And now you're stuck with photos from my trip....My first stop was Clam Beach, just outside of Arcata.  

There was a funky boardwalk out to the beach, and I was really hoping no one came along and we had to pass each other - not enough room, and no dry land to step on either.  

 

 There were some pretty flowers though.

And it's blackberry season!

I took advantage of having Cindy M watch Alli over the weekend and took off for the coast. Spent the day wandering along in the redwoods and on the beaches in Crescent City. Not my best pictures, but they’ll do until I get back home and it’s easier to upload.

Again, I really do not need help quilting!   It's hard enough for me to quilt, much less to have the "added advantage" of a "helper"!  I'm (finally) quilting my Dinner Plate quilt, and when I went to move it, I had a passenger.  Jessie had curled up on the quilt and was taking a nap.  I didn't notice until I tried to move the quilt and it was a bit too heavy. 

 

Jessie is constantly "escaping" outside - either into the garage or completely outside.  She is supposed to be an "indoor kitty" but she refuses to accept that label.  She got out in the garage the other day, and I couldn't find her to bring her in (when it's 105+ outside, the garage is an oven!)  If she closes her eyes, you cannot see her in her new hiding place! 

 

Pat's Southwestern quilt is done - ready for shipping!   I sent her a picture of it, complete with her favorite kitten.... 

Not my favorite quilt to do, since it was 75% complete when I got it, I just had to add borders to it and quilt it, but I enjoyed quilting it - two different border quilting patterns.  As usual, it does not look like it was professionally quilted, but that's okay by me.  You can tell it was hand made that way.

I got the first egg from one of "the babies"! Saturday, I found the smaller, darker egg in the nesting box, and Sunday I found two incomplete eggs (just the insides, no shell - very weird, but common for the first eggs) in the boxes.  My babies are all grown up!  They are right around 24 weeks old, so I was expecting to start getting eggs soon.   The newest addition to my flock are Summer Welborns, and they usually start laying when they are around 6 months old.

 

 I didn't get a photo of the Viceroy butterflies at Mt. Lassen, but I did get a video of them. 

 

More photos from Mt. Lassen....I didn't manage to get a photo of the Viceroy butterflies that were migrating through, but I did get this white butterfly. 

 

Another Mystery Quilt underway.... 

 

I put Pat's Southwestern quilt on the frame and quilted it!  I don't think I've had my quilting frame up for several months, and once I got started I was really enjoying the quilting process.

I have the center quilted, and am working on the borders now....

 

I got the Summer Block Party quilt top done - the last block,the pineapple in the middle, took forever!  Lots of little pieces!  Then the sashing strips seemed to take forever too - probably because I was ready to finish it.  The sashing really adds to the quilt, so I'm happy with it.  Now it's in the "to be quilted" pile.

 

More photos from the Mt. Lassen hike....the trail head at the parking lot.  I knew I was in trouble when I was winded from this section - it was going to be a long 2 1/2 miles~ 

A panoramic view:

At the top!

Cindy ahead of me (as usual - the girl runs 2-3 miles daily!!!)

Here is where Cindy starting having to wait for me to catch up.....it got steep!!!

But we made it to the top!

Cindy M and I hiked to the top of Mt. Lassen yesterday!  I did it at a much slower pace this year - I need to start hitting the treadmill!!   

 

I did get a bit of a sunburn though - I think I sweated off all my sunscreen.