environmental art

want! want! want! i simply adore these color pencils done by environmental artist jonna pohjalainen. i can see these along the drive leading to my home. i don't have a crane to set anything this large but i'll bet i can do something on a smaller scale.

wanna see more environmental art? check out this link.

shadow shot sunday #60

it's shadow time! hunting shadows has become an obsession. i thought this one was pretty neat...the shadow of a butterfly bush on a butterfly!

you know the drill........to get your weekly fix of shadow shots head on over to hey harriets.

time for a giveaway!

well..........it's my one year blogiversary! not bad for someone with commitment issues! it's helped me to hone my photographer's eye and frequently been a muse for my art to be able to share my little part of the world with so many new friends. to celebrate i'm giving away a copy of adam caplin's book.....planted junk. i'm a junker from waaaaaaaaay back and always like seeing how other folks use their junk for planting.

there are some cute ideas in this book along with a list of flowers that work well in containers.

if you're interested in winning this book just leave a comment on this post. i'll draw the winner next thursday, july 16th......and thanks for visiting. it's been fun connecting with people from all over the world........cyberspace.........who'd of 'thunk' it?

chester county historical society museum

here is another one of chester's hidden jewels......tucked away in the old county jail building...which....by the way.....is supposed to be haunted. there's civil war memorabilia......

this wonderful old cash register sits in the hall.........

this.........ladies...........is a contraption that was used to give permanents.........can you imagine?

and this casket........is the hole for the viewing?

old time pieces........

a plethora of antiques.........

an old dentist chair (i'm actually old enough to remember these!!!)

a hand made squirrel cage..............

one whole room of arrowheads and spear points...........

this was neat..........

one whole room of antique guns and military memorabilia.........

lots of old bottles and these coke caps................

this is a form to make coke bottles......................

loved this old flag..............

and this one....................

of course the old money...............

an old phone booth from a hotel that was downtown..............

these were pretty.................

an old inkwell and glasses...........

these are just a few of the things in this museum. there is no charge to go thru.....just a jar for donations inside the front door. it's open each wednesday from 11:00 until 3:oo or by appointment. live within driving distance of chester, sc? this would make an excellent day trip! they are located at 157 wylie street......the phone number is 803-385-2330. it's worth the trip.....i promise!

ouch! #!*# wasps!

there has been a war declared at my home. i'm pretty much a "live and let live" kind of person when it comes to nature's critters. we all coexist rather well....snakes being a very big exception....however.....this ornery creature and it's kinfolk have decided they don't want me in or around my woodworking shop and storage building. first i was stung on the finger while minding my own business. yes.....it hurt like.....well....you know. i was willing to forgive and forget. then several days later i went in the storage building to get some clippers and when i was closing the door..........bam......right on the eye lid. what the crap?? not only did my eye swell shut but i was sick for two days....and yes......it was definitely painful!

now i try very hard to live a green life......use as little chemicals as possible.....but i'm telling ya.....i went to town and returned with some of that 25 foot wasp spray and carried it (and used it) for the last couple of days. every time i get near the sheds i get dive bombed. i even snuck into the sheds after dark and sprayed all the nests i could find. well.....they've obviously called in reinforcements because those suckers are still after me!

as much as i hate it.....i'm planning a chemical warfare attack tonight.....after dark. i bought some cans of insect fogger hoping it will get the nests that are most likely in the roofs of these buildings. i seriously hate using chemicals like this....but.....hey.....they drew first blood. i read where you can blow up a brown paper bag and tie it off then hang it where you don't want wasps or bees. they think it's a hornet's nest and steer clear. well i'm gonna try that.......after the great wasp war finally comes to an end.

one heart

i thought i'd share the latest project i've been working on in my studio . a co-worker brought me pictures of her parents and asked that i come up with something for her father. her parents are one of those couples who still enjoy each others company after many years of marriage. they love doing things together..........like taking off for parts unknown...leisurely stopping to do a little 'junkin' along the way.

i used a picture of the entrance to their farm....printed on a transparency.....for the background of this piece. i was pleased with the way it turned out and hope it captured the close bond between these two special people.

shadow shot sunday #59

"a false friend and a shadow attend only when the sun shines." - benjamin franklin

it's shadow time again! head on over to hey harriet for your weekly fix.

happy fourth ya'll

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. ~Erma Bombeck

i hope everyone has a safe and happy fourth of july. don't eat any "iffy" potato salad!

my patriotic hoo ha

i finally got my patriotic hoo ha put out around the house. i've always loved decorating .....any excuse to tacky up my yard......i'm there! since i don't have my bottle trees full yet i dug out some old plastic christmas balls and spray painted them red and white to fill up the trees. i unearthed the red and blue bowling balls from underneath the hydrangeas to add another splash of color.

mr stumpyman refused to play along this year but i did talk him into wearing his hat.

For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail? ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

our lady of mirrors and grasses

how cool is this?...............HOW COOL IS THIS??? meet our lady of mirrors and grasses, created for the 2006 chelsea flower show. (ok….ok…..i know i’m a few years late finding this…but….omg!) She rests on an island in the middle of a pool of water, surrounded by a meadow of blue, white, and mauve flowers, appropriately called the “garden of dreams”. what do you suppose this wild haired goddess is dreaming of……my guess would be……..CHOCOLATE!

you can check out this exhibit here.

shadow shot sunday #58

time for some more great shadows. head on over to Hey Harriet for your weekly dose.

a stroll in the gloaming

it has been a day of heat and humidity......not unusual in my little part of the world. i found myself lucky enough to spend most of the day indoors so after a light supper i needed to drift about the yard and take in the colors and smells of summer. my four o'clocks come back bigger and prettier each year.

these daylillies were pass-alongs.....don't we love those! i like their mellow shades of yellow.

this is actually the limelight hydrangea.....although she looks like annabelle here.....i had an annabelle but she succumbed to the heat last summer.

i think my lettuce looks too pretty to eat but i sure have enjoyed the salads.....especially now that i'm getting a few fresh tomatoes.

.......and my foxtail fern......poor ole girl is still sitting in the pot i brought her home in.... it must take very little to please her......she seems to be thriving.

i can't imagine a world bereft of flowers.....their different beauties...their smells.....the textures.......sleep tight, my 'chillrens'........don't let the bedbugs bite.

sleepy hollow woodworking studio

oh..... what fairy wouldn't love to live in this teapot fairy house made by arthur millican, jr. of sleepy hollow woodworking studio. his studio is located in blairsville, georgia and is open to the public along with a gift shop and enchanted garden......can we say.........road trip!
i want one of each! check out his website here.

my newest addition

my lady banks rose has decided she likes her new home. she sits on a spot where we buried an old log cabin many years back. the lady who lived and died in the cabin was named perla. over the years we've attributed lots of "happenings" to perla. i'm gonna give her credit for the success of this sweet, buttery, beauty.

this is my newest addition. she's a cryptomeria and when i saw her i knew she needed to live at my home. my daughter thinks she looks like charlie brown's christmas tree.......i think she's wonderful.

my apologies

just a quick apology for being such a bad blogger lately. my daughter had some complications from her delivery and we've spent more time at the hospital. all is well now and i hope to get back to being just jody soon.

things i've learned

i've kept my two and four year old granddaughters for the last five days while their mother was at the hospital with their new baby brother. during the course of those days my grans have taught me some valuable lessons.

1. when buying new sippy cups it's better to get two of the same color and style and just write their names on them.

2. when washing dishes cartoons will keep little girls occupied but the second nature calls you will have an audience.

3. there is no sound that compares to the shrieks of two little girls who have seen a spider.

4. when trying to sneak in a cup of coffee and a minute of silence before the girls wake up from their naps....... sounds are magnified one hundred times.

5. always let little girls eat in their panties and diaper unless you want to change clothes......again.

6. putting a clean diaper on a two year old is like cleaning out the kitty litter box.....the second it's clean all bets are off.

7. after five days with two little girls i could never in a hundred years forget my name.......i've been reminded of it often.......sometimes amid high pitched shrieks and grappling over a toy....other times in a song......made up exclusively of the words "gramma jody".

8. the words "don't run in the house" are as useless as pissing on a fan.

9. when washing your face with a two year old in the bathroom it's best to keep one eye open so you can catch the baby doll before it's dunked into the toliet.

10. in the long run, it would have taken less time to walk two little girls inside the bank than it took to clean the red sucker they got at the drive thru off the seat.

11. when grocery shopping with two little girls in the shopping cart you have to buy two of everything whether you need it or not.

12. nothing melts your heart like seeing two little girls tangled up together......finally sleeping at the end of the day.

shadow shot sunday #56

it's that time again......check out everyone's shadow shots at hey harriet.

photohunt #166 - lock

well.....it's time for our photohunt again. the theme this week is lock. i had a shot in mind for this theme but due to the pitter patter of little feet in my home i was unable to take the shot i had in mind. that said.....i opted for a vintage suitcase i'm hoping to paint and collage at some point. check out what others posted for this theme at tnchick's.

landon

my newest grandson is a little impatient it seems. he couldn't wait to get here so he made his grand entrance early wednesday morning...........all 7 lbs and 6 oz of him! he was whisked away before we could hold, and cuddle, and coo, to the neonatal unit with respiratory problems. he's been there since and we're hoping he'll get to come home this sunday. it's been very hard on his mom but she's been able to visit him and feed him some.
meanwhile.........................gramma jody has his two and four year old sisters at her house......her once.........halfway clean................quiet.............house. is it nap time yet?????

until i return

"coffee. garden. coffee. does a good morning need anything else?" - betsy canas garmon

i took a stroll thru my yard this morning, fortifying my soul before leaving for work. the fog lay over the sheep pasture blurring their forms to a smudge. i love the quietness of this time of the day........looking back and seeing my footprints in the dew on the grass.
the textures of these hydrangeas.....dotted with moisture........are so pretty.... i have to run my fingertips over the patterns......

and my henri clematis.........softly waiting for the sun's rays to burn off the fog.

i took these pictures with my camera for my blog.......but i captured the images in my mind to help carry me thru the work day........until i can return home.

shadow shot sunday #55

i love the smell of rosemary. i've got some planted in urns on both sides of my front steps so when i enter the house i always smell that scent. i also have some mint that jumped ship and now has spread outside the boundaries of the flowerbed. every time i cut grass it's such a pleasure to have the minty smell envelope me as i mulch it back onto the ground. here's my rosemary enjoying a small glimpse of sun.... as it was rainy again much of the week. be sure to check out everyone's shadow shots at hey harriets.

photohunt # 165

the theme for this week's photohunt is advertisement. i recently posted this picture along with several others in a post entitled "junkers cabin" and thought this would be a good choice for this week's theme. to see what everyone else posted for this theme head on over to tnchicks.

my new bracelet

i got my new bracelet today.......woooooooo hooooooooo! i found an artist on etsy that makes custom order bracelets so i placed my order and looky here...................don't ask me why the darn picture is vertical instead of horizonal.............i uploaded it twice and it came up like this both times.....but maybe you can still see

it says: earth my body, air my breath, fire my spirit, water my blood.....with justjody and gypsy charms.

love it........love it..............love it!

check out cindy's etsy shop here.

el and abe

what a wonderful idea.............writing messages on walls with moss! el & abe are a duo of graphic designers that create accessible artwork that relies on sustainable concepts. this is one of their projects. to see more of their creations go to their website. how neat is that......eco graffiti!

shadow shot sunday #54

we've had a week of rain here......serious rain. there were few breaks in the clouds to take any shadow shots but i did manage to catch a biti foki enjoying a bit of sun..........

head on over to hey harriet to see other shadow shots.

photohunt #164 - book(s)

the photohunt theme for this week is book(s). i'm a reader......books are a BIG part of my life. i'd probably......no.....i KNOW.....i'd be a lot richer.... moneywise..... if i had all the money i've spent on books and magazines..........but they've made me so much richer in ways that money never could. my home is full of books i could have posted for this theme but when i was at the clerk of court's office the colors of these books caught my eye. check out the other book theme posts at tnchick's blog.

farm city

i occasionally get to review new books at our local library before they are circulated. i really don't know why our librarian would want my opinion because i'm not your typical mainstream patron......however......i'm glad for the opportunity. i just read this new book by novella carpenter....scheduled to be released on june 11th. it's the memoir of an urbanite living in downtown oakland who starts out beekeeping and ends up with chickens, ducks, turkeys, rabbits, and pigs in her apartment building's backyard. she also starts a community garden on the vacant lot beside her building. i have to tell ya.....i LOVED this book. i laughed out loud at some of her antics.....other parts touched my heart. i've never been a city dweller but i could relate on a lot of the animal husbandry and gardening failures! this book needs to be on your list of summer reads.

you can pre-order novella's book here.

check out her blog here.

junkers cabin

i go by this place a lot during my travels around the county. this is actually someone's home. every time i go by there is usually someone home.....working around in the yard......so i never would stop and take some shots. i finally caught them gone so i grabbed my camera and took these shots.

they have one of the nicest views in the county.......no nearby neighbors.

i LOVE this bottle tree!

i don't know if this is "workable" or for looks but my guess is that it's their john.

i would soooooooooo live here! i think it's awesome!

happy memorial day

hope you have a happy and safe memorial day.

"Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored. " ~Daniel Webster

shadow shot sunday #53

when i walked out the door to leave for work friday morning i knew i couldn't waste this glorious chance to get some great shadow shots with such an awesome sunrise. i headed downtown and took a few shots and managed to only be a few minutes late for work. here's my shot for the week: this a full view of the shot. we have a museum behind our courthouse that is FULL of the past. they're only open wednesday afternoons but i promise i'll get there soon to let you see some of the wonderful things inside.

check out some other great shadow shots at hey harriet's blog.

photohunt 163: plastic

this week's photohunt theme is plastic. i remember having these phones. i always liked the sound the dial made.......none of that beep beep beep beep stuff.

check out other posts at tnchick's blog.

holy marker..batman...it's the joker

it just defies physics at just how fast children can get into something when you're on the phone. i called my youngest daughter to tell her i was taking her to lunch and then shopping for a diaper bag tomorrow. my daughter is eight months pregnant with my newest grandson and i figured this would be a good time for some "just us girls" shopping. we were on the phone only long enough to discuss babysitting arrangements. right after i hung up the phone i see the grans trucking across the yard to my house to show gramma jody they'd been coloring. no......it's not the joker.

........but i'll bet this joker had something to do with it!

christian faur

just look at the detail artist christian faur has accomplished by stacking individual hand cast encaustic crayon tips. that's right...........thousands of crayon tips!

and this is a paper sculpture created using 12,000 strips of shredded paper.

i can't even imagine how many hours of work it took to complete these amazing pieces. check out christian's web site here.

studiotempera

want........want..........want! look at these amazing lampshades listed on etsy by studiotempera. this turkish artist paints the gourds, drills the holes, and inserts colorful beads into the holes so the light will shine thru the design.

as if the shade isn't gorgeous enough by itself.........look at the amazing design cast by the light onto the wall..................i think i've been "twitter-pated"!

check out studiotempera's etsy shop here.