Quilts and Cicadas

Wow, it has been a while since I posted, but details of life often get in the way. We returned from the cottage for a few days only to be bombarded by Cicadas. Their mating call, which they emerge from the ground every 17 years to do, is quite loud and incessant for weeks at a time. We can hear them in our basement with the house windows closed. Noisy little buggers!! Fortunately, they become quiet at night. Since we border virgin forests, we are blessed with many of these large bugs in the trees, on the screens, scrunched up on the driveway and flying thru the air. Some areas of ground that has not been disturbed since 17 years ago, looks like a machine gunner ran his gun over the ground - many, many holes where they have emerged. Where the ground has been disturbed in the past 17 years, there are very few bugs. Our friends live in a newer subdivision and have none at all. Interesting. I took a picture of one.

The bright yellow star quilt is done and on it's way to the quilter along with three others. It was a fun one to do and I'll probably donate it to charity. This week I'm going to try to finish the Bee Trees and work on the center of my Baltimore some more.....

The cottage.......it is small. Our sons want to bring friends and enjoy the place with us and we encourage them to come. However, beds are an issue and bathrooms a bigger one. So, if given permission by the county board, we've decided to tear down our very inadequate garage and replace it with a larger one with a small apartment upstairs. I spent several days last week drawing plans, jotting down ideas and dreaming about the quilts I can make to use in it! If all goes well - it depends on the permit process - we should be able to start in August and hopefully have a basic box done by Labor Day. That in itself will be great for the holiday as the younger crowd only wants a place to crash, shower and hang out. There will be an outdoor camp-style shower attached as well. (also a great place to shower the dog!) Jim will complete the inside work so that may take several more months. It should be useable next summer if things go as planned. Then it will be time to address the house which also needs to be bulldozed. It was built in the 40's as a weekend fishing cottage and the moisture has slowly taken it's toll. We love the knotty pine cabin interior, the view of the lake and the quaintness of the place so it will be hard to replace it.

We're off again for a week or two. My quilting is packed in my bag and the swing on the patio awaits some evening reflections. Enjoy this summer sunshine!!