Friday, March 31, 2017

The best cure for boredom is crayons!






From the Fortune Cookie Journal
"The Best Cure for Boredom is Crayons"

Today is National Crayon day!
Crayola has announced that one of their colors is going to be retired!

In the spirit of crayons and art ---

Liberate Your Art 2017 is underway.
I received my first postcard last week --
all the way from Ireland -- Connemara Cottage, an acrylic painting.
The artist is Jacinta Moore.
You can find more of her artwork and photos here.



LYA 2017




*


It's been busy around here.
Spring cleaning outside.
The last of the freeze damaged plants are gone.
I found some very old flower and veggie seeds 
that I've "thrown" out into the bare garden spots.
If they come up -- great -- if not -- that's okay, too.
The pond/water garden has been cleaned.
All the water out, the fish out, the plants out.
Power wash and then everything back in.


Pond Cleaning


Two pretty, new water lilies.
One pink and one purple.


Water Lily - 2017



Some fun floating grass for the fish to play in.
Now I'm waiting for the fish to spawn.



Purple Water Lily


*



Think Spring




The balcony is ready for spring and Easter.
The Gerbera Daisy and geranium are blooming.


Blooming



*

A  very handsome visitor stopped by.

Hawk



At least once a year there is a hawk in the backyard.
They know I feed the birds in the morning.
No critters were harmed during his visit.

*

I've been busy weaving in the ends on the Cottage Charm lapghan
and trying to decide what I might like to tackle next.
I have yarn for more shawls.
Never too early to make Christmas/Birthday presents.
Be prepared!

These are also calling:

Projects

I enjoyed the Cottage Charm lapghan.
I found another pattern with similar flowers.
Or
Some cute potholders.
Both projects should be good stash busters!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five On Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

Monday Social

Craft On








32 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Those new water lilies are gorgeous!

The History Anorak said...

Your water lilies are lovely! My garden isn't really big enough for a pond so I'm quite jealous.

Wolfgang Nießen said...

Your pictures are very nice. Do you clean your pond every year?

Many greetings
Wolfgang

Sharon said...

Lovely post! Your water lilies are gorgeous. Think Spring! I'm trying, I'm trying but I wish the sunshine would come. Rain all week. Hard to get out and about.

Happy Five on Friday

Tom said...

...so many pretty pinks!

Maggid said...

You certainly have SPRING goin' on!!!

I sure like the crayon quote

and, always enjoy your work

thank you

Mac n' Janet said...

I like your garden visitor, he didn't look like he was hunting. Love the potholder book.

Crimson Kettle said...

What lovely photos! I hear Crayola are stopping the colour dandelion, maybe they are getting rid of the weeds!

Adam said...

looks like a proud hawk

Ida said...

Wow that Hawk shot is so cool.
Pretty flowers - I loved the lilies.
Looks like you are keeping busy.
It's still to cool to do much yard work here. Maybe in a couple of weeks.
Those animal potholders are adorable. I would buy those.

A Colorful World said...

Gorgeous hawk photo! Who among us did not love crayons as a child!? And Connemara Cottage...Connemara was my favorite area of Ireland!

Latane Barton said...

Spring is the time for renewal and it appears that you have been doing quite a bit of that.

riitta k said...

Wonderful photos. The waterlilies look great and so does your hawk visitor! Happy weekend.

Tricky Wolf said...

The hawk is a handsome beast. I'm glad he doesn't visit us because I think he wouldn't get on well with the chickens :o
Now I can't stop wondering which crayola colour is going to get the sack haha
Thanks for joining in with Five on Friday

Rosie said...

The hawk is very beautiful but I always dread seeing them in the garden incase they take one of the little birds which feed there. The waterlillies and gerberas are lovely. Have a happy weekend:)

Jean said...

They are doing away with the dandelion shade which makes me a bit sad for some reason. I also heard they are replacing it with some shade of blue. I wonder why not another yellow? Great hawk photo. We get them in our backyard sometimes as well but I've never managed to capture a decent photo of one. Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

facile et beau - Gusta said...

beautiful photos - especially the hawk

Sarah said...

Enjoyed the photos. We used to have a hawk couple that nested in one of our trees. They had two hatchlings, which we watched grow and learn to fly. That was years ago before we got our Sadie. Hawks are still present in our neighborhood, but thankfully have moved on to better real estate. I don't want them thinking of our Sadie as a meal. ;-(

Poppy said...

I so enjoyed all your photos evoking springtime in your beautiful surroundings. The water lilies are so elegant, aren't they? The Gerbera daisies are utterly adorable, too. Your handsome visitor sure looks serious. Glad he kept to himself and didn't bother the other birdies.

Have a wonderful week!

Poppy:)

Maggie said...

You have been busy this week, cleaning the pond looked like a massive job but so worthwhile. Love your new water lilies, the purple one is stunning. I've been thinking about what to put in my pots for the summer and have been inspired by your gerbera, how lovely it is.
Wonderful mosaics as always, I do like your style!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Oh my goodness those pot holders are adorable! I htink you would have fun making them!

I'm sorry you lost flowers to the freeze. That happens her a lot but we expect it. We had snow a few days ago but it melted very quickly and I was happy for the moisture. Your pond got its spring cleaning and now will flourish all summer--enjoy!

PS: I will have to check what crayon color will be retired? Love the pretty postcard from Ireland --I will have to visit that blog! Thanks!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

Did I miss which colors are being retired? I'll have to look again or google it. I love Crayons...makes me happy to have a big box of them. These crochet ideas look like fun too. Hugs!

carrie@northwoods scrapbook said...

Love your post - happy Spring!! Doing lots of dreaming on it here. Hopefully not too much longer. ;)

Blessings on your week ahead. xoxo

Anonymous said...

Wow! Love that visitor. Your mosaics are great, fun program. You really have been busy. Things are going to look great at your place with all that hard work. You've given me an idea of what to do with old seeds I found, too. I'll find somewhere bare to throw them! Have a great week.

Sylvia said...

The water lilies are very nice. Stash busting is always a good thing. Some of the patterns on the book cover are interesting. Thanks for sharing. Sylvia. D.

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

A very pretty water lily in your wonderful pond! I hope some seeds come up - I did that last year and had a few surprises :) A very handsome visitor and such pretty flowers. Love the crochet projects! The potholders are so cute and the afghan is wonderful. Happy Spring! xo Karen

Julia said...

Lovely visitor and what a great shot of him!

Cheryl said...

I hope you make a few of the farmyard potholders. They look such fun. Your pond is looking very promising. Oh those lillies. What gorgeous colours. We have hawks that visit our bird table most days. Sometimes they get lucky. Love the idea of throwing down the old seeds and seeing what comes up.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Love the flowers and the painting - and especially the barnyard potholders - I'd like to make some of those sometime too.

FABBY'S LIVING said...

The water lilies are gorgeous and I love the painting, my style preference too. The potholders are adorable!
Thank you for your kind visit dear friend.
Hugs,
FABBY

Linda said...

Beautiful flowers! Hooray for spring!

Ivy, Phyllis and Me! said...

Good Afternoon Snap, Oh my word, what a beautiful visitor. I am glad to hear no birds were hurt after his visit.
I have never had a garden with a pond, so I was fascinated to see yours. Water Lilies are beautiful flowers.
Oooh we are birds of a feather, because I throw wild seeds into the garden each year. Sometimes they grow the same year and sometimes they pop through the soil the following year, so I am never sure what will grow.... but that's the exciting part, waiting to see which plant will surprise me by shooting through the soil.
Have a lovely Easter.
Best Wishes to you.
Daphne