Rainbow's End

We finally got rain in our neck of the woods. Since I live in the Sierra Foothills in Northern California, much of the state relies upon our area seeing some real rain and snow, or there's not enough water to get us all through summer. So, rain here is a big deal.. as it is everywhere else. Rain is necessary for life. When we get too much, we feel we're being cheated out of sunshine, but when there's not enough... there's death. The rainbow is beautiful and has various meanings in different cultures. I love them and always look excitedly for them when it's been raining and I see rays of sunshine. I snapped this picture in the early spring of 2011. I have a plant out front that blooms the most amazing yellow flowers when most everything else still looks dead. It made the perfect compliment to this rainbow.

When I was putting together this inspirational image, "where is your rainbow's end?" was the first thought that popped into my head. What's your dream life? Where would you most like to go in life? What's your rainbow's end?

I hope you're having a wonderful day today and keep your ideal life in mind as you go through your day.
Blessings,
Laura P.

Thoughts for the day

I've always loved taking pictures. And, since my goal with my book, Walk in Your Own Footsteps, is to help people improve the quality of their lives on a daily basis, I'm creating a new image with inspirational words every day. Yesterday's image was about balance. We are all looking for more of that in our lives. The 21st century is so full of wonderful opportunities to experience so much! Then, there's our fabulous time wasters which are so fun, but when we overindulge in them, we find that we are not as productive as we'd like to be. Finding balance of fun, work, joy, silliness, meditation, and so much more, is increasingly challenging but also more important than ever. 

 Today's message is from the chapter in my book called, "Grass growing time" in which I propose taking time to simply sit and relax. To let your mind drift and proverbially watch the grass grow. In an effort to bring balance to our lives, relaxing, hanging out, and just being instead of doing can help bring peace and clearer thoughts and actions. I hope you enjoy these and look forward to many more to come.

Sandwich boards to promote the book

I've just finished these panels to use to promote my book. I took a couple of days to think it through, then my sweetie cut the wood on Sunday and tah dah!!!! They're done. Jim will put the legs on and I'll be able to take it with me when I do book signings and such. I'm pleased with how they came out. Here's the two together....

 

I like that the two pieces are different, shows I made 'em myself! 

A nest with eggs

I've been having so much fun making these little nests, I thought I should stash some eggs under the birdies. Having put this together, though... I think they look pretty cute with just the eggs, too!

my first birdie commission

Hand sculpted birdies before being painted

When I finished the last set of birdies, I thought they needed a proper home. Living in a Western Sierra Foothill suburb, I am blessed to still have little pockets of forest left alone by the developers. Trug in hand I headed down to the woods to collect natural materials to create a nest. I was in my own little world, mentally putting together the nests, when a neighbor called to me from her gardening and asked me what I was planning to collect in the woods. Once I explained the project, my neighbor asked me to bring it by when I was finished. Also a bird lover, my neighbor asked me to make her a set of birdies that are finches. Here's a look at the finches, sculpted but not painted.

The Scrub Jay lovebirds in a tree

I thought it would be fun to photograph my new creations in a more natural setting. This Japanese Maple is so beautiful this time of year!