Llook a Llama! and more...

I have long had an interest in llamas and alpacas and even looked into raising alpacas, deciding it was not the time for such a thing. But, when I saw this fun fabric, I had to get enough to make a simple summer dress. It's all cut out and just needs to be sewn up.

But with the scraps I was able to make a cover for a notebook for my greatniece for her birthday since she is even more into apacas than I am (and could probably tell whether these creatures are llamas or alpacas). It was a fun little project.

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In other fun, Daughter #5 and I got to go on a field trip to a botanical garden built on the remains of an innovative farm that was attached to a mental health hospital. The patients were given the opportunity to get outside and farm their own food, the excess of which was sold to grocery stores nearby. The barns for their prize-winning cows and massive bull are being refurbished into lovely buildings to tour and one is a great event site.

One of the "gardens" is a fairy trail where various fairy houses (and silverstream camper) are built by local kids and adults using only natural material which are composted when they fall apart.

One garden surrounds a secret garden built in the foundation of the former horse barn. So beautiful!

The gate is built of horse pulling equipage. I believe the guide used the word "hames." (I'm a little horse ignorant.)

Though it was an overcast and kind of chilly day, we had a great time exploring this previously unknown-to-us treasure.

On the far side of the watering trough a duck was hidden in the taller plants, sitting on eggs. They have to keep a close eye on her to know when to open the gates and let her and her ducklings sally forth. It made me think of the children's book "Make Way for Ducklings."

The inner flower beds of the horse barn garden are built in the former stalls.

These gardens were so inspiring to my feeble efforts at home. I press on!

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More big doin's at home include removing a bunch of pines that lined the road in front of our home. The reasoning was twofold: 1) the trees look silly being so tall with branches only way up high - like those toothpicks with the frills on top, and 2) we need lumber to panel the ceiling in our basement and for 2x4s and we have access to a portable sawmill (with which my husband and his brother tried to make a business in a previous life).

Daughter #1 got to make good use of her skills with a mini-excavator (after some teaching from Dad) and a chainsaw.

It was a lot of hard work, but they got it done and produced more logs than they had expected, which is nice, given the price of lumber. This upcoming weekend they plan to mill up the wood and stack it in the garage in such a way that it should be well-dried by fall when they can use it.

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As for sewing, well, not much of that it happening when it's outside time. 😁 Guess I'd better set aside some time for it if I hope to get my One Monthly Goal done!