Coming up for air.....

Gosh it really has been head down and tail up the last few weeks.

Here I am now, taking breathe, trying to determine what I have got to show for my efforts and my time away from blogland ... Luckily my camera is a (fairly) constant companion so a quick look through that reminds what's been happening.
WARNING this post is pretty photo heavy but I haven't babbled too much so I am hoping you will cope with it all..... I guess you know where the delete button is if it's too much for you!!

Ok why not start with a spring photo? Exciting to see the garden take
on a new look!

Spring also brings finicky weather. A bit of rain flooded the river.
Somewhere to the right is the bridge and access to half the farm!!
Actually more of a swollen river than a flood, really.

Still plenty of these critters to look after.
These ones are having their last ever feed of milk...

...before being taken right 'out the back' to be weaned. Cant hear them bellowing
out there, plus there is lots of grass for them to wean onto.
Two bulls heading out with them in readiness for mating with the heifers.

Oops another spring rose.
One I got for my birthday, it's going to be lovely.

While 'out the back' it was a time to have our yearly visit to the Kowhai Trees.
Pockets of yellow scattered throughout the bush.
Always an interesting adventure to get down to them.

This shows the size of the trees. Would hate to guess at
how old they are?

Such beautiful flowers. We were maybe a bit early to visit them, before they had opened
properly but we knew bad weather was coming so thought they might be storm
damaged if we left it any later.

The Kowhai were my inspiration for the postcard I made for Sunny.
(If it looks familiar, I showed the original hexie-flower a few posts back).

And this really happy one arrived from Sunny.
I am loving these postcard swaps :-)
Thank so much for swapping with me, Sunny.

Wild pigs can be the bane of our lives as they dig up the pasture with their
snouts, ruining whole paddocks, then hiding in the thick bush.
 Hunters' paradise.
This one is likely to have been orphaned and has taken to living with a small
mob of cows 'out the back'. Affectionately known as Ralph, I guess he
won't always be this cute.

I've done a bit of sewing lately.
I made this pin cushion as part of the Sewing Essentials Club for
 The Country Yard. It's got crushed walnut shells in it - I love the feel of them!!

And how do you take interesting photos of a Block Roll?
Hopefully the bear my YD made me earlier this year does a good job of
 showing it off.

I made this for Mum for her birthday.
I bought the fabric possibly 2 years ago; every time her birthday, Christmas or
Mothers' Day comes around I tell myself I will make it up...finally I have!!
I lined this with iron-on pellon which made it twice the size of my other block
rolls but it will keep all her embroidery blocks well protected!

Congratulations if you have got to the end and thank you for taking the time out to visit!! There's a bit more sewing to share with you but I will save it all for another time or two.
{By the way, last post I guessed at the layout of Pam Buda's sewalong; yes, my guess was the same as her's, I'm so pleased, I cant wait to get it together properly :-)}
See you all another time,
Happy stitching,