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...a glimpse into life on Vancouver Island, needle felting, photography, food, gardening, etcetera...etcetera
"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Finding new purpose...

The other day I went to gather my annual bunch of pussy willows at the beach.
There's nothing that says spring
like the tender, fluffy buds of the willow...
...soft, sleek little harbingers of warmer days to come...
 They found a home in a pretty teapot that never poured very well...
 ...a place to mull over seed catalogues and dream of the gardening year ahead...
Two other finds made my day.
The first was half of a scallop shell...
 ...ready to use as a pendant or maybe an accent on a bag someday...
 I wonder if you can tell the age by the layers of shell?
 The pearl like finish created by tumbling around in the ocean..
 How pretty the light is when shining through...
The second find was an empty sea urchin shell...
 It's not very often you find these in one piece around here...
 ...rough, rocky shores are not kind to these delicate works of art...
 ...this one is a small one, about the size of a large golf ball.
The larger ones are a delicacy in Asian markets (the inside meaty bits)...
I had seen this idea on Pinterest and was hoping to try it one day.
One empty sea urchin shell plus one air plant and a little bit of fishing line and..
 Presto!
other worldly jelly fish!
 Have you ever had an air plant?
They're super easy to care for and just as the name suggests,
they don't need soil...
 ...they take their nutrients from particles in the air. 
all you need to do is soak them or spray them with water once a week...
 It was a good day on the beach and the rain held off for a few hours of treasure hunting.
Today its been pouring all day...more day dreaming ahead in the forecast.

Monday, March 3, 2014

...back again

And so here we are, back again to the present day...
rain and drizzle under pewter skies.
Even though it was wet and dreary out, I took my camera with me on my errand
to pick up the milk at the farm.
The ducks were happy in the rain but were all a flutter while I was there...
 It was like an army of squawking, flapping, curious feathered soldiers
came to inspect just exactly what I was doing on THEIR farm!
 These are Muscovy ducks, native to Mexico, Central and South America...
 They have strange, fleshy bits on their heads that makes them look rather scary...
 This little gal was happy under a bit of shelter...
How's this for a handsome couple...
If you're a duck I suppose...
The dairy cows were hanging out in the pasture...
Here is Canella and her calf she had last summer...

Hello!
This farm is over a hundred years old and has some of those lovely aged features...
...weathered wood...
 ..rusty bits...
...my favorite, mossy rock walls...
I could never get enough of these when I was in Ireland...

 Definite signs of spring are on the way!
Inside one of the barns it was just me and the old truck...
 hello again!
So there you go...a few bright faces to lighten up the low skies