When we went for our little walk the other day, we found an owl pellet. Luckily, I had some tissue in my pocket or getting this little gem home would have been a bit tricky. These things are slightly gross, but so fascinating! Judging by all of the gray fur and the teeth on the skull, we are guessing dinner was a rat. But that is just a guess.
We have a small 3 acre area at the very back of our property that, once upon a time, was part of a tree farm. The result is a bizarre type of little forest with all of the trees in rows according to type. The first three rows are giant river birch, then pine, oaks etc. The very last 6 or so rows are ligustrum, a large evergreen shrub. Over time, these have grown up to create an amazing little world of their own and a space beneath them that is quite enchanting.
Hoping your weekend was a lovely one!
I uploaded a lovely poster Anna made, with the calendar herbs, to my Etsy shop this morning. She has great plans for adding more of her art, so that may mean her own Etsy shop before long. :)
Have a fantastic day!
A late afternoon walk in our back field at the end of such a very beautiful day. Hope you are all having a lovely late autumn. Christmas crafting has begun in earnest here and there is a rumor in the house, that there just may be a 2012 calendar after all. A collaborative effort between Anna and I (with Anna doing the bulk of the drawing). We shall see...
Have a fantastic weekend!
I may not have the time to draw and paint 12 new calendar images right now, but I certainly found the time to make up a quick, earthy little illustration to encourage my favorite young gardeners. You see, we are in the midst of the fall planting down here in the deep south, and Collin and Rose are quite serious about their own personal garden space.
So kid sized garden notebooks (or garden journals, if you prefer) were in order for the careful recording of planting dates, varieties, garden maps, etc. I thought there might be other kids (and grown-ups!) out there with their own gardening projects, so I made up a PDF with two little notebook covers each as a little autumn gift for you.
Enjoy!
Click here to download the garden notebook covers.
** One quick tip: To get the full image, make sure to select Borderless Printing from your Print Setup box. Complete instructions are on page 2 of the PDF.
The bees are covering the crepe myrtle's every day now. Bumble bees, mason bees and (mostly) honey bees. Such buzzing! They are such amazing creatures, I could watch them for hours. If you are feeling crafty this weekend, fly over to the (neglected) art blog for a free bee embroidery pattern!
Have a sweet weekend!
The short window of time to make elderflower tincture is once again here.
I have accumulated many herbal medicine-making books over the years since I took my first herb class in 1993, but my two current favorites are Making Plant Medicine
Happy early summer!
We finally got around to checking out the new Palmetto Island State Park a few weeks ago (It just opened up not far from us last fall.) when our local homeschool group arranged for a guided tour.
We have been a second time now and are truly awed by the Louisiana flavored beauty these acres have to offer. The hiking trails are wonderful and there is tons of wildlife to be seen (and heard).
The fellows you see above were relaxing on the banks of two of the ponds and showed no interested in our noisy group, even though there was nothing (seriously, nothing) but about 20 - 25 yards between us and them. I'll admit this was a just bit unnerving at first sight, but the kids were absolutely thrilled! I would also really like to try to make one of their guided night hikes (I wonder if the alligators are asleep then?) to see the owls. The next trip we plan to bring the canoe try out the canoe trails (and sample the fishing too)!
Have a terrific spring week!
A gift for you! The 2011 calendar is ready and available!
Like last year's calendar, this one is filled with my little watercolors.
But this year's version has a somewhat "natural history" feel to it with several mixed media pieces and the lunar phases as well. I have also included a sweet cover page and (optional) band to give you a couple of gift-giving options.
If you find an image in it that you would like to have as a print, check out the shop as I will be steadily adding prints and other goodies. (ETA 6/11- Prints are currently sold out.)
Enjoy!
*** Edited to add 1-18-11 ***
I have given up on using Scribd as a way to keep track of how many downloads etc the calendar gets, and I am now linking directly to the PDF version. :)
*** ETA 8-31-11 ***
If you are wondering about a 2012 calendar, please see this post.
Chip spotted this little fellow yesterday morning. He was sluggish because he had just finished a rather large meal and was quite easy to catch. Apparently he is a gray rat snake and quite docile. His (temporary) home is in a lovely habitat that Anna designed for him on the back porch. One thing is for sure, he made for some interesting science lessons yesterday.
Well, we have come to the end of October and the last of the new book giveaways (for now at least). This has been such fun that I think I will do a couple more in November, only this time with postcards and prints and such. If you would like a chance to win a free copy of Tin Cups & Tinder, just leave a comment in today's post by Sunday 9am CST. (And yes, I happily ship internationally.)
Have a wonderful day!
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The winner of this week's giveaway (as chosen by Random.org) is:
We get snakes in the yard and my kids catch them, but I don't let them keep them. I would love a copy of your book.
Congratulations!
