Spring in the Mountains

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                  There is a slight chill in the air today. Have been told it is red bud winter.

        

 The daffodils are enjoying the weather. The many layered daffodils are new this year in the garden.

 The yellow King Alfred daffodils line the driveway. Imagine the smells being outside when the wind blows.!

      Each year I have planted at least 100 new bulbs. Some have done well, others not so well.

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The grape hyacinth have always been here. They trail down the side of the yard stopping at the moss and violets.  More daffodils blooming...Happy Spring!

Morning Has Broken

 The full moon last night awakened the sky this morning. It has been awhile since I have seen the colors of morning breaking. I was in the studio watching an art video and just couldn't keep my eyes on the screen.

                          A quiet morning here in the mountains before the birds begin to sing.

 These clouds reminded me of the tails of white deer as they run. They flick up their tails and they seem to guide them along. Clouds flowing quickly across the morning sky.

                                         The birds are out and filling the air with their songs.

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After a heavy frost and snow, glass shines on a sunny day.

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 It happened earlier in the week, a heavy frost and a slight spitting of snow. The bird bath water froze and the plants withered with the cold. This afternoon, the sun is shinning as well as the temperature is rising. Just a great day to walk around the garden to see what has happened. First, I took several photos of my art glass plates in the sunshine. The sun seems to just flow through the glass making the most fantastic shadows!

 These beauties are about seven feet tall growing among the butterfly bushes. Their petals look a bit weary after the frost, but they are still setting buds.

 The sage is covered in tulip poplar leaves. The tall straight trees loose their leaves early. They turn yellow brown and twirl to the ground. When a hard wind comes, they dance every which a way.

 The forsythia began as a small stick of a bush. It is covered in yellow flowers and the frost has bitten hard into the leaves. Wait until spring for this little bush to be completely covered in yellow.

 This stinging critter kept me from doing gardening. They are all over the nasturtiums which looks more like wilted celery than her former glorious spreading all over the back garden self. After trying to take the plants to the compost, I gave into the insect leaving it to enjoy the blossoms.

                                A ladybug which might have been  frozen to the sunflower seed pod.

 Hydrangeas really do not take to the frost very well at all. Their leaves just droop all over the paper blossoms. The green leaves belong to other plants.

 Picassa has a feature called invert colors. This is the first time I have ventured into inversion.  These are violets with tulip poplar leaves on the front porch.

 Pansies are the most colorful of any flower in the yard these fall days. A few pots of purple johnny jump ups are in the front of the house which is a bit sheltered from the frost.

 Colors of the trees are changing. The reds and bright oranges are peaking right now. Seems a bit late, but nature has her own way to deciding how things will go. These are trees in the back yard. With the tulip poplars loosing their leaves, the mountains are more easily seen.

Playing with Picassa

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 What a difference a week and a lot of rain makes in the gardens. The cleome is growing as tall as me and spreading out with loads of seed pods. Thinking there will be lots more of these in the garden next year.

 Last fall, I clipped some impatiens to bring inside. Early in the spring, I began to make cuttings from the cutting. These are the result of the cuttings from a cutting with a little bit of pencil sketch enhancement from Picassa. The flowers are a soft pink nestled next to the lemon balm. Now that is an herb that pops up in the most unexpected places.

 It was spitting rain while I was taking photos this morning. The poppers are right next to the woods. This photo is simply the colors of the day. The lushness of the greens from all the rain is amazing. The rain barrel filled up after one night of rain...wondering if we are in the rain forest of the Appalachian mountains.

 These are daisies getting ready to bloom in the front yard. Nice to have some fall flowers and thanks to the half of half price garden sale at Lowes I will be putting in three asters with very large soft lilac flowers.

The fern growing amid the anonome which is blooming. The kiln is filled with glass slowly coming down in temperature. Once it is ready, I will take a photo of all the new pieces. 

Fused Glass Jewelry and Art Glass

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 A new pieces I wanted to share with you. A pendant with a copper bail with folks holding hands.

 The center of this pendant has dichroic glass and a little tiny piece right in the center. It really shimmers and shines!

 A set of earrings and a bunny pendant with gold plate findings. The findings are the bail on the pendant and the ear wires on the earrings. The bunny is made from copper.

 A rainbow colored plate, just the perfect size to hold jewelry.

The dragonfly pendant comes with a satin cord with a sterling silver clasp. It is 18 inches long. The earrings have sterling silver earwires. The colors remind me of the beach, deep blues from the ocean as it mirrors a blue sky. 

Stroll Through the Mountain Garden

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 After all the rain, the sun came out. She is not playing hide and seek today. I thought I would share with you some of the flowers blooming and growing around the gardens. This lovely day lily came from the Southwest Virginia Museum's annual plant sale last year. There are two of these red double lilies in this garden and two mystery lilies which have not bloomed. I call them mystery because when you purchase the lilies you do not know what color they are.

 The echinchea is especially pink this year in the herb garden in front of the green house. I took out all the St. John's Wort early in the spring to transplant it near a butterfly bush and so many herbs flourished this year.

Black eyed susans are all over the yard. They are especially abundant next to the mailbox. After the blossoms fade, I will broadcast the seeds throughout the yard. The early fuzzy leaves help to identify the plant and keep the lawnmower at bay. These are growing amid Japanese anemone.

 Isn't this pretty? My sister calls it grandfather's beard. Do you know another name for it? I planted several of these and two are blooming. Maybe next year, there will be several more.

If you look closely, you can see a flying critter. I am not sure of the name of this, but is flies as fast as a hummingbird. Three of them were enjoying the nectar of the butterfly bush.

 These lilies were also from the Museum sale. They are a darker red orange than the road lily. It is called the road lily because it blooms all along the sides of the road. This garden bed has several different varieties of lilies as well as several mole holes. When next spring comes, I suspect the bulb population will be a lot less in this garden bed.

 Jasmine blooming next to a sculpture of a little girl. The jasmine is now three years old. I keep it inside where it actually blooms in the winter.

I found the bottle tree at Gardener's Supply. The butterfly sculpture moves just a bit. There are lilies just about ready to bloom in between the butterflies. I hope you enjoyed this stroll through my gardens on this sunny morning in July.

Valentine Glass Plates in the Snow

A Valentine jumping bean plate laying in the snow. This plate is about three and a half inches square. It is called jumping bean because of the curves of the plate. 

 This is a picture of the same plate in two different places in the snow. The plate is four and one half inches square with a slight curve to it. The Valentines are made from copper. both plates are available for sale.
I will be posting the new Valentine jewelry later this week.

.Even with the sun shining, the snow will be around for awhile. It is glistening like glitter today.