Weekly update: wildflower bounty, new scrappiness, and reading

 Wildflowers are in abundance at Illinois Beach State Park and the forest preserves (McDonald Woods).

Left: creeping juniper, also called Waukegan juniper because it is native to this part of the lakeshore; shrubby St. John's wort.

Center: evening primrose. Left: white meadowsweet.  Right: butterfly bush.

Soapwort, pinnate prairie coneflower, creeping thistle.   Turk's cap lily (twice), bladder campion, pale purple coneflower, sawtooth sunflower.  

This was new to me.  rattlesnake master, eryngium yuccifolium. Also called button snakeroot or bear grass.  Note the yucca-like leaves.  It's very invasive. The upper-left photo shows an entire meadow of them, with a few rudbeckia mixed in.  

Last year I made a note of the profusion of teasel along the roadways.  The new crop is sprouting amidst the old. (All three photos were taken in the same patch.)

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 I've made more Birds in the Air blocks for the wedding quilt.  It's easy to make two blocks out of each green or blue + gray combination. 

The BITAs are on the sewing table for the photo because this new project has landed on the design wall.  I was aiming for a woven effect with gold sashing alternating with brown sashing but that seems rather subdued. Let's call it protective coloration.  

Each flying goose is made from two 2-1/2" HSTs. I have a box of those but I am making some more to add to the variety.  

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I'm halfway through an absorbing but dense history book but I had to take a break. This advance reader copy from early 2021 was just right. 

Getting into trouble seems to be a generational trait for the Gogarty family. Grandmother Millie is trying to stay independent but has a small shoplifting problem. And, oh, yes, there are those fender-benders. Just don't ask look to closely at her housekeeping. Son Kevin is a stay-at-home dad, not by choice (the celebrity magazine biz isn't what it used to be). His wife Grace has a successful, high-pressure career so Kevin can jolly well cope with the four children. Sixteen-year-old Aideen is enrolled at a boarding school in hopes that her grades (and attitude) will improve. Of course she hates it and plots a way to escape.

Kevin hires a caregiver to look after Millie. What could go wrong? A brisk caper ensues with twists and turns. It's best not to dwell on the plausibility. Just sit back and enjoy the tale.

Linking up with Oh Scrap!     Design Wall Monday   Monday Making

P.S.  A painted turtle crossed the path at the state park.  

  

The gorgeous orange butterfly weed needs a bigger photo!