Random Summer Photos

A few random photos from this summer

Red Sun from the forest fires in the West

Evening parade

Backdoor visitor - Got carrots???

Early Summer blooms in neighbor's yard

Unusual Aspen 

Mine opening found in nearby foothills

Mine Tag

Sign at nearby laundromat

Crude but effective

Cat Tales ~ Green Excesses

Mommy has a green thumb. She loves flowers and trees and all things growing in the dirt.
Mommy said she wanted to  make the new place look bee-utiful. A place that when people who stop to look at the old house say, "WoW! Look at those flowers. And at this altitude!"

{{Mommy said that the people who stop in the street or on the sidewalk out in front of the house are taking pictures of the house because it is old and pretty. Me disagrees. Those people are taking pictures of ME! cause Me is so handsome and Me likes to sit in the front window to show off Me's fantastic good-looks}}

Back to Mommy and her thumb. Mommy ordered seeds to plant to make her garden pretty. But she didn't want to plant the seeds in the ground. She wanted to plant the seeds in the house. Really???  I know those Doggies are pigs but Me didn't think the floor was that dirty!

Mommy got a mini-greenhouse - that's what Mommy called it. Me told her that it wasn't very green but she pointed out that the shelves and supports were green. And soon, Mommy said, there would be green in the trays and trays and trays and trays of dirt sitting in the greenhouse.

Well, Mommy wasn't wrong. There are trays and trays and trays and trays of green everywhere in the house. Mommy said that as soon as the weather breaks, she would be planting the green outside.

Now, how do you break the weather???

The View...

From my kitchen window...

Both with and without snow

.

In Memorium.......

Fantum

1999-2017

Fantum, what a loving Kitty you were.

Letting all the children pet your silky fur.

Your meow was broken but it was no matter.

You loved all the wee ones, whose feet went pitter patter.

You'd lay in Mommy's flowers till they were squished flat.

Then you'd snuggle Mommy and lay upon her lap.

May your fields be filled with Catnip

Your food bowls overflow with food

May you always have a warm lap

Fantum we miss you.

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

Gardening Day

World Naked Gardening Day - May 2nd

ENJOY!

(p.s. use sunscreen!)

Cat Tales ~ Meowie Wowie!

That's not Mes! That's Mes young doppelganger who's in charge of Quality Control. And Mommy in back trimming the Bud

Over the summer, Mommy would harvest Catnip grown in her Youngest's garden. This was some pretty AwEsOmE stuff! Me named it Meowie Wowie! Mommy took a cutting from the last batch she got before the snow flew and cloned it. Meowzahs!

This clone is now growing on the kitchen window sill. Mommy said that she will clone more when the parent gets big enough to take cuttings. Mommy is then going to plant the clones once they are big enough in the Fairy Grove at Whyspering Woodes. Mommy said that Me can become a 'NIP Grower. And Me isn't even limited on how many plants Me can grow! Meowzahs!

Mommy said that she has found Catnip growing wild in many of the Nature Parks around the area. Me can't help but wonder if that explains why there are so many large wild cats seen in the area. Does Catnip affect Mountain Lions, Bobcats, and Lynx? Something for Me to delve into.....

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

Cat Tales ~ The Scoop on "Bud"

As many of you faithful readers know, Me loves Me 'Nip! 

Me loves to eat it, roll in it, and huff the plant's fragrant aroma. 

Catnip is known by many names - Catmint, Catnip, Cat's Heals All, Cat's Wort to list just a few. There are over 250 species of catnip plant which is in the mint family. But only good ol' fashioned Catnip, Nepeta Cataria, appeals to Cats. And yes, Catnip is a relative of the cannabis plant. But Kittys should never have cannabis! 

It is the oil, Nepetalactone, that causes odd behavior in Kittys. Or rather sniffing the aroma of the oil that causes Kittys to act funny, strange or mean. In fact, a Kitty can smell 1 part Nepetalactone to a billion parts air! Meowzahs! It is thought by mens of science that the aroma of the oil Nepetalactone mimics cat pheromones. Eating catnip actually allows Us Kittys to release more aroma from the leaves. And Wes get Our greens that way too. 

Catnip Love is hereditary. If a Cat doesn't come from a family of Catnip Lovers then He can't learn to like it. 

But always remember moderation when partaking of any 'green' recreational bud.

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

Punks and Roses

The art of Fran Liscio

Gardens Under Glass

The Art of Paul Stankard

Seed Library

A decade ago, a librarian in New York had a wonderful idea to add seeds packets to the library where he worked. People can 'check out' the seeds in the Spring and then return them in the Autumn after harvest. Since then the idea has taken off and now there are more than 150 similar programs in place. 

The purpose is to connect people with heirloom plants which will grow in a regions specific climate. People take the seeds in the Spring, plant them, and then once the plant has gone to seed the gardener will return the seeds to the library. 

And I'm lucky enough to have a Seed Library located very close at hand! 

Check these links to see if there is a Seed Library close to you.

Hudson Valley Seed Library

Sister Seed Lending Libraries

Talking to Plants

image source

Do you talk to your plants? I do.
Do your plants talk back? They will if you listen closely.

image source

George Washington Carver discovered over 300 uses for the peanut plant. He said that he was told of these uses by the plant itself! Some people may feel this is quite far fetched but to those who are in tune to Nature, it is quite normal to have a conversation with a tree or flower or bush. Perhaps if we slow down and listen with our heart and soul rather than our ears and our mind, we will hear what the Flora is trying to tell us.
Experiments have been conducted on a plant's ability to communicate and the response of plants to Human interaction. These experiments have been performed by a variety of scientists worldwide as well as by 'lay people' like the Mythbusters. It has been proven again and again that plants will respond to certain types of noise better than others. Is it the actual noise or is it the vibrations created by the noise to which the plants respond? 
Scientists in China discovered that crop plants will increase their yield when sound waves of certain frequencies are broadcast to them. The frequency levels at which plants respond are well out of the range of human hearing. 
Plants also communicate among themselves, usually by scent. This has been proven again and again. But do they 'talk' to each other? In some sort of way that resembles human conversation? Maybe. A team of researchers are currently studying if some plants have specific requirements for sound and if some plants are more talkative than others.

image source

Plants having the ability to communicate brings about another question. Do they have an intelligence? Do they have a soul? This is a topic that could cause quite a stir.

For over a 100 years, botanists have documented similarities between plants and animals. Which leads to the conclusion that plants are intelligent beings who can communicate not only with each other but with animals and humans. In fact the bond between a plant and a human can be so strong that the plant can sense things about its human, even if the human is many, many miles away.

Kinda gives a whole new meaning to "Tree Hugging".

Click Here to Read More about Plant Communication!

And Definitely Click Here to Read about Plants and their souls!

Keeping myself out of trouble

It's been almost 6 months since we moved to our new hometown and the little urban cottage in whence we reside. Time has truly flown by.  And grass has not grow under my feet. (giggle Not too hard since it is January!)  I am slowly working my way through the mountain of boxes filled with the stuff I had packed up more than two years ago. I am hoping to have tackled the mountain completely by the time Spring arrives. I am so tired of 'stuff' monopolizing my time! And space!

I have been busy in the creative department. I recently took two Snow Faeries to the gift shop in Cripple Creek. One of them insisted on 'riding shotgun' - even though she flew the whole way!

The other Faery was content to sit on her stool and contemplate her sculpture. She is getting ready for the upcoming Cripple Creek Ice Festival. Didn't take her long to find her way to the front window.

Giant Maple Leaf - O, Canada!

Gunnera Leaf

My love of trees helped me get another gig. I answered an ad on Craig's List for a Leaf Maker. I made a couple of extremely large leaves - 3 feet across.  The leaves were used to make molds for birdbaths and stepping stones.

Gunnera Leaf Birdbath

And a few more irons have been thrown into the proverbial fire. I'll be sure to give you up-dates as the irons heat up. 

The art of Bonsai

More Photos of the Bonsai trees at the May 2013 exhibit at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Random Roadtrip ~ Bonsai Exhibit

This week's road-trip is to a Bonsai Exhibit at the Denver Botanic Gardens. My youngest son and I attended this exhibit in May.

My son and I both have a love for the art of Bonsai. We have both tried our hand at growing these miniature trees. It is not easy to replicate the environmental character that is developed by their full size cousins living in the 'Wilds of Nature'.

Many of the trees on exhibit were quite old. And many were unique because they were not the 'normal' species of plant used for Bonsai.

Stay tuned to my Sunday art post which will showcase many of the Bonsai we saw.