Oxalis, Hooked Rugs and Tomatoes

Thank you all for the comments on my previous post.

They were wonderfully kind and supportive.

The sun is bright this morning and the cicadas still roar.

I harvested five cherry tomatoes this morning, not bad for a windowsill plant.

Hope your day is lovely!

Morning Drops

There was rain early this morning.

It's so hard to get out of bed when it rains!

A brief shower followed by intermittent blasts of sun,

the drops on the window screen sparkling like stars.

A busy week ahead.

Coco, this is one of my favorite mugs.

New Book

Here is a peek at the book I sweated over this weekend.

(My fan broke and I just couldn't bring myself to turn the air conditioner back on!)

Hidden in the woods are a deer, fox, rabbit and turtle.

Still working out the cover and searching for a title.

Annoying color variations and shadows but you get the general idea.

Forgive my recent absence...sometimes I just need to disappear for a while.

Have a great week.

xo, j

Evening Walk

After work I went grocery shopping and then home.

My plan was to devour the rest of Wild and have a bit of dinner.

So there I am, reading about a woman out in the woods...

why am I not a woman out in the woods?!?

About an hour of sun remained 

so I pulled on my boots and headed outside.

Now I'm tired, but in a good way.

Back to the book!

Campsite 34

I finished assembling my accordion cut out book last night.

The front panel is attached to the background with a small folded hinge.

This allows you to move the scene around as shown in the first photo.

Sorry about the annoying yellow patches, I'm not much of a photographer.

Probably should shoot it in actual daylight, but you get the idea.

Thanks for looking in!

j

Reading in Bed

I stayed up too late last night reading Cheryl Strayed's new book Wild.

It's just one of those books that is difficult to put down.

The first chapter is frank and grounds you with a jolt.

Then the book begins to soar...her style of writing is so easily devoured

 if not careful you could read it in one sitting,

but I don't want to hurry through.

So out come the magazines.

Rowan, Selvedge and Kinfolk.

Some visual stimulation before work.

My new hiking boots wait by the door...

Pool Wildlife Sanctuary

Wild Carrot fist

With my hand knit red socks in my new boots I went into the woods today.

The season is noticeably changing as wildflowers begin to fade.

There were six lean to's scattered along the trail, a Summer Nature Camp project, I think.

Thanks to Carrie's amazing posts for getting me outside this weekend.

Copernican Box

This was a box that I made years ago based on a child's marble game.

I love to make boxes, this one is about 12" square and covered in

a faux orange snake skin paper with a glass over lay.

I had a great time digging through a bin of old marbles to find

just one right ones to represent the planets!

Congratulations to the team of the Mars Rover Curiosity

for a successful landing!

Can't wait to get back to work.

Time is not something I have much of lately,

but I'll try to squeak some out to make something this weekend.

Love her studio...

Anthropologie Magazine

Pearl S. Buck House

small library

Camellia greenhouse

I went for a ride today and ended up at Green Hills Farm,

also known as the Pearl S. Buck House National Historic Landmark.

Pearl Buck is best known for her book The Good Earth.

A large restoration project was just completed on the home earlier this year.

I didn't have time to tour the inside of the house but was

able to sneak a photo of the small library through a side door window.

(I'm rather smitten with that rose colored chair.)

The grounds were immaculate.

I doubt a squirrel or rabbit would dare to brave that green lawn!

Wild Carrots, Acorns and Bears

My fascination with Queen Ann's Lace this year has been apparent.

But what of the lovely root that gives it the common name, wild carrot.

Definatley my summer plant this year.

The acorns are growing and the squirrels have begun to feast.

The branches they fell reveal the tiny nuts.

Although it's still quite hot, summer has begun to turn.

I spent the afternoon cutting a new accordion book.

It was difficult for me to photograph, so this is just a preview.

A thoughtful bear watches over a campsite.

I'm really quite fond of bears.

Missing the smell of a campfire tonight...

Delaware Water Gap

Stone for my brother

Tree hugging rock

On our last day together I took my brother for a short walk 

up Dunnfield Falls at the Delaware Water Gap, New Jersey side.

Young boys with swimming trunks and towels thrown over their shoulders

make the short climb to the big pool to cool off.

During the Spring, this seemingly gentle creek can tear

through the gorge.

Quite a contrast from New York the day before.

Yes, I'm quite fortunate to have both city and mountain within 

a short drive from my home.

That's all for the vacation photos.

Now back to work!

New York in the Rain

Chelsea Food Market

Purl Soho (sorry, no flash)

Union Square Market

Empire State Building 

Uptown

Downtown

My beautiful city...

Every year my brother and I make a trip into the city.

It rained or drizzled most of the day but we still had a great time.

Chelsea, Soho, Little Italy (for lunch!) and the Empire State Building.

I know it's cliche, but I do love New York.