Off to Play

I am bailing on you guys today to unplug, spend the day with my family and have some fun. While I'm out recharging my batteries, I thought I'd share some pics of what else is happening this summer at Casa PBW (and click on any image to see a larger version):

       

The bluebirds are back, and we've decided that they are nymphomaniacs, as we have batch #3 of babies now cheeping away and starting to look out at the world. We think they're another set of triplets, but we're not going near the birdhouse as Papa Bluebird has been especially anxious about this batch.



When he's not chasing away any other bird that comes within ten feet of the birdhouse, he's been delivering almost all the meals to the babies. I think Mama must be off at Bluebird Club Med trying to recover (or maybe she's avoiding him to prevent batch #4.)



During my morning breaks I've been fiddling with the BookLoop concept and trying different types of cords, ribbons and strings for the loops as well as an assortment of objects as anchors. I have a small collection of miniature dress forms, and this one came in handy as a place to hang my works in progress. I'll have more details on some variations you can try once I test a few more things.

The one big bright spot of the summer has been my Don Juan rose bush, which I thought had given up the ghost last winter. It tried to bloom this spring, puttered out after producing only three roses, and went back to dead-stick mode. I didn't give up on it, though, and it rewarded me by coming back to life. Seeing this new bud one morning made it all worthwhile, too.



Stop in tomorrow if you get a chance, as my editor just sent me some Nightshine ARCs, and (unless I have too much fun today) I'll be having a giveaway for a nice stack of them.