Simply Red

The last post was all about black and white. This one is all about seriously dazzling color. 

One usually finds big, beautiful, eye-popping poppies like these carefully tended in someone's garden, but these brave blossoms were out in the middle of a field of weeds, grasses and wildflowers. 

The seeds must have had an interesting journey to end up so far from where they started.

I particularly love the way this one is just emerging from its protective sepal, looking all rumpled like tissue paper. It looks a little like it's wearing earmuffs - or headphones. I wonder what its favorite music is... 

The incredible intensity of the scarlet illuminated by the morning sun made for some outstanding iridescent eye candy. They were positively glowing. 

A Study in Black and White... and Gold

Sometimes, while out walking with Baloo, I find lots of colorful things to admire. Other times, it's the things that aren't quite so colorful that catch the eye.  Today, I enjoyed black, white and gold-ish. 

I introduced myself to a new moth - and odd moth, since it looks more like a butterfly and flies primarily during the day, sipping nectar from flowers and acting for all the world like a butterfly. It's antlers even look butterfly-like, with the slight thickening at the end, but a close inspection reveals the more feathery construction of moth antlers.

I had to hunt around in my moth and butterfly books to discover the name for this winged fellow, but I was finally able to identify it as an eight-spotted forester moth. It has the obvious eight white spots that gave it its name, but it also has two lovely cream colored shoulder pads (not the technical name, which I learned is, "tegulae"). The other feature that really sets this little creature off is the furry golden-orange knee pads that look something like the pollen baskets on bees, though they don't serve any particular function that I could discover. 

Okay, so the humble daisy doesn't really have any black on it, but it does sport the beautiful golden center and gray shadowing in the sunlight. I thought it should qualify for today's theme. Daisies are starting to come into their own, blooming in profusion along trails and out in the fields where we walk.

Finally, I caught Baloo looking as if he was posing in a shaft of golden sunlight as the noble beast in a high-class photography session. He is the perfect specimen of  "American Black Dog with White Spot" (and a growing number of white muzzle hairs, I fear). His golden eyes and yellow collar also fit our excursion theme for the day. He isn't really being noble and cooperative -- he is being mesmerized by a red squirrel up in a tree branch over his head, which explains the completely transfixed expression on his face and the fact that he sat still for the picture. 

Happy Independence Day!

Sadly, most of the annual 4th of July celebrations in this area have been cancelled.  I thought that, since there won't be any fireworks, parades, or air shows to share this year, I would try and get a little creative.  

Along one of our walks, Baloo and I pass this delightful piece of folk art that some enterprising person painted and placed at the edge of their property.  It's a beautifully rough and bold piece of Americana standing cheerfully against the backdrop of ferns and sumac. Fitting for the day, I thought.

Queen Anne's Lace flowers remind me a little of the big fireworks explosions that keep expanding and fan out through the sky. You know -- the ones with the bits along the edges that do a secondary blast and extend the light show circle just a little farther. Of course, they are much quieter than their more jubilant counterparts, but reminiscent just the same. 

Happy Independence Day!

Monarchs of the Glen

Early every morning, before the sun climbs too high in the sky and before the temperature climbs too high on the thermometer, Baloo and I take our longish walk of the day. 

For the last few days, we've been seeing more than the usual number of monarch butterflies enjoying the freshly blooming milkweed flowers and other goodies out in the big field. 

This morning, we saw a pair of monarchs mating, joined together in the air as they dipped and rose, finally landing on this blossom.

I was very happy to see this, because I always cheer for the butterflies and the more the merrier as far as I am concerned. These pictures aren't particularly good, since I didn't want to take a chance of disturbing them by trying to get any closer, so I just tried to zoom the camera in as well as I could. 

Then, a little further along, I saw this lovely specimen who was surprisingly amenable to having me take a few photos. This was my favorite - I like the way the early morning sun glows as it shines through wings and leaves.

Then, of course, there's Baloo. He's the other monarch of the glen, king of all he surveys. I am partial to this image of him trotting through the flowers and enjoying all the morning smells. It's quintessential Baloo - complete with flopping ears and lolling tongue. 

Howling!

After an enticing taste of springtime weather, we had a setback and woke up a couple mornings ago to a stiff wind and blowing snow. It absolutely plastered white spots to Baloo's coat so that he looked a little like an inverted dalmation. 

Baloo had something pretty sharp to say about it all. Mornings have been pretty chilly, but it did clear off this afternoon and I took a break to go outside and trim the big hydrangea bush in the back yard while Baloo ate snow and looked for stray bird seeds.  

Thank you to those who have been sending in orders during this transitional period. I've been using PayPal's invoice system and it seems to be working as a mildly clumsy substitute while Stampeaz is in the process of rising from the ashes. Just send me an email (admin @ stampeaz . com -- without the spaces, of course), if you need anything. 

Stay safe and healthy, everyone!

Stampeaz Meltdown

Well, I got home to learn that Stampeaz is completely broken and I haven't been able to fix it, try as I might. Sadly, the help I called in hasn't been able to fix it, either.  For orders that came in while I was away, I have sent refunds and apologies. I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience!!

I suppose this could be a blessing in disguise (an incredibly good disguise), as I have been wanting to make some changes to the site, anyway, and this is just the kick in the keister that I apparently needed. 

So, watch this space as I slowly puzzle out how to rebuild the entire site. 

In the meantime, if you have a desperate need for anything, let me know and I'll see what I can do for you. 

Showing Up....

Where on earth have I been? In the studio, making and clip framing lots of images for a juried holiday art show. 

These are a few of my pieces that are in the show, "Big Group, Small Works", which opened last Saturday and runs until January 1, 2020. I'm pretty excited (now that I've recovered) and I really hope some of my work sells. 

One wall of the gallery is going to be filled with 6 x 6  inch works, sort of like an Instagram wall (I don't do Instagram, so I'm not really familiar with that). Another wall will be filled with 4 x 4 inch art. The idea is to have a display of small, affordable pieces of original art, so people can give gifts of art for the holidays. Pretty cool idea, right?