Girl of the Limberlost

One of my favorite books is A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter. I read it so long ago that I can't remember if that book is what inspired my fascination with moths or if it merely spoke to it, but in any case, it is a well-beloved book to me. So, in an effort to explore the photo editing program Gimp, I created this collage, and found out that Gimp is wonderful! It's free, and very powerful, and decently easy to use.

Girl of the Limberlost by Grace

closeup of Girl of the Limberlost

Caught by the Kelpie

Rain Approaching Hathersage Moor by Andy Hemingway

It has been a while since I've shown my face here, but I have good reason; I've been chasing the Muse through the rain. So much rain has fallen here for July that I'm beginning to wonder if I somehow slept through summer and now it's Autumn... but I don't care either way. I'm busy reveling in the rain and the newest form of my muse: the Kelpie.




I've a million ideas for a painting of this wonderful beast. There are many wonderful depictions of the Kelpie, and here are some of my favorites.

Boy on White Horse by Theodor Kittelsen, via Wikipedia

The Nix as a Brook Horse by Theodor Kittelsen, via Wikipedia

Now, I'm off follow my muse while I listen to a siren of a different sort...

Fireflies

photo by T. Kiya, source Wikimedia commons

I will tell the fireflies
To light up the night all around you
I will make the darkness light
I'll paint the sky all around you

~Cecile Corbel, Fireflies

Summer is Honeysuckle

To me, there can't be summer without honeysuckle. Ever since I can remember, full-blown summer has been heralded by the scent of honeysuckle wafting along on the warm, humid air. It's what makes that warm, humid air bearable, even enchanting. It smells like fairytales and wild adventures and true love. But best of all, it holds a delicious, sweet secret ready for the taking... ask the butterflies and the bees if you don't know of what it is.

photo: http://www.carolinanature.com/trees/loja.html

Thunderstorms

Oh, how I love thunderstorms. I eagerly await the wonderful, wild thunderstorms of the summer each year. The wind blows in carrying the scent of wet woods and fields, and soon enough, you hear the distant rumble of thunder.

photo by Ginger, Ozarks Walkabout http://ozarkswalkabout.com/backpacking-at-hercules-glades-wilderness/

Then it descends, all the wild wind, and hard rain drops pelting my skin, and piercing, crackling lightning. I breathe deeply, and sit back to watch... but sometimes I run out into it, glorying in the power and might and heedless wildness of it all. If I could throw myself onto the wind and be born away, I would be gone in a flash of lighting.

photo by pchow, http://www.flickr.com/photos/pchow98/favorites/?view=lg

The Dawn

The dawn is a wonderful time. The world is still and quiet, waiting for the new day to start. There are so many possibilities for what it might bring, but in the dawning one is simply content to sit and feel the peace and magic of a beauty that is thunderous in its silence.

Maxfield Parrish, Daybreak, 1922

Nelleke, Stil Leven, 2012

Maxfield Parrish, Morning, 1922

Spring Flowers for Monday

It's a rather dreary Monday morning here, and I believe we could all use a good cheering up with more pictures of spring flowers. I've paired them with corresponding Pre-Raphaelite artworks as well, since that always cheers me up too. Enjoy!

Violets, Henry Meynell Rheam, 1904

A Vision of Fiammetta, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1878

"I am half sick of shadows" said the Lady of Shalott, Sidney Harold Meteyard, 1913

Apple Blossoms, John Everett Millais, 1859