Finally, the last of the Maine Botanical Garden photos, these having to do with rocks that have been carved,

There were three of these huge boulders set in a circular orientation with minimal carving to make them look like whales, each with a blow hole that went off intermittently.

In one of the woodland settings we came upon this tub carved from a large granite boulder, the outside left rough and natural but the inside smooth as glass with intricate organic leafy shapes around the top.

The surface made a lovely reflecting pool.

Scattered throughout the garden were many small sculptures. I was drawn to this raven for it’s simplicity.

This eagle reminded me of a Kansas Jayhawk.

Here at home, we thought we had gotten the waterfall fixed, but discovered a low spot the next morning after loosing a lot of water overnight. It was an easy fix and the water level is staying up, so now I get to finish my rock work there.

In the meantime I have been continuing the garden renovations. Yesterday morning I dug up a clump of Red Hot Pokers, divided it into a dozen or so new plants and got them planted, then did the same with a clump of ” Prairie Blue Eyes” daylilies. As I dig out the gardens we are mulching and installing the black plastic edging strips around the beds. I hope this will help with keeping things contained for the future.

Last night we got another half inch of rain and it is nice and cool this morning, so I need to get outside and carry on.

I AM doing some quilting as well. Last week I got started with the quilting on the Kansas scene, but it’s slow going as I am usually done in by lunch time from the gardening chores!

I have lots of rocks to work with here in Kansas so I am always looking for ideas. Maine has lots of rocks too but they are sure bigger than ours!

This rock wall appears to have been built around a huge rock.

Here is an interesting path that must have involved some shaping of the stones. Just look at the luxurious plantings!

There were two walking mazes. The other one was a spiral that was meant to be walked barefoot. The outer edge had large pebbles embedded and they gradually got smaller as you got to the center.

This waterfall is huge! There are 4 tiers and it appears that some of the rock was naturally there and some was artistically placed to look as though it may have always been there.

The uppermost part consists of an enormous rock that was hollowed out to be a basin at the top.

I suggested to my husband that he might do that for our waterfall as it looks watertight,  because here at home we have our own waterfall problems! He was not receptive!  Just minutes before we had to leave for the airport we discovered that we had a leak. We did a temporary fix with a black plastic leaf bag and it worked great. After we got back home we tore it apart and laid in some new rubber liner. The can of foam that we had for sealing in the rocks didn’t last long so we were at a standstill until we could get some more. Then the rain came so now we have to wait for things to completely dry before we can proceed with the foam and the rocks to finish the job.

We got 3.5 ” of rain last night and almost an inch the day before!!  It appears that most of it has soaked in so this should help a lot! The well that we use for filling the watergarden/fish pond had gone dry so we have had to use city water and treat it for chlorine, what a pain!

We finished the new rock work for the pond and I think it looks better than before the leak! These are all rocks picked up on our property. They match the rocks on the side of the house and the fireplace.  Often you can see fossils embedded in them, like little scallops or clams as this used to be a sea!

I wish I had put the cushions on the furniture before I took the photo, but you can see a bit of the hammock down in the shade garden where I like to read.

The stuff floating and littering everywhere are tiny flowers off the tree that is over the deck. We have had wind and rain and it is a mess! I blow the deck off to try and lessen the amount that gets in the pool but it is a loosing battle for now. The filter needs cleaning often.

Some of the rocks are BIG and HEAVY! Thank goodness my husband is a willing helper!

The good news is – the missing quilt, “Mon Grand Pere” is found and not a moment too soon as it has been accepted along with “Lazy Afternoon” to hang in New Visions’ “Culture and Agriculture”, a multi media exhibit in Wisconsin – their 24th annual exhibit of art with an agricultural theme. I don’t usually enter shows that are not primarily quilting except for the local art guild, but this one seemed right up my alley!

The bad news is – I have been so busy lately that I missed the deadlines for AQS Knoxville and Aullwood Audubon shows!

I had hoped to get the binding on the Longhorn quilt yesterday but it was a rare lovely day with no rain so we tackled the damage that occurred last winter to the fish pond/water garden. This involved resetting all of the rock work for about half of it and it is pretty good sized. We got a really good start and will be able to finish in another day, but not today. It’s raining. Again.

No problem, I’ll finish the binding instead!