"Of Klepto and Wildflowers"

A thoroughly unrelated mix of photos for you today...remember you can click on any pic to enlarge it. I'll begin with my "new" puppy "Klepto" whom you may have read about a couple of days ago. You know, the Border-Aussie mix formerly known as Molly.

At the top of the driveway is a little natural area she fancies to sit and chew up sticks, as well as collect 'toys' that to anyone else is trash. Another more select area is behind the house where a trail heads into the woods off the back deck...there on a bit of a promontory she'll take some of her more treasured plundered booty and look down on any activity below.Yesterday morning I laughed out loud when at the top of the driveway I spied....a beer bottle. Not just any beer bottle, mind you, but a brand I never drink. I didn't want to know the details of her latest prize from the Five-Finger-Stop-And-Shop she frequents...

It was a couple of hours later when dusk was starting to fall that I went out on the deck and saw her on her back perch with said beer bottle....and before I go further I will swear under oath these pics are 100% natural. I didn't stage it, rotate the bottle, etc.....heck, the dog won't come when I call her name, so she sureashell isn't going to let me set up a camera shot with her! With my big camera long dead, I had only the small Canon S2 to shoot a flash 10-12 feet from the deck....and and I got lucky.


"Tastes great....less filling....what I'd give to chase after those Clydesdales right now..."


"MOLLY! Where did you get that bottle? Is that why you stay over at the neighbor's and pretend you don't hear me calling your name?"


"If only dad knew what really goes on over there...(hic)..."

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I just love the exploding of spring, where you can almost literally see changes by the hour as earth-tone tans are replaced with verdant hues. Almost overnight the first of the wildflowers have been doing their thing, popping up and nodding their heads in the warm, sunny breezes. And so once again I just put on some pictures of them for you to enjoy...admittedly, I spent little time searching for optimum specimens and camera angles, but it's just a joy to see these instead of another 8" of snow....

Likewise, it's a joy to see beautiful dawn colors as a new day begins, this from Wednesday morning looking northeast...


First up is the tee-tiny bloom of Spring Beauty...this fleur but the size of my pinkie fingernail...



Next up is Bloodroot, which has too many medicinal uses to list in this post; click HERE to read the myriad uses for yourself...



Cutleaf Toothwort is easily identified by its, well, cut-leaf outline!...


Jimmy may crack corn and you don't care, but the nodules at the base of this Squirrel Corn plant is whence its name is derrived...

There were plenty of other pre-flower staged plants, like this Trillium member below. Mayapple, Jack-in-the-pulpit, cohosh, and others will be out before you know it, all flying through their life cycle before the greening canopy starts to increasingly filter the sunshine on the forest floor below...

So much for the balmy and unusually warm weather here of late....time for a little reality check with today's incoming cold front and storms. But being April, anything unusually cold will soon pass....have a good 'un, all y'all!

Take your pick....

Here on a mild Carolina Monday, I have two video links for you. The first will make you smile and shout "AMEN!" if you're over 40....and the second I ran into by accident, and it will make you go "OUCH!" if you're any age...I'll explain...

"These better be good, Dad!..."

First up is one a friend forwarded that was cute...just a heads up, for any of you that have less than the fastest internet connections, hit the 'pause' button if the video plays faster than it is downloading, especially for the second video (high quality).


The next one is just a bit on the strange side...more like Andrews Sisters meet Cirque du Soleil. The song itself is a bit odd, titled "Solid Potato Salad". Uh, okay. These are the Ross Sisters, and in this 3:50 clip, they sing for less than a minute...then the "OUCH!"s begin. Makes you forget all about the odd words to begin with!

Gray Day #427

Okay, admitted hyperbole...but sunshine would be a good thing to have 'bout now. Most of you have seen the above footage on CNN of yet another road-closing rockslide in eastern TN. The I-40 clean-up near the TN border is bad enough, and here is yet another serious detour-maker. Gray Day #427 - meet Excedrin Headache #791.

Well, feeling slack for doing nothing but posting more Molly pics in new poses and a couple of more scrap-art pieces for the upcoming Thanksgiving show. The flame Maple Medicine Bear is especially gorgeous...too bad it wasn't thick enough for a flute!

Ciaou!

glub glub glub, y'all!

Well, just here in parts of the Southeast are we once again donning scuba gear to run to the store. Ol' Ida has been quite the thorn in forecasters' sides, and certainly proof that a system doesn't have to be a hurricane to carry a big punch. The I-40 rockslide jam will have to be a ghost town for several days...taking all this falling water with the new cracks and fissures, and it's a dangerous situation, so DOT has pulled out for the moment.

While the 'flu' is gone from my body, it took with it my energy and 'drive' in a big way. Slowly getting it back, slowly getting some flute and woodwork done, but not feeling like blogging, or at least anything more in depth than what I have today.

News this morning of new pending legislation to help protect consumers from bank credit card gouging practices is turning out to be exactly what I knew it would: an opportunity for banks to find other ways that are equally as draining on consumers to make their money. My analogy is that the banks have driven Rolls Royces for years, and are totally unwilling to scale down to something like a 700 series BMW. Banks call it smart business; I call it a greed factor that is starting to get a bit of a stench, especially since we bailed their @sses out of an abyss. The way I see it, the common man is hurting greatly, and financial insitutions have done precious little to help out. And now news of new banking screws that they'll retaliate with by tightening as soon as legislation is passed.

Which is why there's nothing better to do than post some pics of the new puppy Molly. Mercy is doing MUCH better with her, and it's cute to see them get along so much better...I just don't have pics of that improvement to pass on at the moment! So, here is the darling furball in all her loveable looks...

My art show season has the last one the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, at an indoor show in Franklin, NC ("Mistletoe Magic"). Given the time of year, and given the plethora of nice wood scraps that are too small or thin for flutes, I've been experimenting with making some Southwest motif ornaments with my scroll saw. Too, at shows people always ask about the decorative metal kokopellis I have on display, and decided to start making some test designs that I can have for sale along with the flutes. Certainly makes for a much lower price point, so my rainy day efforts are primarily coming up with some other designs.

With that said, it's time to go scrappin'!

How do I spell "relief"?....

I had a "Sunday Salon" performance far up into northern Ashe County this past weekend, my third year doing this. Shall I say that 3.5 days totally outside the pull of cell phone and internet was both refreshing and confounding...You worry about what all you missed, yet you let Life roll on without modern trappings, as well it should. Overall it was a welcome void, no doubt.

There were phone landlines for any emergencies at the main house, but no in-room TV. No internet. No cell service (for Verizon). Just good friends, conversation, and great food/libations. The grande dame Gayle, who just turned 80, is THE most incredible NON-80 year old you'll ever meet. Up and down the stairs like a gazelle, full of artistic dreams per the property which, come hell or highwater, will resist the tides of profit-greed interests from Florida (her words)...Gayle is a rare stalwart, that one.

The "River House" property was an old working farm along the north fork of the New River just below the Virginia border, now converted into quaint rooms and mini cottages as a B&B. With over 200 acres of property, she knew the value in seeing it preserved and developed only in a very limited way with lots of restrictions (including voluntary covenants to a local land conservancy). She was courted by several developers that tried hard to get her to 'see' the gold mine she had, and tried to show her the huge sums of money she could make if she subdivided into one-acre homesites, mainly for Floridian summer homes. If there is one thing Gayle shuns it's that type of total disrespect for natural beauty and resources.

Live with the land, not on it. Wise words.

I missed the peak color, now gone by at least a full week...yet I had the opportunity to let Molly and Mercy romp without leashes, and they had a BLAST!!!! Oh, there is quite the contentious show-off when food is involved or sleeping arrangements on the bed (Mercy wins, Molly gets the crate as long as she fits in it)...otherwise, they are melding as they should, and as I expected.

The weather Sunday was sunny and gorgeous, and as luck would have it, now that I'm back to get some work done...more rain is on the doorstep. *sigh* So while I don't have pictures of fall leaves and vistas, and don't pictures of my show (which would be nothing to look at, I assure you!), I DO have pictures of the pups at play. The lessons we could all learn from 'em...

Hard to believe this is the last week of October...fly, time, fly! Have a terrific Tuesday!

Let's 'hoop' it up!

If you've never been to a pow-wow or seen traditional Native American dancing, you should. It is an incredibly rich blend of history, artistry, athleticism, and some jaw-dropping hand beaded regalia (NEVER refer to their wardrobe as a costume...that's a no-no).

Of the many dances, one that always amazes me is the Hoop Dance, whereby a dancer manipulates any number of hoops, always dancing and moving through them as they organize them into a display of butterfly wings, a snake, etc. It's a dance of storytelling, an important foundation of all tradition cultures. The following link is of the renowned Dallas Arcand at Edmonton's CapitalEx in 2006:

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I've got a pretty talented puppy, alright. Molly was so inspired she wanted to try and do a hoop dance, too, and chose to work with a double-coiled dishwasher drain hose. If I do say so myself as a proud papa, she has talent!

(click pics to enlarge)

Things to do on rainy days...

Well, I thought of two things of the many you can do on rainy days....

The first is to take pictures of water droplets (click to enlarge)...

The second is to nap, and nap often...!

"Ch-ch-ch-....OMG!!!"

I have not seen much TV lately, given my schedule and show activity...yesterday as I passed the weather baton to my mid-day cohort Tara, we got to chatting and catching up and she mentioned this crazy ad she saw on TV...I googled it and, well, it's a strange Chia world out there (and just about in time for the holidays - imagine that!)

What's borderline laughable and unbelievable is the TV ad itself, which is embedded in the home page I'm linking you to...it's a 'flash' movie, so if you're computer doesn't have a flash player (the vast majority do) you won't be able to see it. Anyway, it's just really strange how the seriousness and flowery, over-the-top the ad copy is, put up against a clay pot of our President you can watch grow a head of cow fodder. When I first watched it I honestly didnt' know if it was a Saturday Night Live joke skit or not...it's simply bizarre and humorous. Click on the pic below and grab a bag of popcorn as you'll watch this classic time and time again...

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is in no way an endorsement. I was not sent one to review it. I did not and will not buy one, and not because it's Obama because I happen to like the guy. I just needed to laugh...maybe you do too.)

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And now for a gratuitous Molly pic...as I noted earlier, her transmission has 2 gears: high speed and sleep. Yesterday she crashed on one of my open tool kits - too cute not to snap a shot (click to enlarge).

An itty bit on some itty bits!

Good Golly, Miss Molly!

(click on pics to enlarge the cuteness)

You may already be well aware that I'm an animal lover. I'm also a big proponent of adopting rescue animals; I highly recommend that anyone looking to add a 4-legged companion to their family start with any of the many local shelters that try to find 'forever homes' for their charges.

Mercy wasn't an only 'child'...she had two older adoptees that crossed the Rainbow Bridge a few years ago, but I never replaced them. Mercy is quite content in her solo role on the throne, but I've always leaned toward getting another dog for company. While I advocate adopting older dogs, for myriad reasons, it just so happened that I made a casual stop by a local adoption fair a week ago and, well, the rest is history.

I got squarely blind-sided...

Meet "Molly".....

Hard to believe she and her litter mates were abandoned. She's a Border Collie mixed with the great unknown, and as I write about 9-10 weeks old...

To say Mercy is glad to have her in her life would be a bold-faced lie, worthy of a lightning bolt upside the head. However, I have no doubt she will be a wonderful mother-figure for the wee one once Molly gets out of her pestering stage!...



She is a pistol, no doubt, chock full of personality and energy...and sharp puppy teeth that enjoy being engaged. She actually came with two speeds: full-bore and sleep. The sleep gear seems to only work for 3-4 hours at best, making for melodious overnight vocalizations...

She is endlessly inquisitive and playful, and knows no strangers...yet....

This is the only water she's been in so far...didn't do too much before hopping out, but if she hangs with Mercy she will quickly learn that creeks and lakes are pretty cool places to explore...

And so this post ends with many updates to follow, I have no doubt...let the adventurous games begin!