Monday, December 12, 2011

moon~hawk~'shrooms~bugs~lizard~and my art.


"Dawn seemed to follow midnight with indecent haste."  
~J.K. Rowling, "Magic is Might," 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, 2007 
dec 6, 2011.  6:49am

it's been cold, cloudy, foggy & rainy.
(i wasn't able to get an eclipse or full moon pic due to the heavy cloud cover)

here are some pictures i've taken over the past week or so.

let's start with the Red-shouldered Hawk...who was sitting in a tree in the yard last weekend
when we pulled in after camping.




oOo

~these next two pictures...the strangest mushroom i've ever seen~

 CORAL mushroom
i've never seen it in the yard before...but now, there's a big patch of it!

oOo

i heard something out back. by the porch. at night. 
grabbed my camera, turned it on, lifted the flash...
aimed and hoped i captured whatever was sneaking around.
I DID.  ms. opossum.  probably hanging out hoping milo would come out to play.

oOo

remember the Orb Weaver on the front porch?
she still comes out at night (when it's not too cold)...weaves her web...
and waits for a meal...or a mate...or both.

one night i noticed a lizard (Green Anole) sitting on the same wind chime 
the Orb sleeps in during the day...and hangs her web from.




oOo

"Nature is the great nurse for tired minds. Let her have her way with you, and all will be well."  
~Herbert Pryke 

oOo

here's a grasshopper, out back in the woods. hiding in all the dried up vines.


oOo

here's an unusual looking mushroom.
kind of purplish...curled up & holding rain water.



we have such a variety of  mushrooms around here...as you well know!
they have inspired me to make little clay mushroom holders...
for the little glass vials i put tiny bones in.
i've never worked with clay before...but have wanted to give it a try for some time.

so i bought a small amount of self hardening clay.
and played. it's pretty messy. 
very messy. i like it!

after shaping the clay into a mushroom...i let it dry for a few days...
then coat with 'mod-podge'...then paint...then coat with acrylic sealer.
i added a small piece of felt to the bottom.


the mushroom on the left...i embedded small smooth river stones to the base while the clay was still soft.
the one on the right holds the frog skeleton.
it SOLD at my shop on etsy!  yay!


sam has dubbed these..."MUSHROOM CRADLES". 
i like that!!
***
i also sold a decorated Deer Skull!!   another YAY!

well...that's all for now.

i'm trying to avoid all the hustle & bustle as best i can.
i wouldn't mind just leaving town. heading to parts unknown.
sitting on a mountain top. staring at the moon and stars.


this time of year gets me a little down. stressed. pressured.
i tend to think too much...dwelling on my past, my mistakes, deaths.
AND i hate shopping...it's all gotten way too commercial anyway.

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, 
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  
It came without ribbons.  
It came without tags.  
It came without packages, boxes or bags.  
And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.  
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.  
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.  
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.  
~Dr Seuss 


have a safe journey!   
laura

 be merry. 

PS: if you liked my halloween...skeleton...macabre...graphics i'd collected over the years...
then check out my page...tab at the top, click here...
MORE creepy pictures have been added...BUT with a christmas-y feel!!   

:)


20 comments:

  1. First off Great photos..all of them!! Second, Wow--talk about a thumbs up, you make something and it sells right away. I am glad you enjoyed working with clay! And that skull you sold is fantastic!
    Well...why don't you leave town?
    Yesterday I wrote in my gratitude journal that I am so glad I don't have to put up with all the drama and expectations that go with the holidays!
    Whenever you start to think about your past, your mistakes, even the deaths, ask yourself this: Who do you want to be In THIS MOMENT? Right now. I don't care about the yeah, buts, who do you want to be right now, in this moment?
    Remember, you are infinitely loved!
    xx

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  2. Hi Laura! I'm loving that wind chime picture! YOu have such a fabulous eye, that challenges me to go look closely for myself -- hope you're well!

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  3. loving that little lizard he looks part of the wind chime ...x

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  4. that mushroom is like coral! so cool! and i love your decorated deer skull! absolutely beautiful, laura!!! the anole and the spider sharing the wind chime is really neat.

    so good to get a post from you. i always enjoy them so!

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  5. The yellow fungus resembles corals. Cute decoration on the deer skull.

    Go to that mountain! :)

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  6. Hi Laura, we've had our grandson 'Scooter' for a few days, so not much blogging. But he really liked your grasshopper and other creatures. OOooH the Opossum...great shot! And, eerie. So, you found more mushrooms! I have never seen the likes, or even imagined there were so many kinds, and, in one place. And I like you clay mushroom holders too! They're really shaped good. I haven't had a chance lately to look at your website/store. I usually have to stay up after hours when all is quiet you know. I got to glance thru your last post, but must go back because I saw some cool pics of Milo, and don't want to miss them. Hope the gloom weather disappears soon. It's been cloudy here, but I hate to gripe after all the whining I did this summer, haha! We're never happy, are we? But, really, I love this cool weather! See you soon-package on it's way to you!

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  7. That was still a nice moon shot!
    Love the hawk! He posed for a long time.
    Most of the mushrooms you show us are strange, so when you say strangest mushroom you ever saw...now that's something! It's actually quite beautiful.
    Ms. Opossom didn't look too concerned over being discovered...or you caught her so quickly she didn't have time to respond.
    I love anoles! They eat more bugs than the spiders do, I'm sure. ;)
    I needed the great nurse tonight. Thanks.
    Love your dead bones holding mushrooms and the skull--wow! Not surprised they sold.
    I'm so happy that I am too poor to shop for presents. Karma and I are left surrounded by true Christmas. ;)
    Sounds like you are too hard on yourself when you look backwards. Everything has made you the remarkable woman you are today. Especially the mistakes. ;)
    Yes, Christmas does mean a little bit more. :):) Love and hugs!

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  8. Thanks for another fascinating journey, your mushroom cradles are great! I for one would buy a skelton in a glass case as well, especially when my children were in school...they always wanted to take really neat things to school to share. Your hawk is adorable and he was busy watching your grounds while you were gone, I'm sure...and he probably did well! Hope your weather gets better....we actually had rain today....and such warm weather that all that snow is nearly GONE!!!! Yay spring is....oops yeah I know spring is a long way away!

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  9. HI Laura...your post are like and adventure hunt...you never know what your going to find ,lol
    Love the Hawk shots!
    That coral mushroom looks like it belongs in the ocean ..fascinating!!
    I do like you painted skull and your hand made mushroom, very artsie fartsie you are : }
    Good luck selling your stuff!!

    Love the Grinch ...thats a great piece you posted : }
    Grace

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  10. wonderful stuff! Love the cradles and that you love working with the messy stuff! Here's to an un-pressured non-commercialised Yule - tell the Grinch!
    love light and cyber hugs

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  11. You have so much neat wildlife where you live! Love the photos of the hawk. I don't think I've ever seen a red shouldered hawk. That orange mushroom is amazing! And so cool that you are selling some of your art!

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  12. wOw...thanks everybody...for your kind words...and support...and understanding...it means a lot! we ALL know...how nice it is...to hear back from our 'cyber' friends...and to know that they REALLY DO listen...and care. :)

    meggs/Calling Ravens- OH i WISH...we could just take off...get outa here...and come back after all the xmas stuff is over. BUT...commitments...work...holding me back! WHO do i want to be in this moment?! i'd like to be ME...sometimes that confuses me more than anything else. :/

    AND Makro, lorna/artymess, TexWis, One, Susan, Rita, Karen S, Grace/grammie g, Lindsey and Kateri!!! thankyou thankyou...for taking the time to leave a note!

    OH! as for the skull i sold...i did that one about a year ago...that's how long it's taken to sell...i hate to see it go...it was my favorite!! but i'm sure it will be loved & appreciated in it's NEW home! i hope. :)

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  13. Laura, that lizard on the windchime picure is FABULOUS! I love the composition, the spider at the left is like a surprise. LOVE it!

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  14. WOW Laura, wonderful photos and nature scenes. I just love the little lizard on the windchime. Very cute critter. The coral mushroom is cool, looks like coral right out of the ocean. Congrats on selling a piece of your artwork, it is a great piece and I love the skull too. Great post and photos. I wish you a happy streefree day.

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  15. Good one, it is precious as well.

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  16. "this time of year gets me a little down. stressed. pressured.
    i tend to think too much...dwelling on my past, my mistakes, deaths.
    AND i hate shopping...it's all gotten way too commercial anyway."


    Laura: the above very neatly expresses how I feel about Christmas - I would love to leave town and often imagine just walking out that door... but it's EVERYWHERE :(

    Love the hawk, and the 'shrooms - that really does look like coral! very odd! The deer skull is so awesome... you are such a creative and clever person ...

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  17. Always a pleasure visiting your little piece of forest Laura...

    Nice mood setting beginning with a moon draped with clouds... pretty.

    How nice to think the Red Shouldered Hawk has been doing guard duty while you were away camping... I presume then, you found all was well when you returned. Quite a big Bird in relation to what would be a razor sharp beak, even if small. Beautiful looking Bird.

    Your Mushroom is stunning. It's like having a part of the Ocean emerge on Land. It is gorgeous, and the photo of the Opossum is fabulous.

    Interesting relationship between the Anole and the Orb Spider... creative looking photos they've provided for you too.

    Gosh I'm surprised seeing such a healthy looking Grasshopper with your colder weather happening... munchies would be becoming scarce also. May it find a safe zone as the temperature decreases.

    The Lilac Mushroom is very pretty. Interesting it has chosen to cradle water... and I love how Mushrooms have inspired you to begin creating concepts of them with clay. Such a fun and meditative medium is Clay... self-drying is a great idea.
    And... I think your results are lovely. The Frog Skeleton is exquisite. Rather special having a Mushroom Concept hold its skeleton.

    Great Christmas treat for you with the Sales, and encouraging for you to continue creating. The Skull is awesome.

    And in alignment with Grinch's thought... perhaps Christmas still does mean a little more than just what's in a store to many... I prefer to think so...

    Lots of love, and successful weaving in and about the Season's hype... from Magda and Crew in Australia

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  18. Laura, I listen to your post and hear sadness, humor, and creativity that comes from deep feelings...

    Taking pictures, Making things helps express your feelings. You diverge and re-converge.

    Each of us has a process... to process...

    And definitely the right to be a Grinch!

    As Shel Silverstein might have said, life begins where the sidewalk ends and the forest begins.

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  19. what is that one? a possum? those animals freak me out. idk why.

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  20. THANKS Tumbleweed, eileen, Bob, Magda, crayzys and Phoenix Rising!!
    thanks for all the kind words...and even if you don't like spiders or 'possums...at least you can feel safe that cyberspace hasn't gotten THAT advanced...to where these things can come right out of the screen at ya!! not yet!

    crayzys/jean...i'm not a grinch. i just think it's all gotten out of control! so much emphasis on GIFT buying...too commercial. and also, this time of year, i get the holiday blues. i think too much about the losses...deaths...so close to me.

    thanks again everyone!! i appreciate your thoughts!

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thanks for stopping by! it's always nice to hear from fellow wanderers!