Aqua Delight!

Now I am really over the moon delighted, 4 beautiful eggs are in this little nest. Who knew, this is the first time I have seen a nest with more than 3 eggs in it. The momma must like what our garden filled yard has to offer because she will have a lot of little mouths to feed and bellies to fill. Now I am so excited I am about to bust. I can't wait to see their little heads popping out over the nest. Me craning my best to get a good photography while momma looks on making sure no harm comes their way. Oh, I can't wait to share, I will definitely keep you posted!

Venus Peek-a-boo

We have three star magnolias surrounding Venus in the front garden.

I loved the way she played peek-a-boo with me while taking photos. Sometimes she would vanish behind the tree but other times she just came into view just letting me get a glimpse. I always look forward to these trees blooming because it means winter is over and spring is here to stay. Welcome spring!

Laughter

All the daffodils lined up together made me think of a marching band. As they blew in the breeze, their heads swayed in unison gently bobbing from one side to the next. I just couldn't help myself from laughing. To find humor in the most ordinary of things and really appreciate them for all they are, isn't that a wonderful gift to have bestowed upon you? I know I feel very lucky to have such a curious muse just waiting for the next opportunity to find something special in the everyday!

Just Lovely!

I love this photo, I mean love it!! The soft background layers of nice muted colors really helps push our undivided attention to the flower in the foreground. The tiny blossoms tightly together to form one large bloom is just astonishing in itself. Mother Nature had to be smiling when she created these because she gave them the most glorious of colors just to make you stop and take notice. Believe me, as I came around the corner of the house, the sight almost took my breath away, just lovely. Today, let yourself be taken by surprise, let your mind wander and look for inspiration all around you!

Well, hello Spring!

The temperature reached 76 degrees today, yes, 76, wow!! How could I not adventure out with camera in hand? I couldn't help it. I just had to go outside for an impromptu nature walk. I couldn't believe all the lovely flowers hidden among last years leaves, just waiting to be discovered. I stumbled upon this little mini, the early one of the group, in the little bed surrounded by our driveway. It is so small, as tall as your hand from stem to flower tip, yet so brilliant in appearance you really can't miss it. Its beauty was just standing there blowing in the breeze, welcoming Spring home once again.

Growth

Some Thesaurus words for "haze" are: brume, cloud, dimness, film, fog, fumes, haziness, indistinctness, miasma, mist, muck, obscurity, smog, smokiness, smother, steam, vapor.

Don't you just love the word muck? For me, this is the most powerful because that's exactly how I have felt - stuck in the muck. Trying to find an inspirational photo that showed persistence, growth and the willingness to push forward was quite a feat but I think this one fit all the meanings extremely well. When you look past the haziness of the lambs ear you see the uprising of a stem pushing through. It is unwilling to just lay there and not grow and explore as it was meant to. I really love nature for this reason and find much of my creativity surrounded by its everyday beauty. So, what are you pushing through today? Fight for it, it will be worth its weight, I promise!

Illumination 8/30

These are Resurrection Lilies and are a remarkable flower. Their leaves appear early spring, disappear then these clusters arrive on a tall spike of soft dirty pink in the fall. They always capture my attention because as you can see, they have a illuminating quality to their petals. The sunlight always seems to make them shine from within, like a miniature light bulb has been turned on for the mid afternoon. Brilliance, soft, serene, magical and mysterious are some of the words I would use to describe these lovely lilies. If you ever get a chance to attain some of these vintage flowers, say yes, you will not be disappointed!

Bee Garden 2/30

The bees were crazy today, I am actually surprised I didn't get stung. They were swarming the coneflowers like they had never gathered pollen before but it was a perfect day. After a day of drizzle, the sun was out, the skies were blue and the clouds were amazing. It is really no wonder the bees were taking full advantage of it. I actually closed my eyes while shooting just to see if I could hear their excitement over their joyous discovery. Guess what? It was so loud, you would not have believed it. It was a purr, a practiced hum of work, busy work but also a great day in the garden. Close your eyes, what do you hear today? I hope it is magical!

Solar Ball

 

My mom has these little solar butterflies in some of her backyard planters and I am just intrigued by them. Not only are they an interesting color combination, the copper butterfly and the shimmering luminescence of the solar ball. But the idea that the sun will make it glow softly in the evening is just magical to me. I wanted your eye to really look at all the fun stuff in the ball and the interesting texture it is. Now, close your eyes and imagine a slight glow - pure wonderment!



Defined Elegance

This has to be one of my favorite photographs only because the juxtaposition of hard and soft has never been more apparent. The fullness of the crab apples in the wondrous shade of magenta really brings your attention to the beautiful carving of the Venus statuary. I cropped it tight and off center to make you see what brings that little charming smirk to her face. Oh yes, it is the beauty of the garden of course. Wouldn't it make you smile? I can't wait for Spring, it is coming but will not hurry and I am anxious for the glorious sight of blossoms in every shade of white and pink. I know you will be stopping by because I will share the event with you daily in the ever blooming season. Stay tuned...

Radiance

Some Thesaurus words for bright: ablaze, aglow, alight, auroral, beaming, blazing, brilliant, dazzling, effulgent, flashing, glaring, gleaming, glistening, glittering, illuminated, incandescent, lighted, luminous, moonlit, phosphorescent, radiant, shimmering, shiny, sparkling, sunny, twinkling, vivid.

Could there be any better words for describing this amazing daffodil. I loved the way the light shines through at the edges. The intense yellows weeps onto the creamy white petals in a great reflection of color. Then there is the wondrous coral color of the daffodil cup. It is truly a remarkable specimen and I have the pleasure of watching them come up every Spring and spreading their brilliant palette throughout the gardens. Oh yeah, it is a luminous day when these beauties begin to open!



Holiday Sale

I only have one sale a year and it is finally here YIPPEE, YAHOO, YEAH.
My Holiday Sale starts today December 1 and goes until December 9.
Everything is on sale, all acrylic and colored pencil patterns, my colored pencil of the month club, my steampunk series e-course, both mixed media kits and as always FREE shipping on it all.
For a purchase of $25 you will even receive a handmade card ornament.

So, what are you waiting for, I guess the link will help :)
www.kellyhoernig.com

Shop til you drop, I will be there waiting for you!
Happy Holidays!

Unexpected Orange

I stopped by Olive Garden today for the task of taking photos. I love their fall setup because they always have interesting kale varieties mixed in with the seasonal harvest. There were mums of all colors and sizes, kale tight and spiky in appearance, corn stalks mixed with autumn leaves, pansies in every rich color available and then this. Imagine my surprise when I saw these little tomatoes amongst the flora. I thought the orange of the pumpkin and the varied tomato hues was just spectacular. It was a bit cloudy so I can't even think about what it looks like with the sun shining down on its beauty. So, unexpected place for a photo shoot but one I make a trip to every fall season. Where's your favorite stop?

Secluded Surprise

Some Thesaurus words for "hide" - bury, cache, camouflage, cloak, cover, disguise, duck, eclipse, harbor, mask, obscure, plant, protect, reserve, screen, shadow, shelter, shield, squirrel, stash, stifle, suppress, veil, withhold.

I found this little woven birdhouse tucked away into a tree and found myself totally captivated by it's cloaked appearance. I can only imagine a bird building its nest and raising a family in its seclusion. What a wonderful environment don't you think? This adornment was actually in the garden of a retreat center and I found it so charming that I kept taking pictures just hoping to catch the hidden inhabitants. Can't you wait to put one of these in your trees come springtime? I know I will be on the lookout for something so special.

Fall Colors

This photo embodies the Fall season for me. The richness of the colors, the yellowing of the leaves and the wonderful rich appearance of all the reaching towers of sunflowers. The large brown button center contains so much visual interest with its texture that I could stare at it for hours. Ahh, but the glorious petals with all the fabulous hues of the season, what else can I say, they are simply luscious. The golden yellow, rich orange and deep brick just make me reach for my paint brushes to capture the moment.

This little beauty stands at just under 5 feet and let me tell you, it is a buzz with bees at any given moment. I can't wait to see the bright yellow gold finches tearing at the center once it turns to seeds. We have sun-flowers all over the front yard this year, some are huge, probably 12-14 feet and towering over miss Venus making it a feast for any pair of eyes that stumble across it. Be on the lookout, the season of color is upon us!

Wonderment

Some Thesaurus words for "peculiar" - abnormal, bent, creepy, curious, extraordinary, freakish, funny, idiosyncratic, kooky, oddball, offbeat, outlandish, quaint, strange, uncommon, unconventional, unusual, wacky, weird, wonderful.

Of course, I love each and every word up above but I think wonderful and oddball are the best descriptions for this Carrion Vine. I wanted to give you a closer look now that the fall weather is starting to turn the leaves a bright yellow hue. From yesterdays photo, you couldn't see all the intricate tendril structure within. Isn't it amazing the discoveries Mother Nature has put on the earth for us to find? I really love her humor and am so glad I stumbled upon this curiosity by random mistake. What peculiarity have you seen lately?

A Bit of Creepy

I was hoping to find a bit of the weird and creepy while at the Junk Bonanza and I did, finally. I was wondering if there would be any art dolls made from antique tins and well, I found only one lady there and her booth was an absolute delight for me. I even had Charlie custom made for me while I shopped. He will have a special place in the studio and I can't wait to find a little hat for him as well. The photographs in the background were quite creepy but that is exactly why I loved them. I know Halloween will give me great opportunity to include these children into my artwork. The roller skate, well, I just couldn't help but be transported back into childhood wearing these little charmers. Had to buy it for the studio also :) As you can see by the past several days, the Junk Bonanza had something for everyone. I do hope if you have time to go to an antique fair close to you that you make the journey. You just never know what discoveries you may come up with. Happy junking!

Fun & Games

I absolutely love, love, love games. I know it stems from those long summer days playing in the screened porch of our neighbors house with every one in the neighborhood joining in. Monopoly, Life or Sorry would last for days and we woke up each day eager to continue where we left off. Clue was one of my favorites but then again I do love solving puzzles and well, the game pieces were also quite clever. After all, who wouldn't want to be shot in the ballroom by Colonel Mustard - oh yes, my imagination was intrigued even as a child. These brought back many memories and I loved what Leslie Mullin did with the Pictionary game board, made a unique purse out of it. How could I have let that one go, right? I would have been kicking my own butt for days for that mistake :)  Hope this is getting your creativity going. If nothing else, making you want to clean out the kids room and send me some cool stuff LOL!

Warm Apple Pie

I spotted these apples from across the yard. The sun was hitting them just right that all I could see in the vast forest of green was a shining spot of red and yellow. I took a brisk little walk across the yard and found the second season of fruit on our new little dwarf apple trees. They were almost perfect in shape and size so all that was left to do, pick it and try it out on the taste buds. What I did not expect was a warm, juicy apple that tasted like a freshly baked apple pie. I had never had an apple from the tree that was sitting in the sun, and believe me, I will be back. Although I must wait until late afternoon so I can once again have that warm apple juice running down my chin. It was amazing!

Just Magical

Some Thesaurus words for intricate - abstruse, complex, convoluted, difficult, entangled, fancy, involved, labyrinthine, obscure, perplexing, sophisticated, tangled, tortuous, tricky.

This is Queen Anne's lace as it begins to open up to the sun exposing each and every individual blossom. It is truly remarkable and I think all of the words above fit it beautifully. If I had to just pick one though, it would be entangled because I just love the meaning of tangle and confused. I hope the next time you pass one of these amazing weeds, you stop and ponder on its magical appearance and really see all the wonderment it has to offer. I know where I'm taking the muse today...