Rainy Day and Things made of Wood

Greetings from Ten Gables Cottage,
It is a rainy day here in South Florida and we need the rain, so I am quite happy to be indoors most all day! When it stopped for a few minutes I took a few photos...here is my back patio and you can see it is wet, but the bird bath is not full of water, so hopefully we will get more rain. Before the rain this morning, many birds were using the bird bath. A pair of Cardinals kept company with a woodpecker! Some sparrows came later.


















I took a few photos of some plants in the garden. Here is an eggplant and it is getting a good start. So far, it looks very green and healthy.

Among the vegetables are some flowers scattered here and there. I really don't plant things in rows like the conventional garden, as my plot is small and I like for it to look as much like a flower garden as a veggie garden. It has two roses in it, as well as a rosemary busy, a Mexican petunia, some zinnias and some marigolds. I have two antique ploughs standing up in the garden for interest. They do need to be painted to help preserve them, so that is a job to be done soon.

I have planted several purple cabbage and they are growing by leaps and bounds! I love the look of cabbages mixed in with flowers. To me, cabbage plants look like a big gorgeous flower! Look at that big drop of water on this one!

I soon had to retreat back on the back porch and you can see from this photo how wet the drive is. The ornamental kale is growing slowly near the topiary.

O.K, so I am back in the studio and looking around, I see some interesting wooden things to show you! First, here is a hand-carved boot, carved from one piece of wood, by an old man who was once my neighbor. He has left this world, but I have some very nice memories of this man and his carving ability. He was very creative and shared his creations with many people, who must treasure the things he made, as much as I do.

Here is my wooden mannikin that I use when drawing figures. Another wooden thing that is rather attractive as well as useful.

The piece below that looks like a ball in a box is another piece of art carved by the same fellow who did the boot. It is carved from one solid piece of wood! It is so amazing to me that someone could carve the chain, box and ball out of one piece of wood.

And finally, I have this face carved into a piece of tree that is knarled . You know how we look at trees and often visualize a face in the contours of the tree? Well, this artist has made a face in the wood!It is one of my favorite wooden things in the studio. It is fun on a rainy day to take a moment to appreciate the talents of creative people, and the gifts God gave them to share with others.

Everyone can be creative in some special way! Have a great day, Egretta