Flowers Inside and Out

Today was an Easter to remember for a rather unusual reason: a 7.2 earthquake centered in Baja California south of Mexicali gave us quite a good and long shake in the afternoon. Ironically, the quake was at a latitude of 32 Degrees North!

Otherwise we had a nice quiet Easter with splendid weather and good company. Here's a mosaic with flowers from the garden as well as flowers and textures that appear on some of my favorite inside pieces.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Be sure to visit Mary over at Little Red House for more mosaics!

An Afternoon In the Garden

A view of my cottage from the best place to sit when the weather is warm.

Sometimes unanticipated yard work is the best and most productive kind. Sometimes one thing leads to another and simply mowing the lawn leads to heavy trimming and weeding. So went my afternoon and I am beyond thrilled!

Here's my new view from the back door: open, green and airy. No longer overgrown, dark or crying for attention.

You can see the freshly groomed palm trunk right above the calla lilies.

Other places in the garden are showing their spring colors and the irises are in full swing.

And the camellia is ready to burst with blossoms.

Spring Cleaning

Our run of sunshine for the last few days has everyone in chipper spirits, including these two sparrows. We happened to be in the yard photographing something else but turned our attention to the bird bath when we heard quite a commotion of happy chirping and splashing.

Usually these little guys have a sixth sense and make a hasty retreat before the camera is even totally pointed in their direction. Today though it was all about the bath.

Mosaic Monday: Springtime Crafting

The calendar may still say winter, but we're getting in the mood for spring and busy filling our Etsy shop with all manner of colorful supplies. From hand made paper roses and forget me not flowers to spun cotton mushrooms from Germany and fancy ribbon trims in satins and velvets, we hope you'll find something that either sparks your creativity or fits right in with a project already underway.

To see more mosaics please visit Mary over at Little Red House.

Sunshine in the Garden

Typical of later winter in Southern California, we've had a run of chilly breezes and sunshine for the last several days.  Perfect weather for tending flower beds and pulling a few weeds.  A few shots of the less-weedy areas: