Day Lilies at Eventide

When all is said and done... at the end of the day,

there is something to be said about simply enjoying one's gardens.

Untouched colors from the foreground back:

 geranium, day lilies, rose campion, echinacea, hosta

Wishing you much joy in this new week!

My Rusty Ol' Heart...

I've added my rusty ol' heart to the body of the doll...

So now the question becomes: 

Should I go ahead and put some hardware cloth over the opening as well?

Window to My Heart!

No parades for us...

I haven't touched (or cleaned) my work table in over a month...Ugh!

So... after sorting, filing, tossing and cleaning;

I had some fun working on my newest angel.

I decided to cut out a "window" and flip the book box

on its side!  (this opens the "body" so you can look inside!)

I'm thinking this will be the prefect spot for a rusty heart to hang!

Next... cover that fabric head with paper clay,

paint the wood finial legs and beads which extend the drawer pulls,

and then cut out the wee wooden wings and attach them!

Thank you for taking a peek!

Do You See What I See?

I came across this 7.5" by 10" "decorative wooden box"

at Hobby Lobby and immediately saw... an angel in waiting!

(the real incentive was that the book/box was 50% off!)

Meandering around the store... I picked up two drawer pulls

(which will become the shoulders for the arm attachments).

The drawer pulls are round and textured with brass centers.

Then I found the two wooden finials... perfect stubby little legs!

I'm thinking a clay over fabric head... and then a pair of wooden wings.

A Stop at Terrapin Station!

O.K., perhaps not "Terrapin Station" (that's for our son-in-law)

but it was a stop at the Alloway Creek Watershed Estuary

where we found over a half-dozen Northern Diamondback Terrapin

digging deep and laying their eggs for safe-keeping. (next pic)

Unfortunately... the predators outnumber the terrapin by about

three-to-one (on a good day!)  We also found dozens of recently

cleaned out sites where the turtle eggs had been destroyed.

We cheered this Mama on... as she layed egg upon egg.

This is the top shell design of one of the Diamondbacks that we

found crossing the footpath... exquisite!

Up-close and personal...  we came across hundreds

(no exaggeration here... 100's) 

of fiddler crabs scooting into their little mud-hole houses on either side

of the brackish waters!

We also came across two slithering Eastern King snakes along the footpath.

Each of these beauties stretched three to four feet in length. 

(this pic is not mine, it was taken by Brian Zarate ©)

The plan is to head back to the area in 3 months or so to see if we can spot any of the new hatchlings!

The Story Continues...

The story continues... at:

Beyond Woodstown Whimsies...

http://beyondwoodstownwhimsies.blogspot.com

Behind the Scenes... A Cyber-Story!

With our gardens established (though I still haven't mulched!)

and ideas just bubbling over the top...

I thought that it might be fun (bordering on insanity) to start-up

a new blog dedicated solely to a cyber-story format.

Drum roll....  

In our travels several years ago, around the Delaware River Valley...

we drove by a sign that simply said: "Nonesuch Creek"

I filed the name in the back of my brain and remember thinking:

"What a delightful spot that must be... can you imagine what a colorful cast of characters might live a place called Nonesuch Creek!"

Well, after percolating on the back-burner for a few years... it is time.

The stories will center around three sisters; the Stanton sisters:

Etta, Eloise and Emma... and their younger brother: Woodruff.

Some of the other "locals" will include: Sebastian, Oglethorpe, Ellsworth,

and (dark background music) Wigmarr Wormwood.  

There is some conversation on the pages of the story line already about

someone referred to simply as: "Ancient Ecc'arg"... (shrouded in mystery).

Here are some cameo shots of a few of the long lost folks, taken directly from the vignette stage of Nonesuch Creek.

(left-to-right) Eloise, Etta and Woodruff

Eloise... eccentric middle child who is pulled around in her wheelchair 

by a pet goat. (her little goat is camera shy!)

Etta... oldest of the three sisters.  She never allows that key

around her neck to leave her sight.

Woodruff... the "baby" of the family!  Tenderhearted,

adventurous... a "collector" of just about anything!

(from-sticks-to-bird-feathers, as you can see!)

Emma... youngest of the Stanton sisters and the "other" long forgotten folk of Nonesuch Creek are all on my worktable in different stages of the creative process... they are "becoming"!  This is how they all started out:

Some cotton batting, paper clay, wooden dowels

and black jasper beads... set against a shadow box stage!

I hope you'll consider following the story... it was written long, long ago.

You can find it right here:     

http://beyondwoodstownwhimsies.blogspot.com