find me on instagram

Dear Friends,

Somehow, along the way of social media platform development, my posts have moved to Instagram. If you are active IG users, you can find me there.

I continue to post pictures of my cats, squirrels, and various gardening or outdoor sights there. I still occasionally peek at your blog posts and love them all. 

Happy Spring!

baby squirrel at a wildlife rehabilitation center

recycling

Watch out when leaving your belingings unattended - they might get inhabited!

#ReuseReduceRecycle

summertime

The problem with blogging about gardening and plants for me is that during the gardening season, there is not much time to write, and when there is time to write, there is not much going on gardening-wise. Do you find this, too? Let me share with you some of the photos I shot over this season.

Summertime is the time of long evening walks with your head up in the air...

...time to admire other people's gardens and what grows in them...

...and lives in them...

...or to think of the potential their places hold, unfulfilled.

Last week I picked the first tomato that ripened on my window sill.

But... compare that to my mother's produce from her garden in the country!

One day, after a good night's rain, I was lucky enough to find this beautiful edible surprise 

growing right under my balcony.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer, or any other season it may happen to be right now 

where you live.

sewing on a rainy sunday

It has been raining for three days now. The moisture was badly needed, and so was the time spent doing things that have been waiting for some time to be done. A long time ago I was asked by a male friend of mine to sew him a cooking apron. For some reason, he doesn't feel too comfortable looking like a cook in a regular apron, and so he asked for something resourceful instead. 

Well, today was the day to get creative. I pulled out and old men's shirt from my collection of clothes that no one wants to wear anymore, to bring it back to life. 

I hope my friend likes his new apron.

And I think ladies could wear it, too.

june on the cat balcony

We don't mind!

my first dress

Yesterday was cold and raining, and I was able to finish sewing this dress. It is a variation on the Bloom Dress free pattern by Tina Givens. I love the Lagenlook style.  The dress is a present for my Aunt.

no sun today

Let's get some sleep!

start of the cat balcony season

These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago 

when the cat balcony came to life again after winter.

 While the cats were so heartily enjoying the first rays of sun, 

I kept busy quilting this mug rug for my cousin who lives in Australia. 

We both enjoy a nice cup of tea. Unfortunately, we rarely get the chance 

to have one together because of the distance between our countries.

prayer for my friend

A couple of weeks ago a very dear friend of mine came back from Madagascar with severe malaria. He struggled for life for several days and his organs are now having trouble returning to full function. In the days when it was unclear whether he would even survive I sewed this little prayer flag for him. He is a very experienced traveller and loves Nepal and buddhism. This flag on my balcony now carries a prayer for his health each time the wind blows.

hot days

A heat wave has come upon us.

But the flowers are still thriving.

This is my vegetable garden. 

Chives, parsley, nasturtium, and three balcony tomato plants. 

Plus a lobelia to feed the eyes.

In the evening, the air finally cools down a bit.

This is the time for a glass of pinot grigio with some sparkling water and 

a drop of homemade elderflower syrup. Delicious and refreshing.

Have a nice evening.

how never to use your balcony space

Let's try to bring more beauty into this world. 

Consider these instead.

prayer for Ukraine

Yesterday we celebrated Liberation Day, the end on World War II. I cannot help worrying about the current Ukrainian crisis that threatens with an outbreak of a new war. The closest I ever got to Ukraine was 4 years ago, nevertheless, it is a close country. We spent the holiday on my partner's piece of land (yes, I have been an unfaithfully gardenless gardener and I will write about that another time), and I made a little prayer flag embroidered with the word світ (Ukrainian for peace) and a little wooden Ukrainian orthodox cross.

The idea came from this wonderful Prayer Flag Project that I recently came across, started by Vivika Hansen DeNegre:

 "She invited people from around the world to to join her in making Prayer Flags. Each flag is created in the artists own style, then hung outside for a while, its words and sentiment dissolving into the wind and being spread to all whom the wind touches. They are a living, breathing, kinetic journal of our hopes, dreams and concerns."

The project itself is inspired by the ancient tradition of Buddhist prayer flags which we also have hanging on a young walnut tree.

 I have invited some friends to join me in creating little prayer flags that we willl hang on this dead old bush on the lot, for our prayers for peace to be carried by the wind into the world.

In the meantime, we supported the peaceful message by singing some mantras by the fire...

in May...

...the weather is nice and warm, so the kitties can finally enjoy a little bit of "outdoors".

We had a very mild winter but still, it was no fun for them staying on the balcony... 

until recently

This spring I planted fuchsia, chrysanthemum and lobelia in the window boxes on my balcony. What colors will the fuchsias turn out?

An early visitor...

I bet she's curious, too.

I am back

Dear friends,

Just wanted to let you know that I haven't disappeared and you will be hearing from me more often now. I hope. 

I've missed you.

first snowdrop

This is a photo taken today. The first promise of spring.

Easter time

Happy Easter, dear friends!

nesting

Last March I put up three bird houses on the trees around our house. It was probably too late for the birds, and so they remained uninhabited for the rest of the year. This morning I spotted this from my bedroom window...

protests and solidarity

In spite of the freezing weather, hundreds of people have been meeting throughout the Czech Republic to protest against the controversial ACTA agreement that poses a serious threat to the freedom of the Internet.

DON'T TAKE AWAY OUR FREEDOM sign
Brno, Freedom Square, February 11, 2012

Taking advantage of the large gathering of people, a couple of individuals including the gardenless gardener have organized a collection of warm clothes, blankets and sleeping bags for the homeless people in Brno. A huge pile of things was distributed right after the protest in a park where the civic initiative called Food not Bombs regularly gives warm food to the needy.

When local authorities fail to act, a lot can be done with little resources by common citizens. The solidarity of people felt as warm to us as hopefully do the collected items to their new owners.