Yes it is Spring

As an avid gardener my spring plants for the veggie garden do not wait for the frost to go away.  They are large enough for transplant but my muddy garden is not ready for them.  There are both plus and minus to  homegrown plants.   My tomatoes are six inches tall right now & they smell fantastic.   We may try to remove & dry some of the soil to help them.


My giveback at this time is hosting an artist chat once a week.  Started last week.  Sure feels good to connect with like minded creatives right now.  Hard to be in isolation as an artist. Making a few new wearable works of wire art.

Working on adding more of my gemstones & finished jewelry to the website.  Time consuming to edit all the pics need to show the detail in the pieces.  Please take a look and let me know what you like.  Have some quarts points on FB and a few pewter beads for you to do your own DIY jewelry.  There are kits from $10 each for earrings.

Find memories of sisterhood from the trip to DC & our Womens' March on Washington 1/21/17.  Met some great ladies and felt a sense of sisterhood and love from the gathering.

Womens' March on Washington 2017

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Please remember to be kind.  We will get through this difficult time as long as we are together.  PM if interested in the Artist chats.Stay safe & show your love to others via face time, zoom or other social distancing choices.

Happy for Snowpeas

Snow peas 2015

I will begin with a quote from Susan B Anthony. 
"Organize, agitate, educate must be our war cry. "

The new variety of snow peas we planted is finally sprouted.  Happy dance here because in 6 weeks we should have fresh snowpeas to enjoy.  Note to others,  read the seed packets instructions carefully.  These require warmer ground than I thought.   Also added to the garden this past week are Dinosaur Kale, Brussel sprouts, Tatsoi Mustard, Rainbow Kale.  The greens will be ready for harvest in about 2 weeks.

The season here feels later than it actually is.  Staying home to stay safe makes time feel different.  Adding some things to the website so my customers can buy even though I do not have any live shows at the moment.  Fro the latest new listings, follow on FB & IG - links below.

The Sterling & gold filled bangle bracelets are a popular choice with my customers.  Working on two orders currently. this lapidary is also cutting some new gemstones.  Will post pics soon.

Spirals on Website

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do you have some future post topics?  please share them.  

Gardener with Gemstones

Lapidary beauty and my Gardens

On the left is Spider Agate freeform cabochon.  This is a hand cut gemstone and shows the beauty I find in the rough stones I have.
On the right is Biggs Jsaper a widely recognized form of jasper which is quite popular among jasper collectors.

How is the vegetable garden you ask?  It is doing well.  Mother Nature reminded us we are in
Western New York this week with a bitter cold snap.  was 65 a few days ago and now 38 outside.  We transplanted some hardy Kale yesterday.  The Mustard has given us two harvest sand is terrific in salads.  One snow peas has sprouted.  Is is early April so plenty of time of the rest of they peas to emerge.  some other plants have sprouted in the garden.  A few of the Hyacinth we look forward to each year with the intoxicating scent

As a small business owner I know how difficult it is at this time in NY state and around the US.  As a women owner business it is more difficult to generate the income necessary to keep the business going.  We are counting on the local community to remember to support all local business.  
For every $100 you spend at a local business $68 stay in the community.  
We are in this together. NY Strong.

One of my beach pieces in precious metal to show the beauty in the shell.  I sell wholesale & retail stones, rocks, beads, geodes, jewelry.


My shops:  Panda Wear Website
                 
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Habitat:  My Page Women Build

Almost April as a Women Business Owner

For all the new readers & followers of this blog,  I am an avid gardener and lapidary.  Most of my inspiration comes from nature as can be seen in my work.  Whether it is the arch of a branch, the stem of a bush or the pattern of moss.  As a lapidary, when I am cutting a stone my design became the feature I find in the natural stone.  Moss on a Lava rock in my backyard garden.  


Expanding the gemstone/rock side of my business.  I sell rocks! Do you know a jewelry designer or small local Jewelry store?  Being a lapidary, I custom cut my own stones into one of a kind cabochons. Retail & wholesale options for you to buy the gems.  Please feel free to contact me if you have a friend with a shop who uses one of a kind gemstones.

Today March 31 is National Equal Pay Day.  
We had a local rally scheduled to bring more visibility to the fact that Minorities & Women are drastically paid less than men.

learn more here:  Pay Equality Coalition
  
Another way to support women is the ERA now ratified by the 38th state.  I a a proud bard member of Rochester NOW 
NOW Rocheter NY




What does it mean to be a Lapidary?  Definition: The art of cutting, polishing & engraving precious stones.  

To the left is a slice of the Unakite I found as a rough rock in St. Lawrence county NY.  It has been sliced into this slab of rough gemstone.  Below is the finished polished cabochon showing the beauty in this stone.  
details of the process here:  
Lapidary process




As a small business owner I know how difficult it is at this time in NY state and around the US.  As a women owner business it is more difficult to generate the income necessary to keep the business going.  We are counting on the local community to remember to support all local business.  For every $100 you spend at a local business $68 stay in the community.  We are in this together.

I will end with a quote from my favorite president, Barak Obama. 

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek".   


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                   Cabochons and Beads

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Habitat:  My Page Women Build

Happy growing and enjoy your week.  

New Normal and Garden Update

Spring Garden Update

Patience is a virtue .  We are reminded of the importance of this virtue in the month of March . My garden is asking for my patience for my snow peas to sprout.   My bulbs are not waiting for April to show us it is spring. Thanks to the climate crisis the bulbs are earlier every year.  I have mini daffodils opening their blooms in my backyard garden.   Seeing the blooms at the same time as snowdrops lets me know the flowers are confused.

Plan to transplant some of my mustard into the ground next week.  need the ground to dry some before cultivation.



New Normal

This has been a difficult blog to write at this time in our nation .

 With the pandemic taking its toll on the world as well as the huge impact on my state of NY I struggled. Should I share my quandary and show how an artist reacts to this or stay silent?  This was my quandary this week.

common terms this spring new normal, pandemic, stay home flattenthecurve.  Not comfortable with this but surviving with my focus on the positive.  Creating art is not a daily occurrence.  Working to get back to my lapidary creations.    

The upside is the ability to appreciate things we used to take for granted.  A walk along the canal path with my sweetheart earlier this week & I have this beautiful pic of the sky.  we small business owners are hit hard by the changes we have all had to make.


We Artists are creating art - look for it.  Please make an extra effort to buy from local business especially artists to support small biz in your area.

Pond resident, Ferdinan announcing it is spring.  His winter nap is over and he is happy to sun himself in the top of this pot.

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Spring Arrives Yipee

Happy  for the arrival of spring this week.  3/19 is the first day of spring.  Late last week the snipes were planted.  the wait for their sprouts has begun.  The veggie garden for 2020 has been started.  Happy dance over here.

The beautiful sweet "fruit" to the right is what we will harvest from the garden later in spring.  Nothing is tastier than fresh picked snipes.  The first ones never even make it inside the house - they are subject to finger blight by me.  

We are practicing safety here in the workshop, garden and life.  Use common sense always.  Injury is never easy to avoid.  Safety glasses are always used when I create my work.Finger Blight : the condition used to describe the picking of fruits or vegetables before they are done.  also used to describe the theft of same fruits or vegetables.





One copper bangle and the copper earrings which are so popular right now.  Feel free to PM or reach out if you need one for your very own.  Custom color matching is always available.  Lapidary here so freeform cabochons are always ready to be set into the metal of your choice.





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Reminder order early for special occasions like Passover, Easter, Mother's Day.

International Womens Day

Yesterday was International Women's Day, how did you celebrate?  I reflected on some fantasict women I admire such as Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Warren, & Kamala Harris.

As we move thru this month, I am beyond excited. It is almost SPRING,  10 MORE DAYS!!! This lettuce from 2017 says it best.



Elizabeth Warren quote,"Choose to fight only righteous fights, because then when things get tough - and they will - you will know that there is only option ahead of you: nevertheless, you must persist "  Her passion is resonating through out these United States of America in the hearts & minds of all of us women. She had the courage to do something some only dream of  run for President of the USA.




As this Mustard in my greenhouse shows, it wants to grow despite the fact it is winter.  The seed was planted last fall and is growing now that it is warm.  I watered it so it can become a full plant &  be large enough for a salad soon.   Followers of this blog know by heart my favorite Susan B quote, " Failure is Impossible "  I feel that here in this green. I did not expect it to have survived the winter but it persisted.

My indoor greens are only sprigs right now.  Three to six weeks  until they can be planted into the veggie garden.  Hopefully the peas can be planted by the end of March like last year.

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Reminder order early for special occasions

Almost Spring

It is early March in my sleepy Rochester outdoor garden.  Inside the tomato & pepper seedling are doing well & the greens have been planted.  In 13 days on March 19 it will be spring.   shortly after that I can start digging int he veggie garden.  I can hardly wait to plant the peas outside.  Looking at photos of the spring blooms from years past reminds me how quickly time seems to fly by.   These are daffodils in my backyard garden from early April.  

Spring is the time of year which reminds us of new growth and opportunity.  I am happy to have been part of six events so far in 2020 with my handmade jewelry.  Kits are now available for the beginner who would like to try their own DIY earrings.  For the curious class are available to teach bracelets, earrings, basic jewelry making or wire wrapping.

This is a commission I have the honor of making. The stone is Garnet from NY set in 14 karat gold filled wire.


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Remember tomorrow night we need to move our clocks here in the USA.  Spring ahead one hour.

Hope this published Friday as posted.

February Family Memories

I welcome the end of this month because spring is in March.  As many of you know, I am an avid gardener.  Another annual event is remembering my Father & his Mother both of whom have birthdays the end of the month.  They both showed me strong family, love & tolerance for all. This year the month adds another family memory, the passing of my father's middle brother, Russell.  My Uncle Russell passed away & his service was Saturday, 2/22.

My Grandmother loved gardening and her flowers were a show of her dedication to nature.  This was obvious at her home in the NE area is the city of Rochester & the summer home her husband build in the 1000 Islands in St Lawrence county. One of my favorite flowers in her garden was the Peonies.  She had both the pink & the white flowering plants.This is the pink flowering type in my backyard garden.  When they first bloomed here my only thought when I inhaled the intoxicating aroma was of Grandma.



As I enjoy the sprouts of my tomatoes & bell peppers, I think of my family and the fantastic gardens at Grandma & Grandpa's house when I was a child. The Blackberries & Red Raspberries were always harvested by my sister & I.  Amazing that any of the fruits made it into the house by the color of our hands from the harvest of the super juicy berries.This is the view from the dock at the summer place several years ago.  The water lilies are wild there and helped me to have my own backyard pond.  the sound of the water takes me back to the cottage in the 1000 islands and many summer weekends with my father when I was a child.

Habitat for Humanity Women Build 2013

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Garden Design Day 2020 SEASON

My favorite day is the 1st day digging into the garden for the the initial seeds of the season. It is about 2 months away. to prepare for the 2020 Veggie garden, I was working on the design last week. Today, we ordered some seeds of a few varieties we ran out of from last year.

Harvest 2017

Bell pepper seeds will be planted today. Our garden is planted for success.  We use a three year crop rotation to rest the soil and increase production for the Vegetable.  Hoping Mother Natures helps this years by giving a good freeze for the 6 weeks necessary to kill the pests from last year. The yo yo temperatures and wet spring increased disease last year and made it difficult for local farmers to plant crops.


PBS article about the difficulties last spring.  "For farmers, record flooding and a wet spring mean many fields can’t be planted" 2019 Wet Spring PBS Newshour

Looking forward to the seeds sprouting and the growing to begin in my plants. Several inches of snow on the ground now & below freezing temperatures outside.  Yes it is winter in Rochester, NY.

1/19/20 NOW members

Last Month I was able to attend the Womens March in Seneca Falls.  There were three fantastic days of sisterhood in this historic area. This is part of our NOW, National Organization for Women,  group on the 3rd day of the event at the First Presbyterian Church of Seneca Falls.  Yes that is me in the feminist t shirt left of center.

Relatively new style in copper per customer requests for more copper please.  Also have copper bracelets, anklets, necklaces & tiaras.
       Buy Local  from the maker.

My shops:  Panda Wear Website
                   Cabochons and Beads

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