Wednesday, June 24, 2009

A Lavender Tale & Some Pretties.

Oh Little Baby Fox Squirrel, you are so cute to watch when you are running around the trunks of the trees chasing your brother, and even when you are sitting on this old feeder in the way back yard nibbling on corn and seeds..

But when you come up on the porch and start digging.. searching for who knows what in my precious baby lavender plants.. this means WAR.
There are only three out of the eleven little plants left that were growing along so nicely from seeds. I think I can salvage them. Mr Attic reminded me about the old bicycle basket that I used to keep the bunnies from eating my crocus this spring..
So even though it doesn't look so nice.. it's here. I imagined them getting too wet, too hot, too cold, too dry.. but never this!
Nothing bothers the geraniums. They must not taste very good because even the earwigs, slugs and sow bugs leave them alone.

I'm still working on a special doll outfit.. and when it is all finished I can tell the story about that.
But I did open up some of my half yards from the quilt show... dreaming of them in a quilt.. maybe something Material Obsession-ish. I am absolutely smitten with their stuff.

Or maybe some more bags. They are so quick and fun.

31 comments:

Terry said...

You might want to put a brick on top of that wire basket if you want to keep the squirrels out. They're tricky little things! LOL

Abby and Stephanie said...

Bad squirrels. Now that I don't have my kitty any longer little critters boldly come closer to the house and dig in our deck pots too!

Ruth said...

We have squirrels that dig in pots that I hang on our fence. I usually plant geraniums in the pots and the squirrels would dig and pull the plants out. This year I decided not to put them on the fence. They don't seem to bother them if they are somewhere else! They are cute though!

Lynn said...

How to get rid of the squirrels has become an obsession in our house. And those anti-squirrel bird feeders - useless!
clever idea though with the basket. I love that fabric - especially the first piece - looking forward to seeing what it becomes

Anonymous said...

Hia Eileen, sorry to hear about the plants. The good news is that when they get to the woody stage they are easy to take heel cuttings from, so you could soon have more.

There is talk in the UK of a grey squirrel cull. Even Prince Charles thinks it is a good idea as they carry the squirrel pox which doesn't affect them but does kill the native red squirrel.

Good luck with the dress etc.

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

my dogs chase those darn squirrels away! they make such a mess around here and keep destroying my feeders by smashing them out of the tree. But at least they don't eat my garden out like the darn VOLES!!! plants a disappearing everyday.... WAR!!

cute fabrics! what'cha gonna make??? I just go the 2nd, material obsession book...can't wait to have a second to sit and read it!

DollZandThingZ said...

As I posted in my own blog not along ago, squirrels are RELENTLESS!! We recently added a second squirrel-proof feeder and are having success, although the digging up of my plants on the deck is tiresome. I will admit they are cute-- but!!

Love those fabrics you showed. Wonder what you will make?!

Purple and Paisley said...

oh, that little squirrel is a cutie...but bad! ☺ i'm loving everything material obsession-ish right now, too! did you ever find the book?

Dionne said...

Oh, I do hope your lavender survives! I love the smell of lavender and it's such a pretty plant. Your fabrics are fabulous, I can't wait to see your special doll outfit!
Cheers,
Dionne

Betsy said...

Lovely fabrics Eileen.
I am making my flower garden quilt from one I saw at the material obsession blog. Everything they make is so dreamy.

Nanette Merrill said...

The material obsession stuff is amazing and so inspiring. The cage for the lavender is a good idea. I've never been able to make geraniums work here. At least for very long. Bugs seem to love them too much.

Jean said...

Great idea, I have a grate over my pot of catnip or it would be all eaten by the roots by now, I think.
Very pretty fabrics.

XUE said...

We love lavendar. It is my son's favourite as Opa loves it as well & it reminds us all of Opa whenever we smell it.

Sherri said...

Love Material Obsession also...I'd so love to see a copy of Material Obsession 2!!! Oh, and I hope the rest of the lavendar survives!!!

Unknown said...

Hellooo Eileen, hey..my lavendar from Melanie sprouted too!!! I planted about the same time like you but they took much longer to grow. I didn't count them..will do tonight and I am so happy they grew :P

Shari said...

What a lovely garden you have! Never thought squirrels would go for lavender. What type are you growing? French lavender grows well here.

Good seeing you all at the quilt show. Looks like you all had a lot of fun!

Hugs - Shari

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

Ooowww, that is some yummy fabric!!!

Janet said...

You have different kinds of pests than us but don't they look cute. I love red geraniums and the fabric looks like fun. I have the MO#2 book and its soooo good.

Allie said...

Awww - I love squirrels - but I don't plant anything outside, either, lol. That basket over the lavender is brilliant! Love the geraniums, can't seem to grow them at all for some reason. They just look so vintage to me. Fabric is awesome, can't wait to see what you make!

Unknown said...

We have possoms instead of sqirrels , persistant aren't they ? Love the new fabric .

Ulla said...

Naughty squirrel! Our squirrels don't dig in the earth, and they look a little different, too. I'm so sorry to see what happened to your little plants.
Nice fabrics, I want to see what they will be.

Messy Karen said...

whatever you make with those fabrics it will be beautiful.

Nedra said...

We have squirrels everywhere causing lots of trouble too. We catch them in cages and haul them off to the creek bed a few miles away. I suggested we put a little paint on their tails to see if they keep running back...and we keep hauling the same ones over and over.

Trudy said...

What naughty little squirrels. So sorry.

I've been enjoying your blog. I would love for you to come and visit my blog as well, www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com .

My 8 year old daughter has her own sewing blog. If you would like to see what she's up to, go to www.sewingsister.blogspot.com . She is currently learning how to hand sew. In a few weeks she will start learning how machine sew. She is very excited. Her six year old brother is also featured on her blog. He has been sewing right along with us. It's been a lot of fun sharing this with them.

Regards,

Trudy
www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

annemariesquilt said...

Ohh Eileen the Little Baby Fox Squirrel is so cute but I can understand your anger very well...
Yummi fabrics, you can never have enought realy. Hmmm I have a problem though , my sewing room will soon be to small if do not stop buying new stuff. I have a gal this summer, use fabrics from my own "shop"!
Summer is kicking in here right now and a glas of whitewine will be perfect company for me tonight ;-))

Rumi said...

I have squirrels too but it is the chipmunks that have dug holes all over my yard. Critters are cute but can be destructive! Hope the basket does the trick.

Miri said...

Tricky little critters!

The fabrics look wonderful...so bright and summery!

Unknown said...

Hi Eileen, Just left a comment on your previous post. I have to say squirrels are a little, well, squirrelly! I think the cage idea should do it! I hope you have no further problems with them. Once we had a flying squirrel in our house, now that was a little bit of a disaster. Our cat had rounded him up for us. But then we had to actually try to get him out of the house. Just let me tell you it wasn't easy.

Carrie P. said...

That basket is a great idea. I saw somewhere recently that someone suggested aluminum foil with holes for the plants and for watering. They said squirrels don't like the sound of the foil.

hetty said...

Funny how those cute little animals can create so many problems! I sprinkle cayenne pepper on the soil around my crocuses and tulips in the spring to keep squirrels from digging and eating my bulbs. It works fine until it rains. Then I have to re-apply it. That basket is a good idea, but I think my squirrels would be able to figure out a way to pull it off and still get to the lavender. Good luck!

em's scrapbag said...

Love your fabrics. I'll be watching to see what you decide to make. Was it hard to start lavender from seeds. I would really like some in my yard. Not many squirrels here to wreck havic.