Good Day Sunshine...

Happy Monday!!!  And Yay!!  A big congratulations goes out to Jennifer Allen!  She won those gorgeous earrings from my last post.  Congrats, Jennifer!!!  I know you will enjoy them.  And, if you were dead set on winning, but didn't get picked, you can purchase your very own pair right here.  For a limited time, I'm offering "free shipping" on them, just for you.  Thanks for being so awesome!

We had such a great time last night at the Porter Center at Brevard College.  The beautiful and multi-talented Ms. Shannon Whitworth had a benefit concert for the new animal shelter Transylvania County is trying to raise money for.  So far, just since August, they have raised over $200,000!!!  Hooray for the animals, the people and the new shelter!  Looks like groundbreaking will begin soon ~ hopefully before the Summer!!

And so...for your listening pleasure, Ms. Shannon Whitworth and Barrett Smith ~ enjoy!

Happy Monday!!

love & peace always ~ Kathy

"Cherish all your happy moments -- they make a fine cushion for old age." ~ Booth Tarkington

Imagine...some "free" spring earrings

Happy Sunday!!  Gosh, I sure have been enjoying my journaling.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy "going" where my drawings take me, which is usually to never, never land.  Actually, this little caterpillar/butterfly transformation drawings is similar to one I saw yesterday on facebook, but I tried to make it my own ~ I love it!  It speaks volumes!  But, as Wayne said this morning, my journaling is not going to make me any money in my Etsy shop, so I made these today:

and, most appropriately, I named them "Spring Flowers".  I have a ton [literally] of those pretty little vintage Lucite and Rhinestone flower buttons.  I love how they turned out!  So much so, that I'm giving a pair away!  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, or on my facebook page.  That's it!  Lita will be picking the winner Wednesday, since this is her birthday week.  She will be seven years old tomorrow and she's still as mean as ever to Ozzy...always pulling him around by his ears!!  

  It's been a crazy day around here!  It was actually snowing earlier, but now the sun is out and the sky is gorgeous!  Flowers are popping up all over the place in my yard:

 I hope you had a great weekend!  Good luck in the drawing!

love & peace always ~ Kathy

"Each moment of the year has its own beauty, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Awesome find in the forest...

Can you imagine my excitement when I came across this!  And this is just a tiny portion of the hatch-lings that I found in a pool of water in the forest yesterday.  Please do click on the photo to enlarge it and check out the fins on these tiny little newts...they remind me of little dragons ~ this made my ♥ sing!  So cute!!  I'll be going back to check on them in a few days to see how much they've grown...which, I expect, will be leaps and bounds!

 The hike we were on ["Turkey Pen Gap"] was beautiful!  The trail wound through the forest and followed along "Mills River".  The best part [besides finding the hatch-lings] was this awesome suspension bridge:

it crossed over the river and was really wiggly and swinging...kinda scary, but fun at the same time.  And it was a beautiful day!  Lots of sunshine and fresh air...the perfect prescription I needed, for sure, especially since today is rather dreary and overcast.  So, I'll just stay inside and make some new jewelry.  But before I go, I have to share this:

I caught this little fellow digging in my daffodil bulbs this morning...he's so cute, though!  I had to share :)

 Happy Friday!

Love & peace always ~ Kathy

"...from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web...We must pick out what is good for us where we can find it." ~ Pablo Picasso

Started working on my taxes yesterday, after I went to check on the eggs.  While I was there I saw this:

It's a "Red Spotted [or Eastern] Newt" and apparently, that's what is growing inside all of the eggs:

When I read about them, their cycle of life is amazing!  They actually have three cycles: the aquatic larva or tadpole, the red eft or terrestrial juvenile stage, and the aquatic adult. The larva possesses gills and does not leave the pond environment where it was hatched. Larvae are brown-green in color, and shed their gills when they transform into the terrestrial red eft. The red eft is bright orangish-red in color, with darker red spots outlined in black. An eastern newt can have as many as 21 of these spots. The pattern of these spots differs among the subspecies. During this stage, the eft may travel far, acting as a dispersal stage from one pond to another, ensuring outcrossing in the population. After two or three years, the eft finds a pond and transforms into the aquatic adult. The adult's skin is olive green, but retains the eft's characteristic outlined red spots. It has a larger and wider tail and characteristically slimy skin. [source].  Isn't that amazing!!  They can live up to 15 years!  Wayne said I should write a children's book about them.  I think I'll call it "The Adventures of the Red Spotted Newt"....and he'll accidentally travel all the way to Europe and back.  I'll keep you posted on that.  It will be fun!

It's a beautiful day!  I think I'm going to head out with my camera and enjoy it!  Happy Thursday!

love & peace always ~ Kathy

"Perhaps our natural gifts elude us because they are so obvious." ~ Sue Bender