Crazy Times In The Last Couple Of Weeks...

I feel like I am being pulled in all directions… 

And it's not so bad...

And it's Tuesday - So it's time to share with the Tuesday Garden Party…

Hosted by An Oregon Cottage…

Thanks Jami for hosting this event…

It helps me keep on track with keeping up blogging on this garden blog so time does not slip away...

The 50% off sale perennials are starting to make it into the garden…
And I am starting to keep track of the plant names to better educate myself to avoid spreading plant name ignorance (and so I don't feel so dumb at times - not that I ever want to be viewed as overly educated and intelligent - not like that would ever happen anyway :)

I went to a beading night with some friends and saw this fun garden hill that was a bit overgrown and unkept (I love it!)…

I was hanging outside with Chloe and we were looking at things with her kaleidoscope (sidewalk chalk above)…

I have been pondering the use of copyright free clip art images for some limited edition porcelain pendants as seen above for the My Mom Pattie Etsy shop…

September was her month, so perfect timing to get some new pieces listed…
You can check out my blog for her if you are interested…
And if you want to spread the word, grab the above picture and make a link to her blog or etsy shop…
I would appreciate the additional word of mouth for the shop (profits go to help out with my current "cause". Right now it's raising funds to designate a room in her memory to the Tri-State Bird Rescue building annex...

Sidewalk chalk out back on a morning cool enough to have to put on long sleeves…

And fun times with Riley before he starts up school next week…
In my head, I feel momentarily bad about sending him to school (shouldn't I be able to be Super Mom and give him all the education he needs)?
But then I remember how frustrating it can be…
I need some "me time" or something mean inside starts to eek out and it makes everyone not so happy…
 And he will thrive in school with all his little friends and great teachers!
I can't be everything to Riley and Chloe…
And to Dave for that matter too…
We did commit to be there for one another through getting married, and I intend with all my heart to be the best person I can be to help him as he helps me constantly…
I'm carving out time to refocus on Marsha and become a better person for us all…

Here is one of the pieces I created at the beading night last week which may end up in the My Mom Pattie Etsy shop this week. I will be spending the next couple of days listing items into my Marsha Neal Studio Etsy shop - I'm SO excited to share my new work...

Oh and for "Honoring September 2010" I am running a special all month long when you buy any items through either of my Etsy shops:

Marsha Neal Studio Etsy

or

My Mom Pattie Etsy

or my website: 

MarshaNealStudio.com

See the Marsha Neal Studio Blog for details...

-- Pictures Taken With & Posted From My iPhone

August 2010 Mosaic Monday - Porcelain Clay Halloween Preparation

I have really enjoyed using the Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker…

Thanks to Mary at Little Red House for hosting Mosaic Monday and for posting a link on how to create photo mosaics easily...

Thank you Mary (really - THANK YOU!) for the addiction not only for garden pictures, Riley & Chloe pictures, but also for use for my artwork.

Here is one mosaic I created last week for some of my new Porcelain Halloween Pendants that I am getting ready to post up in my Etsy shop in the next two days...

MarshaNealStudio.Etsy 2010 Porcelain Halloween Pendants.

I also contribute a monthly post to the Beads-of-Clay Blog about testing and using commercial Cone 6 glazes. These mosaics have saved my life and blog photo space… 

I think they are quite useful as a teaching visual aide as well...

MarshaNealStudio.com Mosaic for my monthly BOC Blog glaze test post.

I have been taking photos out in my garden as well, but right now my time is being spent on working in the studio - mainly pulling stuff together for the "Honoring September" event (in memory of my mom, Pattie) I am going to jump into on September 1 (her birthday)…

Some of those Halloween Pendants will be available as completed necklaces through the My Mom Pattie Etsy shop too. I just have to get them pulled together tomorrow and photos taken… 

A lot easier said than done…

Makes me exhausted just thinking about taking all those photos, then cropping, editing, uploading, describing, and all that goes along with getting something listed on Etsy...

Three Garden Blogging Events In One Post...

This is one of those posts to cover all three garden blogging events going on because the overlap happens to be right on with timing:

Mosaic Monday

Garden Party Tuesday

Wildflowers in Bloom

So this morning on the way to drop Chloe off at school I took the Nikon digital SLR with me and my little Cannon Point and shoot. The iPhone is always in tow, but today was a special trip…

Fondness for Queen Anne's Lace…

Every day I drive by this area here in Hockessin that is lined with random spots of natural overgrowth…

So many natural plants, and the "invasive" purple loosestrife.

Areas that are only slightly maintained - meaning mowed at the edge coming up to the road or parking…

Prickly Flowers… They may look pretty, but...

Flowers in bloom that wash the area in color…

Purple Clover all over the place - and tons of insects feeding from them!

Flowers, Grasses, and Weeds that are usually pulled from my garden…

Some insects I happened upon while walking through this unkept meadow.

And after spending some time walking around taking photographs and watching all the natural movement...

Check out these butterflies in flight… I love this camera sometimes!

Why do I weed my garden so much? Really???

Just look at all the beautiful flowers, colors, textures, insect life, birds could be heard, and seen flying…

And yes, there are quite a few invasive plants in there - but it doesn't make them less pretty through the camera. 

There are areas that I would love to have the "weeds": purple clover, the goldenrod, the queen anne's lace and even the prickly ones… I went and bought myself some goldenrod from Gateway Garden Center the other day… I just had to get some for the garden!

I think that in wide open areas these plants can really create havoc. But in my garden, I keep at least one (my butterfly bush) that is listed on the "Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas". I will keep on weeding out invaders that do damage and are a nuisance - like the Garlic Mustard, Japanese Stilt Grass, the Wineberry...

Anyway - I thought it was important to get out of my garden and into some local areas to show some of the "Wildflowers" that are in abundance around here…

Thanks for stopping by!

Busy With Beads & Butterflies...

I am getting ready to send a bunch of beads & pendants to my friend Darlene of D7Studio for Bead Fest Philadelphia (King of Prussia, PA actually) for this next weekend's show (she is in booth #408).

Interested in going? Click HERE for a pdf of a free admission pass…

Forward that to a friend that you may think is interested and in the area (then maybe they can get you a little something there as a thank you for saving them $$$).

As I have been working mainly in the Florida room (the sun room) on the back of the house, I can see the main hill garden and all the butterflies visiting...

And I think I ran out there at least a dozen times (then got scolded at by Dave "are you going to get work done or keep taking pictures of butterflies all day?"). 

Um… depends on if unusual ones like this Pipevine Swallowtail show up… hehehehe…

So I had plans to make the pictures I took into a cool mosaic for Mosaic Monday.

And include the post on Garden Party Tuesday…

But here it is (is was just Wednesday, but the clock struck 12…) Thursday and I am finally done making beads and pendants for the show. The last kiln is loaded and firing… I am about to go check to make sure they are turning off before going to bed…

Check out my other blog: MarshaNealStudio.Blogspot.com for Bead Fest live pictures on Friday if you are interested in what a bead show is like (careful… very addictive - like the plant 50% off section of the garden center…).

I also am posting pictures on my Marsha Neal Studio FaceBook Fan page as I am getting ready for the show. Once and a while I get on the ball and actually post pictures of the things I am doing in the studio…

Hope all is well! Thanks for stopping by…

Butterfly pics to come for next Mosaic Monday and Garden Party Tuesday!

August Garden Bloggers Bloom Day 2010

Welcome to my August Garden…
Part of the August Garden Bloggers Bloom Day event...

Chloe and I would love to show you around… 

If I can get her to slow down for a moment!

This year our garden is being called:
the butterfly garden!
Chloe will be telling you why in a bit…

Here is a shot of the main hill garden… 

Up at the top, past the Karl Forester Grass there are a few trees (an oak in particular) that need to come out so a vegetable garden can be built up there... (not to worry, only a little into the wooded area - plans to help the woodland habitat are always in mind as well).

That way we can grow more than just these:

The Ironweed has done quite well with avoiding deer grazing this year.

Must have had a few survivors in the last couple of years because I have baby Ironweed plants popping up all around the garden.

Red and yellow flower grown from seed from last years plant... A humming bird favorite!

Oh wait, here is Chloe…

Look mommy, purple flowers!

Oh, I see Chloe... Is that what you have been doing over there?

And look: a bumble bee is napping…
Chloe: "Shhh, don't wake him up!
Look! He has an Umbrella Too!!!"
(well that was loud enough to wake him…)

Look at that mommy butterfly Chloe, she is tasting the plant with her special butterfly feet.
If she lands on the right one for her babies, she will lay an egg there.

Look, look, look (in my Annie voice - Little Einsteins): a butterfly egg!

Chloe: "Oh wow! Hey mommy butterfly... come over here and lay more eggs!"

Chloe, look over here on this other milkweed plant.
Caterpillars!
These came out of that tiny egg (just like in the book) and they have gotten big from eating all the leafs.

Chloe: "Do their tummies hurt from eating too much?"
Me: No, these caterpillars don't eat cake and ice cream. Only plants.

I believe that this is (above) the tussock moth caterpillar…

And a humming bird moth hanging out in the grass.
Too cold today for a lot of our insect friends…

Let's put him somewhere safe so we don't step on him and so he can have a plant umbrella too. "Just like the bee, right mom?"

Right Chloe...

Thanks for stopping by and hanging out.
We also played with seed pods, squished some almost blooming day lilly flower heads (that was quite entertaining), planted some of the plants from a few weeks ago, looked at things with a magnifying glass, pruned the hydrangeas and played with the cuttings, and enjoyed a nice lunch together outback & threw the football around a bit (more laughing & running than catching) Oh, then filled the bird feeders.

Love these days with cooler weather!

- Pictures Taken With & Posted From My iPhone

Critters in the Garden...

Welcome to my post for the Tuesday Garden Party!

If you have a blog, and have garden pictures to share - Join in on the Tuesday Garden Party fun!!!

This has been a fun year to see critters in my garden…

There have been many more than what is pictured…

Most of which there are no pictures of…

These are a few I have captured recently...

Here is a Red Admiral on the Common Milkweed...

A garter snake by the cucumbers...

A shot farther out to give you an idea about size (there was a baby with a head the size of a pencil eraser at the top of the retaining wall - nest in there?)

The next morning this little bird (fledgling? not sure about what kind of bird) right around where the snake had been...

And this female preying mantis has been hanging out for a few days. Wonder if I will find an egg casing around... Going to keep a lookout for one...

These are just some of the recent visitors. I also saw a frog - not a toad like normal, just this afternoon while watering… Of course, I wasn't able to get close enough to get a clear picture before he hopped into the jungle of my garden plants...

What fun!!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

-- Pictures Taken With & Posted From My iPhone

Cone Flower Mosaic for the Garden Party

So it is Tuesday Wednesday, and I am a little late for 

Mosaic Monday 

and 

Garden Party Tuesday…

Well, we all know how that goes sometimes… 

And look, surprise: Cone Flowers…

Most of the pictures were taken on the same cone flower plant just yesterday afternoon (this is one of the plants that the deer have dead headed for me consistently for the last two summers).

I love going through my digital pictures (I tend to take a lot in rapid succession) and it looks like stop animation. Well, until I figure out how to take those pictures and make them into a video, I'll just keep making mosaics out of them… 

This above mosaic is of my 7 month old (7 months already?!!!): Riley. My husband often comments "Marsh, why don't you just take a video if you are going to take that many pictures?" 

A video is too boring if you ask me… 

I like trying to find those glimpses of the perfect moment (they are often the "not so perfect" pose)...

Thanks for stopping by!