Luna lux nox

        The night of the Moon. . . tonight the Moon is closer to the Earth than it has been in 18 years. In addition to this it is also full to the brim with an almost eerie brightness.

        To add to the excitement I also captured a Luna Moth in perfect condition. I took this picture of her (yes it is female) with the enormous Moon in the background. Once upon a time I studied Entomology quite seriously and went to "Bug Camp" every summer when I was in high-school. So, as soon as I caught the beautiful creature I quickly paralyzed it so it would not flutter about and ruin it's lovely wings.

        I took a picture with it in my hand for scale. It's a little small, but it is probably one of the first Luna Moths of the year. Hopefully I will acquire a massive sized male this year. I only have only ever had a few small or average sized females.


      

       
        I plan on spreading, pinning, and preserving the insect to place in a shadow box. Like the one pictured on the right. These two moths are actually just about the same size. Anyway, once placed in the shadow box I will sprinkle a little bit of moth ball dust inside to keep tiny microscopic bugs from eating the delicate wings. Then I will probably give it to which ever one of my sisters reads this first and claims the specimen.


        After capturing the moth Lath asked me what their purpose was. As in - what do Luna Moth's do? I said that they hatch, eat, live, breed, lay eggs, and then die. So he replied, "Oh. So all they are for is lookin' pretty?" To which I replied, "Yes."

Hello Totoro ~ in Watercolors!

        Hooray! My sister, Lizzie, made me a DVD copy of our old VHS video of "My Neighbor Totoro." This is one of my very favorite childhood films. This film was originally produced by Ghibli Studio films in Japan in 1988. It was then dubbed in English and released in the US in the early 1990's. The reason I am so excited is because the original English dubbing of this film cannot be obtained on DVD. In 2006 the English was re-dubbed with the voices of Dakota and Elle Fanning as the main characters. IT IS AWFUL. Maybe I just feel this way because I LOVED the original, but I am also greatly bothered by the fact that they changed some wordage and even the names of a few things in the re-dub of the movie.


          So, I decided to draw on the DVD because my sister, Megan, also drew Totoro pictures on Lizzie's DVD copy of the movie. And who wants to look at a plain silver disk with plain lettering of just the movie title? I wish I had a picture of the other one too. For comparison. Well, here is my design.





        I also decided that since I have lots of empty DVD cases I would make a cute slip to go in a case. First I drew the picture in ink. Then I decided that I would like it in color, so I watercolored the picture. It's not really very professional looking, but I think the home-made look is kind of cute.  
         Now, I will sit and enjoy the movie and think of the days when we were little girls sprawled across the living-room floor, looking up at the TV, and counting our collections of acorns.

Fishing in Flip-Flops

       


        Yesterday afternoon, after Lath arrived home, we decided to go fishing. So, we loaded up the fishing gear and headed to Lake, MS to fish at Buckas Taylor's pond. Buckas is Lath's cousin-in-law. Yes. In Mississippi people have names like Buckas - or they at least go by these types of names. Buckas's real name is James. I know! Isn't that cool? James Taylor! Anyway... We went to James "Buckas" Taylor's pond to fish.

      
        I really wanted to catch a "mess" of fish, as it is referred to here, for dinner. The water was a little rough when we arrived. The weather was beautiful - warm and sunny. 






        We each felt a few bites and even caught just a few fish. But for the most part we caught a lot of small or medium sized Mud Cats. The few fish that we did catch we took home and placed in our Pond. It was a nice day to go fishing. And at the very least I was able to bathe in the lovely sunshine and soak up some Spring.

A Time to Plant & Transplant

Herb Garden

        So, here are the humble beginnings of my herb garden this year. I purchased this 15 gallon galvanized tub for just $14 at a Hudson's Salvage Center a few weeks ago. Now on to the plants! I purchased the Oregano (left), Cilantro or Coriander (top), and Sweet Basil (right). I also transplanted a cutting of Lemon Thyme (front) from a cutting off of my mother-in-law's plant. I also planted some Parsley seeds in the top left corner, some more Oregano in the middle, and some Rosemary in the top right corner.

                       Lucky Bamboo

        I also transplanted my poor, little Bamboo plants today into a pot. Last fall I accidentally let them get too dry and one of them died. I am down to only two plants, but after letting them sit in a bowl of water all winter I hope they continue to improve.

Back to Blogging!

Now that I have the internet at my home I can once again Blog what I've been up to! Which is exciting since it is now planting season. Pictures of my gardens and projects soon to come!

Tab

Spring!

        Spring is finally here! In the air and on my clothes! I found very pretty single curtain panel for $1 at Hudson's Dirt Cheep the other day. I decided that the beautiful material would best be used for a new Spring dress for me! So, I went to cutting and measuring and made myself a new spring dress! 

Rice Bowl Quilt

        Yesterday I began working on my quilt! The squares are rice bowls. Unfortunately, I lost the directions. So, I have just been making the rice bowls. I'm not sure how to piece the borders together. I will have to wait for my Grandmother to send a copy of the directions. Maybe then I'll know what I'm doing. Sort of.

Rainbow Brite!

        YAY! I have organized my sewing materials! And all the colors reminded me of my favorite 80's cartoon - Rainbow Brite! So... I organized

My Spools

My Buttons

My Ribbons

And my NEW Fabrics!

Good Friday = Planting Day

        Yesterday was Good Friday which means planting day! We filled raised beds, tilled, planted, fertilized, and etcetera. And it was a really nice day to get all the planting done. In past years we have waited until late April or even early May. That is the worst time to plant. It is far to hot in Mississippi to plant after mid April.

        My father-in-law uses an olde-timey planter to plant corn. It has a little wheel that places the corn the perfect depth in the ground and distance apart. This planter used to be horse or mule drawn. But we have a more modern way of doing things now. . . 

Yet, somehow, this still seems a bit back-woods.

        Other things were planted by hand and hoe. Jake, my eight-year-old nephew, and I planted the cantaloupe by hand. Earlier that morning we also planted watermelon into little peat-moss cups. 

        Also, the figs, pears, peaches, and apples are all in full bloom! I can't wait for all these things to produce fruits and veggies! Ah, another successful day on the Harrell Family Farm.

Rice Bowl and Chopsticks Apron

        Here is the rice bowl and chopstick pocket all sewn onto my apron. This is the template that I posted a picture of s few weeks ago. I think that I will keep this one for myself. So far it is my favorite piece that I have created. Yay!