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...
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.
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!
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
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.
fern, the oh-so-curious cat who loves to be photographed. she was "helping" with the photo shoot of the mugs. perhaps that is why i couldn't seem to focus correctly.....
here are just a couple close-ups of the block after i had made an initial black print and then washed the block off. you can see the black stains in the crevices.
and here was my first print--this has a name and i forgot what it is called. basically you do a testing print to see if your lines are coming out like you thought they would, then you can go back in a carve anything out more if you need to.
this is my second print which was fun using a "rainbow roll" (that reminds me of sushi), where you put down a couple colors on your "pallette" and they mingle together giving that nice gradation. this one was made with red, orange and yellow. i didn't do a great job burnishing it though-there are alot of white blotches where the paper is showing through.
my everyday teapot i could not live without. and a little teacup belonging to a set i got from my mom, so pretty.
i have been asked where i store all my teas. well, for now, until our kitchen is remodeled i have this baker's rack in my dining room with my "tea nook". my electric kettle is there, tea pot, cups, and all the tea. the teas are pretty much confined to the woven basket and the asian looking wood box next to it. a little tea goes a long way. today i enjoyed "mate latte" by republic of tea, chocolate/blood orange and ginger peach green tea also by republic of tea.
this is my favorite clay teapot. i don't use it regularly as i now have my metal teapot which is not as prone to breaking. i did use this one today though because a friend was over and my metal teapot is a single serving size.
this is another clay teapot, an unusual leaf shaped pot. the lid is broken and the pieces are still around waiting to be glued back together. 
this is not exactly a tea related item but i use these little bowls to photograph some of the prettier teas in. my mother-in-law got me a set of 6 of these with different aquatic life forms in them. they are wonderful, thin, raku little soy sauces dishes, or whatever you want to put in them. i love them.
one of my alltime favorite teas that i could drink every day is a Celestial Seasonings white tea Perfectly Pear. it is so creamy, naturally sweet and delicious and is on the lighter side because it is a white tea. it has a nice, clean flavor which i do not always find with white tea and it also has my favorite tea character on the box, the painting siamese cat!! kudos to the artist who created this cat--is it a self portrait? 
while i am on the subject of artwork and packaging i also have to mention this delicious looking, wonderfully packaged, and affordable cereal i found at whole foods. the brand is dorset cereals and there were several different flavors all in wonderful packaging that did not include a huge box that is half empty like the usual cereal box--i know they put that air in there to keep the flakes from getting crushed but come on.... here is a close-up of the box and the goodies within.
lastly, here are the four loose teas i got from the bulk section. i have tried two of them so far. i was most excited about the orange dulce tea by mighty leaf. i am still on the fence about that brand in general and was slightly disappointed in the tea. it has a wonderful, tart, really strong orange flavor but the taste is very mellow and sweet so your nose is telling you "watch out for a great, strong citrus taste" but your mouth is getting a subtle caramel/soft orange flavor. it is unsettling to me when nose and mouth get different messages, a nice tasting tea is almost ruined because each time you take a sip you are expecting something different. kind of like when you think you have been handed a glass of water but it is really lemonade, even though you love lemonade you are shocked and don't know what you are tasting at first because your taste buds are expecting water.
well, that was a long-winded explanation. secondly i tried the tangerine ginger by rishi. i will probably blend this tea with the orange dulce and see what happens. it has a nice flavor but is an herbal tea with no dominant herbal flavor thus ends up tasting like hot, unsweetened fruit juice to me. not a fan of fruity herbal teas, they just don't have that magical zing that the tea leaf adds to a "tea" tea. 
