Spring, I Wonder what I am Seeing?

http://www.almanac.com/content/predicting-winter-weather-woolly-bear-caterpillars

http://www.almanac.com/image/woolly-worm-almanac



I pasted this photo from the woolly bear caterpillar web-site but I have seen plenty here in our yard.

Do Woolly Bear Caterpillars Forecast Winter Weather?

According to legend, the wider that middle brown section is (i.e., the more brown segments there are), the milder the coming winter will be. Conversely, a narrow brown band is said to predict a harsh winter. But is it true?

My Photograph; spring is coming!

The last one I saw was mostly brown with short black ends so I suppose from this web-site - it will be spring before too long.

I did not know they over-winter and turn into butterflies

• As moths go, the Isabella isn't much to look at compared with other species, but its immature larva, called the black-ended bear or the woolly bear (and, throughout the South, woolly worm) is one of the few caterpillars most people can identify.

• This medium-size moth, with yellowish-orange and cream-colored wings spotted with black, is common from northern Mexico throughout the United States and across the southern third of Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella



Oh, I will have to watch for these! Very pretty indeed!

I found this one on my deck and I was nice to it and put it down under the cabin deck with the new ferns sprouting. It was very dry so I even sprinkled some water around for it.


Deep Poop I believe, does anyone know, I see this in the woods a lot when wandering?

While I am asking, I wonder what turns this wood log BLUE?

And, I found the flowers all over the ground under a big tree

I wondered what they were but I went back to find a tree leaf and YES!  I could not find the tree again! 

It was a huge tree with these all  over the ground and the flowers were Very, very high towards the sky. 

When I looked I thought it was an early dogwood flower after thinking it might be a sourwood too, but I think both ideas are wrong. 

But, I did see dogwoods in bloom after our rain last week and I took a photo of it, you can see a squirrels' nest in the background.

 and , beside my front porch photo of Dogwood in bloom

I added this photo to my Photograph section in my Etsy shop!

I saw the pink blooming tree at a house that is for sale yesterday and I wondered what it is too! 

It looks like Pink Tulips, but not like the Tulip Trees in our yard.

Maybe it is a Pink Magnolia, I asked on Hometalk where I can always find answers to any questions I ask and many new friends confirmed it.

I saw this growing on a log beside my front porch on the shady cool side that butts up against a rock wall, it is called a "Gray Urn Mushroom". I do not yet have it listed but I will soon. IT is the first mushroom I have seen in awhile and I found ore in the woods when I was collecting a moss order. It was raining this day and I tried to clean it on my covered porch in a tiny area. 

It takes more than just collecting moss in the woods, I bring it home and try to clean it as best I can. I never

take all I find in a certain area and usually get the moss the deer have kicked up that is already loose.

I use the forest leaves to pack it in and keep separated as best I can, also the lichen and British Soldier are under the leaves along with a tiny fern.

This is a wintergreen plant ( striped green leaves) sticking out of the turkey tub, but it had too much soil attached to send it for the shipping fees since the ferns were requested.

Well, Another busy day, I got my once a month paycheck overnight and I have errands... I am also cleaning my warehouse and trying to go though my clothing I have not worn to donate. I also am sorting though so many magazines I have saved (I know, I hoard them) I will try and list some on EBay and if old enough on Etsy also.  I am also going through my book collection, I Just have to part with some, I am just over whelmed with no storage space and do not foresee any more room.  I also have bins of fabrics and fabric pieces from de-constructed clothing I  intended to re-make into hand bags and mixed media collages. I have pockets, and collars, arms with cuffs, etc. Many have embroidery and interesting appeals to me on them.

Here is an apron I re-made for an exchange many years ago. It had a hole in the area I added the pocket too.

And, Oh! and also I have a bin of real  vintage aprons upstairs to list!

Pine Tree Crosses for Easter are here, Fairy Crosses,Trillium, and Mushrooms !

https://www.etsy.com/listing/185632617/photograph-pine-tree-cross-crosses?ref=shop_home_active_2

My husband and I were in the forest searching for a tool left somewhere, We did not locate it but I will one day when I am back lurking around.

We did see the early signs of spring with the Pine Tree Crosses that bloom before Easter. They are just beautiful and a sign that it will come if we just wait.

I took a photo and put int in my Etsy shop with my other Photography of country findings!

Here is my Photography section of my shop, I Have so many more photos to add, it just takes time.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ByLightOfMoon?section_id=12946490&ref=shopsection_leftnav_8

I also added a photo of the Fairy Crosses I have found, I  Have a jar full that I have sifted through and
Love them. Some are large, small, tiny , and eeny meeny but they are there.

All of the stone here are so enchanting to me, they really shine when wet!

When in the woods yesterday I saw many Trillium shoots sprouting up in the forest and last year I took this photo in my yard.

They will look like this before too long!

I have not seen many mushrooms this year yet, we have been dry although  it is raining today! I saw the "Gray Urn" Mushroom on a log beside my house and then also when I went  to the forest for an order of moss.

These are just a few of my findings lately!

Thanks for dropping by!
Smiles, Cyndi

Spring is blooming in the mountains!

I have been taking lots of photographs of the spring blooms in the mountains!
Dried Hydranga

Carolina Alspice

Qunice Tree

Ducks on the Pond by our Mailboxes

Wysteria

Flame Azalea

Flame Torch Flower

Snowball Bush

 Mountain Laurel

Rhododendron Bush

It is just beautiful!

Flower Vase

Another View

Our China for party

Table setting

Candle for table

Table decoration

Hanging Bonnet Girl

Dolls, of course

 s

Wall Shoes planters

Hands and Hearts are warmed with LOVE

Thank you for coming!

I am linking up with Etsy Cottage Style Entertaining Blog 

http://www.etsycottagestyle.blogspot.com/

Smiles, Cyndi

Spring is in the Air!

Spring is in the Air!

April, Spring, warmer weather, tree's blooming, green color is returning, all of these things make me want to get even busier in my yard and gardens.

I even went to the flower shop yesterday where they are stocking up on garden and yard plants! I even got some Victoria Rhubarb to grow for the first time ever! Actually it is my first time for many gardening ideas as I have never really had them before, maybe just a plant of two that grows very easily like my mint that spread everywhere in Alabama. I adore it when the dogs tennis ball had to be retrieved form it because it released the smell and I also used it in making mojoto's, fresh mint make them so pretty and tasty, I also had chocolate mint that smell wonderful. It should be coming back up soon, I hope! I did get our black cat Blak some more Catmint again yesterday. He loves it so much. Lily the tabby is not much into it yet and she would even rather chase her tail than play with toys.

I did take branches from my corkscrew willow that was replanted at many of my previous homes. My

 in- laws gave it to me when we bought our first home and we stayed there 17 years but when we outgrew it and moved, we took cut branches with us for new trees. My Mother -in- law even took cuttings when they moved from an apartment to a home so it did travel to many new sites.

I planted several cut branches in several places in our yard here in North Carolina and it seems to be doing very well! Of course, my moss gardens here are my biggest thing as it is free to gather in the woods where the deer have kicked it up and I have discovered a whole new world with my fairy gardens along with  the lichen and tree algae I find here, I have so many plans for all of them this summer to add to my small Lilliputian worlds and making terrariums. I have been collecting tiny miniatures to put in them.

Yesterday I went to the thrift store and got a large bag of wooden items. I figure I can learn to paint them to be terrariums accessories. I also got some small winter Christmas houses I plan to de-winterize and make them fairy and gnome houses with the moss and lichen added.

I also plan on making mobiles and wind chimes with all my junk metals I find along with my stash of bead s and jewelry accessories. I also collect kitchen items for mobiles and anything that would make noise in the wind.  

I have thought of using my junk crowns   or terrarium lamp

fixture holders ( I call them) for using in wind chimes, they can be a base for hanging items I have found. Also tree branches and stones, etc.  I am lucky ( or unlucky) I have so many flea markets available to be here and so many animal help thrift shops. Or unlucky because I spend to much money at them.

  My collections are getting overwhelming and I need to use and make instead of just collect.

I  also have a large collection of picture frames I need to de-stash! I  have been collecting them since Alabama and have several boxes of them. They were purchased for vintage prints I have and for making nature inspired mixed media like my sassafras leaves in my Etsy shop! I also take So many photographs here in the country, I want to share them as I am working on a way to get them printed and shipped.  It amazes me of the quirky road sign names here, I guess anyone can name their own road and some are very cute names and very unusual! Yes, I take photos of them also and wishing wells, tire swings, even clotheslines; things we did not see when we lived  in the city.

I have many vintage jars and it pains me we cannot recycle glass here, so I dread putting them in the trash.

I found alongside the road one day several white plastic bags dumped at a site I pass every day. I finally got tired of looking at the plastic bags someone had dumped and I took a big trash bag to collect them and put in our trash. I had no idea what was in them at the time but it turned out they were old "Wild Irish Rose Bottles "someone had dumped. Now, I want to decorate them and maybe learn to cut them for wind chimes, 

My husband purchased  at a craft show we attended a three cut off bottoms bottle wind chime but it had no hanger in it , it was just to clink in the wind. It did not work out very well, so he added a wood bead inside and a tin can lid to the hanger, now it looks and sounds wonderful!