More Fun With Crystals

I couldn't resist making another bird bath/water dish. I did it the same way as the previous one. I thought it looked nice setting next to the pretty daylillies(-: I still have more crystals so don't be alarmed if you see me creating more of these fun little items(-:

Also...Mary Craig decided she did not want to be left out of the photo op. She has produced a new leaf. I have 7 more violets to go...(-: When will another one pop one out?(-: Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe tomorrow???? Stay tuned...

New Violets and Old Violets

I am still working on the violet leaves I got back in April. Here are two more leaves that have sprouted babies.(-: I still have about 8 more pots of leaves that have not produced baby leaves yet. Maybe next month? LOL These are all suppose to be very pretty violets when they bloom. I hope I actually see some flowers someday!





And now on to the good old reliables...Not sure on the names of these violets. They were either given to me as starts or I bought them at the store without names.





I have had this ruffled pink violet for years. It was given as a leaf from a friend. I have shared many starts. It is a really good bloomer.


I put the penny on the leaf for comparison with the below photo

I recently bought this plant at a garage sale. It has huge leaves. They are a very pretty variegated green/white. The leaves make the plant. The flowers are just a plain little pink.

What's Shakin' Today In California?

Besides EQ's? Well today I came up with a new motto for California. What'cha think?
California...The Shakin' and Bakin' State!


While I watched the news today of the current events, I was busy drilling holes to hang four prisms on my new recycled cup/saucer bird water dish. The birds can never have to much water, especially in the heat of summer. I think it turned out pretty cute especially after I had drilled two of the holes with the drill in the reverse direction!!! LOL No, I am not blonde. I have no idea what happened.(-: I thought it was the rechargeable battery. Well, I charged them up and it was still slow. I looked at the drill more closely, saw the problem and laughed at myself. It must be old age. What else can I blame it on? Well at least I did finish the bird water dish and it is on its copper pipe in the garden. Yay for the birdies!!!! Here is what it looks like...



The prisms really sparkle in the sun. I wish you could see them! They are real glass and old as the hills. My brother gave them to me. They were part of a light fixture that he rescued. I had been holding on to them trying to figure a way to use them. I have about ten of them, so I will have some to use in another project later.


I thought this birdhouse deserved a picture on my blog as well. It is quite dilapidated but it still serves a purpose.

Look Up There...What Is It????????

Is it a bird?
Is it a Plane?
Is it Underdog?
Nope its none of those things...
It
is...



Blue

Blue

Blue

SKY!!!!!!!!
It must be a miracle!!!

Garden Spider

Thought I would share this great picture I took last summer of a nice garden spider that built her web on my window. We all had a lot of fun feeding the spider grasshoppers and watching her spin a web around them. It was great entertainment!!! I have not seen any of these spiders this year. I wonder where they went? Maybe the smoke has discouraged them from building their webs. Its a mystery. Usually I see them everywhere. Sometimes I see them up close and personal while I am weeding or pruning. Its a major yikes moment!

No Need To Knock On This Door

No One will answer.
It goes no where.
It does not open.


Sorry been watching ghost movies today...thought I would give you a chill(-:
I do like the aura below the door. It is very interesting don't you think???

I made the claypot wreath and even made another one for a friend on the Garden Junk Forum

What Has Smokey Bear Been Smokin???

Probably the forest fire smoke. It is very bad here today. Thought I would share the smokey pictures with you so you could feel sorry for me...LOL(-: J/K

Waterbed Pond Revisted

My brother made the fishing guy. He fits right into the pond scene I think.(-:

Meet Lowell

Lowell is the name of my new Bowling Ball. It was his given name. It was engraved on him. So here is the journey of Lowell. He started off as a plain old blue bowling ball. Retired or discarded to the Salvation Army. I don't know his previous owner.
I decided Lowell should be sparkly and pretty. (-: I began by washing Lowell with a clean rag and drying him.


As you can see the GE Silicone glue in the picture is what I used to glue the mirror pieces on. I let them dry over night and finished gluing the rest on in the morning. I left one hole open so I could set him on a piece of rebar in the garden. You don't have to do that if you don't want to. I just find its easier to do it that way so the bowling ball does not fall and break.


Now the fun begins. Lowell needs to be grouted. I mixed black grout that I bought at Lowes. (not related to Lowell) in a bowl. This is a very messy job. Wear gloves and be prepared for a messy clean up.

I cover the bowling ball really well smoothing it in between the mirrors.


When I get enough covered I wipe it with a damp cloth. Later I will wipe with damp sponges.


Lowell is ready for his sponge bath. He enjoys this part I'm sure. It is very messy and it gets everywhere. Make sure you put a towel down to catch the falling debris.


Continue to wipe all the access grout off slowly and softly until the bowling ball is almost clean. It won't be real clean until the grout is dry and you can buff it.





I used a zip lock baggie to save the grout I mixed for applying to the other half of the bowling ball. This way it doesn't dry out and you can just throw away the plastic baggie when you are finished.

Yay...Lowell is all done and ready to roll. I haven't decided where to put him at yet. I want him to sparkle in the sunshine so I will find a place that the sun will hit. It was hard to get the sparkle to show in the pictures but its there(-: Boy does he sparkle and shine!!!

What "Can" I do today????

Last summer I bought a disabled tin man at the flea market for 1.00. I set him aside and forgot about him until lately. As you probably know, I have been hanging out inside the house due to the air quality from the fires. Today I decided it was time to re-visit the tin man and see what work needed to be done to get him back to life... In a garden junk kinda way(-: So here is what I did...

This is what he looked like when I bought him. He was in pieces and quite a sad little man. He needed to be re-wired and painted.




This is what Mr. Tin Man looks like now...I decided he needed a new face too.
I didn't care for the painted on look. I used silicone glue to glue his new face on.
I loved how the original person made his nose. It is very unique. I didn't change that. I used old washers and nuts for his eyes and a piece of copper wire for his mouth.
I like his "cowboy" hat too. He is a real rootin' tootin' cowboy! (-:

Pink Hibiscus Blooming Today

These hibiscus are the large ones about the size of dinner plates. I have a couple plants the others are not blooming yet.

Smokey Bear Or Just Smokey Outside?

The guys had a Boy Scout Sailing, Canoeing, Boating day at the lake today. It was extremely smokey but, they all had a good time. This black bear was hanging out at the marina. Probably displaced by the fires in the area.


Update...Here are some before the fires pictures. You use to be able to see the sky. It was clear and beautiful. We went out boating just before all the fires started. This was on June 1st. Now part of the mountains are burned. Hopefully we can go to the lake again soon when the fires are out and the sky is blue again. Until then we just have pictures of how it was...


That's Captain Jack

Looking back at the marina where the bear was in previous picture

More pretty blue sky with a few clouds. No Smoke!!!!