violet

a walk outside

it is a beautiful day here, i had to get outside for a walk and to see what was blooming...


one of my neighbors, i think i made him nervous--or was it the other way around?

lichen and moss growing on a branch

some of my violas

a crawfish hole!!

orchids underwater

just some fun eyecandy--an orchid stalk broke off the plant so we submerged it in a vase of water. i love the distorted magnification of the blooms.

day of the baltimore oriole

this morning i spotted a baltimore oriole at my birdfeeder, i always put out a fruit and nut food and i really feel like i get a wider variety of birds than i would with a cheaper food. i have only seen a baltimore oriole one other time-december 2006 so i was really excited when this one showed up. i watched it for a long time and only ran to get my camera when it flew up into the oak tree. i didn't get a great shot but oh well, i got to watch it eat.

here is my favorite woodpecker, the red-bellied woodpecker. i see these almost every day at the feeder but i got some nice shots of it today too.

look at that cute face!

and then, when i was finished taking pictures i turned around to discover fern drinking my tea!! it was a good one so i can hardly blame her--black wild blueberry with a splash of vanilla soy milk. mmm...

so i had to put in a shot of hazel too so she wouldn't feel left out...

amaryllis block print

this is the design for my latest block print, inspired by my dried up amaryllis blooms. i love the lines and the different weights of them. hopefully i will be able to carve the block well enough to illustrate the different thicknesses. this is the tracing paper i drew the original image on which is taped onto a piece of graphite paper which is taped onto the lino block so that i can transfer the image onto the block. below is the block(colored in red)with the image completely transferred. i love the graphite paper itself with the "negative" image left on it.

the whole block, actually upside down!, waiting to be carved.

a close-up of the block. i am carving away the parts covered in graphite so everything that is red is what will print.

the carving has begun and i plan to finish it today. last week i didn't even touch it because i worked at the flower shop for valentine's day--glad that is over.

tea in the mail

my buddy in austin who made me two wonderful cowls and an owl(dig that rhyme!)sent me the cutest thing in the mail recently in this candy bar box! so cool. she also sent me two different varieties of david rio teas to try and to review. i remember having tried this brand a while back and wasn't crazy about it, i can't remember what flavor i had though. i think it was in a green box... the green passion, dominant flavors being papaya, pineapple and cornflower blossoms was good. however, there is some underlying flavor that this whole brand seems to have that i am not crazy about. it may not even be a flavor but the way they process the tea or the actual leaves they use--i'm not really sure. i would give a thumbs up to the green passion though.

i was really excited about the tahitian tangerine because i have been on a citrus kick lately and it really smelled amazing. however, the taste was really overpowering to me and very powdery tasting, like someone crushed up a vitamin and mixed it into the tea.

i guess overall i am skeptical of this brand, i would not go out and buy it but obviously there are alot of people out there who do like it, i see it all over now. i do like their packaging and they have interesting flavor combinations. so thanks to my friend for the samples--i love trying new teas even if i don't end up loving them. i'll have to do a post soon about her knitting and etsy site. thanks JR!

more amaryllis

just some more pictures of my amaryllis from holland--i kind of lost these in another folder but am glad i came across them now.

happy mardi gras!!!

today is mardi gras day, the last day of our parades, balls, partying, carousing, etc.... i don't really do all that anymore now that we live across the lake from new orleans but when we did live in the city it was fun to go catch some beads and people-watch in the french quarter. usually i associate mardi gras day with the coming of spring. my box turtle is usually coming out of winter hibernation around this time and today i was out in the garden planting some seeds and some fun color.

i am devoting this posting to the traditional mardi gras colors--purple, green and gold. i do have a more open definition of purple (including hot pink and magenta) than most people. for some of the green, below are my brussels sprouts which are actually bearing sprouts!! very exciting!

and here is a foxglove, one of my favorite plants that is much easier to grow here a little north of new orleans. hopefully i will have some blooms in a couple weeks.

snapdragons--i usually don't go for this flourescent yellow but i was in the mardi gras spirit so i planted in anyway.

cute yellow/gold violas

winter jasmine

geranium

amaryllis

some shots of my amaryllis. sorry, but i think in macro--there is not a photo of the whole plant. this bulb came all the way from holland as my souvenier from my great friend and boss at the Garden Trellis. she knew exactly what i would love.

although not as beautiful in the same way, i think the dried blooms are as interesting as the original luscious blossoms.

another variety--a huge double of snowy white color with that great splash of bright green and the terra cotta peachy stripes. this one came from one of my favorite shops in the whole world, Gardens in Austin.