I Have Often Walked . . . . .

I have often walked . . . . . . . . . down this street before!


Sometimes I think that my husband Lee and I take for granted the wonderful mountain scenery around us. After all, we have lived here in the same house, on the same street, in the same city, in the same state, for over 20 years! So I guess it's easy to understand how we may have become overly accustomed to our surroundings.

But every now and then, I'm struck by how truly lucky we are to live in such a scenic area of the country, and at times like these, I do indeed feel humbled and blessed by the natural beauty around us.

I grew up in the Midwest (Kansas, to be exact), but I've long been drawn to the mountains. My first recollection of seeing mountains was during my family's early road trips to Colorado to visit my aunt who lived in Denver.

Later, I went to live in Denver for a time with that same aunt, while attending college there. I've been "hooked" on the mountains from that point on.

I lived in Denver for five years, then moved farther west into the Rocky Mountain state of Utah, and have been here ever since.

The weather here in Salt Lake City has been somewhat unpredictable this Spring, not an unusual occurrence for this part of the Rocky Mountains. The past week has been rainy and chilly. . . but today was quite beautiful.

We started the day with a clear sky, full sun and temperatures in the high sixties. A few scattered clouds found their way into the sky later in the day, but luckily, the high clouds brought no rain.

By late afternoon, when I decided to take a leisurely one-mile walk around our neighborhood, the temperature was still mild, a gentle breeze was blowing, and the light was perfect for a few hand-held scenic mountain photos. (Luckily, I had the foresight to take my camera along!)






Even after all these years, I am amazed that these kinds of views can be achieved while walking around our own little Salt Lake City neighborhood, within less than a mile of where Lee and I live.

Thank you all, once again, for visiting my Blog!

And until we meet again. . .may you each have the opportunity to enjoy unique and special views of your own. . . from the street where you live!

Ciao!

Wordless Wasatch Wednesday . . . . .

(You may click on photo for an enlarged view.)

April Showers . . . . . .

Here we are. . . .April 1, 2010, and SPRING is (or should be) upon us. APRIL FOOL!

These scenes are from our back yard, just minutes ago. . . . . .

(Click any photo to enlarge.)







Somehow I don't think the old adage,

"April Showers Bring May Flowers,"

was referring to THESE kinds of showers. . . . .



But then again, by the weekend, I'm guessing most of this snow will have melted,

and will have made way for our crocuses and early tulips to add a little color to our yard,

and for the Easter Bunny to make his way through the neighborhood.



Such is Springtime in the Rockies!



Until we meet again. . .

Wishing You a Wonderful Spring,

Wherever You Are!

Wordless Wednesday . . . . .

Winter Solstice 2009

Wow, where has the time gone? Seems like "forever" since I've posted to my Blog. . when in actuality, it's only been a few weeks.

But I'm determined to do better on keeping up with my Blog posting and my favorite Blog reading, at least for the next little while!

And what better day to get back into blogging than the Winter Solstice. In years gone by, this particular day has often skipped my attention, but today when I awoke a bit earlier than usual and looked outside to see a heavy fog and frost in the early morning light, I was inspired to take a few photos.

(You may click on any of the following photos, for a larger view.)

In some way, the rather eerie yet beautiful scenes in our backyard this morning seemed a fitting image of Winter Solstice, the "shortest" day of the year.


I understand that Winter Solstice also officially heralds the onset of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere. . . although those of us who live in the Rocky Mountain West would say that winter has been well underway here for several weeks now. We've already had several large snowfalls, although admittedly, nothing like our friends in New England and along the East Cost have most recently experienced.

Here along the Wasatch Front, the snow has nearly melted from our yard, and we're ready for some NEW snow to arrive and provide us with a White Christmas!


But in the meantime, Mother Nature has given us some unique and beautiful hoarfrost (pictured here on one of our Oregon grape bushes), to delight and entertain the would-be nature photographer in us all.


For me personally, the greatest significance to Winter Solstice is that from this point on, the daylight hours are increasing once again!

Thanks for stopping by. . .I always enjoy and appreciate having visitors to my blog!

And until we meet again. . . . may your days be filled with sun.

For the Birds . . . . .

I wouldn’t call myself an avid birdwatcher, but I do have a strong appreciation of all things nature, and birds are no exception.

Lee and I have a fairly large backyard, with lots of shrubs and trees, and over the years, our yard has been visited by countless birds, and home to many.

Although we don’t have a huge variety of avian wildlife here in our part of the suburbs, we do enjoy the sights and sounds of junkos, blue jays, house finches, quail, hummingbirds, mourning doves, flickers and magpies on a regular basis.

There have been many a morning that I have awakened to the cheerful chirping of robins and the melodic songs of the cute little house finches that frequent our yard. Lee and I love to hang feeders in various locations throughout our back and front yards, where we can watch bird activity year round from our deck and through our dining room and front windows.

In addition to providing real-life diversion and fun photo opportunities, birds also provide me with inspiration for my card creations. Sometimes I’ll be struck by a particular quote or play on words that lends itself well to a handmade card with a bird-related theme or paper piecing. Other times, I’ll discover some colorful and cute patterned paper at the crafts or scrapbook store that includes a bird image or theme, and I’ll be inspired to create a card around that. And yet other times, I may find an especially sweet or whimsical ready-made bird-themed embellishment that just begs to have a handmade card designed around it.

I never quite know when I first start working on a card, how the final design is going to turn out. . . so each new card design is a work in progress, until that final moment when my eye and my heart say to me, “That’s it! It’s done!” And indeed, this is the aspect of card design and cardmaking that I most enjoy. . . .this sort of free-floating aspect that allows one’s creativity to emerge and evolve.

Only recently have I realized just how many cards I’ve actually designed with a bird-related theme, and there have been quite a few! So, I thought it might be fun to share some of my previous and current card designs with you.

May I present to you, my collection of bird-themed handmade card designs, which I’m calling “ For the Birds.” I hope you like them!

Until we meet again. . . may you always keep a song in your heart.

Wordless Wednesday . . . . .

Saguaro in a Storm

Well, my husband Lee and I are back home now, after our week-long vacation in Sedona, Arizona. But, the beauty of the Southwest is still fresh in my mind, so I'll be continuing my current Blog theme, TREASURES of the SOUTHWEST, for at least a couple more days.

Only yesterday, during my search for notable southwest-themed art on Etsy, I discovered a new shop that I'd never seen before, Desert Photography, which features the beautiful photography of Michael Heppler of Arizona.

Today, I'm featuring one of Michael's photographs, this 8 X 10 print of a wonderfully striking image of a saguaro cactus, entitled "Storm in the Desert." Clearly, it took a lot of patience to be at the right place at the right time, as well as a lot of talent and skill to compose and capture this beautiful image!

Thanks to my own photographer-husband, Lee, I have developed a strong appreciation of photography over the years. Trust me, once you've been following photography for a while, you quickly recognize who has the "eye" for it. And Michael Heppler, like many other wonderful photographers on Etsy, definitely does!

Michael's Etsy Shop, Desert Photography, is fairly new, having been opened on August 1, 2008, but already Michael's work is attracting the attention of fellow photography lovers like myself. In his shop, you'll find fine art photographs of a wide variety of Southwest images, including landscapes, flowers and wildlife.

Please take a few minutes to check out Michael's Etsy Shop, Desert Photograpy at http://www.desertphotography.etsy.com/. You can also see more of Michael's photographic art on his website at http://www.desertphotography.com/. You'll love what you see!

And stayed tuned to my Blog, because tomorrow...........I hope to post a few snaps of Lee's and my recent trip to Sedona!

Colorful Cactus

Greetings, My Friends, from beautiful Sedona, Arizona!

In keeping with my current blog theme, TREASURES of the SOUTHWEST, today I'm featuring the work of a another fellow Etsyan, Nancy Matus, of Arizona.

Nancy has been painting professionally for about 20 years. She works in acrylics, oils, and watercolors, and much of her wonderful art depicts colorful images of America's desert southwest.

Today's featured art is a digital print of one of Nancy's original watercolor paintings, entitled "Color Box". I selected this print, not only because I love the colors but because for me, it epitomizes the beauty of the southwestern desert, where my husband and I have been lucky enough to spend the last 5 days.

I hope you'll take a little time to check out Nancy's Etsy Shop, The Desert Studio (http://www.thedesertstudio.etsy.com/) to get a closer look at this piece, and to see more of her work. In her Etsy shop, you'll find original handpainted watercolors, ACEOs, ATCs, and prints of Nancy's original art. It's clear to me that Nancy loves the Southwest and I think you'll agree that she has done an amazing job in re-capturing its natural beauty in her art.

TREASURES of the SOUTHWEST

My husband and I are lucky enough to soon be traveling to Sedona, Arizona, which is, in my opinion, one of the great Treasures of the Southwest. Noted for its beautiful red rock landscapes, and for its sycamore tree-lined Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona is one of our very favorite places to spend time.

Today I'm featuring a photograph taken by my husband Lee, picturing one of Sedona's most well known (and most frequently photographed, sketched, and painted!) natural icons, Cathedral Rock, as viewed from a quiet spot on Oak Creek.

Since Lee and I try to go to Sedona at least once a year, you'll usually find at least 2-3 photographic notecards or prints of Sedona scenes in Lee's Etsy Shop (The Photography of Lee Robinson). Please take a minute to check out his shop at http://www.unclelee.etsy.com/. I think you'll love what you see!

For the next week or so, Lee and I will be enjoying the beautiful scenery of Sedona and the surrounding areas, visiting shops and galleries, trying out new (and old favorite) restaurants, and relaxing on the deck of our little timeshare condo in Oak Creek Canyon........as we listen to the rippling waters of the creek and try to get a glimpse of the great blue heron who nests along the high red rocks there.

Although I'd love to be able to post travelogue photos to my Blog during the next week, I don't think I'll be able to do that, because I don't have photo-editing software on our little laptop. BUT what I will plan to do on my upcoming Blog posts is to highlight a number of my fellow Etsy artisans (of paper or any other medium) whose work I find exemplifies TREASURES of the SOUTHWEST.

Ciao!

HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL!

Today's quest for distinctive Halloween items led me to the discovery of another cardmaker whose Etsy shop I hadn't seen before.

Elizabeth started making cards for friends and family several years ago, as an alternative for store purchased cards, and like so many of us, discovered a new passion for cardmaking.

She opened her Etsy store, Lazy Bone Creations, in July 2008, and offers a variety of distinctive and unusual handmade cards, all of which are limited editions or one of a kind designs. Elizabeth uses multiple layers of quality papers and embellishments to give depth, texture, and richness to her cards, and enjoys creating handmade cards with rubber stamped images.

Today, I've chosen to feature a card from Lazy Bone Creations that struck my eye for its haunting beauty, and for its Halloween "look." Done in shades of orange and black, the card features an embossed whimsical tree image across a hand colored background, and multiple layered pieces of handmade paper. The inside is lined with recycled writing paper for composing a personal message.

Please visit Elizabeth's shop on Etsy (http://www.lazybonecreations.etsy.com) to see more of her wonderful and unique card creations!