Put The Metal To The Paper?

A recent MMSA group swap, Black & Metallica, caught my imagination.  I had a lot of fun assembling these 3-D post cards. With special packaging perhaps they will reach my swap partners intact.

Strips of Food Container Foil & Antique Paper Fastener

Magic Mesh In The Background & Antique Paper Fastener

Magic Mesh and Washi Tape Accents & Antique Paper Fastener

Metallic Ribbon & Antique Paper Fastener

  

Darling Delightful Dahlias

I was so pleased to watch 

these flowering plants grow 

tall along the fence.  

Today's cool raindrops 

accentuated 

their lovely petals.

Small Wonders At Dusk

As I stood in the gentle breezes of nightfall,

a stark white light to the west

peeked down from behind a leafy bower:

the sickle moon, and it was upright-

not cupped like a cereal bowl as in times past.

Had the earth righted itself since last I noticed?

An axis is a curious thing.

Two fireflies hailed each other

within the sparsely fruited branches

of the ancient crab apple tree.

To the south, a large white cloud bank

steadily and swiftly rose

against the darkening canopy.

Among its layers
played opposing bursts of sheet lightening.

With so much to watch, 

I didn't know which direction to face.

I wanted to drink it all in at once.

So seldom I stand silent and still,

eyes and ears attuned
to the natural world around me.

Anticipating the storm,

no twinkling stars dared grace the skies

this night.

And then- the mosquitoes began to land.

08/01/14

Picking My Way Through The Seasons

For me, each summer/fall is associated with different harvests. Each ripening fruit presents an opportunity to put up preserves. First are the strawberries, then the blueberries.  The delivery truck from Georgia brings an out-of-sequence delight:  luscious southern peaches.  Black caps precede (or should I write "pre-seed?") red raspberries; then come blackberries, elderberries, local peaches, and lovely Concord grapes. Last of all apples, of which Cortland and MacIntosh are my favorites.  I enjoy making up the various fruits into jams, jellies and fruit butters for nice holiday gifts which sit pleasantly on a warm piece of buttered whole wheat toast on a cold winter's night.

 

Flowers, Victorian, Maple Syrup

This Asiatic lily is the cheeriest lemon color!

A charming  pink & purple Victorian house in Scio, NYS

I tried my hand at canning local maple syrup...

Double Day Lily along the fence line

Fly Away...

This lovely Tiger Swallowtail butterfly was trapped behind the garage door window.  It took a lot of coaxing to get it to crawl onto my hand so I could set it free.

It seems to be staying around, as I've seen it since that day.

From Feathers To Fur

Not so long ago I was constantly watching baby robins grow from naked scrawny hatchlings to punk rockers with huge crooked beaks- and then into spotted fledglings.  I never saw them fly away, but one day they were gone.  I experienced empty nest syndrome.

Recently I was looking out at the nest, when I noticed the new tenant.  Cute and furry, bright-eyed and striped, a chipmunk was curled up in the hollow of the nest.  Then it hung its head over the side.  It couldn't seem to get comfortable.  Then it sat up.

When it crawled out and went down the tree I thought I might have scared it away.  Minutes late, it was back, cheeks full.  I guess it got hungry and went to get take-out!