Iowa while Richard looked for (more!) rocks in the creek and river. I used those hours to sew up a small quilt that I designed and cut out before we left for the Great Lakes. 

I was not too thrilled with the outcome of the pattern. The blocks aren't perfectly square so they don't sew up easily or well. And the seams don't match. And the bias cuts stretch so there are those buckling seams. But I could do this all night: I'm bad about critiquing my own work. In the end, I decided to quilt it first (there are now eight tops lined up) and be done with it. I can give it as a gift or a charity quilt. 

I'm not so sure that I feel the same way about the quilt. I quilted it in a continuous circle that quilts up really fast. It was my first time using this quilt motif, and it's far from perfect, but I like the quilt more now that I've finished it. 

Even the uneven circles are okay. I don't guess a new baby is going to mind those. I hope not anyway. 

How about this cute back? I decided that since it's neither girly or boyish, I could make it a little more boyish by adding a racing stripe. The backing could almost be a quilt top. Richard was really impressed with the back. 

While I was taking pictures, I kept having to fight off the lantana and callas. They photobombed the quilt which gave me the idea to take their pictures also. It's amazing how much the flowers and plants have taken over. Three weeks of Louisiana rain and sunshine is much like the putting plants in the rainforest. In a couple of weeks we'll be in a drought and all of this green will be yellowy-brown. But for now, it's beautiful!

Don't you just love the variegated speckles on the calla leaves. And this yellow is both bright and soft. I love calla lilies and finally have some blooming in our yard. Thanks to my darling husband, who planted them last summer. The surprise is that they are in a deep pot and didn't freeze or rot from the heat. 

Linking up with

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
TGIFF which can be found at Whims and Fancies 
Crazy Mom Quilts

The Garden Wars: Tomatoes

I have a crazy husband who loves nothing more than to prank his children. April is his favorite month because, he believes, April Fool's Day lasts for the entire month.

All photos from Google Images

Richard and Adam have been planting vegetables for six weeks now. Some plants and seed have been replanted two, three times. The reason for such wasteful abandon is that there's an ongoing competition to have the first, biggest, most, best of any thing that grows in the garden.

It makes no difference how much work, money, or cheating goes in. It's being the first and best that count. Finding another way to win is perfectly acceptable--so one could win by having the last strawberry of the summer, if he only thinks to make the claim.

Photos from Google Images

 Hence,every free inch of dirt is a garden. Richard has three--gardens not inches. Adam has four boxes and a small plot. The only limit right now is the amount of ground under our feet. 




Every grain of soil has been amended. Every seed kissed. Every plant watered, sprayed, fertilized and wanded with stardust--Marly does help. Every weed hand-plucked. Every gnat, fly and beetle smote. Every. Well, every thing has been done that can be done. 


At first it's important to have the first seeds sprouting. Then the plants need to be the biggest. Wait, is that a bloom? Heck, yes, the first bloom on the plant. The first fruit. The biggest fruit. The only red tomato! 

Wait, what?  Oh, no! We can't have only one red tomato! Marley came running up to the house shouting at the top of her lungs that SHE had the first red tomato. We had to drop everything and go look. Well, look there! A red tomato (said like I'd never seen a red tomato in my life). They had already eaten the first strawberry. Her poppa was not to be outdone. 

All photos from Google Images

They left and so did he. Straight to the closest grocery store where he bought a bag of medium sized RED tomatoes still on the vine. I did not ask the price...it was too late.  He found the thin green wire that I use in flower arranging and wired  the bought tomatoes to the plant. Yes, he did!

Right under the leaves they went. Wire well hidden. And to add to the insult, he wired another tomato to a different plant. Beautiful work...I had difficulty seeing the wire, knowing it was there. After that, the only thing he needed was patience. The snare was in place and the victims stepped right in!