Droughts and Heat Advisories

I can't believe I'm still struggling to pack and move in this heat, but yes, I am.  In fits and starts; in bits and pieces.  A few hours a day but I'm becoming hopeful that it's beginning to add up.  My goal is to have both Dad's house and my rented sculpture studio emptied by the end of July--two weeks to go.  And once everything is under my "new roof" then the process of making sense of it all will begin, but hoping without so much pressure or heat....

So my blog has been neglected and I'm chagrined to admit that I was just de-listed by Project Wonderful so going forward, no one can post those ads here anymore.  I took the PW windows down as they seemed to be emptily mocking me.  Somewhere down the road, when I'm operating on all cylinders once again, maybe I can rev up my blog, it's traffic, and it's Project Wonderful spot.  But for now, I'm not very focused here as there are simply too few of me and too few hours in any given day....

But I've got some interesting photos to share here.  I found a couple of gems in the midst of this not too attractive heat wave and drought we continue to endure.

 The ephemeral pond on the farm is the new home this year for a pair of Sandhill Cranes and their new youngster.

Here's a closer look-so glad this water didn't evaporate yet!

Grass is mostly brown and dormant BUT the weeds hang on.  I've never seen a Canadian Thistle this small, put out only one blossom, but it has popped up during our break from mowing.

We still get together for food and weekend family fun, but are very careful about campfires these days.

And Dakota really, really likes the food her cousin Bella gets...and really likes the visit, too!

Stay cool!

Wordless Wednesday Autumn Walk

Wordless Wednesday Autumn

Golden in Passing

The magnolia tree has beauty in all seasons, but I adore
the fuzzy golden buds of November as she prepares for the long winter.
Golden fur coats for the flowers to come?

And speaking of all things golden, today's treasury, Golden Season by jewelry artist Betsy Benson tends toward luxe (while the WillOaks studio aesthetic is more towards rustico)....and if you take a peek at her shop, you will see the elegant, refined pieces that define her aesthetic! And if you could, please take a moment to click, visit, and comment on this treasury! Many thanks....

And while you're at it, go ahead, browse around Etsy! You need to reward yourself with some original, artistic and handmade "somethings" from Etsy soon! I guarantee you'll find stuff for every need, every want, every price range and every taste: their search function has really really improved! So you can casually browse...or zoom right into the object of your desire! Clothing? Mittens? A hat? Jewelry? Vintage goodies? Cool supplies to create your own special projects? It's all there and more...

Have a happy Saturday!

Walk With Me - Weeds and Seeds

A perfect autumn day, bright & crisp. Let's stroll around the WillOaks Farm!

Milkweed fluff is everywhere, like flying fairies.

The "bones" of the plants are easy to see this time of year.

The seeds for next year are unmistakable.
Weeds or wild flowers? It just depends of where and how much!

It's magical how the afternoon light plays on the delicate natural forms.

Most of the color of summer has faded away, leaving neutral textures.

Except in a few cases where very unexpected color pops into view!

A new treasury really captures the season for me:

Au Naturelle...creamy taupe with hint of caramel

Please click and visit this lovely collection, curated by NestHavenStudio, who curates many lovely treasuries, listed on her page.

Isn't is sort of uncanny how these colors and textures echo the weeds and seeds we just looked at on our autumn walk? The changing seasons can be a very real source of artistic inspiration.

I think this should be on the Etsy Front page so I'm asking my blog visitors to PLEASE click here to visit this treasury--and comment if you like! It's a numbers game to get to the Etsy front page these days, because although the curators may put very beautiful and worthy collections together, unless they can motivate viewers to visit, these collections barely get seen...while some pretty awful ones, who get the tweets and the visits even without much artistic merit, get to the front page of the web site.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful Friday!!

Wordless Wednesday (Tuscan Nature Walk)

Christmas?

When I come up for air, I can't believe that once upon a time I used to decorate for Christmas...not over the top decorate, but basics like a tree and a few vignettes and other bits and bobs. The past couple of years, though, I just haven't prioritized it enough in the face of how busy this time of year becomes for WillOaks Studio. At least I'm slowly swapping some of my "nature decor" from summer to winter, like this pine cone that I've carried around for years from a great Sequoia. Hey, it's SOMETHING! And I juxtapose it here with a new piece in progress.

Truly, I'm so grateful for all the business flowing though my shops right now as it's sort of making up for a kind of slow year! And as my dad always said, "Make hay while the sun shines." Yes, we were living on a farm so all those old sayings made perfect sense. But to be fully indoors in high studio gear is such a gift, especially after all those months of "campground duty" when I could barely find spare minutes for the studio work.

We're bracing for heavy weather tomorrow, as is a lot of the country. Might lead to some good snow photos and I don't mind because I'm about as prepared as I can be: hunker down and keep working in the studio!

Thanks for stopping by!

New Work and First Frost

So stealthy. The first frost settled in here last night and anything tender will soon turn to mush as the freeze was quite hard. Hardy plants will survive, at least a little longer, but no illusions of summer remain.

I've been making long, long necklaces. Wonderful collections of natural, earthy stones strung on fine knotted leather that close with toggles. Long strands that can be worn long, doubled, tripled; that can be used as a kind of cluster or spaced out in staggered lengths. Perfect to layer over a turtleneck sweater. Coordinated colors with unexpected surprises here and there. Agates, jasper, quartz, garnets, obsidian, marble, tourmaline, and little bits of Czech glass. The patterns of the earth, the colors of the season, the textures of nature.

Whoops, Swallow Fledglings!

After some errands this afternoon, I climbed the stairs to my deck with the dog, Dakota, bounding in front of me...only to come eye to eye with a couple of small fledgling swallows sitting there at the top of the stairs! The dog dove after them and I dove after her and quickly shooed her into the house even as I was being dive bombed by the parents. The babies barely hopped away but didn't get caught.

Yahoo!! Fledgling swallows--4 of them--but just barely beginning to learn to fly. Tho these photos are at the "edge of acceptable," the fuzziness of their baby feathers is quite obvious. And while not obvious here, they are very tiny. All this means the dog and the two cats are under house confinement for awhile, which won't make them very happy I know...but I adore the swallows that live all over WillOaks Farm and Campground. I'm thrilled by their annual return and it's truly a delight to watch them swoop for bugs on the fly. They follow the lawn mowers around as "dinner" gets stirred up and they have a many different nesting places all around our acreage.

But I had a heart breaking experience a few years ago when I foolishly installed a bird house for them near my house (only because they seemed determined to build a nest in the garage.) They made their nest in the bird house, laid eggs, raised the young, and at some point, Mariah, my small but deadly black cat, caught the male. I tried to rescue and save him, but he was mortally wounded. My neighbor told me that swallows mate for life and although I'm unsure if this is true...I was haunted to see the female struggle to raise the young herself and projected on her the despair and loneliness of losing a loved one. I can't explain why, but I found it heart rending and I felt responsible.....

So not this time!! Those parents are fearless! They swooped down on me just now as I stood on the deck struggling to snap some photos of the 4 fledglings lined up along the electric cable to the house. They also caught more bugs and came and fed their babies all lined up there. I'm determined to protect these lovely creatures from my band of "hunters" here for a few days, until their flying improves...wish me luck!!