Thoughts of Spring On a Cold Winter Morning

This morning dawned cold and windy, another freezing cold, but soon to be sunny day.

The temperature is showing 10 deg. on the thermometer on the porch, which means that the wind chill must be somewhere around Zero or minus 4 with the wind whipping around out there.....Brrrrrr.


Our garden, it turns out was a total disaster again this year, even with all the loving care I gave it and all the hand watering I did.

We have a small plot up on the hill just behind the house, which consists of about 3/4 of an acre that I turn into a garden each year, in it I try to grow many different things including my annual gourd crop to use in my Gourd Art projects.

I grow several types of gourds, Birdhouse Gourds,Canteen Gourds, Bushel Gourds, Bottle Gourds,Nigerian Bottle Gourds,and Peyote Gourds on a fence row, even those tiny "Jewelry Gourds" also called "Miniature Gourds".

My usual gourd crop is about 500 gourds of the Birdhouse,Bottle, Canteen and Bushel variety and around 2,000 miniature (Jewelry) gourds and around 200 "Peyote" gourds. The "Peyote" gourds I use to make my gourd rattles with, so I need quite a few , but I do sell some of them in the Raw stage, meaning not cleaned, to other Crafters.

Oh my how I have been rambling here with my thoughts...lol.....anyway, this years gourd crop was a total wipeout again, as it only produced about 10 very stunted gourds and only about 5 "Peyote" gourds that could be used.

Here is hoping that next Spring and Summer will bring some much needed rain to feed the garden and produce a bountiful harvest of veggies and gourds to feed our bodies and inspire our creative Spirits.

The two photographs above were taken at the very start of the growing season, and show the growth progression of a Birdhouse Gourd, from Baby with the bloom just fallen off to starting to grow into the birdhouse gourd shape.

The Birth and Growth of a Birdhouse Gourd

"Peyote Gourd Rattle"

This is a Peyote Gourd that I used to make a gourd rattle with.
I cut the upper portion of the gourd and after cleaning out the
gourd, I make a circle of wood to seal off that open portion of
the gourd and make a small hole in the center of this circle to
allow the carved handle to pass through and also drill a small
hole in the end of the gourd to allow the carved handle to pass
all the way through with enough of the wood handle sticking out
to bead and add a bundle of horse hair on the end.

The next step is to cover the entire carved wood handle with thin
leather to bead on and proceed to bead the handle with 10/0
glass seed beads in a pattern that I make and colors I choose.

I also make what is called "Trailers" on the end of the rattle handle
by cutting narrow strips of Deer Leather as decoration.

This sort of rattle is used as a Ceremonial Rattle in a Native
American ceremony.

I am including three pictures of the rattle to show details.

Close Up of Beading On Handle

Close Up of Beading On End of Rattle And Horsehair Bundle

I have noticed a lack of traffic on this blog and also a lack of comments,

it could be the Holiday that causes this, or is it a lack of interest in what I post?

I appreciate your comments and eagerly await your viewing and comments,

but I have almost come to the conclusion that I am just doing this to satisfy

my own need for sharing my Art with others, comments or not but still like them. <>}}:-)

"Circle of Life"

"You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle. That is because the power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round.... The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back again, to where they were. The life of a man is a circle, from childhood to childhood. And so it is in everything, where power moves...."--


Black Elk, Oglala Lakota

"Rainy Day Thoughts and Memories"

Goldfinches at Lunch

Today Elisabeth and I went to town and did some "Preseason" shopping for our annual cookie baking. We always get together in the kitchen and bake up a few dozen cookies for the Holiday Season, a task that is harder than it seems on the surface, because in the small log house we live in.......kitchen space is at a premium, meaning that the kitchen is VERY small and for two people to be there at the same time is quite a trick. We take turns turning around and moving from one place to the other, which gives me a chance to sneakingly give her a little squeeze now and then on the pretense of getting by her....lol...but she loves it, even though she pretends to get a bit annoyed at me doing that. (better stop the musing here...lol).

Today dawned as another very rainy day, as was yesterday, except today it was just plain pouring down.

I was not feeling so well today and was having a hard time breathing due to a major flare up of COPD so I didn't even have the energy to go out and work in my workshop for more than an hour, so I came back in and we went shopping together.

After we returned from shopping and getting all the goodies in and put away I decided today would just be a rest day, a time for remembering Spring and Summer and the beauty of our wonderful friends the birds that come to visit one of our two bird feeders.

I decided to put in a couple photographs of a pair of beautiful Gold Finches for our viewing pleasure and to share them with you who come to read my blog every now and then.

Wonderful peaceful memories will follow.

"Let's see...what's on the other side?"

"Oh, yummy...looks like we hit the jackpot!"

"Hey George...I found a nice perch on the Passion Flower Vine."

" Update Beaded Feather Fan Progress"

Fan Handle Completed Beading and Trim Feathers Inserted

Close Up of Upper Beading and Trim Feathers Inlayed

This is the latest progress report on the process of making a Beaded Flat Feather Fan.

I will folow this up with photographs when I get the Hawk Feathers put into the handle,

there are 5 Hawk Wing feathers to be inserted to make the fan.

"Festival of Lights"

To view the Photographs in this Challenge, Click the link below

http://communityphotochallenge.blogspot.com/

My entry for this Challenge is below..you may click on the photograph to enlarge it and see all the details.

I know this is not a Hanukah photograph, but it does represent the seasons festival of lights here

in the mountains of North Carolina.

I missed putting the photograph in for the previous contest, so I am putting it in this one, meaning no offence to either Jewish or Christian peoples, as I really don't celebrate either

Holiday Christian or Jewish.

Please see the December 3 entry as "Christmas Lights" below as my entry .

"Christmas Lights"

Christmas Lights 2008

Click on the Image to enlarge

Just down the road from where we live, there is a man that puts out

an amazing array of lights and decorations every year and allows

people to drive through his property to view all his decorations

which are all over his rather large property, all free of charge.

I decided to go down and set up my camera on a tripod in the field across the road
from his property and take a few photographs when it got dark tonight.

Here is one of the shots I took just at dark, while I could still see just a little to walk in the
field across the road from this display.

I used my Nikon D50 SLR camera, with a 55-200mm lens and set the camera on Manual setting, Bulb, F16 and held the shutter for 15 seconds.

This was an experiment, as I had never taken any photographs in the dark .
I believe it came out pretty good . Next time I may try the 18-55 lens and see how it comes out.