More Challenging than the Others:: Flora

Working with polymer clay is fascinating!  As much as I love glass, I love polymer clay. 

Flora looks like she's ready to nest.  She actually looks plump and ready for spring.  She has a pony tail made of spring greens.  Her hair is full of flowers and a single bird that made it's way to nest.  I don't know about you, but I do like Flora!

What do you think?

Day 25:: 31 Day Writing Challenge:: Listing Saturday:: Why I Love Fall

1) The colors

2) The Contrast in colors

3) The cooling down of the weather

4) The knowledge that spring will come again.

5) Yellow, Red, Green all in one

6) Leaves that crunch on the ground

7) The smell of fireplaces burning

8) A chance to light the fireplace

9) Sleeping an hour longer

10) Lighting the firepot for a few precious hours outside

11) New jackets

12) Jeans

13) Sweaters

14) The warm weather following a killing frost

15) Flowers that survive a frost

What do you like best about the Fall?

I'm Ready for Change, Almost

The seasons are beginning to change. Right now we are here when summer has matured and is ready to slow down for a much needed nap.

















I'm beginning to see the winds of change in the plants outside.






















The brown eyed susans are in bloom.





















The ragweed cometh. These are all signs that fall is on the way.






















Soon the leaves will begin to change color. What a magnificent show we will see then!

















The birds will begin to fly south as we prepare for the onset of winter.
















Then there is the quiet beauty of the first snowfall.

I don't look forward to the bitter cold, ice and snow of winter, but I am ready for change.

The Perfect Garden

When you live in Minnesota, you expect a long winter, a short fall, a very short spring, and a medium length summer. Usually, at the first sign of a warm day, the true gardeners are outside raking and cleaning up the gardens to get ready for the first planting, the first tulip, the first day when they can be outside puttering in their beautiful gardens. I am not one of those gardeners. I'd be happy just watching my garden grow from afar.

Knowing this, I had to ask myself, what would be the perfect garden for me. Here are pictures of my garden as it looks right now.



In my perfect garden, there would be flowers blooming all the time--even in winter. Winter would not kill the perfect rosebush or make it go dormant. Flowers would bloom all year long.


















Some bushes and plants would have two different types of flowers on them. They would bloom profusely and never go dormant.



















This rosebush, which has been in the same place in the garden for over 20 years, would bloom profusely. In the twenty years it has been here, it has bloomed only one time, and that was for my daughter's graduation. The flowers were bountiful and fragrant. Since then, the rosebush has not bloomed again.



















My beautiful little herb garden would never need weeding. (Actually, none of my garden would ever need weeding!) The herbs would overflow with their pungent fragrances and taste. Now, that would be awesome!

The perfect garden would also have the perfect gardener. That would be Raul with his shirtless body steaming in the sun. His muscles rippling as he plunged the shovel into the garden----Wait!



Wrong fantasy! Oh, well, at least you know what my perfect garden would be like!