Rufus fell asleep mid-chew. He slept like that for an hour or two. #dogsofbluesky #dogsky #dogs #Rufus

Montmorency sour cherry pie. I used cornmeal for 1/3 of the white flour in the crust. I used sure-gel starch instead of flour in the filling, and monkfruit sweetener instead of sugar. Very flaky. Not much corn taste. so far no rise in blood glucose 🤞. Next time use less starch. #baking

I made some polenta. My dad used to make it, he called it cornmeal mush. He fried his in bacon fat, and poured on some corn syrup. Instead, I spritzed the slices with olive oil and fried them in the air fryer. Sort of like cornmeal french fries. Not bad! I need to come up with a dip. #cooking

Sunset, right now. 🌱 #dogsofbluesky #dogs #Rufus

The micro-mini apple trees are blooming. These are from varieties I liked, and grafted onto extremely dwarfing Budagovsky-9 (Bud-9) rootstocks. They stay 4 to 5 feet tall with a small amount of pruning. Perfect for #AccessibleGardening. Mostly heritage varieties. #HomeOrchard 🌱 #Gardening

Liberty apple tree blooming. It's pruned in the "Dr. Seuss" style due to accessibility issues for me and inaccessibility for deer. 🌱 #HomeOrchard #gardeing

Rufus saying hi to a friend who isn't really a dog, but he's not quite certain. #dogsky #dogsofbluesky #rufus

I planted this Prairie Fire crabapple about sixteen years ago. 🌱#gardening

We gave Rufus some "Premium" dog food today for his 8th birthday. He got to lick the container. Now he's in post-meal bliss. Normally I make his food. I'm always very very grateful to have the privilege of sharing his life. #Dogsky #Dogs #DogsOfBlueSky #Rufus

Sobering words by pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was murdered by Nazis in Hitler's Germany, in 1945. Relevant today. #Christianity substack.com/@brcremer/no...

I made a loaf of whole wheat cranberry walnut bread. Also a little orange zest. Not as crisp crust as the Costco one. I didn't read their label. I can say for sure, mine doesn't contain a zillion added petrochemicals. Kneading bread is good for the soul. So is the aroma. #Baking #Breadmaking

My first attempt at a LeMoyne star for the quilt I'm making. I'm not all that pleased. I wonder id I should be pressing with dry iron instead of steam iron. I think things are shrinking. I don't have extra of some of the fabrics, so not sure what to do next. #MenWhoQuilt #QuiltSky #quilting

If there is anything more calming than a sleeping dog, I don't know what it is. ❤️ I should have named him Xanax. Big change from puppyhood. Back then I called him "Tasmanian Devil". A very cute Tasmanian Devil. ❤️ #dogsky #dogs #Rufus

Making rotisserie chicken jerky for Rufus. He's watching intently. (dry at 130F for 12 hours). #dogs #dogsky #Rufus

TRYING to find joy and comfort in day to day things, and not focus entirely on what is so frustrating far beyond my control. Im not entirely successful at that. Refocus today on Qi Gong / Tai Chi, connections with others, dog vines, garden, making the next quilt. #MentalHealth #InnerPeace #Events

A few days ago, I brought the geraniums out of the garage. They were dry since October. Most leaves were brown & crunchy. I removed everything dead, pruned a bit, & gave a good soaking. They'll recover. #gardening 🌱 By overwintering, save $$$, no more plastic bought, & they'll be larger.

Made more pieces of the star quilt. I cut more diamonds for the Lemoine stars, replacing some of the muddier colors with brighter ones. I made more half square triangles. About 50 more to go, of the needed 288. Side stars will be muted colors. Also cut those. #MenWhoQuilt #Quiltsky #quilting

I planted the rest of the yellow & white onion sets. I divided a potted chive clump, replanted in rows I mulched w/ tree leaves. In these chaotic times, a way to boost food security is to grow a #VictoryGarden. Prices may rise, also scarcity. #Gardening is good for the soul. 🌱 # KitchenGarden

I planted an 8-pack of slicing tomato seeds (7 types) & 8 pack of sauce tomato seeds (2 types). As a gardener w/ limitations 👨🏼‍🌾, I mostly planted determinate varieties, disease resistant hybrids. Anyone who can, should grow a victory garden this year. #Gardening 🌱 #KitchenGarden #VictoryGarden

#Gardening. Beautiful day. Planted the remaining Walla Walla onions plants, & a row of yellow onion sets. Mulched & watered them in. At the end of the bed, planted some flowers. Man does not live by veggies alone. Dug some Egyptian Walking Onion scallions. 🌱 #KitchenGarden

Starting a new quilt. This will be multicolor batik, neutral cream background. Calls for 288 HSTs. Some individually made from scraps, some 12-at-a-time method. 1/2-way there. Also lots of diamonds, mostly cut already. Might make some brighter diamonds. #MenWhoQuilt #quilting #quiltsky

Pure bliss. #dogs #Rufus

I planted two more rows of Walla Walla onion plants. About 10 plants remaining #kitchengarden #gardening 🌱

Today I finished annual cleanup of bearded iris bed, and finished mulching with aged arborist chips. Bearded irises are a challenge here. If I don't mulch, they get fungal and bacterial diseases. That's different from most places. #BeardedIrises #gardening 🌱

Today I cleaned up the Chinese chive raised bed, weeded, gave organic fertilizer and crushed eggshells, and mulched. They will be ready to harvest soon. I also planted a row of Walla Walla onion plants, barely visible on right in photo. More tomorrow. 🌱 #kitchengarden #gardening

This #QuiltOfValor is finally completed. I gave it its first wash today, to remove starch, freshen the colors, and shrink slightly for texture. It will be presented to a veteran with history of honorable service. #QOV #MenWhoQuilt #QuiltSky

I'm on bluesky for community, to talk garden, & dog, & quilt projects, & veggies & trees & flowers & books & veterans. And look at dogs & quilts & gardens. But I care about things, so I hope you'll forgive me if I post this. #war #iranwar #gaza #epsteinclass youtu.be/8E9l_i6HPYM?...

Another #NoKings sign, Vancouver WA

No Kings, Vancouver WA today. Massive crowd. #NoKings

Only one quadrant remaining to weed in the bearded iris bed now, and two quadrants to mulch with arborist chips. The moist soil is easy to weed. They look very vigorous this year. I hope it will be a good bloom season. #gardening #beardedirises 🌱

Mrs Duck started laying eggs again. Yay! One almost every day. Today I made a black bean chocolate cake, substituting 4 duck eggs for 5 hen eggs. Duck eggs are bigger, slimier white (more protein) and larger yolk, compared to chicken eggs. #Ducks #eggs #gardening 🌱

Oh no! Where's Rufus? I can't find him! Oh there he is! #Rufus #DogsOfBlueSky

Completed and mounted. Made for lunar new year, but I was late. The colors reflect the banner across the corner. The floral part is a printed panel. #MenWhoQuilt #quilting #quiltsky

Today we drove an hour each way to pick up the mantle clock, we had restored in Oregon. Patent date 1882. Manufacturer date on the back is 1891. This is the Seth Thomas "City Series", model "Rome". Reassuring, a machine made 135 years ago, runs perfectly. Wind up Sunday am. #clocks #antiques

The forsythias are blooming. These are all grown from cuttings, taken from a bush that was grown from a cutting. #gardening 🌱

There is no "Battle of Armageddon" in the Book of Revelation. Using that fiction as a battle cry is not really Christian. I don't consider myself religious but I do care about human beings. Using falsehoods about the bible is not faith or kindness. open.substack.com/pub/benjamin...

Daffys around the gingko tree trunk. That's not a black sheep in the background. It's Rufus.

I saw an example of this wall-hanging at Craft Warehouse. decided to make one as a Chinese New Year gift. Mostly just making the borders for the central panel. Now to quilt it. Thinking about a metallic (gold) thread, not sure if that will work. A little late. #MenWhoQuilt #QuiltSky

Putting some fabric to work from scrap box. This was a fat quarter from somewhere. I'm a big history reader, and I enjoy maps, so this antique map print is great for a side table mat. The batting, flannel backing, and binding were scraps. #MenWhoSew #quilting #quiltsky

Jesse Jackson was a man of admirable character, compassion, strength, empathy, mission, faith, courage, intelligence, and passion. He was a giant, an example for us all for how we should live and act. Next to him, most of today's news figures are pathetic. www.theguardian.com/world/galler...

Gardener's aids for more #accessiblegardening. A home made stool and tool box, on casters, for sitting while working and keeping tools close by. The box was made from scrap lumber, and finished with deck stain. See alt text. Motorized pruner and trimmers. 🌱

From the old photo box. Unlabeled tin type. I'm guessing 1860s? 1870s? Might be ancestors but I don't know. #vintagephotos #tintypes

Rose garden cleanup and pruning so far. Front row is almost done, four bushes need additional cleanup and pruning. #roses 🌱 🌹

2nd Asian pear tree pruned today as usual Fruiting spurs low enough for me to reach w/o ladder, spurs too short to droop to deer height, and too high for deer to be comfortable reaching up to. I think this is Nijiseiki pear but it wasn't labeled. #HomeOrchard #deer #AccessibleGardening 🌱

It's pink season. Flowering cherry, no particular variety. I grafted onto wild cherry seedling 15 years ago. Camellia, also no particular variety. This was transplanted years ago. Original shrub was red/white flowers, so this might have been the rootstock. #bloomsky 🌱 #gardening

I removed 2-3 feet of top growth from this Methley+Shiro+Hollywood Asian plum multigraft tree. Buds are swelling! So prolific - hundreds of potential plums. I thin a LOT. Pruning philosophy: short enough so no ladder needed. Too high for deer. 🌱 #HomeOrchard #AccessibleGardening

The Buddhist Monks reached Washington DC, today. I'm very relieved that they made it without more challenges or injuries. I think the effect is more for inner peace. I found it very moving, watching them enter the city with a police escort. #PeaceWalk #Buddhist apnews.com/article/budd...

Today I pruned five (of about 15) rose bushes. I hope I didn't kill them. New shoots are about an inch long already. #Gardening #Roses

I started "The War Within a War" by Wil Haygood, today. It takes me a couple months to read a good book. It's a crime that the war history is being rewritten by racists and someone who got deferments. I am a veteran of that era, but not sent to Vietnam. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...

This Stanley plum tree reached the end of its stability, so I started cutting it down. Such pretty wood. If I was still a woodworker, I would save the logs and make something. 🌱 #gardening #homeorchard