I was disappointed that the camera's auto-focus function chose to focus on the back of this sweet little basket instead of the front! Dang! But there's still enough detail to see the construction of this kelp basket, made by Mary Irvine, our late Guild member. Today was the sale of her materials, supplies, and basket collection.

 There was a LOT!! She was very talented, and interested in very many diverse basketry techniques, as well as jewelry and beading.

It was amazing to see such wonderful creativity, but heartbreaking at the same time.

Tomorrow I will have photos of the treasures I bought!

Poppy innards.

Well, I know you're dying to see how my dyeing came out! After the bundle cooled for several hours, I unwrapped it and opened the pages. Above shows how it looks as I pick off the leaves.

 This turned out to be one of my favorite pieces - it was the birch leaves, and I like the gentle colors and just the hint of the shape of the leaves.

 Here are all of the sheets as they dried on the table - each pair had one set of leaves. Most had some difference between the top and bottom of the leaf. Usually the bottom shows the shape of the leaf better, while the top is a bit more colorful. I am very happy with the results, although I don't know yet what I will do with them!

 Here's the steaming set-up for my Eco prints - the sheets of watercolor paper are sandwiched between cardboard and tied up tight. I set them on a rack, put another rack on top with a heavy weight, poured in some water, plugged it in and away we go! This is actually shot through a cloud of steam. After steaming for a couple of hours, it will cool overnight and I'll get to do the unwrapping! Can't wait to see what it will be . . .

Stopped along the road by my favorite pond, and the pair of Ospreys were circling and calling overhead.

I collected windfallen leaves for a dyeing project - Eco printing. I will press these for a while to flatten, then squish them between pages of watercolor paper and steam them to see what colors I can get. It's an assortment of native leaves and some flowers from my garden. Just whatever was on the ground. We'll see. . .

"I'm sitting on the swing and you can't!"

It's been so rainy lately I haven't been in the woods, and I completely missed that the salmonberries are ready! Yum yum!

Apollo was happy to come on small adventures along the trail.

 We see quite a few deer, but I still love to see them! This little spike with white-tipped ears has been a regular, and this afternoon he decided to attack my apple trees! No wonder I keep finding broken branches and bent trunks! He sure didn't get very alarmed when I went out on the deck, either!

Art Day at Carol's house!

A LBB sits in the gutter of her porch.

 Standing in front of the porch, this is the view of the main part of her yard.

 Behind me is a study in contrasts.

 To my left is a riot of color in front of the garage.

Lavendar and heather.

Walked at the Bush Point beach for a ways today. This cedar stump has been here for as long as I can remember, and I love the twisty shapes it reveals as it ages. Above, tiny red bugs climbed busily around the little fungi growing on the stump.

 Cara's mother Sharon came to visit, and brought her new 9-week old puppy. She doesn't have a name yet, but is sure soft and cute!

 Except to Tookers - he wasn't too sure what to do with this new little creature!

Post number 2000!!! 

AND Midsummer's Night Eve. 

How awesome is that?

Sunset from the Port Townsend ferry on Midsummer's Night Eve. The nearest headland on the right is Fort Casey.

 The low sun warms the bluff and lighthouse at Fort Casey as we got closer, with the officer's housing on the far left.

 Earlier, on the ride over to Port Townsend, it was completely cloudy, with a small bright patch to the south. The Sound was nice and calm as the ferry Kenewick makes it's crossing.

 It was low tide while I waited for the ferry, and a heron was doing some pretty successful hunting along the beach.

I went there to help Ginnie with her new house - she bought a repossessed double-wide on two acres, and it needs quite a bit of work to clean and paint and fix it up. It's nice and spacious, and the property is wooded and quite lovely with a lot of native rhododendrons throughout the woods. She took me out to dinner after, and we sat on the deck at Siren's pub and had pizza. The day had turned out to be gorgeous!

 Raining yet again today, although the forecast suggested 40% chance of showers. Oh, well - tiny spider webs appeared in the vine maple tree outside my window, festively bejeweled.

And, perhaps, the spider responsible, dwarfed by the raindrops.

SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 2012

Working on a different basket - the base is diamond twill cedar bark.

The spittlebugs have suddenly appeared - well, they have been around all spring, but have finally reached the stage where they create the froth on plants. This is done by sucking the plant's sap, and moving their bodies to create the bubbles, then they use their hind legs to cover themselves. The mass of froth serves to hide the spittlebug nymph, provide insulation, and keep them from drying out. This stage only lasts a few weeks, then the adult will lay eggs, which will hatch next spring. They're also called froghoppers, because they are similar to treehoppers, and have a frog face!

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2012

Cathi and I had a very fun afternoon together. First we went to a gallery opening for a local photographer, Louie Rochon, who had some amazing photos. We met him and his girlfriend, who Cathi knew from before - they were very interesting and nice, too!

 Then we went to the Greenbank Farm, where the Audubon Society was having a dead bird night. The local taxidermist works with them to collect and preserve specimens of all the birds on the island, and they brought loads of them for people to see. The tables were staffed by Audubon members who could answer just about any question. Above are some owls - some are stuffed realistically, some are just kind of flat, and some are in pieces.

There is a group of folks who meet every Wed. night to prepare the dead birds, and a few were working there for us to see. This lady had just finished pulling out all of the bird's insides, which are laying on the paper towel. She is stitching up the skin now, and from here it could be preserved several ways. 

This tree had really cool upright cones. 

Before we went inside, we sat out on a picnic table to have a snack and watch the birds. We were amazed to observe the swallows swooping down and splashing in the pond - apparently that is how they drink: on the fly! It was really fun to watch, but really hard to photograph!

 We also hiked up the hill to let Cathi's dog, Tui, stretch her legs after sitting so patiently in the car. There was a fantastic view of the sunset - a nice reward at the end of the night.

Another rainy day in paradise . . . but I do love the drippy photos!

Apollo offers his opinion in the wet grass.

Tookers joined us up on the roof.

 Later that evening, we had our Basketry Guild meeting, where Linnette Miller from the WA State Historical Society gave an interesting talk on identifying baskets and other old objects, and also some tips on taking care of them. Above, Sally (right) our president, points to the identifying photo in a book while Linnette holds a yucca seive.

 Sharon, Mary, Karen and Massy look over some of the baskets Linnette brought from her own collection, along with many books to help with the identifying.

 A couple of quick snapshots taken from a moving car (at least this time I wasn't driving!) It was evening, raining, and foggy, and the trees are so lush and green this time of year. Except for the alders in some areas - the tent caterpillars are back on their continuous 13-year cycle of eating all the leaves of the alder trees. But it gave this hawk a clear view - any he wasn't real sure about us stopping on the road below him!