Summer Happenings

It's been a long summer here.  We are dealing with a huge fire in the Olympics which is stressful in itself, but the smoke is overwhelming now, added to the Canada fires smoke blowing south.

So today I shot this from the canal, can you spot the sun?  Pretty eerie!

The Maple Fire started about the 4th of August I think.  They have it contained on every side where there are people, at the forest roads.  I'm only 6 miles as the crow flies, so I'm keeping close tabs on it.

In more joyful news, I think I have all the winter firewood in.  This fun dump truck delivered.

I get a good workout stacking it!

My plants are mostly native to the cooler Pacific Northwest temperatures, so this long, hot, dry summer has been a little stressful for them!  But the tomato and Clematis seem happy.

The swallows finally got their turn in the nesting box.  There was a tenant dispute with the chestnut-backed chickadees early on and the latter won.  But the swallows persisted and eventually got a late hatching in.  

This little guy was the last to fly the coop.

 I was busy in the Spring planning and creating new work for both my jewelry business and the supply shop.  I have a lot of new work up in the Etsy shop, which can be viewed here www.jgray-design.com .  I spent a few days creating some new hand dyed fibers for ribbons.  It was fun to hang them outside on the deck for the first dry run.

I later cut these into ribbon widths and rewash them for a frayed edge look.  They are a great supply for all kinds of DIY projects from jewelry to floral arranging.  You can see them in my supply shop here www.jgdsupplies.com .

As Fall approaches I'll be wrapping up the outdoor projects and planning my annual trek out to the coast.  I plan to take a zillion photographs!  I need some new work to add to my website at http:j-gray.pixels.com .So be on the lookout for those toward the end of Sept.

So that's a wrap for now!  Thanks for following along.