Hello? July?

But where did June go?

Finally the daylillies are starting to bloom.  They are a few weeks late this year which is not surprising considering how cold our spring was.  It didn't start to get warm until the middle of June.
Now everything is going like gangbusters to make up for lost time.

I think I bought the double yellow below when my pond guy was going out of business.  Our caterpillar infestation of a few years ago almost did it in.  I am delighted at how well it has come back.

The dark red is one I bought for Proge, again from the pond guy. This one is on the edge of the pond.

And last, one of our many frogs.  Because what is a pond without frogs?  We have at least seven; the croak all night.  It's one of the comforting sounds of summer.

I have been getting back into my studio now and them.  I am trying out paper clay.

We'll see, grasshopper........we'll see....





As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

June

Hares and Rabbits

Happy June1, 2020

Friendly Kitty

Our very dear kitty Friendly Kitty died last night of renal failure.  She had been diagnosed several months ago, so her death was not unexpected.  She was also known as Queen Cat because of her black crown and the way she would would sit on a shelf and watch the other animals.

We adopted her around 2008 in an ice storm.  She had been hanging around Proge’s studio door all fall.  He didn’t want to bring her in as she was wearing a collar and he did not want to take someone’s pet.  He did put out food and a shelter for her.  Until one very icy night she showed up with ice covering her with a block of ice at the tip of her tail.  That was when she got her name, which is slightly ironic as she loved people but had little or no use for cats.

She died quietly beside me as I was brushing her.  We buried her in our animal graveyard with her dish, her ball, and flowers.  I always do this with our pets. I think I must have some Egyptian genes in me.

As always, thanks for stopping by...........*s*

Birthday Treat

Four views of the Dick Lehman Oni Shino Cups I purchased from him as my birthday treat.  For several years now I have bought myself a birthday treat with money as receive.  This is one time I don't feel I have to pay bills or buy household necessities.

 My birthday is actually in April, but things were delayed due to getting out of the hospital, Covid 19, auto in for repairs (catalytic converters replaced.  OUCH!).  At any rate I finally got down to the post office on Friday to pick them up.

I am thrilled with them. The pictures do not show the subtlety and depth of the glazes.

 It's finally warm enough to start cleaning the pool. I just have a bit more to drain then can start cleaning.  I have found that if I go slow I can get quite a bit done.  I've become a tortoise...slow and steady wins the race.
We will be spending the weekend at home enjoying the sun in the woods.
Have a safe and healthy holiday.
As always, thanks for stopping by...............*s*

Spring

Bunny bottoms.  I bisqued these before I went into the hospital in March.  I am trying a slightly different method of glazing. Spectrum #251, Satin White. Once they are dry I will dab a thin coat of Spectrum #250, Satin Clear over.  Once that coat is dry I will wax resist over the entire area so I don’t rub everything off in the process of painting the actual bunnies.

We have been enjoying some spring weather these last few days.  My columbine by the house is starting to bloom also bleeding heart.  I will photograph them when the sun moves around the house a bit.

AT some point I will visit a nursery to buy some spring plants. Don’t know about places like Walmart and Home Depot, but the independent places have some pretty good rules in place.

Of course here in RI masks are mandatory in any public/retail venue.

We’ll see, grasshopper.......we’ll see.........

As always thanks for stopping by...........*s*

At Last!

What I call the ARRRGH FACTOR!!!  Safari, for reasons known only to itself decided to log me out of here and give me a runaround when signing in.  Finally remembered that when this happened on my MacBook I went through Chrome.  

In retrospect I don’t think it’s Safari but Chrome changing stuff.

Enough said! I’m baaaaaaack!!!

The little trees were part of a Christmas challenge that Caroline Gault did on FaceBook.  Of course I only got them fired in March. I like the way they turned out, but think I will do some with openings so they can hold a tea light.

Terra cotta with Spectrum #799, Majolica White with Mason stain, single fired to ^05+.

Yet another amaryllis is going to bloom in the next day or two.  I didn’t have any blooms at Christmas which is sort of the traditional time for them to bloom indoors.  (I bought a new one so I would have a bit of color)  However, they have been blooming steadily since March.  My Christmas cactus are also budding up.  Go figure, Mother Nature keeps her own calendar.

I am recovering from my surgery quite steadily.  I am still not doing heavy lifting or huge exercise.  I am walking around the yard on good days.  I missed so much of spring daffodils that it is a joy to see things flowering.  White bleeding heart is lovely.  The columbine is ready to burst.

I haven’t done any clay at all.  I am waiting for the right time.  I may glaze some bisque this afternoon.   It’s fairly mindless and needs to be completely dry before I start painting, so it’s a good way to start.

I am still staying at home in self quarantine.   It’s very strange to think of myself as being in the high risk group, but there you are! Proge does all the shopping; I drive but don’t get out of the car.

I hope all are safe and well.

As always, thanks for stopping by.............*s*

Sunshine

Happy Easter to all who celebrate the day.

My amaryllis have been blooming since early March.  I am not sure why but their blooms have been welcome in these dreary times.  The lighter, orange flower is a baby from one of my older bulbs. I just noticed last night that there is another bud stalk on its way.

About two years ago I jammed all my bulbs into a planter I had made and wasn’t using.  The idea was to summer them over and replant into more pots in the fall.  They did so well that I left them in the planter.  Since then I have been rewarded with many blooms both big and small.  I do need to get more bulb fertilizer though.

On the health front I am making progress.  Pain is much less and controlled with Tylenol.  Stamina is something that I need to build slowly.  I find that one ‘chore’ a day is my limit. Today it’s laundry.  will not be carrying anything, but I will be able to do the rest.

It’s a beautiful, sunny day with temps expected to get into the high fifties.  I am looking forward to a little walk around the yard and a visit to the fish pond.

As always, thanks for stopping by...............*s*