Gone To The Beach: 08.24.2018

Friday, August 24, 2018

Zinnias in a Flowered Jar ~ And Dragonflies

Happy Friday! Another Friday, August is drawing to an end and there's a faint hint of end of summer sadness in the air, despite the reality that summer here will linger through mid-October. I think it is the earlier sunsets, with summer's pink and lavender sky taking on a hint of apricot, now at 7.30 instead of almost 9 PM, how sad. And the angle of the sun is changing perceptibly.
Gully visited with me at the beach today. I looked him up, he's been around since 2009! if not before.

My deck garden is so wonderfully abundant! I don't think I have ever had enough blooms to actually cut a real bouquet! Until this year.

Zinnias and a few sunflowers in an adorable late 1800s canister. [1880-1930]

The jar is from the church flea. I buy these because I love things with words---and because they make great pencil crocks.

This new Rice container hasn't made it to the workroom. Its hand painted rosebuds and beautifully hand written contents name have kept it front and center and filled with my zinnia crop.

From Czechoslovakia, pattern is Victoria, so it was made for the English or American market. Lid is long gone.I love it. It cost 2.oo.

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The past couple days, the air has been filled with dragonflies, as they begin their annual migration. These are BIG bugs, but not scary. 4-5" wingspan? with dense chunky bodies. When one hits the window it sounds like a bird hitting the glass. These dragonflies are gentle and will not approach humans, though they will occasionally drink from Mo's big water bowl on the deck.

I had the idea that August 23 is a bit early for them to migrate [where, why? no one really knows]. I could look up the dates in my nature journal:

Or I can look on my 365 Quilt!

Ah-hah, in 2016 when I made this quilt, the migration was September 12th; Most other years noted are around the first two weeks of September, so yes, they're a bit early.
Dragonfly Migration

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At night when Mo and I go out on the deck, and look up at the planets and stars, I see endless pairs of black skimmers [similar to very large rather prehistoric looking terns], flying overhead tirelessly, from the beach colony and their babies, to the marsh for minnows and then back. The parents work all through the night. The babies must be voracious and unlike many shorebirds, the parents feed the hatchlings for about a month. In flight they are huge and elegant, on earth they are comical, with itty bitty legs and huge toucan like beaks.

Google Images

My weekend plans are for beach days and picnics and sewing: still quilting on Bitty. Deck time with Mo, of course. My August quilt output is minimal, oh well.