The Parliament of Owls Will Now Come to Order

Nine owls swoop through the dark summer night forests of this bracelet, amid leaves and gemstones, moons, and magic.  They gather on this night for their annual parliament.  

It is the night when owls speak, and hear each others' tales of the year.  

It is a time to share recipes ~ rodent ratatouille, mouse mousse, bunny tarts...

They complain of witches who don't hold their familiars in high enough esteem, who only use them for spells and never ask their opinions, who admire their plumage but never bother discussing wiccan philosophies with them...

They congratulate colleagues who have starred in yet another Harry Potter film, and marvel about barn owls with live video feeds...

They bemoan the fact that, as nocturnal creatures, they miss all sorts of daylight activities, like swim parties and Sunday brunch...

They recommend favorite chiropractors who help them turn their heads further to compensate for their fixed eyes...

They compare feather designs, always in search of better sound abatement wing feathers...

They commission owl cobblers to fashion better slippers for their zygodactyl feet...

They practice make-up tips to make their beaks appear smaller...

...and plan ways of looking their best when swooping past a full moon on Halloween night.

Bracelet up for auction on eBay.  

Click here to bid, or take a look.

My Frog and His Frog Blog

My Frog Does Not Waste Precious Time

by Jack Prelutsky

My frog does not waste precious time

just sitting on a log.




He’s learned to use the Internet,
and now he has a blog.



It’s filled with tips on how to hop,
and how to catch a fly,



on things that frogs can do to keep
their skins from getting dry.

My frog has hints on where to find
the finest lily pads,



and writes in great detail about
the latest froggy fads.



He tells of different ways to croak,
and how to act in bogs…



it’s boring for most people,
but it fascinates most frogs.



Up for auction on eBay right now!
Click here to bid.

Flying Hippos Fly-hi-dee, try-hi-dee, my-hi-dee-ho

Hippo's Hope

by Shel Silverstein

There once was a hippo who wanted to fly --

Fly-hi-dee, try-hi-dee, my-hi-dee-ho.

So he sewed him some wings that could flap through the sky --

Sky-hi-dee, fly-hi-dee, why-hi-dee-go.

He climbed to the top of a mountain of snow --

Snow-hi-dee, slow-hi-dee, oh-hi-dee-hoo.

With the clouds high above and the sea down below --

Where-hi-dee, there-hi-dee, scare-hi-dee-boo.

(Happy ending)

And he flipped and he flapped and he bellowed so loud --

Now-hi-dee, loud-hi-dee, proud-hi-dee-poop.

And he sailed like an eagle, off into the clouds --

High-hi-dee, fly-hi-dee, bye-hi-dee-boop.

(Unhappy ending)

And he leaped like a frog and he fell like a stone --

Stone-hi-dee, lone-hi-dee, own-hi-dee-flop.

And he crashed and he drowned and broke all his bones --

Bones-hi-dee, moans-hi-dee, groans-hi-dee-glop.

(Chicken ending)

He looked up at the sky and looked down at the sea --

Sea-hi-dee, free-hi-dee, whee-hi-dee-way.

And he turned and went home and had cookies and tea --

That's hi-dee, all hi-dee, I have to say.

eBay hippos here

etsy hippos here

In a Summer Garden ~ the Seasons BlogHop

Lisa Lodge, of the Grateful Artist Blogspot , sent each participant in this blog hop a bag of beads, with a clasp of some sort, some findings, lampwork art beads, and assorted other beads.  

Our challenge: to make a piece of jewelry that evoked a season, or a season of our lives.

You can hop along from Lisa's page and see what others came up with.

My bag of beads was chock full of itty bitty butterflies, plus two froggie heads...

... so I went straight to summer.  I neglected to take a photo of the beads before I started. And there was no point taking a photo when I was done, because there were only a few left.  From my own stash, I used a few flowers, sterling chain and beadies, some split rings, and a whole lotta sterling headpins.

My bracelet reminded me of a Shel Silverstein poem.  Feel free to chant along,

The Garden

Ol' man Simon, planted a diamond,

Grew hisself a garden the likes of none.

Sprouts all growin', comin' up glowin',

Fruit of jewels all shinin' in the sun.

Colors of the rainbow,

See the sun and rain grow

Sapphires and rubies on ivory vines,

Grapes of jade, just

Ready for the squeezin' into green jade wine.

Pure gold corn there,

Blowin' in the warm air,

Ol' crow nibblin' on the amethyst seeds.

In between the diamonds, ol' man Simon

Crawls about pullin' out platinum weeds.

Pink pearl berries,

All you can carry,

Put 'em in a bushel and

Haul 'em into town.

Up in the tree there's

Opal nuts and gold pears--

Hurry quick, grab a stick

And shake some down.

Take a silver tater,

Emerald tomater,

Fresh plump coral melons

Hangin' in reach.

Ol' man Simon,

Diggin' in his diamonds,

Stops and rests and dreams about

One...real...peach.

Now be a peach and hop on over to see some more!

Your Hostess: Lisa Lodge, Grateful Artist

  

Kathy Zeigler Lindemer, Bay Moon Design

Cassi Paslick, Beads: Rolling Downhill

Stephanie Sanner Haussler, PixyBug Designs

Leah Mifflin Tees, My Beady Little Eyes

Karin Slaton, BackStory Beads

Audrey Belanger, Dreams of an Absolution

Lori Jean Poppe, Lorillijean Creative Corner

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Christine Stonefield, Sweet Girl Design

You are here!  Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life

Alicia Marinache,  All the Pretty Things

Veralynne Malone, Designed by Vera

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Mary Govaars, MLH Jewelry Designs

Toltec Jewels, Toltec Jewels for Jewel School Friends

Lennis Carrier, Windbent

Erin Kenny, Beadifultherapy

Tanya Goodwin, A Work in Progress

Cilla Watkins, Tell Your Girlfriends

Renetha Williams Stanziano, Lamplight Crafts

Christie Searle Murrow, Charis Designs Jewelry

Sierra Barrett, Giraffe Can Has

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Shirley Jones Moore, Beads and Bread

Dawn Horner, Northern Adornments

Charlene Bausinger Jacka, Clay Space

Tara Plote, The Newbie Beader's Blog

Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks

Miranda Ackerley, Daze and Days

Nine Lives to Live

Nine black kitties, swinging on the gate.

One ate a mouse head; then there were eight.

Eight black kitties, channeling Andre Previn;

One hit a sour note.  Then there were seven.

Seven black kitties, "watering" the bricks.

One "watered" Butch, the dog.  Then there were six.

Six black kitties, at the Black Cat Dive.

One did too much 'nip; then there were five.

Five black kitties, fishing by the shore.

One hooked a crabby shark; then there were four.

Four black kitties, climbing up a tree.

One took up with a squirrel; then there were three.

Three back kitties, lapping up fondue.

One lactose intolerant; then there were two.

Two black kitties, in the hot hot sun.

One left for sunscreen; then there was one.

One black kitty, sitting all alone

Went back to his kitty lair for tuna and salmon.

Bracelet of nine black cats, up for auction on eBay.