baby watch, paper gardens

Like our British cousins, I too, have been on a baby watch. My little duchess  is feathery grey with white accents and a quack, quack,quack.

This is Gwenda, Gwennie for short.

  Gwennie built her nest of pine needle mulch up against the house and behind the cucumber trellis. It is safe and shady.

She has been patiently sitting on her eggs for approximately 3 weeks now. 28 days is the incubation period for a duck egg and 28 days for a peacock egg. That is good, because I tucked one lone peacock egg in with her clutch of 6 duck eggs, to see if it will hatch . We've had only ONE batch of ducklings hatch here in the Hollow. That is because, normally, our little "broody hen" would have been snatched in the dead of night by a wicked predator before her ducklings ever had a chance to hatch.  But Gwennie has been protected. 

By, guess who?

Liam and Keats sleep just feet away from Gwenda's nest. It will really be marvelous if these duckies are born, and even more spectacular if the peacock egg hatches too!

   These boys are only 5 months old now and have proved themselves to be wonderful guardians. I've not lost a single bird since the boys began to romp the grounds and walk the perimeter. I HIGHLY recommend Pyrenees if you have a pest problem. These dogs are loving and yet have the independence required of the livestock guardian.

 On a more romantic note, The peafolk have been courting, The peabody boys have molted all of this years tail feathers,which they dropped all over the Hollow.

 That tail must be quite a heavy load to carry around all day long, and losing it has caused the Peabody boys to CALM DOWN, considerably. The peagirls appreciate their new-found good manners and have taken  a bit more kindly to the males advances.

Love is in the air....

  Isn't it romantic?

The baby chicklets have grown into adolescence, and I am pleased to say, that in the good looks department, they take after their papa, a gorgeous Buff Orpington.

Instead of their mother, Plain Jane Black.

I was just a jot and tittle away from finishing my book when I had to stop in midstream, and prepare for 2 art events. I haven't had a spare minute to visit blogs, tend my garden ( which has gone to rack and ruin) or clean the barn! We did have a lovely showing in Berea Kentucky and sold many books and some original paper gardens. Therefore, I spent the next week making MORE paper gardens to take to ANOTHER showing in Lebanon Ohio.

 These really are a lot of work. Firstly, I use a #11 xacto knife to  cut out (freehand) all the strips of grass, stems and leaves. Next, I cut and assemble every tiny bloom until I have a nice collection of flowers, from Hollyhocks, roses, foxgloves, daisys, coneflowers and what nots.

 I also make paper bee skeps, cottages, birdhouses, teeny honeybees and picket fences. Next, I cut silhouettes of trees, animals: rabbits, birds, cows, sheep,deer, bear, cats and horses. When all these bits and pieces are finished, I arrive at the FUN step of assemblage.

 

.

This little cottage has a thatched roof and a teeny window box filled with flowers.

 The large dovecote has a scalloped roof entwined by climbing roses and  half a dozen birds surrounding;

as well as a bee skep, hollyhocks, delphiniums, leaping buns and buzzing bees.

I ended up making 6 paper gardens and about a dozen paper garden pendants.

However, although the second arts show was in a marvelous Historic Museum, set in a beautiful old towne with 25 hand picked artisans and craftsmen who are "top of the line" talent, the attendance was utterly DISMAL. I came home with all my gardens, to pack up and sell another day.
 
 This is the life of a freelance artist, you just never know what sort of inventory to bring to a show and it's a gamble every time you leave town. After over 25 years of shows, I still haven't figured it out.
That's okay, I have many more events this  year, and now I have plenty of STUFF,and won't need to take any more time away from book publication This is how we must look at things in the traveling artist world.

 Soon, I will be FREEEEEE!!! That is until work begins on storybook # 4 in the Hopalong Hollow Series.
 But I don't even want to think about THAT right now. I'd rather go and read YOUR blogs.

I will just enjoy the little paper gardens sitting on the table and breathe a sigh of relief.

AHHHHHHHHH!

HOPALONG HOLLOW NEWS FLASH!!
One duckling hatches on the 25th, looks just like mommy in miniature! (Swedish Blue ) 2  more babies are poking holes in their shells... expect more baby new tomorrow. It's t0m0rr0w..5 babies in all! 3 m0re eggs t0 g0.