Colorado Beauty Quilt Block and Signs of April in Colorado

Colorado Beauty Quilt Block Pattern Information

 

April in Colorado is . . . catkins on aspen trees - 

"a clear indication that spring—despite the grayness that may yet

fill the sky beyond our windows—has in fact arrived." - I read here.

 

April in Colorado is . . . baseball practice - such fun to see on my walk!

 

April in Colorado is . . . cheerful daffodils to brighten my home. 

 

And, of course, April in Colorado is ... snow! 

It's already snowed 3" today, and we are expecting 4 - 6" more tonight. 

 

What are signs of April in your area?  Inquiring minds want to know!  By commenting, you'll be entering this month's give-away of Marie Bostwick's newest book APART AT THE SEAMS, coming out the end of this month.  Three lucky people will each win a copy, courtesy of Kensington Publishing!  If you are reading this via email, you must click on the title of my blog post to be able to comment and read the comments of others.  The winner will be announced on May 1.

 

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post Star of Hope Quilt Block and a Palm Sunday Parade.

 

Snowball Quilt Block and Snow Icing!

 

 

 

Winter Linens

Just water

solid water

just water frozen white

clinging to every leaf and chunk of gravel

lying along every twig and wire

mounding over every stump and silent ball

and in the dawning light

this water frozen white

glows cold and comfort both

as if to step out and lie down in it

to sink into the layer that lines the slope of the slide

would be a copy coming home to bed.

                                     

Heidi Mordhorst

Does it snow where you live?  Inquiring minds want to know! Inquiring minds want to know!  Please answer in the comment section below.

 

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post here.

Centennial Quilt Block and Happy Birthday, Colorado!

Centennial Quilt Block

Colorado is called the Centennial State because it became a state in 1876, the year of America's centennial.  Today, Colorado is 137 years old!

Colorado Beauty Quilt Block

 

Colorado Pass Quilt Block

 

 

The Colorado Blue Spruce is the state tree of Colorado. 

Can you see how blue the needles are?  

The Rocky Mountain Columbine became the state flower of Colorado in 1889 after a vote by school children of Colorado.  Out of 22,316 votes, 14,472 of the votes went to the columbine.

Palisade in western Colorado is the Peach Capital of Colorado.  John Harlow and his wife Jean planted some of the first peach trees in the area in 1882.  The 45th Annual Palisade Peach Festival will be held August 15-18 this year.  Here's a delicious peach pie recipe for you:  
 

Peach Upside Down Pie

Pastry for double 9-inch pie

2 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup toasted and chopped almonds, walnuts, or pecans
1/3 cup brown sugar

5 cups peeled sliced peaches

¾ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons tapioca
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1.  Prepare pastry.

2.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
3.  Line a 9-inch pie pan with a 12-inch square of foil, letting excess foil overhang edge.  Spread with butter and press nuts and 1/3 cup brown sugar into butter.
4.  Fit a bottom crust into pan, over the nut mixture.  Mix remaining ingredients and pour into crust. 
5.  Cover with a top crust.  Trim edges, seal well, and prick pie with a fork.  Brush lightly with milk.
6.  Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes.
7.  Cool pie.  Turn upside down on serving plate and remove foil.  The top will be a crunchy layer of the nutty mixture.  Cut pie into wedges to serve.

And we have our winners for the Quilters' Book Club drawing for July.  Congratulations to Nancy in IN and Michele - the TWO lucky winners of Clare O'Donohue's book, The Devil's Puzzle, part of her Someday Quilts Mystery Series.  A big thank you to Plume Books for donating the books!  Michele and Nancy in IN, please email me at starwoodquilter@gmail.com with your mailing address, so you can receive your free book.

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post here. 

Welcome to Our Mountain Home Counted Cross Stitch

"A misty, moisty morning, when cloudy was the weather." 

There's actually a mountain behind those trees and fog!



The hummingbirds drain the feeder every day.



The acorns on the scrub oak continue to grow.



The Douglas fir bark forms interesting patterns.

The yarrow is blooming

in different colors.

Rain in Summer

How beautiful is the rain!

After the dust and heat,

In the broad and fiery street,

In the narrow lane,

How beautiful is the rain!

How it clatters along the roofs,

Like the tramp of hoofs!

How it gushes and struggles out

From the throat of the overflowing spout!

Across the window pane

It pours and pours;

And swift and wide,

With a muddy tide,

Like a river down the gutter roars

The rain, the welcome rain!

                 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post here.

Flutter, Buzz, Bloom in a Quilt and Around Starwood

 

FLUTTER

 

White Admiral Butterfly on Spreading Dogbane

 

Swallowtail on Spreading Dogbane
Here's an interesting You-tube about the Swallowtail caterpillar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu7dbT7F4O4
 

 

Butterfly

What is a butterfly?

At best

He's but a caterpillar

Dressed.

                  - Benjamin Franklin

 

Sarah Lynn, a wonderful reader, sent a link of close-up views of butterfly wings:  http://tinyurl.com/ButterflyWingCloseup  Enjoy! Thank you so much, Sarah Lynn!

 

BUZZ



Visitor
I'm The Nectar Inspector,
Sweetness Detector -
I sip -
I don't sniff.
I love juice
not perfume.
In its deep-throated scarlet
cup of a bud
(Beardtongue) Penstemon's
my favorite brew!
                       - Janet S. Wong

 

BLOOM

Wild Bergamot, Horsemint, or Beebalm

It smells a lot like oil-of-bergamot, which gives Earl Gray tea its flavor. 

This mint attracts butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. 

Some Native American tribes used it as an insect repellant.  

 

Flowers at Night

Some flowers close their petals,

blue and red and bright,

and go to sleep all tucked away

inside themselves at night.

 

Some flowers leave their petals

like windows open wide

so they can watch the goings-on

of stars and things outside.

 

                - Aileen Fisher

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post here. 

Just to let you know, I so appreciate my readers and your comments and encouragement!


Wild Rose Quilt Block and Plants Around Starwood

 Wild Rose Appliqued Quilt Block

 

Wild Roses are blooming around Starwood.

 

 The Spreading Dogbane has tiny, bell-shaped flowers.

 The little flowers have pink stripes inside.  A swallowtail is enjoying the nectar.

 

The Rocky Mountain Maples have hanging,

V-shaped pairs of 1" long, winged seeds. 

 

 

The Chokecherries have green fruit.

 

  And tiny acorns are beginning to grow on the Gambel's Oak (Scrub Oak) trees.

You might enjoy reading my previous blog post here.





Tall Pine Tree Quilt Block and Leaf Out at Starwood

Tall Pine Tree Quilt Block
Pattern information available here

 

New Leaves on the Gambol (Scrub) Oak

Green Song

I can never get my fill

of chlorophyll,

of glory-filled weather

when the air is clear and dry,

when grasshoppers in their gauntlets

hop along high

and bright-winged butterflies

delight the eye,

when sun and breeze combine

to make the landscape shine

and green's the major color

against an azure sky.

             Lillian Morrison

New Growth on a Douglas Fir

I'm Glad . . .

I'm glad the sky is painted blue,

   And the earth is painted green,

With such a lot of nice fresh air

   All sandwiched in between.

                           Anonymous 

 

On a side note, Google is ending their Google Reader on July 1.  I would encourage you to click the Bloglovin' link at the top right side of my post to conveniently be able to read new blog posts.
 
You might also enjoy my previous blog post here

Hummingbirds Around Starwood

Hummingbird

I'm The Nectar Inspector,
Sweetness Detector -
I sip -
I don't sniff.
I love juice
not perfume.
In its deep-throated scarlet
cup of a bud
(Beardtongue) Penstemon's
my favorite brew!
       Janet S. Wong

Visitor

A spark, a glint,
  a glimpse
  of pixie tidbit.
Bright flits, brisk zips,
  a green-gray blue,
  wings, zings, and whirr -

I just heard
  a humming of bird.

  Kristine O'Connell George

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post here.

Moss Covered Rocks Around Starwood

Rolling Stone Quilt Block

 

 

 

"A rolling stone gathers no moss." 

 

Here's moss growing on some non-rolling stones

around our home, Starwood, after the snows of winter and spring.

 

 

 Solitude

 

To sit on rocks, to muse o'er flood and fell;

To slowly trace the forest's shady scene,

Where things that own not man's dominion dwell,

And mortal foot hath ne'er or rarely been!

To climb the trackless mountain all unseen.

With the wild flock, that never needs a fold;

Alone o'er steeps and foaming falls to lean;

This is not solitude: 'tis but to hold

Converse with Nature's charms, and view her stores unrolled.

              

                                 Lord George Gordon Byron

 

What is Green?

 

Green is the grass

And the leaves of trees

Green is the smell

Of a country breeze.

Green is lettuce

And sometimes the sea.

When green is a feeling

You pronounce it N.V.

Green is a coolness

You get in the shade

Of the tall old woods

Where the moss is made.

 

from Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post here.