Unusual Teepee

I've seen other teepees used by Native Americans but this one was quite unusual.  Reeds were bound together and placed over branch supports.  Ingenious.

Desert Owl

There were a few bird exhibits at the High Desert Museum.  I didn't make note of what type of owl this is but he stood maybe a foot high.  Why he stood on only one leg I don't know but he was so still I almost thought he was stuffed--then he moved and I knew he was real.  Cute little thing.

Desert Dweller

While in the area around Bend OR we took time to visit the High Desert Museum.  I expected to see small animals and birds from the region and wasn't disappointed.  This collared lizard was cooperative in poking his heat out from under the rocks in his little habitat.  I was just as glad there was glass between us. 

Another view

Here's one more view of Crater Lake, a smaller glimpse showing the towering peaks and island.  We spent the night in one of the cabins so got to have a second look on day two (when this photo was taken).  And one of these days we might just move to the area so we can visit pretty frequently.  You'll have to visit us and go too.

Crater Lake Panorama

Earlier this month we visited Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.  I can't tell you how clean the air was nor how pristine the lake appeared to be.  The color was incredible and it looked totally unblemished.  Half of the road around the rim was still closed due to snow but we saw the prettiest section and this is the view from the first pullout at which we arrived.  It's hard to believe that prior to the volcanic explosion a mountain existed that was from one side of the peaks to the other side of the lake.  That would have been one very big explosion.  And the little crater in the middle?  That occurred at the same time.  Pretty amazing.

Art On The Corner

I always enjoy the art on Main Street and this one I think is really special.  It's hard to get good photos of the sculptures because of all the background distractions but by masking that out and layering the photo with different textures and adding some brush images there is a pretty nice result.  This is one I completed recently.  I play a lot--but not a musical instrument.

My Story

It isn't often that I post one of my scrapbook pages but I thought I'd share this one which will be part of My Story.  It was the first time I saw a double lily so I took a photo.  Then in a tutorial from Digital Scrapper I "pixelated" the photo and then made the page.  I think it needs a title to be really complete but I haven't added one yet.  Suggestions?

Pop-Up Card

I made pop-up cards back when they had to be cut by hand and I've always thought they were fun.  But now they are really, really easy to make with all of the die cuts that do the work for you.  I especially liked this garden bench and hope to do one for each season.  In spite of the die cut they are still rather labor intensive but I didn't mind and the recipients loved them.  After I took this photo I added a black cat to the bench.  That was a really good idea.  And isn't that little book cute?  That's an idea I got from a card I received from cousin Dorothy.

Envelope Punch Board Basket

For the past couple of meetings our stamp club has made various boxes using the Envelope Punch Board.  That led me to investigate online a bit and I came up with this basket and bow.  Here's the link:  www.stampsadee.com  She also has a tutorial on Youtube.

I also found a site that calculates cardstock size and punching/scoring locations for any sized box you need.  That's here: http://thecraftyowl.co.uk/boxbuster/

I like the envelope punch board but I rarely use it for an envelope.  Strange, I know.

My Favorite

I saved this photo for the last of the No Thoroughfare Trail because it was a stopping point and I liked it even better than the First Waterfall.  The water flows out of the rocky valley and drops into the quiet pool.  It is surrounded by trees that are obviously thankful for the moisture.  And it makes a nice resting spot about halfway on the trail.  But for us here, it's the end of the trail and we'll move on to a new topic tomorrow.

Water, water

Although the water level was quite low when we hiked the No Thoroughfare Trail, I know that sometimes there is no water at all.  And this photo of a tree with tree branches around it is evidence that sometimes the water level is quite high.  The branches appear on only the upstream side of the tree so are obviously carried down the river.  There were several trees with these branches so this one wasn't a fluke.  Interesting, huh?!

Round, Like a Globe

No Thoroughfare Trail:
I thought this was quite an unusual flower.  We saw some that weren't opened yet and that looked interesting, too.  But I thought the open flowers were prettier so they get the spotlight here.

Sandstone

It's hard to believe that the area we live in was once covered by water.  But there's a lot of sandstone around to make it believable.  This is one of the formations we encountered on the No Thoroughfare Trail.  It's big but looks like a child made mudcakes and overlapped them a bit.  It can be said that I have a vivid imagination.

Cactus In Bloom

And finally we saw some cactus in bloom.  This is the bright red claret cup.  Some of the cactus were loaded with closed buds so there's more to come.  But watch out for those pointy spines!

Wildflower in Yellow

Here's another flower seen on the No Thoroughfare Trail.  Gotta love that bright color.

Pink

There were several areas along the No Thoroughfare Trail where we found this interesting pink rock layered with black rock.  I won't even try to explain the geology behind it but it was interesting to see.  I called it "strawberry jam rock."  I'm entertaining on a trail if nothing else.  

Hmmmmm

Back to the No Thoroughfare Trail:  One never knows what will be found when hiking.  Of interest can be geological, botanical, or animal sightings.  In this case it was a tree growing through a rather substantial rock.  It seemed like a harmonious blending and it certainly was a point of interest.

Free Goodies

Lucky me!  I posted on Simon Says Stamp blog a card for a challenge to use patterned paper and was randomly chosen to receive a goodie bag.  Inside the box were the items shown here:  6" coordinating patterned paper with matching 8 1/2 x 11" cardstock, a set of clear stamps, black and white baker's twine, three buttons, a set of small black alpha stickers, a circular embellishment and a sheet of card designs.  There was also a little "green apple" lollypop.  What's not to like?  What I submitted was one of my Prima doll tags with the dress cut from two patterned papers.

Alcohol Splotches

I have a big need for masculine cards this time of year not only for Father's Day and graduation but also for several birthdays.  It's actually nice that I can concentrate on them for a while and get all those guys taken care of.  I started with the strip of white with alcohol ink blends.  Then it was a matter of layering and the addition of a metallic punched leaf and some black fiber.

First Waterfall

One of the main attractions on the No Thoroughfare Trail is this "First Waterfall" which is about 2 miles of hiking and the spot where we turned back.  It's pretty high up to the start of the falls and I'm sure it isn't always flowing but with our rainy spring it had a fair amount of water the day we hiked.  There's a "Second Waterfall" but I don't expect to ever see that one.

Pretty, pretty, pretty

There were quite a lot of these bright yellow beauties, mostly toward the beginning of the No Thoroughfare Trail.  I guess they wanted to be the first to strut their stuff.  Some seemed to have more petals than others but maybe that was my imagination. 

No Thoroughfare Trail Rock Formation

At the base of the Colorado National Monument on the east side is the trailhead for the No Thoroughfare Trail.  I had never heard of this prior to taking a hike a couple of weeks ago.  The wildflowers were abundant so you'll be seeing more pretty photos but there were also some pretty amazing rock formations.  This one appears close to the beginning of the trail.  Looks sort of like a teapot to me.  What do you see and what would you name it?

A Yellow Fellow

I'm not at all certain how much stamping I will be doing in the coming weeks so my cards may be few and far between but we'll see what works out.  I found the foundation for this card when I was sorting through more of my supplies and simply had to add the Hero Arts die cut leaf and the Obsession Impressions die cut flower along with the smaller punched flowers.  It screams "sunshine."

News Plus Pink and Gray

 Before I share another outing with you, I have some news.  On May 30 we (finally) received an offer on our house which we accepted.  If all goes well (and we certainly hope it does!) the closing will be on 6/27 and that's also when we transfer possession.  We've been waiting for 8+ months and now things seem to be happening pretty fast.  We accepted the offer while in Oregon so had a jumpstart on going to the Redmond area to try to finalize on a house there.  More on that later.  I'll just say that it looks like we will be building a new home and that's pretty exciting.

This card is layers of gray with a black  panel and once again I'm making use of the inside of a security envelope.  The flowers were created with the new Obsession Impression die that I'm quite fond of but centers are punched.  I added a narrow strip of the dark pink to pull things together but maybe that's not what it's doing.  You be the judge of that.

The Brightest of All

I actually know the name of this one -- Indian Paintbrush.  It was by far the most brilliant color so it was easy to spot.  But it also had a way of growing only where there were no pullouts.  Eventually we were able to find some where it was legal to stop and I was happy that the brightness of the color translated to pixels.
And that concludes the tour of the wildflowers at Colorado National Monument.  I wonder--will I be here next year to make a return trip?

Purple, Too

These were tiny little flowers and rather pastel but still very pretty.  There wasn't much purple around so they really stood out in the crowd.  Not sure how flowers around here survive in the dry heat but I'm glad they do.

Orange

"Orange" you glad you get to see these pretty little flowers?  The color is striking and especially when the yellow and orange coordinate nicely and contrast with the green leaves.  I think our spring rains made the plants especially happy this spring.

A Daisy A Day

I'm sure these little beauties have a special name but to me they are simply "daisies."  These weren't widespread but this clump certainly had a large number of blossoms.  Daisies are one of my favorite flowers so they always make me happy.  I hope they also add some happiness to your day.

Monumental Wildflowers

 That's quite a grandiose title for a blog page or a photo but it refers to the wildflowers seen at the Colorado National Monument last month.  I showed a bunch of them on the slide reel scrapbook page but thought they deserved more exposure than that.  I'll admit up front that I don't know the names of them but we can all enjoy them anyway.  We'll call this one "pretty little yellow flower."

Ten (More) Things To Be Happy About

helium-filled balloons

a trip to the zoo

a crackling fire

spring flowers

a starry night

cream puffs

green grass

new jeans

lightening

muffins