Echos - Fauna

For the Flicka photo group Echos...

From bats....

     to sweet Baby Racoons....

To great blue Heron in the morning mist....

Fauna seems to seep into my world from all sides.

 and sometimes as in the case of the baby racoons... quite literally - right in thru the walls.... windows and chimney.

The world and all it's creatures never cease to amaze me.

Sunday Craft Confessions move to Mondays!

So it was a BEAUTIFUL weekend at the farm!  Nice and warm, and not overly buggy! Blue skies and a nice little breeze.... sweet scent of lilacs and honeysuckle in the air...   aaaahhhhhh.

But this is suppose to be about the crafting not the weather, so let me not digress any longer.

I had lots of ideas milling about in my head.  (the evidence is in my sketchbook, I'm seldom short of ideas) And then it hit me; Carrot Cake!  Well, O.K., it didn't actually hit me - for those of you who are picturing me with frosting dripping down my nose, it came to me in a *poof* of inspiration!

The drawing from April, Easter time..... sure you can go back and look if you want...  I'll wait.  

I decided to make it in clay, and follow thru with the project even.  Bold I know, but I was determined.

Here I am at the table the tools of the trade at hand.  I know, secretly you're wondering who styles my hair huh?

You've got to have carrots for carrot cake right?  And the mouse? Well, he just appeared, those silly mice get into everything, I guess this one must be vegetarian.

Somebunny has to make the cake.... so these two volunteered.  See how they gaze at each other? I think it must be love? (note the "cotton tails", that would be St Bernard fur, locally harvested in an environmentally friendly way of course.)

Ahhhhh, the happy couple enjoying a slice of cake under the old apple tree.  Doesn't that just give you the warm fuzzies?

And then I looked up, and low and behold; it was the proverbial Blue Bird of Happiness!

And that's my weekend craftiness in a nut shell....

Creative Sunday?.... wellllll sort of...

Say "Hi" to my Sophie!  :)

what looks as neat as water on Lady's Mantle?

     It's "filling" out around the pond!

So my "crafting" for the weekend was mostly done in the garden!   I did some "weeding".... and some planting... and yes.... i did buy a few plants too...  They all look so pretty sitting there at the store, how could i say no? 

My Radishes are looking good!

That's my "craft log" for the weekend!

 I had no idea how much i missed having dirt under my nails!!!!

I'll "create" some art... on the next rainy weekend....

The crafty evidence.

So, as per my agreement; I am posting some photos of my weekend craftiness... not as much as I'd hoped to accomplish... and not all of it (as i don't won't it's intended recipient to see before it arrives via real mail)....

As you can see, i have an artistic conscience who keeps me motivated... and monitors my craft store visits...

On windy days, she rides in the "cell phone" pocket of my purse.... but i can still hear her, not to worry. Can you make out her awesome red toe nail polish? :)

Next up, we have a roap map to our yard... to be mailed with the next letters to the Pen Pal Girls.... so they can see where the fish pond is, as compared to the bunny cage, or the barn/guest room!!

And some unfinished sketches, just awaiting to be colored! Who doesn't love a good gnome sketch? 

These are some old weathered shingles from the barn at Onion Patch Farm, varnished and waiting to be taken to the next step...  of artistic greatness. I wonder who/what will be peeking out of the knot hole when you next see them??? hhmmmmm

and this,  is my Mother in Law's Mother's Day Card... drawn from the real life pot of flowers!  :)

So not a terribley exciting array of art.... and not even all finished.... but art none the less; and they say less is more sometimes!!!  Right?

Racoons

Ahhhhhhhh, Spring in New England; what could be prettier?  Fresh, teeny lime green leaves on the trees, pollen wafting in the air....lilacs getting ready to bloom... tulips smiling up at you, flowering trees... birds twittering, if you happen to be in Maine, black flies swarming around  your head,  the quest for fiddleheads  underway... and a family of  racoons in your wall... again.

 this <-- is NOT a fiddlehead...

*sigh*
It seems the only thing that enjoys an old farm house in Maine more than me, is a mother raccoon about to "spawn".  Apparently baby racoon wrangling is going to become a spring tradition for us.  There is now yet another  gaping hole in the wall at Onion Patch Farm after the most recent extrication... (yes, picture me with a hammer and pry bar - bashing the wall with two hysterical St. Bernards "helping me"...)
I don't know if it's just OUR mother racoon that didn't quite grasp parenting 101; or if it's all racoons that put their little ones in such dumb places - repeatedly.  They wash their food before eating it, yet leave their offspring mere inches from a crevice inside the wall that goes 8 feet down... that no chubby mother racoon can possilby hope to wiggle down inside of.  I'm seriously considering running a class next spring, complete with a diagram of house framing and the logistics of getting small bodies from within dark dusty places.

Hole in the wall and pile of dusty plaster scattered across the floor aside; baby racoons are simply adorable.  Little miniature black leathery nose... tiny "hands" (with 5 little fingers); and soft striped fur; you just want to squeeze them (gently)!  :)
Since last years disaster; I armed myself with a list of telephone numbers for "Wildlife Rehabilitators" - just in case.  While hugging the little one wrapped in a towel with one hand I called one of the numbers with the other hand and then crossed my fingers. The very nice lady answered and said yes, she'd take the little cherub, and even left in the middle of her Granddaughters birthday party to meet us and pick it up...

And so it is with a great sigh of relief that I type this, knowing that my little furry friend is in capable hands; and hopefully can grow up into a big, furry, garbage can raiding racoon of the finest quality!

An Award?

Well it seems I've gotten an award from the lovely Sandra of  Elephant Lover blogspot fame! sandra-elephantlover.blogspot.com

Until this morning i didn't know there were awards in Blogland?  Thank you so much Sandra, I am honored! I have been feeling rather speechless lately... but now I am suddenly inspired to type! 

I don't know if I'm doing this right.... or how to get the little picture of the award over here...(you really do need to give me explicit directions when it computer related you know!)  Ohhhh wait; I think i've got it now...

I guess part of the acceptance speech is to share ten things no one knows about me.... I'll try to dig deep, but I suspect that some of  the Mysteries of Melody may not be news to a few of you! 

so here we go.....

1.  I hate having to put my wet sandy feet inside of shoes.... all that sand trapped in there with my toes makes me want to scream!! 

2.  I freak out when bugs "touch" me.... I don't mind if they are near me... and I appreciate all the help they provide in the garden.... bees, butterflies, even spiders; but just please DON'T TOUCH ME!!!

3.  I am becoming "set in my ways".... wierd things are beginning to bother me. Like, I need the little dishes for the animals vegetables lined up in the same order every morning, so i know whose is whose; if they're not - I have to fix them before i can go on....

4.  I must "rearrange" and "organize" my hamberger (say from a fast food place)... before i can take a bite.  The people who make them do not assemble them with any attention to detail or affection.  If i don't rearrange it,  I'll be left with a big bite of bun and pickle in the end.

* are you sure this is a good idea Sandra?  I think i'm beginning to sound crazy????

5.  I believe in ghosts... and that old houses have feelings too....they just can't speak.

6.  I believe that the people/animals you love most stay in your heart and mind forever... even when they are no longer on this earthly plain.

7.  I am a firm believer that we all get to make choices in life... they may not all be good, but they are yours, and yours alone - don't blame anyone else.

8.  I love prowling around in thrift shops and junk shops and antique stores, with no time limits; and lots of small bills.... on a perfect summers day; and to finish it off with a root beer float and a ride in the country.

9.  I have NO musical talent - despite my name!

10.  I'm not sure some days who I am completely, or where i'm going.... other days i'm quite sure; and i often wish there was an instruction manual that we were all born with, so we could check on the confusing days.

And there it is...  All I can say is please don't judge me on my nuerotic sandwich arranging....

I'll pass the award on to a few people.  ( I have no idea who is  "award free" or not... so i'm sorry if you are..) First, back to my dear friend Sandra of course, who has inspired me to type again after 2 longs weeks of silence, and who ALWAYS  inspires me with her passion for animals.... And to Eve, special friend, artist and author of http://inspirationcreation-eva.blogspot.com/  who also acts as my artistic conscience in her free time... and also to http://ilkasattic.blogspot.com/ - It was the first blog I "fell for" as a result of buying an issue of Artful Blogging a few years ago; and that's how I came to learn about the magic of Blogland and fall under it's spell in the first place!

kinda crafty weekend...

 It was a mostly rainy, breezy, cool weekend in Maine.  It takes the world a little longer to warm up up there, but I don't mind, and the dogs love it!   I stayed inside and made silly things... and he played with his lawn tractor.... (I had the better deal...)

This image has been floating around in my mind for years.... Luke always sat under the little apple tree, watching for Pepe (the neighbors dog) to come and play.... They are both gone now, and the little tree is getting crookeder by the year.... I thought it was high time to get the image on canvas.  (painting in acrylic is outside my usual colored pencil comfort zone).

And this stunning cartoon is of course the fantabulous Ava and Marley!  I think the pen and ink versions by my lovely friend are much more striking!!!   But, I decided to share them anyway, just to prove I was a teeny bit crafty this weekend!

see my fancy paper plate pallett??? Isn't that what Picasso used??   Oh, wait --- Picasso is a cat... does Picasso paint too? Was there another one someplace in art history...  *Meow??? 

and finally, a little "mouse house" made from a card board box, and covered in birch bark! (it seems to shed from the tree naturally, and I can just leave it there on the ground! - what a waste!)

Then when we got home tonight, there were countless swans out front in the water.....

*sigh, so pretty.... 

 and now i must pay attention to cooking dinner....as this is typically how it gets burned.  :)