the making of a found object or folkart dragonfly

For those who are interested in winning my dragonfly, I thought I'd show you what it used to look like...

This old chair was a bit wobbly so I took it apart and salvaged most of it to make other things, such as dragflies.  I little whittling, a lot of sanding, some paint, and accessories like eyes, mouth and wings.... and a wooden spindle evolves into a one of a kind garden accessory, aka yard art.  :)

I wish I could make these pictures scratch and sniff...

I took a vacation day today to do some things that occasionally need done during the week.  While I'm waiting for our attorney to get to his office, I thought I'd take a walk around the yard and check out what's blooming today.  The air is heady with the smell of roses, peonias and honeysuckle.  I wish I could make the pictures scratch and sniff so you could enjoy it also.  But since I can't here are a few pictures I hope you enjoy.

My buttercups just started blooming yesterday

I added an old piece of mirror to the back of the shed window to help reflect the light and add depth to the window box.

These two roses are covering the new gazebo nicely. They are just full of gorgeous blooms.

 And this rose is certainly an over achiever. It's also incorporating the new corncrib gazebo into the landscape.

More roses. I love this peach colored one. It is absolutely covered in beautiful fragrant flowers.

 This old white rose only blooms in the spring, but the smell is intoxicating. You can smell this rose clear across the yard.  I'm told this rose is as old as the house... my house was built in 1882.

I love this red rose with the blue delphinium, the white pickets and the brick.

This white climbing rose was planted last year, and is covering an arbor that leads into the vegetable garden.

Here's another very fragrant flower and my favorite peonia. It's so fantastically fragrant.  I wish you could smell it...

A close up of one of the roses covering my corncrib gazebo.  Isn't it pretty.

Kittens in the garden.  Who doesn't love kittens..... If I could only keep them off the plants.

My Mom gave me this old wagon.  She bought it at a sale because she hated to see it unloved.  My hen and chicks love this wagon and so do I.

My delphiniums are just beginning to bloom.  I use an old fireplace screen to help support them.  It works great.

One of my iris paired with some bottle art. I love the colors.

At old mailbox turned into a planter.

A face hanging on the side of our house.  This says it all.  Spring if FINALLY here.

It's been quite an exciting week.

I wrecked the truck Monday night after work. As you can see the front end doesn't look terribly bad, but the estimate is $4200.00 to fix it. Problem being I had a 500 lb cast iron stove and a bunch of wood in the back. That darn stove slammed into the cab of the truck, bending the bed and cab. That's the expensive part... And don't you know I was talented enough to hit a truck with a big badass hitch on it, who rearended a mini van. Got a hefty ticket too.



Cody is flying solo this spring. No more sissy training wheels. He is doing pretty good on his own...





I rushed home Tuesday night to meet the tow truck driver. As soon as I opened the car door I knew I was in trouble. As I started across the driveway I saw him. He was standing on the sidewalk waiting for me, acting nonchelant, like he didn't notice I was there. I paniced and dialed Joe with my cell phone. I knew he had beat me home, and could come to my rescue. But he wasn't answering.... As my intruder walked up to the door and stood in the doorway, barring my entry. Now what? I tried Joe again, and finally he answered. He suggested I sneak around and come in the front door, so I did. But I still had to get rid of my stalker...
I finally had to take the broom and push, poke and herd him out away from the house. He was very resistant, but didn't spray me. I went in and got my gun to shoot him, but he must have sensed I meant business. When I came back out he was gone. Smart skunk!


Thanks to inspiration from surfing the internet, I have begun making found object dragonflies. Here are pics of a couple I have recently made out of ANTIQUE chair legs, porch railings, insulator hangers, and chair spindles.