I Like/Love #19

1. I like rainbows. I really like rainbow quilts; they never get old to me. Here are my blocks for January to August in order.

I can't wait to find out September's colour. These are split 9-patch, four put together. I got the idea from Ariane of Ariane Quilts.

2. I was so surprised and happy to find this old quilt in the 1850 cabin at the North Buxton Museum. I love history. I also am a big advocate for the downtrodden, the misunderstood. So visiting this museum made my heart sing. I found out about the community through a Young Adult book I read several years ago, Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis, as well as an adult one, Rush Home Road by Lori Lansens. A Scots/Irish/American minister got the Elgin Association to buy 9000 acres of land where he and any escaped slaves from America could have their own house on their own land, and establish themselves. It was marvellous, and a resounding success. I like this clock on the wall in the 1861 schoolhouse there:

😇

There is lots of information online about the town, and I was so happy to actually get to visit it, which was when we took Avril in for her spa day.

3. I like the new quilt shop in Chatham, The Quilting Studio, where Avril got all fixed up. It was a simple timing issue and she now has a thumbscrew that I can tighten with an Allen wrench so the needle won't drop out at high speeds. I also like that a few weeks after I first found the shop, Cindy of Stitchin' at Home and I are meeting for lunch and to visit it and the other quilt shop in Chatham... today! The day this post is published (yay for scheduling).

4. I love big dogs and I cannot lie, ha. I have a particular love for pitbulls, another group that is misunderstood, mistrusted because of prejudice and misinformation. I got to meet a dog whose owner/company, Elite K9K, I admire, and who I follow on Instagram, the wonderful big ol' softie, Tank:

They tried to get him to park his muscle-rippling haunches beside me (he weighs more than I do by a good 20 pounds) but instead he sat and immediately flopped over for a tummy rub. He is an XXL Bully. He LOVES to run! Check out Elite K9K on Instagram for some awesome videos of him playing fetch, little parachute attached to his back to make him work harder. This is the most wonderful organization dedicated to the owner's passion, bully breeds. He even has a swimming pond for the dogs, where three turtles and several fish live. In our province, we have BSL, Breed Specific Legislation, which is not supported by our veterinary association, nor by any doglover who is educated. Education is the key to eradicating prejudice, not just against pibbles, as I and other pittie advocates affectionately refer to them, but also to eradicating prejudice against our fellow and sister humans. These are just dogs; all people are just people, with a beating heart, a thinking brain and a worthy personality. He has Rotties (ya!), mastiffs, XXL Bullies, and pocket bullies, oh my. Personal trainers, groomers, makes his own dog food with locally sourced ingredients, it's jaw-dropping amazing!

5. I love this sign.

There are several like it on various roads, especially along those such as this one, the Heritage Trail, aka County Rd 50, part of the Waterfront Trail system.

6. I love barn quilts. This one is on the barn at the John R. Park Homestead in Essex County.

It reminds me of my Maple Leaf Rag quilt, where there is a giveaway with time to enter until this weekend!

Pattern by Canuck Quilter Designs

5. I love the colours in this leaf! I believe it's a sumac. No the leaves aren't changing, yes we are still living in AC as the 'feels like' aka humidex temperature is still in the 32-43C range (90-110F).

6. Similar vibrant colours are in this beautiful little moth who somehow got into our house and was sleeping on the ceiling. I like moths!

Just found out that this is a day flying moth

I did the 'place a container over her, slide a paper between, and carefully release her outside' trick. I love her antennae! So furry. And the red stripes across her yellow/orange wings-wow!

7. I love butterflies. I've seen so many more Monarch butterflies this year, another thing that makes my heart sing. Once MacGyver gets our fencing finished, (I like the fence he built, which will have shrubs and lush plants on either side next year, and something where the wood panels are, not quite sure what, maybe an etched 'W', or tile):

MacGyver did it all himself digging by hand (this is incredibly sandy soil, well basically sand, not really soil!) cementing in the fence posts, and building the steel sections from long pieces of different diameters of steel he bought, welding them together. The gate (boards section) has been finished yet).

He has now run chainlink fencing down the north side of the yard, rented a power auger to do those holes (he's a real keeper!) so we can start landscaping a bit. I plan to have a butterfly garden with milkweed for sure and other plants that all butterflies, not just Monarchs, love...

such as this beauty, which is a Spicebush Swallowtail. She is beyond stunning.

I have never seen one, so I googled her by colour. I found out that there is a Pipevine Swallowtail, who has one row of orange spots by the blue ones; those with two rows of orange are Spicebush. They are common in Point Pelee National Park which is about a 20-minute drive from where we live, not so common outside of it. She is huge, bigger than a Monarch.

I was sitting on the deck with a cup of tea, a piece of marzipan chocolate, burning Sai Baba incense, being with my siblings in spirit, who were burying the urn with my mum's ashes in the little local cemetery where my dad's side are all buried, 3000 km away in Alberta. Without getting into the personal details, this gorgeous being floated quite literally into my view, hanging around for almost four minutes (I know from the time stamps on the photos) and letting me get so close to her to not only take several photographs, but also a 14-second video. Those two photos are not zoomed in. It all took place during the moments that they were placing the urn in the ground. It was a sign from Mum, and it was magical and moving.

8. I love the Greenway. Like Lake Erie, it's a regular feature in these I Like/Love posts.

It's a magical place. You just have to notice.

This caught my eye, and I doubled back to take a photo. That right there is the definition of GLOW.

8b. I like this couple I see regularly on the Greenway, who often have a plastic shopping bag in hand. I found out last week that it's for garbage they pick up along their walk. How wonderful. What's not wonderful is that we don't have garbage receptacles all the length of the Greenway. I plan to contact the Conservation Authority who manages the trail to suggest this; putting them at road intersections would be easy for garbage trucks to stop and pick up.

9. I just love all the wildflowers I spy on my walks with my dog on the Greenway. Such colours!

If you know what these are, please tell me in the comments. The bottom row third one over is not on the Greenway but on a creek/pond area that flows into or out of Lake Erie. I have never seen such Jurassic Park style lilypads(?) if that is what these are with flowers! Oh, the FLOWERS. They had to be 10" across with large daffodil-type trumpets poking out the centre of the dinner plate sized lotus-type flower. That photo does not do them justice. I literally stopped the car on the side of the road on the way to my friend's house, to cross the road on foot to marvel and to take a photo.
** Before publishing, I googled the lotus-type flowers, as I called them, and, wow, I believe these are American Lotus, see here and here (terrific description of seeing these huge flowers and their leaves) and here (fabulous photos of them from the Ohio side of Lake Erie). Also note that the photo on the right of the lotus is some kind of dark berry-bearing plant with rhubarb-like rich burgundy stalks.

9. I like Glennon Doyle. I like a phrase she used yesterday in her Instagram story, "I'm praying attention." She meant that that is how she prays these days; instead of sitting and praying to God or Goddess, she tries to always be fully aware, to pay attention, or, as she said she likes to refer to it, "praying attention." Isn't that great? Isn't that what we are doing when we write these posts? Showing that we've 'prayed attention'. Yoga teaches that very thing, to live in the moment, being fully present. Hard, but so invaluable a practice.

10. Another quiet moment yesterday sitting outside on our deck in the morning with my coffee and scone, and what floated into view? Another huge butterfly, this time an Easter Tiger Swallowtail, who once again posed so prettily for me, let me get so close, and hung around for well over a minute.

Not zoomed in!

She actually sat on the roof in the sun for about 20 seconds after eating dandelion nectar! I've never had that happen before, and it felt like a blessing.

Please visit the other lovely praying attention 😄🙏 peeps at LeeAnna's blog,
Not Afraid of Color

I am also linking up with Soma at
Whims and Fancies for her Wandering Camera linky. I'm so glad she's brought it back!