I often see “Wordless Wednesday” on blogs, and think I should try it.  Do you think I could be wordless?  Nooo.  Maybe a Reduced-Word Wednesday.  Love this kind of weird picture of a hummer, half illuminated by the late afternoon sun and half silhouetted against the out-of-focus crab apples and leaves.  And as a puzzle (click on puzzle to begin):

–Sue

PS: I’m going back to the MN State Fair tomorrow, rain or shine. Will take pix. And eat fair food!

As we were entering Glacier Bay at about 6:00 a.m. (July 2009), a Park Ranger came on board the ship to answer questions, describe what we were seeing, and accompany us while we were in Glacier Bay.

Here it is as a puzzle (click on it to solve):

And this is Post 499!  The next post will be the 500th Post Give Away.

–Sue

But when I went in REALLY close, look at the pollen:

Here is a picture of a bumblebee with lots of pollen in its pollen basket:

The Leaf-Cutter Bees gather a lot of pollen on the underside of their abdomen.  I read that they can collect 20x the amount of pollen as a honey bee.   I tried to get a shot of the underside, full of yellow pollen, but they weren’t cooperating.  Here is a backside view, and you can see the hairs underneath that collect the pollen (there are even hairs on his head and legs that have collected yellow pollen):

So, here’s the puzzle:

–Sue

Today’s guest bug is one of the bad boys of the insect world, described as a “serious pest”.  It’s a Japanese Beetle.  No, it’s not a Volkswagen covered in Asian fabrics!  This bug is only a little over 1/2″ long.  The Asian Beetle is differentiated from other similar beetles by the five white/silver hair tufts along the bottom of his  body.  And here he is as a puzzle:

–Sue

–Sue

Our little flowering crab tree right outside our kitchen window really outdid itself this spring.  This particular sprig reminded me of a bridal bouquet, and I love the late-afternoon/early-evening light that creeps around the corner of our house and hits this tree late in the day.  I thought it would make a lovely puzzle.  And I hope I haven’t posted it before — I apologize if I have.  It’s in the period of time that I was hit with sinus and ear problems and was out of commission for a few days.

I’m off to lunch with a friend, and then get to spend the afternoon knitting with our handwork group.  I’m such a lucky girl!  I hope you’re having a great day as well!

–Sue

This month, our Wednesday Day Stitchers group is starting/continuing another “box exchange”.  Rather than a round robin, or adding to a row-by-row quilt, we have been doing box exchanges.  Each participant (this year we have eight) prepares a handled tote container (“box”) to bring, equipped with fabric and instructions for her quilt.  The first Wednesday of the month, for six months, we exchange boxes and bring home someone else’s box to work on.

The last two years I did a friendship boot quilt, where I asked each person to make a specific boot block in fabrics (which I supplied) of their choice.  I’m going to embroider each person’s name on their block, and it will be a nice memento of our friendship-based group.  I’ve also asked members who don’t do the block exchange if they would make a boot for me to add to the mix, and several have hopped on board!  I will fill in with heart blocks to make things come out even.  These blocks get kind of a wonky framing in navy blues, then a navy border with red prairie points.  The boots are today’s puzzle:

This year I’m starting a new theme.  It will be a sampler in pretty monochromatic colors:  teals, turquoises, aquas, some greens, with a pale aqua background.  Actually, it’s an identical stack of fabrics to the ones I gave away (to Eileen) earlier this spring, plus a few more.  (Thank you, Carol!  I only whimpered and whined a little bit, and she gave me the same FQ collection for my birthday.)   Should be fun!  We each do a block a month through November, with the final reveal in December.

–Sue

Today’s puzzle is a different shot of the male Goldfinch checking out the crab apple blossoms.  Click anywhere on the puzzle-cut photo below to begin the puzzle (a little more challenging cut this week — I know you can do it!!!):

–Sue

Well, he probably isn’t too puzzled in this picture, but he is for sure in this next one!  I don’t think I’ve ever shared this particular cut with you before, so have fun!  Click anywhere on the puzzle picture to start the puzzle.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow…I’m getting back on the UFO Thursdays bandwagon, and I’ll actually have a FINISH to report!!!

–Sue

While visiting SIL Grace & BIL Ronnie south of Houston, they took us to Quintana Park.  We really enjoyed the walk and the scenery.  There were some man-made pools for the birds to enjoy a drink or a bath.

–Sue