Sunflowers & Seeds For The Birds

The One sunflower seed that germinated in my garden this year made three or four (still waiting) big flower heads full of seeds.  A few, I hope, to save for next year's sunflower.  But all the rest are "for the birds".  They flutter around and hang from the flowers.  Picking and eating the fresh seeds.

I have brown paper bags (sacks, some call them) filled with cut tops of drying plants.  Seed saving. Dill seeds.  Pink Zinnia seeds.  Calendula seeds (so oddly shaped).  A few onions have put up seed heads as well but still green.  Have to wait till the heads are nearly dry and brown.

My Herb Garden (remember when I wrote about making separate bed squares for each?  Well, they did very well.  The Lavender plants even flowered--all season.  On the porch I have the annual herbs. Verbena.  Ornamental oregano.  Lavender that will only live thru the Winter in a house.

I also have my years old Bay Laurel and Rosemary.  My rosemary got pruned by the tall fig tree that fell over in the Wind and cracked a big tall center branch out.  So not tall and stately anymore.  Now wide and flat.

Tomatoes keep coming.  From the plants at work that haven't sold as yet.  From my own plants--slowly turning colors other than green.  And from friends dropping off "Extra" tomatoes.  Two bags a few days ago.  Delightful.  I am also fermenting seeds from the most delicious tomatoes to then wash and dry and save and plant.  The fermenting (with a bit of water and the seed pulp) helps to release the seeds from the gluey pulp.  Once they release, I rinse, strain and then let them dry on paper toweling.  Once dry--they go into a labeled envelope.  Paper.  So they stay dry.

This summer, I am going to just drop the seed pulp into the garden bed.  Every year a few end of the season tomatoes get left in the garden and little plants start coming up.  They usually grow into nice sturdy plants.  Or I will start them in milk jugs in February.  Outdoors.

I went to the Art Collaboration meeting on Monday.  There were four of us and the talk was lively. I worked on the little art piece.  Add more and more stitch.

The incentive for this work was Jude Hill of Spirit Cloth.  But.....in going back and listening to her videos.... a key part in the work--in the very beginning--a name.  I have only called it the little art cloth.  The name doesn't give me any "story" to work with.  Which may be why no one really takes much notice of the cloth.  It isn't interesting.  Has nothing to tell them.

I wonder if it's too late?  "The Cloth With No Name or Story"  Now that sounds sad.

I'm at the point where I need to decide to make a Beast or Not.  Today.  If I don't decide then it will be  "The Cloth With No Name, No Story and No Beast".

And I will have to start all over again with a new cloth......one that has something to say.