Short, Wide, Proud

And keeping the bees quite happy (note honeybee at twelve o'clock on the flower). Standing at the lofty height of 34 inches, the seed head measures a grand 13 inches in diameter. We (me and the wee birdies, that is) have high hopes for collecting lots of seeds for the winter. Just need to come up with a plan for those pesky squirrels!

Oh look - there's two!

Trusty, Reliable and Functional

But completely out of date.

Waay, waay, waay back when, when scientific calculators were a necessary tool for graduate school (nope, I never really used much of that year-long study of statistics), I purchased the Sharp EL-509A. If I remember correctly, it wasn't cheap. Or maybe I was just really poor. 

Over the years I continued to use it when I needed to balance the checkbook (as if!) or do the taxes. It always worked. Until the other day, when it just wouldn't turn on. Not being one to give up too very easily, I raided the kitchen drawer (yes, that kitchen drawer. You know the one. Here we're only allowed to have one of those in the kitchen. But in the rest of the house - whew!) and came out with two different batteries for long-dead wristwatches - also on the verge of extinction, according to some. 

At any rate, the real hard work was discovering exactly how to remove the back cover to insert those batteries. Once that was accomplished, it, and I were back in business. That little bugger may be well superseded in this real world - "vintage" according to EBay - but with any luck, it'll just keep computing pi and add up utility bills and receipts for another I'm-not-going-to-tell-you-just-how-many years. 

The Golden Boy

He's big. He's bold. But he doesn't have a stinger. 

He's the Valley Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa varipuncta) and he came to visit the front garden last week.  He was especially partial to the purple veronica plants in bloom. He's quite a lot of insect to manage at first glance, but he does dress to impress.

Oh yeah, and he has green(ish) eyes. What a guy!

Birds, Birds and More Birds

A few weeks ago, I led a ceramics workshop: how to sculpt birds in clay. Birds that don't have to be "real" birds, but ones that still look like they could be real.

As you can see,  the students exceeded at the task: 

Can't wait to see them finished and glazed!

Fava Season

What more is there to say?

Beads, Beads, and More Beads

Not the brightest thing I've ever done, but I still like the result. So, if you have a ball of leftover clay, and a few spare minutes, why not make a ceramic bead? Or six? Or one hundred and six? Or even more?

However, once you have all these beads knocking around, then what? They can, and trust me, they have, just sit around on a shelf in the garage. But eventually, you really have to do something with them.  Like throw them out, try and give them away, or something.

I went the something route and "decorated" the house with bead garlands. As my friend Eve pointed out, "Just in time for Mardi Gras!" (She's more of a party animal than I am.)

Also, inspired by The Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan, I just couldn't resist including one red sock. So yes, I will be careful if I encounter any oversized rabbits. 

Yes, No, Well... She's a Cat

Is it wet outside? Cold? More than a bit windy? 

Is it dry inside? With warm, snuggy blankies on the bed? Calm and (mostly) quiet?

Of course the answer to all of the above questions is "yes". But does Luna want to come inside?

Of course not.

Sooo, They're Not Really Squash

Remember waay back when - December, 2023, to be precise - I wrote about a new set of gourds I grew in the front yard, destined (fingers crossed) to become birdhouses? Most likely, you don't. But that's okay, because I can tell you about it (again?) and you probably won't mind because you don't remember, right?

So, the gourds grew all summer along in 2023, then sat outside on the front porch drying and curing until nearly the summer of 2024. It took a while, but it was a huge success: nine potential birdhouses for many, many generations of wrens, chickadees and/or titmice. 

After a bit of drilling and filing, they came into their true purpose:

One gourd/birdhouse is now suspended from the back trellis, very close to where the old one was hanging. I haven't seen any feathery bodies checking out the premises yet, but I have high hopes. In all honesty, it sometimes can take the little ones a year or more to find the site and be convinced that it's safe. 

A few more are with other friends and family members, I believe even as far away as the San Diego area. As for the rest? Shhh, my lovely niece and I are installing them in an undisclosed open space area for the very wild birds. Her son was a great little helper on our first installation event. 

OH NO! Not Squash, Again!

I did promise, it's true, not to bring up squash, pumpkins, gourds, zucchini or any other large edible vegetable for a while. And I haven't, not for ten whole months. 

But just so you know, I am not the only one who "does" squash. To wit, some good friends of ours were in Montreal this fall, and at the farmers' market (probably the last of the season, since snow flurries were imminent) they came across this entertaining and educational display:

Photo courtesy of Eileen Ward

There really is nothing to add, except - 

Happy New Year!

Nothing Like a Deadline

So I started this ceramic project - everyone needs some birds and cactus in the yard, right - in the spring, and then, stuff happened. A lot of stuff, and mostly not good stuff. In fact, the kind of stuff that takes up a lot of time, energy, emotion fortitude and, well, life.

But I'm now getting back on track, and have great ambitions to complete this project by the end of the year. Or early January, Yes, I am deadline driven, but not that deadline driven. The point is simply to move it along. 

So from April, where there were three unglazed cactuses with unglazed birds to July when the cactuses were glazed, but not the birds. 

And in July-August, the grouping had been placed in the backyard.

By October, there were a few more pieces constructed and glazed, and a few more to go.

Last week: almost there, so wish me luck that I will make the deadline!