Painting the Jan Cave

Phil finished it this weekend! It rained yesterday, so I was a good girl and got groceries and did laundry. Well...the laundry's almost done--the foldy part, anyway--and the sun is out. Today is a good day to paint. Pictures later (now that I figured out how to put them in w/ text more easily).

What's growing in the Hermits' Garden?

Lots of wildflowers! Some tame ones, too. And veggies, fruit trees, herbs...all kinds of stuff! I did a "wildflower tour" of the yard the other day. Later the yard will really explode with color, but right now, we have early volunteers. The heavy rains this winter have made the native bluebonnets go crazy...I look like a doddering drunkard when I walk around the yard, because I try to avoid stepping on them. Takes a while to get anywhere this way, but they're so beautiful! Also, Indian Paintbrush came up this year--I didn't even know it grew here.

I'm sorry for just piling the pictures all up at the top, but the picture formatting rig on Blogger leaves something to be desired...

We planted fruit trees--two peaches, two plums and a fig (to replace the one winter killed) and I moved a Chasteberry, a Mexican Elderberry, and a Desert Willow to their new homes. The apple tree is very happy, and I'm thinking he needs a mate, so a new one will be joining him soon. (Ahem...as soon as I figure out where to put her.) The veggie garden is growing too--both in the amount of plants and the beds that are going in.

So far we have strawberries, snap and snow peas, green beans, chard, carrots, turnips, lettuce, spinach, nasturtiums, about 10 different kinds of herbs, roses, broccoli, and lots of weeds I haven't gotten rid of yet.

The tomatoes, tomatilloes, peppers, asparagus, cucumbers, all the squashes, cantaloupes, and various other things are waiting til I get the beds dug and lined.

And last but not least, the Live-oak trees are in the process of Re-Leafing. I love how they turn gold in March, waiting until the new leaves are ready before dropping the old ones.

Spring has sprung!

I threw a pot!

No, this isn't me. It's Alma, who made a little Viking Longship.



And this is Susan showing Dee how to use Susan's hand made press mold to make a tiny medieval oil lamp.



And this is Steven, throwing his own pot. Or bowl, or whatever we're calling them when we have no idea...




And here's mine. I guess it's a bowl. It's a little lumpy and uneven, and it was one of the funnest things I ever did with an apron on. Now it seems I'm going to have to find a used potters wheel somewhere. I was born for this. :~)




All this was from "combat clay night" at Susan's house, where she generously teaches whomever cares to show up how to use the wheel, how to sculpt, slab build, coil or pinch. I'd say the pinching is why we call it combat clay night, except that moniker came from one of the pots flying off the bat and hitting the wall. Said wall still bearing the SPLAT mark. Pretty cool, having splat marks on your wall. I'm a little jealous.

Here's Susan and Dee again.



I should have brought my camera, but of course I didn't. My hands would have been all muddy anyway. But Alma did bring one and got these pictures. Susan took some too, and I'm going to have to pay her not to post the more clownish ones.

Once I get my kiln wired and ready to go, we'll have a Kiln Blessing Party. I'll definitely have my camera for that...