seed saving ...

At the end of each  Summer

I go about the garden with little glassine bags gathering the spent seeds. As

I always have an abundance of Morning glory seeds, I like to make up small "Friendship Garden" Seed Bags.  Not all of the seeds end up being saved however as I love to run my hand across the tendrils and toss seeds back into my garden

 (which is probably the reason we find Morning Glory blooming in the most unusual spots) :-D

but I always manage to  have enough to put a dozen or so seeds in each little bag.

 For the past few days,  I've  traded in my usual watercolours for coloured pencils and ink ...

an have an abundance of shavings to show for my work ♥ 

I often receive e mails asking me what paints, paper and pencils I use,

for me it is simple,

 nothing like a freshly sharpened #2 HB Graphite pencil, a rainbow of Prismacolor pencils, and

lots of Micron pens 01, 02, 03, 05, and 08 ... 05 being the most used.

 ~happiness~

 I made some little sparrow ♥ seeds

labels to attach to each bag ...

 I ♥ sparrows ...

and butterfly wings ...

 inspirational words ...

 and nests ...

  filled with

 hedge sparrow eggs ...

 looking through pages of old gardening journals ...

 reading about Morning Glory ...

Happy Gardening Memories

♥

sun streams ...

Another cold and windy day

but

the sun streams lighting up my painting desk make it feel warm and cozy inside ♥

working on a new garden journal

& thinking of new plants to attract even more birds

in Sparrows Garden ...

looking through photos of birds  visiting  now

{all taken in the same tree, from the same kitchen window at different Seasons} :-)

colour matching for sketches ...

my favourite Angora Water Colors made in Germany ...

not much left of them now ...

well used & loved ...

inspirational rocks ...

and tiny stones...

sitting in a bowl of sand

memories

from a special holiday ...

Each year, as soon as the Lilac is in bloom

I know the Finch will return to our garden ♥

I dream my paintings,

and then

they paint

my dreams

~Vincent Van Gogh~

~Have a wonderful weekend~

♥

baking day ...

starting the week

making homemade granola

and almond topped walnut/banana loaf

simple ingredients

when mixed together

make lovely, simple meals ...

toast made from homemade bread

topped with our jam

tastes

like home ♥

a small dish of Greek yogurt

with a tiny sprinkle of peanut/honey granola ...

 

my husbands

cheese & onion loaf

~YUM~

Seek a sanctuary.

Respect it,

as it is  holy.

Walk into it

with a bare mind,

bare feet,

and plain clothing.

Nurture

your body, mind and spirit.

Through a healing ritual,

leave it

with a pure heart

until you find your way to it

again.

~Master Jin Kwon~

Weekend walk ...

Archer

deep in thought on our walk today.

 

It's been a few days since I've been able to bring my camera with me on our walks.

I really missed having it with me, but walking was tricky with ice under snow.

 

A

Grapevine covered, snow capped nesting box

caught my eye ...

and two sweet little nests I hadn't seen before :-)

Listen to the compass

of your heart.

All you need

lies within you

~Mary Anne Radmacher~

Thankful {things I love} Thursday ...

~flowers in January~

♥

From December to March

there are

for many of us

three gardens

~ the garden outdoors

the garden of pots and bowls in the house

and the garden

of the mind's eye

~Katherine S White~

***

puddle wonderful ...

A teeny-tiny snowman sits on my kitchen window ledge

with seed eyes & sunflower nose.

Yesterday, we spotted both Mr & Mrs Cardinal in the garden

that splash of red in the snow ... stunning!

Soon afterwards a loud squawk was heard...

we were surprised to find not one but two

Blue Jays letting the Cardinals know that they had spent enough time at the feeders.

The Sparrows of course, always share ♥

It rained all through the night and it's been  sloshy - walking today.

Thinking of e.e. cummings words & preferring to think of it as "puddle wonderful" :-)

The world

is mud-luscious

and

puddle

wonderful

~e.e. cummings~

***