The Dog Days of Summer

The summer heat is finally upon us here in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia.  Thankfully we live close to the ocean where there always seems to be a prevailing breeze.

Our house is surrounded by huge maples, fruit and chestnut trees which keep us shaded from the sun’s rays.  Because of the heat, I’ve been staying indoors a lot which has allowed me to spend time in my studio…rather than in the gardens. 

And speaking of gardens, it has been so dry here.  Look at how brown the grass is in the foreground!

My poor vegetable and flower gardens are as dry as a bone and are as stressed out as I am!  *sigh*

So what’s a gal to do instead of digging in the dirt?  Sew, of course!

Albeit it late, I joined in on Anne’s Comfort & Joy quilt-along a couple of months ago and fell way behind the group.  My pattern was late in arriving (excuses, excuses) and because we were spending so much time out-of-doors ( more excuses), I just didn’t take make the time to complete my one block a month.  So over the last couple of days, I finally got all of the pieces cut out and sewn together for the entire quilt…

and I’m now ready for the fun part…the appliqué. 

By the end of this month the group will have completed the first four blocks and it is my intention to be caught up by then as well!

In the mean time, the gals have been outside playing.  What fun it is to watch them do their ‘hunting and pecking’ thing and they aren’t the least bit afraid of us.

And here he is at four weeks old! 

The breeder just sent us this photo of our baby so that means just four more weeks to go and he’ll be able to come home with us!

Doesn’t he just melt your ♥ ?

A surprise package was waiting for me at the post office earlier this week from Stephanie.  Could anything be more appropriate?  Thanks again, my friend.

Several of you asked if we had problems with the deer that visit our property eating our flowers and veggies.

Not since we started to use Wolf Urine!

Since we started putting out the wolf urine, we’ve had deer appear at the far end of our ‘back forty’ but none have ventured close to the house. Deer have a very keen sense of smell and if they catch a whiff of the wolf urine, they will not hang around long as wolves are their mortal enemy.

We purchased ours from our local nursery who recommended it as the product they use to keep the deer from eating their stock.

So far it’s worked for us as well.