Spring Garden Joy in May

What brings you joy in the spring time? I enjoy seeing so many gardens come to life after a long winter.  my joy comes from the success of the plants I have growing. In the veggie garden right now are my cooking greens & lettuces.  I feel lucky to be in Rochester, NY and have the Fredrick Law Olmsted designed gardens to walk through here.  As the calendar says mid spring, the lilacs in Highland Park are bursting with their fabulous scent.   

This is some of the late fall 2022 Collard I planted last year.  It was not big enough to harvest last fall and it has overwintered here.  We had an odd winter and it was not cold long enough to kill this off. 

Why I love gardening. My paternal Grandma had an amazing green thumb. Growing up, I helped her in her gardens.  I have fond memories of her yard in the spring bursting with colors. Some of the flowers and plants in her gardens: roses, zinnias, geraniums, peonies, sweet potato vine,  pansies, petunias, snapdragons, raspberries, blackberries, violets and many others.   

This is perennial sage in my backyard garden.  I have many fond memories every spring when the snapdragon bloom.  it still is my favorite flower and she always put them into water whenever I harvested the wild snaps near her summer cottage.  As I grow older, I am grateful for all I have learned from her about gardening and food storage.  She is the reason I started canning tomatoes.  Now in the winter, I can enjoy the fresh tomato flavor forth summer garden.  Thank you Grandma.  

Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  As an ally, I want to support and stand up. 

 Free the People ROC

 

We need to support our brothers and sisters.

#bekind
#blacklivesmatter 
#blm 
#standup
#listen
#lovewins

Buy Local from the Maker

Why shop Small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  

$68 stay in the community

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This stunning statement necklace is made with a OOAK Dichroic Glass focal.  Always happy create custom pieces for your special person.  

 picture by Pixel Wave

Celebrate Womens History Month

 How are you celebrating the beginning Womens' History Month?  

Pink Boots Society

So inspirational to hear the founder of this organization, Teri Fahrendorf,  at the Pink Boots Collaboration BrewDay At Prison City Brewery. this is an annual event in Auburn NY and the entire weekend is a celebration. you can step up and support them on their site below.  They allow donations and sell merchandise.  

Pink Boots

 

Looking for other inspirational events which give back to the community for the month.  Feel free to send any events you were inspired by to me.  

These boots make me want to dig in the dirt.

Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  

 Free the People ROC

We need to support our brothers and sisters

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter
#blm 
#standup
#listen

#nojusticenopeace

Buy Local from the Maker 

 

photographer: Tim Fusse

 My Store:  My Shop

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Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community

What is in your Earrings

 Earrings

Crystal on Surgical

What are the three main parts of an earring? 

1. Beads
2. Headpin
3. Ear post or wire

The Beads (focal component )are likely why you picked the earring they are the largest part and most colorful element of the earring.  The Headpin is the almost invisible part that holds the beads.  The ear post is what connects the earring to your ear.  Most often I use Nickel Free Surgical Steel to connect to the ear.  Why do I use it?  It is the safest metal for ear wires (most non corrosive  type of stainless steel).  

 

 Metals

 

 I believe definitions are necessary and here are a few links for metals :

Silver                   Silver defined

Copper                 Copper defined

Nickel                 Nickel defined

Gold                    Gold defined

 

Surgical with silver & pearls

Metals are one of the main components in my work.  A brief overview of metals and their uses will help you to understand why I use sterling silver wire in so many of my designs.  

Type of metals used in jewelry:  aluminum, copper, gold, nickel, silver, & stainless steel. I have not listed all metals because the list is long.  This is such a broad topic, I could easily spend days writing many pages about this.  I will keep this brief and focused. 

 

Two of the metals many people react to are Copper & Nickel.   Jewelry Safety will be a future topic. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Lives Matter

 I invite everyone to be kind and support our sisters and brothers. Today is the last day of Black History Month.  We need to teach history accurately all year. 

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY. 

 Free the People ROC

 

 

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

#lovewins

 

Buy Local & Shop Small

My shop:  Panda Wear Website

Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community!

 

Gardening as Winter Ends

Spring Countdown

 In 27 days on March 20 it will be spring.  I love the color burst of Spring. My love of this comes from my paternal Grandma.  Growing up, I helped her in her gardens.  I have fond memories of her yard in the spring bursting with colors.  I helped pull the weeds from around the roses.  While her children were growing up, she grew fruits and veggies.  She had plums, raspberries and blackberries when I was growing up. Summer flowers in Grandma's garden included: roses, zinnias, geraniums, peonies, pansies, petunias, snapdragons.  She had a second garden at the family cottage near Alexandria Bay, NY in the 1000 islands.  The flowers were in whiskey barrels at the entrance to the home.

 Backyard Visitors

Our suet feeder seems to attract a wide variety of Woodpeckers to my garden.  they enjoy the food in the winter we provide and in the warmer months they feast on the insects in the garden. It is nice to have a back yard habitat they enjoy. 

 My pond is right next to this feeder.  When it is warmer, the birds enjoy the waterfall and their bird bath at the top of it. Have you made a space that is friendly to local wildlife?  Always be kind ot others.  I was taught this by my Father and honor him by my practice of it.

 

 

 

 As I countdown to spring, the garden design is finished for the veggies.  Very happy to have a plan to grow by so I do not end up without space for a favorite vegetable.

 

As winter is winding down, my garden catalogs help me plan for the warm season.  As the designer in me is active, there as some new jewelry designs for spring, too.  Working on Earrings, necklaces, and bracelets in Copper and Sterling Silver. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

 I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and be ready to support our sisters and brothers.  

 

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

#lovewins

 

 

 

 

Shop Small

Buy Local from the Artist

My shop:  Panda Wear Website
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community. 

 

Valentine Sale Success

 

Last week, I had my 3rd online event for my business as a sale for customers.  It was a digital sale on zoom and was a success.  As with any new endeavor there were great parts I will use as a model for my next digital event.  Being new to this idea I took feedback from attendees as I have from the prior two events in December. Shown at left is one of the free gifts for those who attended.  

 Happy to have the opportunity to show what I do to people worldwide.  Thanks to the pandemic, I have been networking on zoom and met people from at least 6 different countries.  What you learn with such a diverse group is there are many universal dreams and desires.  

 

 

Black History Month

 

What an inspirational lady she is and so happy to have seen the great things she did while in the white house.  Starting for me with the way she changed the gardens there and brought back vegetables.  She is an incredible lady and doing many things including her inspiring Girls Opportunity Alliance.   Becoming

The Girls Opportunity Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation, seeks to empower adolescent girls around the world through education, allowing them to achieve their full potential and transform their families, communities, and countries. We engage people around the world to take action to help adolescent girls and the grassroots leaders working to educate them.

 Girls Opportunity Alliance

 

 Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

 I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and be ready to support our sisters and brothers. 

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Local & Shop Small

 

My shop:  Panda Wear
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

Why shop small? 

For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community!

 

 

 

Welcome August

Waiting for the slicing tomatoes & bell peppers to ripen.  There are so many green tomatoes.  Something ate several pepper plants this summer., something = garden visitor.  I planted more so we have a good harvest.  Peppers are great fresh and freeze well for cooking with later.  

Found this Black Swallowtail while visiting Brookside Garden in Maryland last month.  Happy to be back in the area dog sitting this week.  Should have pics of the puppy next week.    

Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

I invite everyone to stand up, listen to others, be kind and be ready to support our sisters and brothers.  

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

j

Buy local from the Maker

  

My shop:  Panda Wear Website
Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community!

Summer Fruits and Mother Nature

 

It has been a hard summer here so far in the garden.  The alternating heat & extreme wet is stressing the plants.  We are doing our best to care for them in this dichotomy of conditions.  We had several bouts of 90's by the end of June.  When you add to that the 9+ inches of rain from 7/09 - 7/23( two weeks time) in my yard, it has been hard on the plants  We have lost peppers & beans to pests, kale and lettuce to rotting, and the berries stopped fruiting in the wet spell. 

 These are the 1st 2021 TOMATOES! These are along side today's harvest of fennel, wax beans and cucumber on the bottom. 

 

 I am reminded to enjoy the moment often this year.  Mother Nature had this so show us a few nights ago.   

Last week I had the privilege of seeing a one women show on RIT campus that was invitation only. It was incredible.  As we left the theater and headed to our cars, another attendee pointed to the moon. When I arrived home it was still peaking through the clouds.  This is phone pic without filters.  Wishing I had a long lens on campus for the great shot there. 
      

 

Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  FB page  Free the People ROC

I invite everyone to Join me: 

stand up, listen to others, be kind and to support our sisters and brothers.  

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter 

#stopasianhate

#standup

#listen

 

 

Buy Local from the Maker

 My shop:  Panda Wear Website

Facebook:  PandaWire Facebook
Twitter:  Panda Wear Gems  
Instagram: Instagram

 

Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community.