I Did It! Four Frogs Finished...

 

I met my deadline! Four frogs finished by Friday. (Say that fast four times!) I'll be completing them as requested by the recipients, and they'll be hopping on their way to new homes on Monday.

 

This is a closeup of the green frog I did yesterday, and I'm quite happy with the final result. I have a total of twelve frogs to complete for the Gratitude Giveaway participants, but will work on them intermittently until all are mailed to new homes. 

 

I say that I won't do them all right away, but you know that I won't let this project sit too long. Of course, there are the inevitable sewing projects I have to create for the holidays, and I have a wallet order due up next. I promise the frogs won't linger on my list, and I'll do them sooner rather than later. I'll share one more photograph of this lot after I release them from the fabric and turn them into their final forms. Then on to the wallet commission. 

 

I hope you have a great weekend planned. Once these are done, I'm going to put my feet up for a bit, and Handsome has his final Fond du Lac Symphonic Band concert for the year on Sunday. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm off to grab a cuppa, and then I'll be in my studio. See you later!

The Unexpected Tenant...

 A couple of years ago, I was gifted a beautiful, handpainted gourd by

Aunty Margaret. When I brought it home from Wisconsin, I installed

it in the large magnolia tree that lives in our front yard where I could enjoy

 it every time I found myself outside. It's been unoccupied until recently.

Last week, Handsome suggested that I check out the newest tenant in our 

yard. I walked to the magnolia tree and found the most unlikely occupant.

 One of the local tree frogs decided that this would be a comfy place

to set up housekeeping. Sunny, safe digs during the day and a nice

warm place to sleep after an evening of chirping and eatin' bugs.

 I especially like the pose. He/she looks just like an old lady watching the

neighborhood from her front porch. I think it looks like it's just leaning on

the edge of a window sill, don't you? We're happy to have this little frog

 live here for a long as it cares to. If I thought other froggies would move

 in, I'd add a few more gourds just for that purpose. They make me smile.

Thanks for the get well wishes. Recuperating can be difficult, but I'm doing
better by the day. I'll be back to normal very soon, and will take it easy over
the holidays. I only have one more project to finish and hope to be

 able to work on it today so it can ship. I really appreciate your prayers.

Goodness. Christmas is just around the corner!

I hope you're able to celebrate the reason for the season and

not feel like you're caught up in the trappings. We'll be looking forward

to special times spent with family and friends. That's what's important.

Surf's Up...

Each spring, I take a photograph of the little pond in our back yard at Brynwood to document its water level. It's not what I would call a pond if we still lived up north...it's more a catch basin for excess water that might come into our yard during "The Rainy". Most of the year it looks like this (bottom lip sticking out, sad face):

But let it rain for a little while! The water that lands on our roof is carried to gutters with downspouts. They drain into a tile that moves the water to The Basin. All the water in our yard moves to The Basin and before you know it, all those water drops add up to make it a real Pond! (Doing the wet-feet happy dance!)

This photograph was taken yesterday from the same vantage point as the first (taken last April). You can see here that my beloved cypress trees now have their toes in the water. The few fish that tough it out here year-round now have more room to swim. We have resident turtles who love to bask on fallen logs. (I'll have to go back and make sure there's one in there for them now.) It even makes me happier to see all that water.

First, I know our drainage is doing its job (keeping water away from our home), but also, I love seeing the water and the life it attracts. When I was out taking this photograph, I watched flurries of dragonflies hunting the surface of the water. I love dragonflies.

We've had a drought for a couple of years here in the sunny South, and even with all this rain, the water supply is a little tenuous. For now, I'll take a chair into the yard, thank God for the water, toss a little fish food for the "residents" and enjoy our view of The Pond. (More rain, please.)