The sun came out this morning after yesterday's chilly, gray, windy, cloudiness. It felt like we were going backwards to March! It was a shock and a let down after Tuesday's 80F. complete with swimming.
I put the fish out on the pond rocks a few days ago. I will probably move them around a bit as summer progresses. I have to remember to take my camera out with me when I take Winter out in the early morning. The light is much kinder to pottery at that time!
There have been some questions about how I mix stains into clear. Below are two examples. The small one on the left is Mason 6131 Titanium-Iron; the one on the right is Mason 6134 Red-Brown.
My clear is Spectrum 700 which has a light green colorant in it so the glazes have a greenish tinge to them. I mix entirely by eye. I want the look of strong tea with milk in it. I don't generally bother to test anymore because it always seems to work. I use this mainly as a liner glaze for teapots and covered jars.
I tried to get a picture of the hummingbirds at the yellow flags. The blossoms started popping yesterday. I think the hummingbirds showed up within an hour of the first one to bloom. The buds really do pop open once they reach a certain stage. It happens so quickly that you can turn away for seconds and when you turn back you will have an open flower.
NOTE! Yellow flags are incredibly invasive. If you do grow them there should not be any access to ponds, streams, rivers etc. They should be disposed of by drying and composting. It does no one any favors to discard them into a local waterway.
We've been experimenting with making pizza with a garbanzo (chick pea) flour crust. It's based on Socca, an Italian flatbread. We put the toppings on and baked it in the oven. I think it might be better to pre-cook it for a few minutes before doing the toppings. Cooking it on the grill should add to the flavor.
Enjoy the day, and as always, thanks for stopping by.........*s*
We have much fewer hummingbirds this year and we can't figure out why. Usually they can empty two feeders in just a day or two. This year I have been filling them once a week.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting pizza crust!
Hi Michele.....I think we have fewer hummingbirds and other summer birds too. I'm assuming more will appear as things warm up.!
DeleteGood to hear about your class. Passing on the skills to the next great potters!
ReplyDeleteHi Bard.....Ummm I'm not teaching right now, but thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThanks for the tips on the iris, I planted 3 that I got from a neighbor who was thinning them last year. I figured if he was thinning them and giving them away that they could be an issue. Of course I always thin into the compost bin anyway.
ReplyDeleteHi Lori....This is only true of yellow flags; the others seem to be okay.
DeleteDearest Suzi,
ReplyDeleteLOVE your blue fish, that is so lovely in its natural environment at your pond side.
Also love the idea for using chickpea flour for baking pizza or anything else for that matter. You gave me some ideas as I still have some chickpea flour left to be used.
Hugs to you,
Mariette
Hi Mariette...Thanks; I'm trying for a better shot of the fish!
DeleteThere are a lot of good recipes. If you Google for socca and garbanzo bean flour pizza you can find lots.
I make make chickpea flour crust pizza too!
ReplyDeleteHi Gary.....It makes a tasty crust doesn't i? Do you precook your crust before adding toppings?
DeleteThe fish are looking swimmingly awesome !
ReplyDeleteHi Willow....Thanks. They're on my list to make more!
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