Random spring Sunday...

Just random pictures - enjoying the garden. Wishing all mothers and those who mother a very special day.

earth day unfurling (every day!) and Sunday flea market

Unfurling - a word full of potential, possibilities, perhaps even promises. I like it. Unfurling. I like the way it rolls off the tongue...
I also like these, unfurling

I feel I have some ideas that are slowly unfurling in my studio and I love to watch the ferns unfurl. There is something so fascinating and mysterious about the process. And so archaic - ferns have been around for a very long time.

The sun was shining when I took the above photo. Today - well, not so much. It is April, after all. And the weather is determined to prove that. It looks like this today...

 Dark grey skies, heavy with rain clouds. But the pear tree is starting to open its blossoms.

I ventured out to the flea market, despite the weather - and yes, we do often have uncomfortable weather when there is a flea market - knowing full well it would be sparingly attended and despite the fact that it was 7° and threatening to rain. What can I say? I mean, besides: 'Hello, my name is Renate and I am addicted to flea marketing'... ? Well, I could tell you what I found, which is a much more interesting subject anyway.

A cast - not stamped - brass escutcheon and some delicate turned wood furniture finials. These are tiny!

A couple of interesting and unusual charms - a couple of religious souveniers, a very small animal horn that has been drilled through (don't know why that was done) and a tiny pocket knife - this is doll sized, less than an inch long, I think.

 

Silver plated sugar tongs - just look at those cool talons! Couldn't pass them up.

A very antique drawer from a sewing machine, which will need some TLC to retrieve its good looks. These are not easy to come by here. I think they are all in some elderly men's tool rooms, filled with tools and screws and nails and doodads that nobody can identify... and wouldn't I love to go poking around in those... ahem. 

Well, you know it is all about recycling, reusing, repurposing. Avoiding land fill. And finding treasures... Wishing everyone a wonderful Sunday and Earth Day!

a faery place

...my garden is a faery-like place - as much so, as a garden created by human hands can be - and with Mother Nature's help, of course...

...not that it was intentionally created to be a faery space. Nevertheless, it is full of wonders, magic and pixie dust...

... angel's wing... 

...heavily cascading boughs of roses...

 

...bumblebees wearing pollen pants in just the colour of the apricot roses...

...bird's nests...

...myriads of tiny wild strawberries...

...and tangy red currants, glowing like rubies in an ocean of emerald...

...magical mirrored spheres...

...this is just a glimpse - maybe more next time...

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme...

This past week my garden was an intoxicating place, filled with the perfume of lilac and wisteria in bloom. I think that was made me decide to revamp part of our driveway/court yard. I rearranged and put stuff away, brought out other stuff, potted and potted and rearranged... and now I have a little herb and aroma garden. It isn't finished yet - still needs some work and some faery dust - but I love the idea so far.

Lots of sage, rosemary, thyme, lemon balm, catnip, cat balm, strawberries, hyssop, rainbow chard, lady's mantle...

This morning, while I was musing which herbs I still need for this garden by the 'tower clock', the words thyme's garden suddenly came to mind...

and sent me off to my work bench to make these earrings. Thyme's Garden...

I hope you are enjoying spring's perfume, however you are spending your Sunday.

Stacked flower and how does the garden grow?

Have been playing with another stacked flower - this time, it turned into a ring. My husband says it looks dangerous.

Now that we have been having hot (did I say hot? I mean, scorching hot) weather, the veggies in our temple of tomatoes have really grown and are now starting to put on fruit - I mean veggies.

Zucchini

don't know what kind this is - Max bought it - some old style tomato

new variety of cherry tomatoes - date tomatoes

Italian tomatoes

Jalapeno pepper

We have several kinds of chili peppers this year - Max wanted them and bought several different kinds, but of course, they weren't labeled and now we don't know what is what. The only ones I can name are the Jalapeno and the Black Pearl (tiny little round chili peppers in the colour of eggplant and the foliage is also a nice purple colour - but I didn't get a good photo of them yet) - because I bought those two.

Wishing everyone a lovely summer day!

These are the days of roses ...

It's been going round and round in my head. Although the song line actually goes "...those were the days of roses, of poetry and prose and ..." - a favorite song of mine from Tom Waits. But now that temps are back up around 20° and the sun has remembered where I live - everything in my garden is trying frantically to catch up. Which means, everything will explode into bloom at once and then it will be all over. Sigh.
The last winter we had was bad for my garden. I lost about 10 rose bushes and half a dozen clematis.

But these are the days of roses - won't you join me in the garden?

Love the way the light comes through the blooms here!

I hope the sun is kissing you, where ever you are!

Finally - sunshine and Sunday - flea market

I am so glad - the sun is back! We have been having some lovely weather this weekend.

Early morning sun.

Added bonus - I was finally able to visit a flea market again! And I even found some goodies!

A couple of chandelier crystals.

A nice selection of buttons and tiny keys and some mother of pearl buttons.

Two beat up old hammers. Which is okay - I want to turn them into texturing hammers anyway.

One of them was already altered by a previous owner. Someone welded an iron ball onto one side.

My garden is also very grateful for some sun. Even the flowers are smiling.

My red currants aren't even close to being red and ripe yet. But the bushes are heavy with fruit.


Hope you are all having a lovely Sunday.