Yesterday just wasn't the right Wednesday to get back to my Wentzler BAP. The morning at home was a busy one, baking cookies for the evening's catechist meeting and doing some prep to make dinner an easy one considering the long day. I did sneak in some stitching on The Primitive Shop between jumping up and down every twelve minutes to switch out cookie sheets. But I knew my dinner break at work would be short, so I didn't bother to bring my stitching bag to the office. And by the time I got home around 9:30 pm, I was just too weary and bleary to attempt any stitching whatsoever, never mind something as complex as a Wentzler piece. I did a bit of reading before finally dropping off to sleep.
And this morning I actually slept through my husband's morning routine and didn't wake till 8:00 am, unusually late for me. I didn't have to be at work till noon, so I indulged myself with an hour and a half of morning stitching with several huge soup mugs of tea. Not a bit of laundry, house-keeping, shopping, banking or any of the dozens of chores calling my name. Aside to myself: I must teach some of these chores to call out my husband's name on occasion.
This morning's stitching has me closing in on a finish for The Primitives Shop from the 2006 Indy Town Square series. If I can manage just another hour this evening after work, I believe that will be enough. I have only three more rows of the over one fill stitching and then the back stitching and lettering left to stitch. So I'll hope to post a finish photo tomorrow morning.
In the meantime, I'd like to post photos of a "volunteer" from my backyard garden. The back section has been overrun by these lovely things. I can't tell if they are the root stock from some blackberries that used to grow in that area [blackberry cultivars are grafted onto sturdier stock ... kind of like roses] or whether they are the product of seeds from bird droppings. But they are quite pretty, with clusters of white flowers in early summer and these dark purple berries in late summer to early fall. I am wondering if they are edible. I am sending photos to my daughter-in-law who is an environmental educator and a naturalist in the hope
that she can identify them. But if any of my readers know what they are, I'd love to hear from you in the comments section. I am a city kid and don't know much about botany beyond the conventional garden flowers and vegetables. If these turn out to be something desirable like wild grapes, I'll try to transplant them above the retaining wall and let them take over that area next summer. But I don't want them down in the backyard proper next year ... my yard is too small and I have other plans for the space.
The top photo [left] is a close-up of the berries and leaves. The second photo [immediately] above] is a shot of three of the bushy plants growing in a clump. And the bottom [left] photo is a close-up of the berries again, this time against the backdrop of one of my patio chair covers to give you a clearer view. They are really quite pretty and I'd love to discover if they are useful as well: either for eating, feeding the birds or making a natural dye or whatever!
3 comments:
They look like elderberries to me! If they are (and are the right type), they are edible but are kinda tart. A good "sick food" especially for the flu. People around here mostly make wine or jam. If your daughter doesn't know, I suggest taking a cutting in to your local conservation department (unless this is a Missouri only thing...?) and they should be able to help.
Watch out for purple bird droppings! :)
Oh, I'd love some elderberries! I've never seen these before - but I've also never seen elderberries, either. ;)
Great news about your mom!'One less thing to worry about!
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