Descanso Gardens

My cousin "C" and I went to Descanso Gardens this morning, one of our favorite places to walk. We got there a little after 9:00 and it was blazing hot already. I thought it was Fall! Ugh, I am so over this HOT weather. Tomorrow is the first of October and it's 100 degrees outside. I guess the weather is making up for the relatively mild summer we had.

Anyway, we started out and came upon the sustainable garden they have and saw the biggest squash we had ever seen. Some of them were taller than we are! They are "Italian Trombone Squash".

As we walked along, we noticed there were an awful lot of spiders - they were everywhere we looked it seemed, even way up between the trees. And they were rather big. I have arachnophobia, but I just had to get some pictures of these guys. My cousin said they are always around this time of year. I've never seen so many before. Boy, I'd hate to walk into one their webs, which are a little hard to see sometimes depending on the lighting. We made sure we were careful where we walked! One looked like it was getting ready to eat its "lunch"!

I was finally able to get pictures of a gorgeous Monarch Butterfly that landed on a butterfly bush - how fitting! I've always seen them fluttering around, but I've never been able to get pictures of one, until today! "C" calls them "little flying pieces of art" which I think is very poetic and a perfect description.

The rest of the pictures are of some of my favorite sights of the morning. I hope you enjoy them!

Halloween Jewelry

I finally added two items to my Etsy shop this afternoon - a charm necklace and a pin. I have more jewelry to take photos of and list in the next day or so. I love making jewelry, but I think if I had to pick a favorite kind, it would be my charm bracelets. They are a lot of work and take the most time, but I think the results are really worth it. They are so much prettier in person (my photography skills, or lack thereof, just don't do them justice).

Fall has officially arrived today - yay!!! This is definitely my favorite time of year. It was such a nice, mild day today but I hear that the Santa Ana Winds are going to pick up at the end of the week and it is supposed to be around 90 degrees. Ugh - I am so over summer weather. I don't mind the wind, in fact, I actually like it, but the threat of fires here in So. Cal. has everyone on edge this time of year. We've had some really horrific fires in the past this time of year. I pray that this year we will get through it without one.

Have a wonderful week and please check out my Etsy store for more additions. I will be blogging about them here also.

My Answers in Pictures

I haven't done much crafting or really felt like it the last week-and-a-half. I have been, however, reading my favorite blogs and searching various crafting sites for inspiration. One of the blogs I read is by Mary-Heather whose blog is rainydaygoods.com. She did a post back in June where she answered questions with pictures. I thought I would give it a try since I don't really have anything to show you right now. This is how it works: (1) Type your answer to each question below into Flicker Search, (2) Using only the first page of results, pick an image, (3) Copy and paste each URL into fd's mosaic maker, and (4) Blog it!

The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Susan

2. What is your favorite food? blackberries

3. What high school did you go to? Crescenta Valley

4. What is your favorite color? turquoise

5. Who is your celebrity crush? Lee Pace

6. What is your favorite drink? coffee

7. Dream vacation? Tuscany

8. Favorite dessert? My mom's apple pie

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? wise

10. What do you love most in life? My Family

11. One word to describe you? dependable

12. Your Flickr name? susanc - this was the closest I could find!

I plan on taking some presentable pictures of my beaded heart charm bracelet this weekend and will post them when I do. Until then, enjoy my answers in pictures!

P.S. I'm not exactly sure how to link each photo to the original so that I can give credit to the photographer who posted the pictures. I will try to get that figured-out soon. This blogging stuff is all rather new to me and I still have loads to learn.

Grief

My family and I just got devastating news that my cousin, who was only 58-years-old, died some time last night or this morning. His son, who was moving back in today, found him. I can't even imagine. I am in a total state of shock right now. I can't imagine life without him being here. My poor aunt and cousins. OMG. Please keep my family in your prayers. I will probably be absent from my blogging for a few weeks. Just make sure that you tell your loved ones how much you love them each and every day. Life is too damn short. We always think we have much more time and put things off, etc. Boy, are we wrong.

Just. A. Visitor.....???

This is the "visitor" I'm referring to. A peach face lovebird. She/He has been "visiting" now since last Sunday. I was out in my backyard doing some yardwork when I heard what I thought was a parrot. We have wild parrots in our area from time-to-time and I thought that's what I heard. Close. I walked over to the big oak tree that overhangs in one corner of our yard, thinking that's where the sound was coming from, but when I stepped up on the planter to get a closer look, up flew a small bird from where the hydrangea is. All I could see at that point was yellow and a beautiful blue color, it all happened so fast! I mimiced it and it flew over onto my neighbor's roof in her backyard and I was able to better see what it was. A little lovebird! I knew it must have gotten out of someone's house or it's cage, so I went next door and tried to coax it onto my finger. Yeah, right! It was not afraid of me, but it just wouldn't walk onto my finger (like I really thought it would - not!). It got close to me but when I put my hand up, it would back-up. I went and got our cat carrier (I was glad I had kept it, as that was the only thing I could think of being able to possibly get the bird to go into) and put some water in a lid and some seed that I have for the birdfeeders in our yard, and set it right inside the door. My neighbor and I watched as the bird cautiously approached the water and food. As soon as it got inside, I closed the door and it was safely inside! I was concerned for its safety, as we have two different hawks that come to the birdbath in our yard and it wouldn't take much for it to become a "snack" for one of them or the other various predators around. Later that afternoon, I was glad the bird was inside, as one of the hawks flew by. Phew!

Since Sunday afternoon, I have been looking for posters or signs, checking Craig's List, The Recycler, and all the local newspapers hoping someone will post a lost bird ad. Nothing so far. I just don't know how long I should keep looking. The bird will need a cage and I will get one if need be, but I just want to make sure someone isn't looking for it. I can't imagine they wouldn't be, but in the meantime, it seems content in it's improvised "home". I'm just glad that it's safe and well-cared for until we know whether it will become a member of the family or not.

On the crafting front, I finished my beaded hearts charm bracelet. I tried taking some pictures of it, but I didn't like the way they turned out. I have to get some good pictures of it, and as soon as I do and I'm happy with them, I'll share them with you. I'm trying to become a better photographer with each picture I take, but I have LOTS to learn! But then, everything in life is a learning process. Isn't it? That's what keeps things interesting, I think.