End of September

There is a small flock of Robins that roost in 

my tree line every year on their migration South.

They laugh and chirp morning and evening,

exchanging tales of their daily adventures.

I will not see them again until the second week in March.

Safe flight

Botany for the Artist

that color!

An amazing book I bought a few years ago.

I spent too long paging through it this morning

and must hurry to get to work on time.

Worth the last minute rush...every page of it!

All Things Round

I took a walk out by a local baseball field today

to do a bit of knitting and reading.

The gloves are finished 

and it's chilly enough for a good curling up.

As Autumn Approaches...

Tomorrow is the Autumnal Equinox; 

the sun will be directly in line with the equator.

12 hours of daylight and 12 of darkness.

A day of in-betweens.

Pears, pumpkins and burning sunsets.

Happy Autumn to all.

From the Netherlands...

When I came home from work yesterday I found this beautiful

package leaning up against my front door.

It was Patrice's gift from the magazine swap lovely V arranged.

Patrice sent me a magazine full of craft projects, color and wonderful photos!

The botanical illustration was pulled from a book of native flowers

and the yarn a gift from her mother some years ago.

The pigeon sculpture is one of Patrice's own works 

with a sweet note written on the back.

Thank you Patrice, you made me feel very special...

From Barcelona...

sigh...

how the spanish paprika glows!

still green here

Yesterday I went to the post office to pick up a package.

It was my Nature Swap gift from Anna, arranged by V on her lovely blog.

Anna sent the sweetest little packets of tea, herbs and spices

as well as a little button she made!

Ahhh...the smell inside that envelope!

Such a beautiful gift deserved a walk in the woods.

Thank you so much Anna, for your perfect gift.

xo, j

Hot Glass

gift shop window

Yesterday I visited an art center called the Goggleworks in Reading, PA.

The center provides artists with studio spaces, including hot/fused glass and Ceramics.

For many years I was a clay sculptor working almost exclusively in the Raku method.

Glass was always something I wanted to try.

So when I walked into the studio and smelled the firing kilns...

glowing at 2000F...I knew the time had come!

I will be taking a hot glass workshop at the end of October!

We will be making a pint sized glass or a tumbler.

I'm so excited!

Upside Down Morning

up early

feed the cat

and the goldfish

make the coffee

water the plants

quiet

Drawing Table

I straightened my drawing table last Sunday evening.

It may look cluttered but I know where everything is...

The rabbit gazing at the moon is only 1" square.

I went through a phase of tiny painting and not so great soldering.

The horse a study for a much larger piece.

: )

Can't wait to get back to making things.

Pears, Goats and Trucks

Yesterday I went to a local Pick Your Own farm looking for apples.

The farm I usually visit is about an hour away so I thought I'd try something closer.

The people were very nice and told me it was a bad year for apples 

but there were hard pears available.

I picked 10 of each type, Anjou and Bosc, and will tucked them into 

brown paper bags to encourage them to ripen.

Although this farm is more convenient it lacked the 

'wander through the orchard' feeling of my favorite farm.

None the less, it was a beautiful day to be outside.

Hope you have a great week!

xo, j

Seed Cones

Here are the little seed cones I made up for the tom seeds.

It may seem a ridiculous amount of time to put into something

that will be tucked in a drawer for six months, but I had fun making them.

It's a splendid day!

Clear sky and cool air.

We'll see what mischief I can get into today.

: )