Weird Wednesday ~ Various Weirdness in Colorado

A tornado was seen on Mt. Evans, which is located in the mountains just west of Denver, at an altitude of 11,900 ft. This is the second highest altitude tornado ever recorded. Read more here!

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Recently an abandoned mine shaft collapsed under Interstate 70, west of Denver near Idaho Springs, creating a huge hole. The area where this occurred is rich with the mining history of Colorado's past. Hubby and I saw this one up close and personal! Read more here!

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A collapsed railroad tunnel recently closed a highway from Leadville to Vail.  This was another leftover remnant from Colorado's mining past. The tunnel is a 100 year old Rio Grand Railway tunnel. Read more here!

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A Carnival Wedding ~ pt. 1 ~ The Ceremony

Last week went by in a blur. It was consumed by grocery shopping, cake baking, decorations to be made, clothes to be altered, cake decorating, and lists to be double-checked. But seeing the glow on the Bride and Grooms faces on Wedding Day was oh so worth all the work, all the worry, and all the late nights. 

Wedding day started off hot and we were all bracing ourselves for a hot, sweaty afternoon at the amusement park where the ceremony and dinner were going to take place.

But the day quickly turned cloudy and by the time I left with my granddaughter (flower girl) for Lakeside Amusement Park, a heavy rain was falling. Hubby was loading every tarp we owned into his truck in case they were needed. The ceremony was planned for outside but the dinner was to be in a covered pavilion. If necessary we were going to cover the openings in the pavilion so the ceremony could take place there. But The Universe saw fit to have the sun back out and shining an hour before the ceremony. 

The Bride was gorgeous. Her colors were turquoise blue (from the 50's), carnival red, and white.

The Bridesmaids carried bouquets of real cotton candy which 'melted' slightly because of the humidity in the air. I ran out of time to make the artificial bouquets.

The Bridesmaids wore 50's style sun dresses, black with white polka dots, a turquoise sash and red tulle petticoat.

The Groom was quite dapper, the Groomsmen were dashing in their black shirts and vests with turquoise ties! According to Hubby, they looked like the local Mafia. 


The theme was Carnival. The setting was Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver, Colorado. (Read about Lakeside here!) 

It was wonderful! And incredibly, the whole affair went off without a glitch! Thankfully! Because the weeks leading up to the event were stressful. Last minute cancellation by the photographer - and scrambling to find another to fit in the budget. Frustration because of the lack of communication by the Amusement Park company. 

The Groom's Niece was the Flower Girl and the Couple's Son was the ringbearer.
The rings were tied to a Coke bottle.

But it all worked out in the end. In fact, Lakeside was wonderful! They roped off the Pavilion for our use; had the fountain in the Central Park area operating; even had men to help with the unloading and loading of all our stuff.

I'll share pictures of the reception on Thursday. So stay tuned!

Cat Tales ~ Garden Shots

Mommy said she'd be here tomorrow with photos of the wedding. So until then here's a few garden photos for your enjoyment. 

Oh.... And beginning today, Me is going to have a Pumpkin update every Monday on Me's post.

So, first the garden photos, then the Pumpkin photos.

(And remember to click on a photo to enlarge it)

Angel's Trumpet

Red Yarrow

Black-eyed Susans

Angel Trumpet's with Pumpkin in Background

Red Morning Glory

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Photo taken June 17, 2012

The wee little Pumpkin Plant that many people pondered over, has quickly grown into a behemoth.

It has grown across the front sidewalk and into the other flower bed. Mommy has kept the leaves trimmed back so people can get up and down the steps. Mommy found a pair of kid's socks amongst the leaves the other day..... I hear mutterings in the house about "having to keep an eye on That Plant....." and "should the postman go missing.....". But Me knows that The Pumpkin is a strong young plant that only wants to claim enough area to raise a family.

So far there is only one baby. And what a BIG baby it is! This nice looking Jack is only three weeks old and is slightly larger than a basketball. Mommy says it may grow as big as the front step. Maybe I can talk Mommy into measuring Jack before next Monday so We can see how much The Pumpkin grows in a week.

Sewn Paper

 The Art of Anna-Wili Highfield

Cat Tales ~ Wedding Hoorah!

Mommy is going to be MIA for the next week and a few days. She told Me that She is going to be very busy helping with stuff for the "Wedding Thing"!   
Hhrrmmp!   Doesn't Mommy know that Me is more important than any Wedding Shmedding Thing! 

But Mommy did promise to spend some extra special time with Me after the whole mess is over. And She promised Me a new Catnip plant or two.
So until then, there is going to be a whole lot of this going on......

And this.......

So stay tuned! Mommy will be back soon with lots of pictures! 

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

Art of Pipes & Cable-ties

 The Art of Tom Price

Cherry Trees

Melted Pipe Chair 

Melted Cable-tie Chair

Bayou La Fae

Living in a metro area has it's advantages. One of these is having a multitude of thrift stores to comb through. And in my wanderings, I have begun acquiring old run-down (bird) houses that can be re-made into houses for the Fae. The creation below is one of those. 

I also keep my eyes peeled for small animal figures or any item that can be re-purposed into furniture or other household items for the Wee Folk.

This is Bayou La Fae. It will be for sale at my booth at the Elizabeth Celtic Festival this weekend.

Weird Wednesday ~ Jurassic Germ Resurrected

A 500 million-year-old bacteria has been brought back to life in a laboratory at Georgia Tech in an experiment with echoes of Jurassic Park's disastrous recreation of the dinosaurs. 

The researchers have resurrected a 500-million-year-old gene and inserted it into a modern E Coli bacteria. The 'Frankenstein' germ has thrived. In the lab, the creation has now lived through 1,000 generations.

The scientists hope to find out whether the 'ancient' bacteria will evolve the same way it did 'first time round' - or whether it will evolve into a different, new organism.

The new 'chimeric' bacteria has mutated rapidly - and some have become stronger and healthier than today's germs. 

Not only did the fitness levels increase to nearly modern-day levels, but also some of the altered lineages actually became healthier than their modern counterpart.
When the researchers looked closer, they noticed that every EF-Tu gene did not accumulate mutations. 

Instead, the modern proteins that interact with the ancient EF-Tu inside of the bacteria had mutated and these mutations were responsible for the rapid adaptation that increased the bacteria’s fitness. 

In short, the ancient gene has not yet mutated to become more similar to its modern form, but rather, the bacteria found a new evolutionary trajectory to adapt.

Click here to read the whole article!

Cat Tales ~ Robin's New Babies

Miss Robin over at Wiccan Writes has adopted two very cute Calico sisters and will soon be bringing them home to live with her. Those little girls are going to be SO HAPPY!!! And Miss Robin has started a blog about them and their adventures together. Click here to go to PurrrrSnicKitty. 

Miss Robin is such a nice lady! She's having a give-away at her blog, Wiccan Writes, so be sure to stop by for a visit.

And these little girls are very special. Click here to read about their story.

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

Drains and Manhole Covers

The Art of Manhole Covers and Storm Drains

Brief July Update~Faeries, Pumpkins and a Wedding

July is flying by! I've been busy with house guests, grandchildren, Faery goodness, and Wedding plans. Hubby's brother and his family came out for a brief visit over the July 4th holiday. It was great fun seeing them.
With Summer Vacation going on, all the grandchildren have been around more than normal. We've been busy baking cherry fruit pies, making mud pies in the sandbox, and generally just trying to enjoy ourselves despite the Summer Heat.

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Most of the wildfires which were consuming our State have been brought under control. Thank You to everyone for helping to send the much needed rain our way. The desolation and despair which was left in the wildfires' wakes will linger for years. But Mother Nature has a way of healing that which has been ravaged. Wildflowers and Aspen Trees will come to grace many of the barren areas.
With my next show a week away, I have been busy creating more Fae goodness. A Fae house is nearing completion and some wee little gnomes are in the works. (Pics soon to come!)
The Wedding is rapidly approaching. Two Weeks from today! Many of the details have changed and evolved over time. There was some last minute scrambling to find another photographer. The joy of finding the perfect wedding dress - that fit! And numerous cake designs to ponder over. My blog will probably be inundated with photos over the next few weeks.

And the Free Range Pumpkin which took up residence in our yard has decided to lay claim to the front stoop. I have had to trim some of the leaves so we could find the first step.

And in retaliation, the Pumpkin is now growing towards the door. The Pumpkin and I are going to have to come to some kind of agreement.....

The Bees are as busy as ever around The Pumpkin's Blossoms in the morning hours. I don't blame them a bit - the blossoms are gorgeous in the bright morning sunshine. And we are all on Baby Watch. No little round bundles of Halloween-ness can be seen just yet. But I know it won't be long before one or (hopefully) more can be found on the vines.

Weird Wednesday ~ Eye Make-up