nake, nake!

yes, i know, i misspelled snake. the story goes like this...
when i was around 2 yrs. old, dad and friends lost a snake in our house, and a few days later, guess who found it?...yes, me...
and as a kid, i had issues with sss'ss...
anyways, kids will be...awww, you know the saying...

( years later) ...and my dad will still be catching snakes. 

Black Dahlia

well, actually it's a dark red dahlia...absolutely gorgeous color!
I miss it already, since the heat of the summer, and my lack of love and tending of the soil around here has done in most of my plants. I'll have to wait for next year to see these wonderful colors again. I'm posting this because i heard about the movie 'the black dahlia' the other day, and it got me thinking about that girl that was murdered, and all the mystery that surrounded it, then i was reminded of how unusual and intriguing the flowers can be. 

Addendum - How bout this one mumsy?

okay...how bout' this one...
reminds me of how quite the mornings were there. It was so peaceful and meaningful. The daily tangle that is orange county seems so far removed from this place, and the BWCA is so far removed from the oc...
sometimes i wonder whether any of the people here have had the privelege to experience and see places like this or if they have only seen it on tv, and think that they know what it's like.
I'm betting that there are at least a million here who have not been on a camping trip or beem opened up to what else is out there, besides their 22" shiny rims, highlighted hair, and raiders jackets......mmmmmm 

Little Woolies

Had many of these friends along the way, and around the campsite! Kept shooing them away, and they just kept coming back. 

Boundary Waters 06

Here's one of the shots that i really want some feedback on...
let me know what you all think.
It was an early morning sunrise...for some strange reason, the california group (dad and i) kept waking up early, despite the 2 hour time difference - go figure. 

Blue Ribbon Winner

So...Billy won many prizes at the OC Fair this summer,
including 1st Place for his bell sculpture 'Recycled Noise'.
Here's him receiving his award at the 1st place winners' ceremony.
We may think that talking him into continuing on with a graduate degree in art is a brilliant idea!
 

California Coast

California Coast - (top L to R) Up the 101 and down the 1
~ Big Sur Coast before our campground ~ Point Reyes Lighthouse Rocks ~ Elephant Seals near Morro Bay ~ Coastline above Point Reyes (above San Fransisco)

thanks to the powers that be, for the last bit of open space in Cali.

Mad Max

this is the killer of la habra heights! Maximo Maximus.
Hear him roar. can anyone believe that cute little face is ferocious? 

Sir William

Billy was hard at work a few weeks ago trying to get his recycled
metal cylinder bell and stand finished. He was
trying to get it done in time for the student show, but alas, there was a lack of forms for entry - oh well... he's going to see if the OC fair will take it in.
They should, cause it's damn cool - and sounds
great too!!

Mission Beach

Billy and I were vagabonds on the beach for a saturday...
near the roller coaster in MB - San Diego, it was quite fun feeling like homeless for a couple of hours between getting dropped off by our friends, and waiting for ma' n' pa to pick us up. 

yum!

nothing like good ole' coffee to pep you up! although, i'm done with giving my money to the man.., and i think that they have enough of mine from the past few years, it will be hard, but maybe i will still get some on special occasions. 

Pottery

It's been a semester for pottery, my photography has suffered, so i decided to shoot my art.
the title for this
is
irrigated root 

Randsburg

where in the hell is randsburg...
well, give ya a hint, it is almost a ghost town, in the california desert(ed) 395. save for a few junkyards in peoples front yards for this soda fountain that is still serving real phosphates...

billy was a little uneasy - waiting for some horror movie scene to start

Happy St. Patty's!

here's a little green (and purple) for st. patty's 

Block'd!

talk about being clostrophobic! It was utter madness trying to get home that day (see previous blog) The traffic and mayhem of flatlanders, trying to get a piece of the snow that hit the mountains last weekend, ended up with me choosing to turn around and go home - after a few hours of driving and only about 6 or 7 miles from home. I've never seen anything like it - imagine 5,000 people trying to go to disneyland and there is no one to point you where to park, regulate where you walk, make you stand in line, make you buy a ticket, make you behave!
City peeps are crazy! ARGH! - that includes me these days - doesn't it?

City Life vs. Lake Mathews

Oh my gosh...i forgot to blog this week, didn't I? That is horrible. Not sure if anyone has noticed yet, but here, I'll try to catch up.

So, last weekend, with Merlyn (the garfield idyllwild cat) passing on, and my mom and I having birthdays, and the huge amount of snow hitting idyllwild, natasha tried- i repeat attempted to go home and see the folks. Along the way, I took this picture of one of my favorite spots which seems to be holding up to development pretty well. This is a tiny strip of paradise hidden between the 15 and 215 frwys., but with all the building on both ends of this hwy., someday it will be too crowded to enjoy - glad that i've been enjoying it for the last 15 years. By the way, as dad knows, if anyone is interested, there are wonderful tamales at the tiny lake mathews store - the halfway point - as well as on the 15 fwy end, there is always the token hispanic selling towering bags of oranges, bright flowers, and perfectly red strawberries. 

Quiet Night, Sad Day

After all the storms today, the view tonight was exquisite. 

yummy gum!

billy was telling me about this the other day when he was at school. he said that there was this pole that he was walking by and it has become a gum sculpture. when i went to school today, and parked pretty much where i always park, since i was early - i sat in the car listening to an audiobook when i finally looked up and looked around - there it was right in front of my car - the gum pole! too funny!

diary of a mad woman

this my friends, is a beautiful orange off the tiniest orange tree in billy's parents' back yard.
....a n d ...since they are away, galavanting around the world, i, natasha, get to eat it! ehehhehehahaha ~ i just had to take a picture of it, it is so perfect, wonderful shape perfect size, gorgeous color, and.....i'll let you know about the taste... 

My rose!

so, i have tried several times to grow roses, and finally success! i have three buds that are about to open. so excited 

crazy people part 3

...just putting this up for fun 

little hobbits caught having a good time at the fair

billy suggested that i continue with my series of crazy people and he chose this one of a couple eatin' tacos at the fair - are they not the cutest ever?! 

double

just putting this up to see some responses... 

Bench Lady Portraits

I have thought about doing a series of photos with someone i call the bench lady. billy says i am stalking her, but i don't think so... maybe someone else has some input. i have a few shots of her, because i started seeing her after i left work one day, and i think she was talking to the cars that went by while waiting for the bus. every time i see her, i wonder who she is, where is she going, where is she coming from, does she have friends, does she work...? 

Another Calla ~ for Stella

This is what happens when you are raised in Idyllwild. You learn to love nature and can never get enough, especially when it is a gorgeous day. (and something around here smells really sweet and i just can not figure out what it is)
I am so sad that Stella, my ceramics teacher is moving to Wisconsin...i know that she will probably love it, but we will all be sad to see her go. She has brought so much energy and new ideas to the program. So yes, this is another calla lily photo - since my new thing in ceramics is emulating flowers, and Stella helped me with an idea the other day and it was exactly what i needed. Thanks Stella - for everything!!!