Memorial Weekend

We had a warm sunny weekend, which lent itself to all kinds of out door activities. I started out the weekend picking Comfry, it's a herb that I grew it to try using it for fabric dying. I tried dying with it last year and wasn't to excited with the color, I thought I'd give it one more try. It's the dark plant in the picture with the purple bell flowers. Farmers plant this to till over to put nitrogen in the soil. I emptied my left over plant and water in our vegetable garden.

This is the plant before I chopped up the leaves and simmered them in the dye pot.

I bunched and tied up a small amount of wool and put it dry in the pot. Simmered it awhile and let it set for a couple of days in the dye. It turned out a nice brown, (I've read it would be somewhat green). At the end of each summer I over dye all of my not so favorite fabrics with madder root, I not sure where this one will end up.

I finished my baby quilt for my nephew's new baby. I love putting the silk binding on as babies love to feel it.

Close up of the blocks.

We had a family picnic Saturday, this is a picture of the new baby with her great-grandma.

On Sunday my husband, son and I took our boat out on the river for the day. I packed a picnic and my camera. This is the main branch of the river.

And one of the tributaries that run into the river. I like boating through them as you see more wild life.

In the mid 1800's we were a booming lumbering town. Our State was full of large white pine trees. In our town they would chop them down, then float them down the river to the saw mills. After processing them they would load them on boats in Lake Michigan to send all over the country. Along the main branch of the river they had wooden pillon's with boards on top for the men to walk on and keep logs floating downstream. Whats amazing is they are still along parts on the river, some 150 years later.

Getting out of the boat at the end of our day I spotted this wonderful green frog.