pumpkin has-been

 It was warm enough this week for a little hike.  Our woods are full of beech trees, which are marcescent...meaning that they retain their dead leaves until spring.  Some theorize that the dead stem base protects the tender buds that are forming beneath.  

Lots of berries, too!  This is a smilax vine, a woody perennial with wicked thorns.  Early U.S. settlers made root beer with its roots, and the old-fashioned drink sarsaparilla is also made this way.  

A woodpecker has been here...

I was happy to see a little green...the putty root orchid!  Also known as the Adam and Eve plant (so named for the paired nature of its corms), the putty root orchid doesn't actually flower until May.  Still, it takes advantage of the bare treetops in winter to soak up sunshine with these thick, leathery leaves.  People used to repair broken crockery with a substance pressed from its corms, which is how it got its common name.  

I love seeing the different types of pine cones,  Each of these little sections is a seed!

Speaking of seeds, I finally was able to work on our porch pumpkins this week.  They were rotten, and the seeds were swimming in a foul, stinking mush.

I took way too many, and laid them out to dry.  I need to separate the bigger seeds from the stinky fibers, but I haven't quite gotten to it yet.  Yuck!

Goodbye, pumpkins!

Business as usual around the house.  We've both been working a lot, with a little help from the kittens.

Since I have my new glasses, I've slowly started looking at new projects to try.  I haven't embroidered for a long time, so I tried a small, easy flower from a Yumiko Higuchi book.

I'm pleased with how it turned out, but a little of the blue marking pen showed through.  It's water soluble, but it's always a pain when you wash an embroidery project.  Enter the wrinkles.

You have to somehow iron around the stitching, or lightly press it beneath fabric.  An iron will flatten french knots (here, the yellow flowers).  I do my best with the iron and try to get the rest of the wrinkles out by evenly stretching the fabric.  This week, I'll cut a piece of foam core and try to mount this properly.  Finishing details are my least favorite part of any embroidery/knitting/quilting project, because I have a heavy hand and an impatient spirit.  Still, it's good practice and maybe this will be my year to slow down and fine-tune.

Have a great week!