Autumn Gardening Tips...

Wow, kids are back in school and it seems as if everyone is back in town. The end of summer can be a time of mixed emotion. However this is one of my favorite times of year. The light is shifting towards autumn but we still have the brilliant days of summer. It is a great time to get out into the garden and plant a few new flowering perennials, fruit trees and foundation plantings. Many nurseries have terrific sales this time of year. Plants, Trees and Pots as well as some mulches and amendments can be up to 50% off.
If you live in the south it is also a good time to feed your Roses with bone and blood meal. This will give them the energy to produce blooms for Autumn's last blush in late October. It is also the time of year to figure out which types of bulbs you would like to see in your garden next spring. I have always been a fan of naturalized Daffodils creating mad sweeps in lawns, flower beds and near trees!
Make a point to cut back your flowering perennials and lightly shape your green foundation plantings. Feed your entire garden, to maximize any end of the season growth. Remember to use bark mulch up to 3" in all of your garden beds, it helps to keep the soil cooler/warmer and keeps the water from evaporating. It is a sensible choice to eco-style gardening.

So head on out to your closest Garden Center or local big box store. You will find with the slower economy the selection on their sale items is fairly large this year.
Take advantage and plant the garden you have been dreaming of. Next spring you will be glad you did.

Birdstacks, Eggs & an Elephant...

I have been on a painting tear. I have created 8 pieces since June.
I think living in the clouds is having an interesting effect on what I am choosing to do with my time.
I am loving the idea of stacking birds, incorporating eggs, and I just finished a piece that is 5 ft square in three sections.




I used an Indian Elephant as the anchor, Butterflies for light and air and the Birds are stacked way up into the starry heavens with a hanging moon.

It is fun to create fanciful images and explore texture, mixed media and image transfers.

Click on the arrow to view the slide show of
Birdstacks, Eggs & an Elephant!

Uptown, Living in the City...

Living in Uptown Charlotte is always filled with surprises. I usually walk around the city in the earlier morning hours and photograph the light and clouds playing with the skyscrapers. Uptown is all about up. On my walks I am delighted by the unexpected path that leads to a courtyard or a cacophony of song and sound from the birdies nesting in the trees near the Discovery Museum. It is joyful to observe so much nature in such an urban environment. It is interesting to try and understand each architect, their design decisions, shapes, materials and placement of these tall buildings and how they play with the light as well as there actual siting and impact with the other buildings and the overall skyline.
It is also remarkable that the city planners did consider people and how they interface with the city in a keenly aware and conscious way. They have made it a requirement for developers to add art and public spaces to each building and parking structures. (Surprising for any city!) Charlotte is a very livable and walkable city.
Many of the photographs in the slide show are taken from my 24Th floor Loft on the balcony. Usually in the late afternoon or during the sunrise.
Click on arrow to view
slide show of Uptown Charlotte.



I have been living in the clouds since late Spring and I am enjoying the sense of air & light. I love watching the birds soar past my window at the end of the day, I am sure they are off to important spots to roost for the evening.
Watching the city change as day slips into night, and night to day is an event. I am lucky enough to have friends over to share that sunset time of day we unwind and hang out. It is so cool to live high in the sky surrounded by the impact of man and nature!

Summer Vacation...

I believe that we all have a somewhere that is special to us. Sometimes it is a place we once visited or a familiar vacation destination. The funny thing is when you are there it can often feel like you are at the place your heart calls home.
One of my very special places is the coast of Maine. When I was five I was reading Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey, I loved that story. That little book stole my heart. I knew I would someday walk on those same reaches, islands and rocky beaches collecting shells and picking blueberries
just like Sal! As a young woman I started summering in Maine and continue that tradition today. I have taken many photographs of the light, boats, sandy shore, rivers and lakes over the past few decades. Maine is magic to me.

Summer is a fleeting season. The kids are without schedules and you have the ability to create traditions and memories for each family member collectively and individually. Take time to have a campfire, explore a mountain path or take a bike ride on a trail you have never explored. With the warmer weather it is fun to hang out late into the evening gazing at the stars and if you're lucky you can watch the full moon rise over a lake or the ocean.


Click on arrow to view movie.
Lynn Wedekind's "On the Wing" is
the featured music in this slide-show.


This is also a great time of year to gather up the entire family, drive to a beautiful spot and share a picnic supper. Bring an extra friend and have them photograph all of you, it will make the perfect family Christmas card, oh yes and you will have fun. Summer is about fun, relaxation and enjoying all of the blessings you have in your life. Before you know it school will be back in session and the kids will all be another year older, do not waste these special moments take time to enjoy them.


As a girl our family was into camping however as an adult I am not a big fan. It is simply that I prefer a cabin or cottage with a bed to a tent and a sleeping bag. I believe because I was introduced and taught about the outdoors during my childhood I have a great appreciation and understanding for the natural world. So take the time to explore the natural world with your children, nieces, nephews and grandchildren. It does make a difference in who they become. I believe it creates the foundation for them to go out and be good and understanding citizens of the world.

Green is In, Cool & Chic...

Trends and need have always been the driving force behind the style and features of homes that people purchase. The question is what drives these trends? There are many answers to that question. The first is need. We are now experiencing a “Need” for homes that are energy efficient, and non-toxic. The buzz word is “Green and Sustainable” it is the most common term for the newest trend in home and building design. The coolest thing about design today is certainly the ability to fuse technology and architecture with design.
I was reading an issue of Metropolis magazine and the entire publication was devoted to hip and fun applications of “Green Design” from all over the world. It was a fun to read an article about Buckminster Fuller. He started his rise in design and the philosophy of living in the 1930's. His signature look was futuristic, but the underlying foundation of his work has always been in harmony with the earth, the actual site of the building and the folks who occupy them. In the industry they call him Bucky and he has been a forefront designer for many decades. His thoughts and philosophies have inspired designers all over the world.

I have been a fan of organic gardening and living from a very young age, I am so glad I am no longer alone. It is encouraging to see so many people not only interested but actually doing something about it! Most design magazines now have a monthly section and a yearly issue devoted to “Green and Sustainable”. The philosophy to embrace is this, use less, re-use more, live with what you have and try to have the smallest impact upon the environment that you can.

We all can make a difference starting with small adjustments with what we use, how we live and where and on what we choose to spend our money on. Think about this, if you put in state of the art windows you would have paid yourself back in energy costs within a very few short years, but the ultimate plus is you will use less energy. Putting less of a need on imported energy products this is not a bad thing.

Less chemicals in the garden means a healthier you. How? Poisons can cause disease for people and the critters, bugs and birdies who live in your garden. Also the runoff from your garden goes into the storm drains which then dump directly into your local rivers and ultimately into the sea. This affects all living creatures in the sea, the birds who eat the fish and make their nest’s near the shores of rivers, lakes and estuaries.

I encourage you to click through some of the hyper-links in this article and see where you can make a difference. We all share this planet and we should work together in harmony to keep it in good running order. Our future generations are depending upon us.