First Snowfall!

Please Pardon Me.... For the Empty Post....

Dear Readers, I was experiencing some technical difficulties having to do with No More Room in my photo storage account, which produced a certain degree of Panic in my heart! And in the process of being educated (by the Wonderful Tech people where I work...) about What to do to fix the Problem.... I accidentally posted a Post that wasn't a post! At the time I really didn't have any material to post about or the Time to fix it.... so I left it where it was... a Non-post post! But I wasn't happy with that... so here I am, belatedly attempting to turn it into an Actual Post... but it will just be a Short post... like a little Intermission show.... because you have all already checked this post and found it empty!
And what more fitting subject for such a Post than the First snowfall of winter... because if you didn't look quickly you would have missed it! Anna Maria and Samuel Whiskers were out early on Saturday morning... in the gently falling snow the First day of December no less...!

It was a beautiful, gentle snowfall.... just enough to coat the ground.... 

and remind everyone what season it really is.....!

They have ventured out into the Garden in search of seasonal supplies.....

You must be careful where you walk out here.....!!!

But Anna Maria knows just what she is looking for....

They have found the perfect branch....

And Samuel Whiskers will haul it home.....

But if you were not up early.... you would not have seen them at all!!

And by Sunday afternoon the Snow was gone too!!

But we all know it is the season of rushing out to shop for the Holidays.....

with far too much to do and far too little Time to do it....

So I hope you will Pardon me for this Post that Wasn't a Post....

And Enjoy this First Snowfall of Winter!

The Collections

A Moment of Insanity....

What Exactly does One Collect, Dear Readers, if One is a Naturalist residing in a Tree House? This a question that has tipped me a little over the edge of Obsession in this Project! To begin with, the items have to be Tiny... Relevant to the Characters.... Visible..... Displayable in this already crowded room.... and by the very Nature of a Collection.... there must be more than one! Besides the Books that one expects to find in a Library, I have imagined this Naturalist (with a slightly Victorian sensibility) would gather the fascinating specimens of the Natural World around him.... perhaps beginning with the Rocks and Crystals of the Earth....
Here below you can see a particularly Splendid Amethyst Crystal mounted on a silver stand.....

(This is a beautiful little crystal of mine, which appears Huge in this scale!)

And it should be joined by a Quartz crystal..... not as perfect a specimen....

 

And then perhaps we should include this piece of an Amazing Crystalline Mineral... 

the name of which Escapes me..... but which is just too fascinating to leave out.....

And Then perhaps we should venture into the Agates.....

And assemble the smallest and Flattest examples we can find...

And fit them into the Drawer of the Secretary Desk......

Because they Must go Somewhere......!

And the Drawer still closes!!!

And the Finer specimens will be displayed on the Mantelpiece.....

Where they make Quite a Statement..... 

like Mystical Guardians....

Or crammed into the dark corner of the topmost shelves....

Where it is barely visible... behind the flickering candelabra.....

 

But that is just the beginning, Dear Readers....

The Rocks are followed by the Flora.....

And there is Nothing the Victorians liked so well as a Good Terrarium....

 

Placed under a Great Bell Jar......

With Mosses and Ferns.....

Set on a perch near a window.....

Where the plants might see some sun.....

 

And if we are collecting Flora..... 

Surely there would be some Fungi as well.....

Tiny little "lace-cap" mushrooms.....

(with due credit to Amy Gross for the Inspiration....)

 

 

These are made from paper and lace....

 And set within a Bell Jar.....

 

And perched upon a Bookshelf on the open door.....

 

Where the Bell Jar is all but Invisible...!

But we Cannot stop there, Dear Readers......!

The Collector's Passion jumps from one life-form to the next....

Surely the Lepidopterist must have his day.....

These Tiny Butterflies are painted by me on transparent drawing vellum... 

and here they are cut out and glued to sewing thread (to form the bodies..)

And here they have been glued to "invisible" nylon beading thread.....

Which is stiff enough that they will appear to be Fluttering above the surface....

 Of the Tiny little "reflecting pool" that is the base......

A Tiny little Pond......

In a Bell Jar.....

 

(Such a Victorian Vignette...!)

 

 (Yes, I Did find a smaller gelatin capsule...!)

Can you see how Tiny this is?!!!)

 

 Who could blame us for wanting it to sit right in the Middle of the Library Table!

(So difficult to Photograph!!!)

Is it Possible to have Too Many Bell Jars...?

Somehow.... I don't think we're done yet with the Collections!!!

Definitely a Moment of Insanity...!

One Thing And Another

It's So Hard To See Clearly.....

There is not much to show that is New, Dear Readers, in the Tree House Library, and what little has been added is Difficult to Show! To begin with, another panel of the Divine Blue Ceiling has been adorned with stars. I am not gluing the panels in place just yet as that makes it SO difficult to access any of the interior parts of the room.... I want to hold off as long as possible! So you can see the gaps where they don't quite stay in place. But even though looking Up at the ceiling requires bodily contortions... I think it is worth it and is starting to look the way I imagine it should! From the very beginning of this project I have Imagined making this room a "Cabinet of Curiosities" .... filled with objects that a Victorian collector would find interesting.... or a Naturalist would collect.... So I have Begun to assemble a few pieces of this collection....

But here I am afraid you will have to stretch your Imaginations if not your bodies.... 

because the results are not as perfect as I would like..... 

The First exhibit is supposed to be a Glass Flower....

 an orchid, perhaps....

You can see the beginnings below....

And it is displayed under a Bell Jar....

Which makes it kind of hard to see.....

And it is a trifle Large for the scale......

(Made from a Gelatin Capsule..... I want to find smaller ones...!)

And when you put it in the Library.... it all but Disappears!!! 

(Well.... it IS a Glass item inside a Glass Jar!!)

Unless you shine a Glaring Light on the back of the room!

And even then it is so easily overlooked.... 

I want to make some more of these...

And there will be other "Collections" too....

But they are So hard to see!!!

One other thing that I managed to make this week I almost decided not to try....

I wanted a Gothic Candelabra to sit on the Library Table.....

So I started with some wire and jewelry findings and beads....

I forgot to take any pictures until it was mostly assembled....

I started to paint the candles white.....

But then decided the color was wrong for this room....

Besides.... they are beeswax candles......

So I painted them a lovely ocher color....

And when I had trimmed the wires to the right length, I tried it out in the Library.....

And I had to add my Favorite Glitter Flames to the candles.....

Can you even See the glittery parts?

(These are SO hard to photograph!!!)

Or now... can you see the Burning Flames...???

Or when we try it in the Library..... Can you see them Now???

Or Closer..... 

(And can you even see the Invisible Bell Jar Behind the Candles...?)

Or shine an additional Light into the room......

Or move the Bell Jar closer......

Where it Might even get Noticed......

If you look Really Carefully!

So that's my week......

One thing and Another......

Really hard to see!