Sunny Day

Today's sunshine brought a flurry of activity to the garden, both fast & slow!

A pair of butterflies share the zinnias

A snail makes its way across the patio

Gem & Mineral Show

Early fall is a busy time with so many activities. Another favorite fall outing for us is going to the Howard County Fairgrounds Gem & Mineral Show. There are always beautiful displays to see and the opportunity to buy specimens to add to our own collections from the many vendors at the show. I found three new mineral specimens today, seen in the photo below. The group includes cactus, or spirit, quartz from South Africa, rough turquoise from Nevada, and selenite on calcite from Mexico.

Fall is Fair Time

My husband and I made our annual visit to the Frederick County Fair, always a fun fall activity. After touring the craft and 4H exhibits, we headed down to see the farm animals, a favorite part of our fair going! The baby animals were so cute. Kevin took the 3 photos you see here ~

"Walking on Sunshine"

The sun came out today for the first time in such a long time! Everything seemed to be rejoicing, including the Admiral Butterfly in the photos below who found some sweetness still remained in the flowers of the waning zinnia garden.

It's been raining ...

So I've been painting … more of my miniatures ~

Web of Life

Giant spider web just outside our gate

Tiny water droplets accentuate the lacy construction

The master architect at the edge of his creation

Soggy Summer Day

Out with the heat and in with the rain … lots of it.  In the past few days we've gotten about 5 inches, and it just keeps coming. Everything is wet and water-logged. The sheen on the leaves and crystal-like water droplets are very pretty and are sights to enjoy on these damp, dreary days.

Sizzling Summer Day

Today it was bright, sunny, and hot. Hard to believe fall will soon be here, although we are starting to see signs of its approach already. Leaves on our black gum trees are turning red, and summer gardens are starting to fade. Butterflies are abundant, flitting about everywhere and enjoying the last sweet nectar from the flowers.

More Miniatures ...

My ACEO business is going strong, eight years running! It provides so much gratification to be able to finish a painting within a few hours. Granted, the miniatures I create are only 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches in size, but attention to detail is important and makes each little work of art a fun challenge.

Here are two more of my latest, more realistic miniature paintings: