hawk.bones.fungi.lizard.spider. and emo.

since i'm trying to

balance

my time better...in 2013...i'm not online as much.

(perhaps driving travis to the day labor place by 5:45 each morning...waiting, and then taking him to the job site...

that may have a little to do with it also, since that was my usual computer time...EARLY!)

anyway,

i want to wander more.

be more creative with my hands.

take more pictures.

spend more time reading books.

so

here's a week crammed in to one post.

and that's a lot of cramming, i even cut it back!!

while we had the 'little climber' outside

i could hear the crows causing a ruckus.

i knew right away what they were up to.

they were trying to chase something away.

i found them...in the same tree with a Red-shouldered hawk.

doing their best to scare the hawk away.

but he held firm.

the crows didn't win that day!  yay!

~~O~~

i found some more bones...already pretty clean...thanks to mother nature.

and dug up some deer bones. still need to be cleaned & sanitized before i can decorate them.

~~O~~

the weather's been very strange.  freezing one day,  up to 80 the next.

the azaleas have buds, some of the lantana & blanket flower haven't stopped blooming...

and the mini daffodils are in full bloom!

i hope winter isn't gone for good.  that would be depressing.

assorted fungi is still popping up too.

fuzzy-wuzzy

mushroom colony

and a HEART 'shroom...

or a BUTT 'shroom...

however you happen to see it!

~~O~~

FENCE lizard spotted in the side yard, soaking up some sun.

now let me zoom in...crop...and take a look at the iridescent blue underside!

ooooooooh...aaaaaaah!!

~~O~~

here's a cool little spider...out back...between a couple of trees.

i've never seen one like this before!

it's a Triangle Orbweaver!!

~~O~~

bare with me.

no, no...you don't have to take your clothes off...

i mean, BEAR with me!

just a couple of more things.  i know, this is all a lot to absorb.

i guess if i had the time to sit and do this looong post, i could have divided it up into many

and just scheduled them to post every few days, eh?

but then i wouldn't have to time to visit your blogs in return, during the week.

just put up with me...for a another coupla minutes!  thnx!

besides working with bones...and doing a little sandblasting now and then...

and making window hangers with butterfly wings...and occasionally clay mushrooms...

i want to be a better watercolorer!!

is that a word?

i want to learn to use watercolors.  i love how they look.  how the colors blend.

i mentioned how i want to spend more time being creative with my hands.

so

this past week i've been fooling around a little.

playing...with pen & watercolors.

i have A LOT to learn, i know.

this weird tree, and uh...ground spiders?? bushes??  was blowing air through straw at blob of india ink. ha.

~~O~~

AND NOW,

last but not least...

it was emo's birthday on the 6th!!

he was FOUR MONTHS OLD!!!

~happy birthday emo!~

here's a good shot to show how high he climbs!!

look at that loooong neck...

i remember when mine was that long...

(te-he)

ok.

that's it.

i'm outa here.

back on tomorrow...before dawn...for more catch up and cyber-space travels!

take care & be safe.

laura

giving in to the moon

it's been getting down to the high 30's/low 40's the past couple of nights.

staying pretty much in the 60's during the day.

(yay! flannel shirt weather! i love it!)

darkness lasting longer in the morning...

and coming earlier in the evening.

moon shadows.

daytime bugs & critters take advantage of the sun's warm rays.

flowers are still blooming...

butterflies are still feeding

Gulf Fritillary on Blue Mist

there are still plenty of dragonflies

lizards & frogs soaking up the sun's warmth

a lone mushroom not ready to give in to the cooler weather

 and now...the moon.  

giving in to the power of the magical moon. 

5:04am  -  oct 30 2012

‎"Have you ever danced with the Devil by the pale moon light? I always ask that of all my prey." 

~Joker

doesn't it look like the moon is wearing a pine needle hat...

5:07am  -  oct 30 2012

oOo

inspired by the moon and the skeleton trees of winter...

here's a note card i painted with acrylics...

enjoy the scents of nutmeg or mint

the taste of apples, nuts & wine

the feel of smooth black stones, obsidian or jet

the colors of black, orange, white, silver or gold

black cats, bats & jack-o-lanterns

dark mysteries

deadly nightshade, mugwort, sage, mandrake, oak leaves

celebrating the lives of those that have died...family, friends, pets.  the spirits of the dead. darkness~fire~hope~new dreams~new beginnings~out with the old~in with the new

Happy Samhain  ~  Happy Halloween

stay cool & be safe

especially those who have been dealing with the wrath of Sandy...

my thoughts are with you.

laura

buzzards. hawk. skull art & my fractured heart.

sometimes

life

just gives you an unexpected curve ball.

a kick in the ass.

a slap in the face.

just

when 

you

thought

life was good...

it takes you by the

heart

and tries to rip it out.

oOo

saturday morning i had an appointment.

15 minutes before i had to leave, travis noticed buzzards roosting in a tree out by the road.

sorry, it's a little on the dark side...looking into sun...

we wandered down the driveway to see what they were guarding.

a dead deer.   road kill.

don't worry...no picture of that very sad sight.

the vultures had already begun their feasting.

then travis pointed out a Red-shouldered hawk.

not a cloud in the sky!!

when i left my client's house...travis had left me a text.

"30 min after u left buzzards cleaned deer i dragged it in yard so you'll have bones"

when i got back home we buried it...out back, with the little mole & squirrel.

oOo

have i mentioned in previous posts that travis has been in trouble before?

he was court ordered TWICE to a residential Rehab facility.

over one year each time.

he has a record.   a felony.

oh, but that's not all.  a couple of misdemeanors too.

damn.

i REALLY thought things were going good.

i thought HE was doing good.

monday i had a voice mail from the arresting officer.

petit theft.  travis was on his way to jail.

again.

OH, but that's not all!

the officer told me that while he was running travis' name...

a warrant popped up!!

for petit theft in another county.

farther south.  where i picked him up when he said he wanted to come up here.

fuck.

sorry.

so.  

here i sit.

shocked.

but not really.

disappointed (in travis)...yes.

deja vu.

i don't want to go on and on about this.

my troubles.  my sadness.  

my fractured heart...

turning harder

with each of his 

self inflicted

setbacks.

his lies.

my blindness?

but i needed to say the words.

and i needed to give (you) an update on travis.

oOo

on a HAPPIER note...

over the past couple of weeks

i've been decorating a couple of deer skulls...

ONE is finished & i have already added it to my 'etsy' shop.

(pressed flowers, cicada & butterfly wings, art pen & acrylic paint)

this next skull is somewhat of a FIRST.

i used the skull as my canvas.

i painted!!

or course, a swirly moon. with a little glitter.

hmmmmm.   what do you think?

oOo

well.

as a mother...all this travis stuff tears my heart apart.

again & again. over & over.

as a mother...i can't help feeling 

like a failure.

frustrated.

drained.

i can only hope that

one day

he will 

learn

to

have respect 

for himself

and

others.

oOo

have a happy rest of the week...

stay cool & be safe.

laura

"I've never had a problem with drugs. I've had problems with the police."

~Keith Richards

(sounds like something travis might say)

dem bones, art & journaling, the moon.

a leaf suspended from a spider web fragment

Nature gets into our souls and opens doors to hidden parts of ourselves.  

~Pamela Heyda 

~oOo~

before you say "what the heck is that"...here's a hint:
this Barred Owl made it!

it's a cough pellet.

whatever the owl can't digest...gets coughed up as this mass.
yeah, i know...ugh...delightful.
fur & tiny bones of lizards, moles, snakes...whatever the owl has been dining on.

~oOo~

speaking of bones...
we discovered a little pile of bones - jaws & skull pieces
on the side of the road.

we go by there all the time. these bones were not there last weekend.
they look weathered...and clean.  clean, except for the dirt. there's no meat on these bones.
they're a mix of Raccoon & Opossum bones.
but why only the skull parts?  and how did they all of a sudden appear here...
like someone dumped them?!
it couldn't be from a scavenger...they'd be scattered all over the place.
of course, i gathered them up, took them home and rinsed 'em.

the skull in the upper right & the assorted bottom jaws are raccoon
the smaller skull pieces are Opossum.

~oOo~

while we're on the subject of dead things...
guess how i got THIS close to this Gulf Fritillary?

it's dead.
i spotted it on the Lantana. took a couple of pictures from afar...
moved in closer...it didn't move...moved in even closer...it still didn't move.
after i took this picture, i plucked her off and took her inside.
at some point she will be memorialized on a piece of  'art'.

~oOo~

since we're talking about art...
i started to work on a few 'tea-light champagne glass candle holders'.

 

2nd hand/thrift store bought champagne glasses,

decorated with pressed flowers and wings!

before they're finished, i'll spray coat the outside 

and wrap wire with beads to the stems.

~oOo~

...speaking of art...

(inspired by Kel at the X facta ...i've started an 'Art Journal'.

kind of...like a 'picture diary'...whatever i feel like doing on whatever day i feel like doing it..

collage. paint. marker. pencil. pastels.

stuff of my life. my mood. maybe a quote.

i shopped for a journal. yikes, they're pricey!

so i went to the art store
and picked up a sketchbook for a third of the price of a journal with a fancy cover!
 i decided to make my own cover.

i'm not much of a painter. i wish i was though...

kind of like singing...sounds great in my head, 'til i open my mouth!

i can picture what i want my painting to look like, i just can't get it to come out like that!

i love watercolors. the way they blend and bleed.

 so i dug them out...cut a piece of heavy watercolor paper to fit the sketchbook...

started by drawing a BIG 'me'...and then began to paint.
no plans. just wing it. 

hmmm...feel a little sparkly...

and something vine-like...

finished. let it dry. laminated. mounted on the sketchbook's cover.

the moon. spiraling. light into dark. dark into light. healing. glittering. me. the intricacies of me.

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - 
things I had no words for.  
~Georgia O'Keeffe 

now, if i could just decide where to start.
i know, i know...start with the first page.
but what to do ??   i'll keep you posted.

(check out Kel's  Art Journals here! amazing work!!)  

Happy Friday!  (or Happy Day!)

have a safe journey & enjoy the ride!
laura

last night's moon...

november 3. 2011.  8:27pm.

There is nothing you can see that is not a flower; 

there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.

~ Matsuo Basho