O starry night!

My husband and I live out in the country, far from any street lights, in an area where we are more likely to hear goats, horses, coyotes, crickets, and owls than a car.  Occasionally we can hear the sounds of passing train 5 miles away, but those events are rare.

One of the many advantages of living in the middle of nowhere is the ability to see all of the stars in the night sky.  On clear evenings, we can see the sprinkling of the Milky Way stretching out across the sky.  We will often times just lay out on the grass and take it all in, the immensity of it all, the sheer size of the universe.  It is an awing experience to be reminded of how fortunate each and everyone of us are to be here.

And then the mosquitoes roll in and ruin it all.  The universe would be a better place without those bloodsuckers! :)

So, after running away from the mosquitoes, I decided that a worthy addition to my shop would be a little telescope searching the sky.  I hope that you like it! 

::FOUND::

My husband came across this coyote skull while off exploring in the woods.  Judging by the way the bone of the lower jaw has grown over spots where teeth should be, this particular coyote may have lived a long life.  What a beautiful specimen of a gorgeous creature!

Welcome Saturday!

Beginning each Monday, I am in countdown mode to Saturday.  I am sure that I am not the only one who does this, at least I hope that I am not the only one.  Even if I have no plans whatsoever (which is the case most Saturdays), this day of the week is like a wonderful dream come Monday morning.  Sleeping in, staying in pajamas until the evening time when we make a run to the store, just sitting on the sofa with a couple of snoring dogs and a great husband by my side...this is what I look forward to.

This Saturday found me snapping some new photos of a few of my journals and cards, with some family photos from the 1940s on loan from our friends Cody and Katie as props to add a little something special.  Aren't the photos of Katie's grandmother and twin sister gorgeous?

 Dive Journal

 Hunting Dog Journal

Virginia Woolf Card Set

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This photo features a couple of seed pods collected by my husband.  The red seed pod is coral bean (Erythrina herbacea) and the other seed pod is rattlebox (Sesbania drummondii).  If you shake the rattlebox seed pod, it makes a rattling sound so the name is very fitting.

Red Loblolly Pine Journal

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And since I was taking photos anyway, I decided that I would also snap a photo of a grackle feather that I found last week.  Isn't the iridescence gorgeous?  I decided that it would make a perfect cover photo for my Facebook page.

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Step Outside

Okay...so it is April 1 today and I can already tell that this summer is going to be H O T in my part of Texas.  A scorcher.  It is 84°F right now, and this is just the beginning of Spring. EEK.  Already time to break out the sunscreen and shorts!

While I did some work inside the house...okay...while I watched the pilot episode of Twin Peaks (I had never seen it and was curious about the cult following it has...I am still not sold on it yet), my husband worked outside in the yard, making it pretty.  To be fair, I did make blueberry pancakes and eggs this morning so I was not COMPLETELY lazy.  After he mowed the yard, I ventured outside and snapped some photos of the flowers and woods around our house.

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Sweet little roses in a flower garden by our house.

View from the edge of the woods.

Tree canopy on the edge of our woods.

This pine tree looks to be a victim of last year's drought.

A grove of mayapples.

This anole thought he could not be seen...

but I could see him! :)

From my dining room

 I have been working on adding some new designs to my shop lately...about time!  Trust me, I have been itching to add even more, but life has a way sometimes of making other plans for you. But the important thing is that I am finally back at it, and, oh boy, am I having fun with this!

I carved this latest white-tailed deer as I sat at my dining room table on a gorgeous sunny day.  I have a room devoted to my Etsy shop and other crafty endeavors, but my dining room has wonderful windows that let in loads of sunlight - a perfect spot for carving if you ask me! Listening to Daytrotter (loving The Lumineers!), carving stamps, and letting the Spring sunshine in...what a perfect day!

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Check out the notebooks (lined and blank) and notecards!

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See what I mean by great light?  Of course, in the summer, this little area gets a wee bit warm (this is Texas, after all). But right now while the temperatures are still fairly mild (well, mild for here anyway - it was 91 degrees today and it isn't even April yet), this is the perfect spot for working!  Heck, I am sitting in the dining room now!  :)

Careful - there's a horse in the shop!

Yay!  I have a new design in the shop, the first new design after being under the weather for a little while! And I really, really like this new one.  

Drum roll please...

I think this little fella is cute...and a lot easier to fit in your back pocket than the real thing!

I am so happy to be feeling better so that I can carve again!  Stay tuned for some more designs coming soon!

For the love of nature

I have been taking it easy lately, laying up on the sofa as I recover from being sick.  Nothing makes me want to be outside more than being forced to stay inside.  So, to get over my cabin fever I have been going through some of my favorite photos I have taken over the years while on vacation, crossing my fingers that it won't be too much longer until I feel better!  :)  Here are just a few of the photos...

 

 Dead mesquite along a river outside of Austin, Texas.

 

 Beautiful cacti along a river outside of Austin.

 This is the prettiest tree I have ever seen - the rainbow gum tree in Oahu. 

A botanical garden trail on Oahu.

Me and my little tipi

What do you think of my newest design, a cute little tipi?  

And will you look at that!  Notice that cute little buffalo totem?  I know you did.  

You want one now, right?  

Well...go check out HandyMaiden's shop!

I totally HEART HandyMaiden!

Check out these sweet little totems I received in the mail today from HandyMaiden!  Aren't they just the cutest?! Don't even ask me to pick a favorite - they are both PERFECT!

 Awww...what a cute pair!

This little buffalo...he's just as cute as can be!

Look at that sweet face! :)

And can you believe how tiny these little guys are?  I don't know how she does it, but HandyMaiden puts a lot of fine details in her work - PERFECTION!

The Lumineers

Okay...I have a new favorite group.  I feel a little behind the curve on this one since they seem to have quite a following building up around them.  Maybe you have heard of them - The Lumineers?  I discovered them just the other day on Daytrotter and now I am super excited that their debut album is coming out March 2012!  Until then, I have my Daytrotter session downloaded and just wait.  :)

And to hook you to this amazing group, check out this video!

Crossed Fingers

We planted at least 100 loblolly pine seedlings this weekend in an attempt to replace the young pines we lost this past summer during a fairly wicked drought.  While the folks that predict the weather are calling for yet another La Nina year and another drought, we are hoping, crossing fingers and toes, that they are wrong and that these little guys make it.  

We live out in the country on 10 acres, about 8 of which are fully wooded.  Our little house is tucked right in the middle of these woods. Our hope is to re-tree an area of our property along our driveway that the previous owners of our house decided to clear so they could see the road. 

The pines we lost were planted as seedling almost three years ago, and a few of them had managed to shoot up to a little over 5 feet tall! Here is what they looked like when we planted them in April 2009.

They are so tiny when they are first planted!  It is hard to believe how fast these grow!

 

This whole area of pine seedlings was completely wiped out by the drought.  The planted crape myrtles made it, and sweet gum trees have moved in to this area as well.   

Let's hope that these new seedlings can take advantage of an earlier planting, some fertilizer tablets, and much moister soil!  

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As we were working on getting the new seedlings planted, we (and I mean my husband Jeff) cleaned out our bluebird houses and found this long-abandoned bluebird nest.  While it is sad that these little birds did not make it, isn't a bird's nest just a beautiful work of art?

Live on Papernstitch!

This little shop of mine is feeling extra lucky lately!  For a limited time, you can find my shop on Papernstitch!  Now, if you ask me, that is a good reason to feel lucky!  If you have not visited Papernstitch yet, then you are in for a surprise...there are so many wonderful handmade goodies to be found on Paperstitch!  I could not be happier to be included in among so many great artists.

So go take a look when you get a chance!  :)