A Garden/Studio Tour

Yesterday we went on a self-guided tour of a few of the art studios

in the county.  Pottery, water color and jewelry were a lot of what we saw,

as well as the gardens that often surround the studios.

 

One had a nice water feature, something we've been considering

for our place.  We have an unsightly place where water run-off come

from a pipe under the road and onto our property, running down

and into our pond.  It amounts to a rut with weeds.  We need to do

something like below.

 

 

One studio was all about pottery.  Very nice stuff.  Very nice price. 

And why shouldn't it be?  It's not run of the mill, made in China stuff. 

It's hand made and very good quality.  I don't know if there's anything wrong

with this set, but it was being used in the garden as deco.

 

 

So was this rockin' goose!

 

This place was all about iron works.  Funny things made from metal junk.

We like the whimsy.



 

Turtles or crabs anyone?

 

This guy, (Brad I think) built this "Mill" from some parts of an old mill found in the county.

The water wheel works but doesn't do anything but turn.  How's that for whimsy?

The water sluice was built to look as if it was being fed by a pond, but alias, it was only a hose.

 



A nice view of the water wheel, which takes only a very small amount of water to turn it.

The family lives on the top flood, his store on the bottom.

 

 

 

This boy had high hopes of a catch of some kind.

 

 

Our last studio stop had more garden than shop. 

An old house served as studio with gardens to the left.

 

 

Rusty things adorned fences, .............

 

 

Bird houses and arbors, ...................

 

 

A poopy crow watches over a part of the garden.

 

 

Yellow

 

 

Red

 

 

........ and a rooster crows

 

 

Not that one, this one below.

 

 

Unusual bird feeders were everywhere.

 

 

An outhouse

 

 

On that note, we went home and began plans for our own water feature.

 

 





Janie's touches of color & projects

 

A house can be built, and sometimes, even occupied and

still never feel like a home.  If the company we've had over the

years can be considered truthful, then we have been able to

achieve just that, a homey feel.  Many people who visit

volunteer comments about two things, the "Peace"

they feel, and the "warm homey feel".

If we've achieved anything, it's because of

Janie's touches and attention to detail.

 

Below is our front door in 2009. 

We had not yet decided whether to stain or not.

 

 

This year, Janie had finally decided to stain and with what color.

Color is very important to her.  Not so much to me.

So this Summer, she began to stain the outside logs.

I was used to the unfinished poplar logs, but this

shade of gray has quickly grown on me.

 

 

As I write, she has completed about 50% of the house.

See how the chinking stands out now?  I like it.

Then there is the question of the balance of the house,

porch and garage. 

 

I'm not much with a brush.  She is.

Can you see the difference below?  Does it show

in the picture?

 

 

 

Brush work is not her only contribution to home deco.

From ducks, fishing baskets and what-nots, ........

 

 

 

to her crock collection artfully arranged.

 

The problem with an "artsy" wife is that she likes to

arrange and rearrange often.  Just about the time I get used to

a look, she moves it all around, adding little things here and there.

Like that old kettle with flowers in it.

 

Flowers are a particular favorite of Janie's.

Here's her front yard garden.  (And a cat)

 

 

Orange ones.  (Sorry, I can't name them)

 

 

Red ones ..........

 

 

Yellow ones ..................

 

 

and stone ones.

 

 

These are one of her latest creations.  "Stone" steps

in the garden.  She's made them from mortar and broken

dishes and other stuff around the house.

 

 

Here's a few from the walk in the garden.

 

 

Last month we had some guys from Israel for dinner.

Janie quickly painted this little sign to greet them

to the left of the entry.  It's hung from a cobblers

shoe form.

 

Close up

 

There are tons more things she had made, painted

or asked me to make, but this will be enough for now.

I'm very proud of her and her abilities.  Perhaps later

I will post a few of her water color paintings. 

 

It's good to have someone who can do all the things she does.

Plant on a chair, on pegs, on a wall.

Aaah, Montana in the Spring

In April I was given the opportunity to fly to Montana, 

The university has a geology camp where student go to dig up,

break and look at rocks.  I was there to meet with the state

fire marshal, the local fire chief and so on.

I've posted a few of the pictures I took.

 

We flew into Bozeman.

 

 

 

 

Bozeman had all the regular stuff one would expect to find, the difference being,

Bozeman had a much more interesting backdrop of mountains.  On our way

to the camp, we encountered a sand /rain storm.  Very odd.

I found lots of old log buildings, most falling down.  No telling how old they are.

Here's a black and white just for my daughter.

 

 

 

A lonely house amidst nothing else.

 

 

The road to Pony Montana.

 

 

I saw a few ranch entrance's but no actual ranches.  The drives were very long.

 

 

Here is the drive to a residence.  No house was seen, but it surely was

large judging by the expensive entry gate.

 

 

 

We spent some time driving in the mountains looking for bear. 

We didn't see any but did miss seeing one in the camp.  Pictures are never as good as being there, so this shot fails to present the true grandeur of the site. 

 

 

 

Up toward Hollowtop Mountain, I found the river.  Awesome scene.  (My favorite shot)

 

 

 

It snowed two inches one morning.

 

 

 

The camp looking North.

 

We found this tent set up near the top of a mountain. 

 

 

Snow melted the next day.

 

 

 

A parting shot, leaving for the airport back to Indiana.