Southern early morning entertainment.

Early morning, springtime in the Carolinas.

These bloom across from my driveway. 

Our bees are busy once again.

We have a hive of wild bees that share our home.

They have lived here longer than we have (we did evict the mice who were in residence before us, they are not welcome). The bees are nondestructive and as long as you don't swat at them, they will leave you alone. I used to be afraid of bees and my older sisters and brothers probably think I am nuts, but I really don't mind these guys. Wild bees have been having a rough time so we were a little worried when ours seemed to disappear after they swarmed last fall. As you can see, they are back with lots of activity.  

The season's first Magnolia blossom.

This is our view while from the side porch. 

We had tea out here this morning and listened to the cicadas and the birds.

The cicadas are quite friendly. One perched on my Sweet Husbands finger for awhile then complained loudly when he was removed. I videoed a repeat performance for you. Don't forget to turn on the sound.

 Wild roses.

 Springtime gold.

 Snakeskin in a tree.

Bet you did not know the Easter Bunny vacations in the Carolinas after his busy day.

Here he is.

Hope you had a lovely morning too.

Cheers,

Kat

Misty April morning and rare visitors.

It is a misty moisty April morning here in the Carolinas.

My woods are a magical combination of mist and sunshine.

I threw on some clothes, grabbed the camera and headed outside before I even got my first cup of tea.

Old Barn in the mist.

As you can see, the photos are rushing outside for. 

Atmospheric.

Old Barn and Elm.

I love living here! 

Southern Spring in the woods, view from my front porch. 

Spiderwebs and dandelion fluff. 

Misty forest at the edge of the yard. 

Ground Spider Web.  

 Freesias in the early morning.

And now, our rare visitors.

This little guy is about three quarters of an inch (about 1.9cm) long.

He is a Red - Eyed Cicada.

According to an article in our local paper, they spend most of their lives underground and only emerge to shed their skins and reproduce every 13 years. They are harmless and they sing. 

We do have cicadas every summer, but they are a different variety (not as pretty) and there are not as many of them. The article quotes the Forest service as saying the cicadas will not harm the trees. 

Yes, I know it is a bug, but isn't it pretty?

It looks as if it is made from silver, gold and coral.  

I am not sure if this one is a stage, or a mutation. It is the only white one that I saw.  

This photo shows another cicada and several empty exoskeletons on a little cedar tree.  

Cicada close-up on cedar branch.

So delicate. 

Cicada exoskeleton close-up.

What do you think? Pretty or "icky"?

I say pretty, Spontaneous just wants to know if she can catch one.

Cheers folks,

Happy Easter!

Kat

More information on digital magic post.

Last August, my Sweet Hubby and I went to Craggy Gardens.

I took these two photos (and if you know me, a whole lot more).

When I got home and looked at them on the computer, they seemed to suggest the butterfly was taking off.

So, I started to play.

Craggy Gardens Butterfly one 

Craggy Gardens Butterfly two 

This is the first step.

I used the computer to desaturate the drawing.

Then I opened it with Corel Painter Essentials and used a wacom tablet and pen to draw the butterfly's details back in. Once I was happy with the butterfly, I started working on the background.

I went back and forth between Corel and Photoshop Elements to get the effects I wanted. I saved variations as I worked. There is quite a bit of hand work in this set.

A Blue Ridge Mountain Road.

Craggy Gardens is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

The Carolinas are calling.

Cheers,

Kat

Why my voice is still squeaky.

 

 

 

 

 

Allergies or not, would you stay inside?

(It is so worth it)

Cheers,

Kat

The Carolina's are calling.

Wordless Wednesday

Speechless, but feeling lucky, after the storm.

It has been a busy week.

I was off Monday and we spent the day goofing off. 

Monday night, a storm came in and it was a doozy.

We woke up Tuesday morning to find one of our old oaks, down across the driveway.

Good thing we were not planning on going anywhere in a hurry. 

 What a mess.

We were very lucky though.

If the wind had been blowing the other way, this tree would have taken out all three vehicles that were parked out front.

 See what I mean, we were not going anywhere in a hurry.

I told you we were lucky.

The tree guys were able to come out right away.

It took them quite a while to clear the way.

 Fallen giant.

This was such a lovely old tree.

We were much luckier than this guy.

I believe he is a former resident.  

After.  

We lost a ceder too.

Once again, we were lucky, it did not hit anything. 

The house lost a little trim too, but we were able to find all the pieces and it is already fixed. 

Just down the road where we walk,

two trees came down together.

I can't tell which one started it but they made quite a mess.

Our power went out during the storm and stayed out till late Tuesday evening. 

This interesting fellow was supposed to be my Wordless Wednesday post.

Check out that tail.  

Another interesting visitor.

I wonder what he will look like when he grows up. 

The dogwood is blooming! 

Flowers in the rock garden.

As for speechless, I lost my voice because of allergies.

My family who reads this will think this is quite funny as my Father always insisted the "Chatty Cathy" doll was named after me.    :)

Lucky for me, I have the next three days off and my Sweet Hubby says he will take care of me.

Cheers,

Kat

Wet wordless Wednesday.