Today was "nature" day at the river. This morning when I went out, there was this huge garden spider. They are pretty amazing web builders. Then around lunch time five deer showed up (one not in the pic). The one in the front is "Sunflower" and then her yearling is the second one. Not sure how the other two females and the buck that is in the back fit in to the family tree. I am sure that the buck will be kicked out soon as he is starting to get his horns - they are about 6" long now.

Also, a fellow blogger - Blase' www.blaseimho.blogspot.com came out to the river for a visit. He got a tour of the studio and then we took a hike down to the river. It was really nice except for it being so humid! It is always cool to meet someone in person that you have only known threw the internet. And we always love to have company!

A couple other blogs to mention:

I want to thank Nancy www.nfall2rt.blogspot.com for chosing me as a winner in her latest contest! I won tons of cute notecards and envelopes. Be sure to check out her blog and also her Etsy and Artfire stores (links on her blog). Thanks again, Nancy!!!

Also, one of my guilds is having another contest: http://shopswithlesssalesartfire.blogspot.com/2009/08/wheres-waldo-august-contest_15.html Vabeachquilter is the sponsor this month!!! She has some great items, so take a look.

A few items of interest

Mondays always seem to be a catch up day. So this blog will be a mixture of things...

First - for the nature lovers...

We had some close encounters with some deer over the weekend. The first was a Momma and her baby. Momma figured that we put out the bird bath to add to her buffet and baby was still wobbly.

The second encounter was with another Momma and her yearling. Both were looking for hand outs. Obviously, they have been hand feed before. And the other cool "nature thing" we saw was this moth. Incredible!!!

Second - I had great success with my glass pieces in the kiln over the weekend!!! I will be adding some of these items to ArtFire soon! http://liquidambar.artfire.com/

Third - I am expecting an order from my bead supplier. They have been back-ordered for three months on jump rings. I love to do chain mail! But while I am waiting check out this site: She does great work!! http://yesredpanda.blogspot.com/2009/07/give-away-time.html

Forth - I have spent the entire day working on my website. There are a few bugs (links) to be worked out, but if you run across anything I've missed, please let me know. http://www.liquidambarstudio.com/

The Wild Life

Ok, back when I was a teenager the "wild life" would include all kinds of things that I would never tell my parents about (although they always knew). But, now I am amazed at all of the real wild life that is around me every day. The studio is a perfect place for nature lovers (and both John and I are).

We were busy at the studio working all weekend, but every time we turned around there was another interesting creature. We woke up Sat. to see a cute little Bambi, still with it's wobbly legs. Didn't see Mama, but we knew she was watching us.

Later that evening we took Biscuit for a walk and came across a box turtle in the drive way. Biscuit was very curious but stayed her distance.

This guy was posing for me.

And then while we were taking a break from our artwork we came across this beetle. I felt like someone was watching me all day!

I can't help but start to think of all the forms, colors and patterns that are in nature. My mind starts going in a hundred different directions and I come up with a hundred new ideas that I can do with my art. Wouldn't you want to see that beetle about 6' tall made out of concrete that you could climb on? Or the turtle made out of stained glass?

Alright, I need to stop coming up with new projects and finish some that I have started. Who knows what we will see next? And what great projects it will inspire!