Happiness.

I know I keep warbling on about happiness, what is it? how do we get it? how do we sustain it?
Always looking for ways to capture that elusive feeling of uplift, better than any drug.
Seeing this little Blue Wren made me happy. He battles the odds, is beautiful and feisty and is not much bigger than a dandelion head. Unlike the lilies of the field he does toil and is always alert and aggressively protective of his mate.

"Somewhere there's a Bluebird of Happiness". Keep looking!

Haircut.

A haircut for Katie our houseguest this weekend. Katie is a Shitszu but at the moment she looks like a bewildered Pug. Katie is a sweet gentle creature who lives with seven cats and two other little dogs, we love having her as our visitor when her 'Mum' goes off to cat shows.

Precious.

By definition 'precious' describes an object of great value. The value may not be intrinsic but of a sentimental nature and thus it is with this small trinket given to me by my grandchildren. I have very few items of jewellery  but it was no contest when I needed to illustrate one in an etegami for day 7 of the "Everdaymatters" challenge. I really cherish this little fish brooch and even though it wasn't an easy subject for etegami I had to use it.

A postscript to yesterday's post. the Tawny Frogmouth returned today and perched on the verandah once again seemingly unruffled and in good health, it really is a blessing to be treated to a close up sight of this nocturnal beauty with it's comical wide gape.

A visitor and a whiff of Spring.

A worrying visit by a Tawny Frogmouth who sat for several hours on the back verandah. I worried that he was ill but he seemed quite happy there on my table sheltering in the sun and out of the furious wind. He flew off at last after a small snack of dog food, leaving behind a small present of a regurgitated pellet of cockroach parts.

The wind today has played havoc with the garden but the freesias are blooming and the ones I have cut for indoors are perfuming the house, a pleasure I look forward to each year. It is said that those afflicted by a serious illness learn to appreciate their surroundings but I fear that if this should happen to me I would be overwhelmed  as I cannot imagine appreciating the beauty and wonder of  the Earth any more than I do now.

Mesmebryanthemum madness.

A card for the other plant breeder who visited us  Friday. Not altogether happy about this one but still, etegami rules say it must be sent so, thanks for the visit John.
A little explanation for the words, mesembryanthemum comes from the Greek meaning Noon Flower, probably owing to their habit of opening only in full sun, but as every plant breeder knows you have to be up mighty early to beat the insects who can ruin a perfectly good project by 'doing what comes naturally'!

Succulent etegami.

All etegami are delicious but by succulent etegami, I mean an etegami of a succulent plant.
The Prof and I were delighted to have lunch yesterday with a couple of old colleagues of his who he has not seen for almost a decade. Both of the men are engaged in plant breeding and their current project involves a particular variety of succulent hence this etegami which I have made to send to them. Plant breeding is an art and a science rolled into one and to follow the discipline you must be very disciplined indeed. From the first idea to a finished product, be it a new wheat variety or a horticulture specimen can take many years and many failed attempts. The rewards can be great but the disappointments many. so I hope our friends succeed in their latest project and manage to create some hysteria for their gasteria!

Etegami calendar.

I have it in my mind next year (if I am spared..don't worry I have just been re-reading Dickens) to do an etegami calendar. My very first etegami exchange with a Japanese lady was with a sweet person named Hatsue and she sent me a calendar she had printed up consisting of 12 cards beautifully boxed in a clear case. Sadly, Hatsue fell very ill and we no longer correspond but I still remember our first tentative connections and would like to make a calendar to celebrate our "meeting".Rather than wait until the new year I decided to get into the calendar mood with this card of a rather grumpy Water Dragon (in this year of the Dragon) expressing the sense of disbelief that we all seem to share as adults at how quickly time is passing. Where has the year gone?

Etegami, Colour, and the words of Van Gogh.

On my morning walk I was confronted at almost every turn by this rambunctious vine, Pyrostegia venusta or Brazilian Trumpet creeper. This enthusiastic late winter bloomer is a jarring sight clothing many drab tumbledown fences, draping them in brazen colour,  livening up the otherwise gentle tints of spring. Brazen it may seem but on a blustery cold day it does lift my mood. The dog only blessed it in his usual manner and passed on.
My present preoccupation with the letters of Van Gogh helped to  find a very apt quote to go with my model, a snippet I stole from a neighbour, an unknowing patron of the arts!

Vincent again.

Another etegami celebrating the wisdom of Vincent Van Gogh and the coming of spring.

The whole quote is "There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people" but here it can also encompass nature something which moved Vincent Van Gogh to make some of the most wonderful works of art 

Now, I'm not a cat person, but

Sometimes I look at the cute photos of kitties 'littering' the internet and I  momentarily forget that I am a dedicated dog person and fantasise about owning a cat. Our family did have a cat once, a white cat named unimaginatively Simba for the cartoon character Simba the White Lion. On one of our sabbatical trips overseas Simba was left in the care of a neighbour who lived on a rural property where I thought he would be safe but he was not happy and went feral,  by the time we returned a year later his health was failing. Sad story but we made his last days happy when he was able to come home again.

Cats are among the most popular subjects for etegami so I thought I would express a little about what I felt about them.  I have plenty of cat loving friends who will be happy to have the cards.