Kookaburra Sits On An Old Gum Tree (almost)

Know that song about the kookaburra?  We saw one.  Almost.  Sometimes people go to Australia to see one.  Sometimes they go to Niagara Falls.

Australia was a little far, so we chose the latter. 

OK, so we visited the Bird Kingdom there, one of the Fall's attractions that I have studiuosly avoided.  Tropical birds in a cold country can only mean one thing - cages.  But when I looked up the info it said the place was the biggest free-flying aviary in the world - 400 specimens of 80 species frolicked there, it said.  So we went.  I was still dubious, but we went. 

There was a caged parrot right at the entrance.  That's about when DaddyBoy had to start shushing me.  Anyway, we kept going.  Well, that poor kookaburra was in a cage.  No wonder he wasn't laughing.

They did have a large aviary where the birds were free, but how does an aviary compare with a tropical forest?  Are there really any educational merits to something like this?  I'm not really sure.  The LittleBug loved petting the lizards and the alligator (he was two feet long - a baby) and the snake, and she enjoyed the birds, all of which the lady assured me had never seen anything but captivity, so they couldn't possibly miss the freedom of well, being free.  But what about their instincts, I thought.  Why would a snake enjoy being handled the whole day?  Why was the poor baby alligator in a plastic tote box that wasn't any bigger than itself?

The NanoBot, free of such conflicts, had a good time. 

A few pics:

We couldn't help marveling at the birds.  Don't they look hand-painted?

This is a zebra finch.

And this is some sort of waxbill, I think.

I can't remember looking up this guy, but he was an amazing combination of colors.

And this big guy, called a Victoria Crwon Pigeon, is actually the largest of the pigeons - he was huge. 

So pretty!

They had some Javanese architectural elements replicated to give the place a more authentic rainforest feel.  I somehow managed to botch all those pics.

I spotted this lovely tree, so of course I had to take pictures of its leaves.

And the kookaburra?  Yes, I did take a couple of pics, but the cage bars are showing.  I just couldn't post it.

New Work

Indian silk and brocade, cotton and organza, beads and sequins.

Links On Blog?

A silly post about nothing:

How do you put links on your blog to make it look like a website?

I'm not getting the chance to sit down and figure out the html, so anyone know a short-cut method I could use? 

That's all!

More Fiber Jewelry (and to bed at 4 A.M.)

Well, it's 4.06 now.  I'm late!!!

Goodnight!

Forest Floor

My Favorite Playground

Mystic Rose

Peacock's Parade

Three Takes On Blue

The pictures are horrible - working at night with not enough light, and of course I don't want to use the flash, and who knows where the tripod is, and would I bother if I did know - NO!!

Anyway - hee hee - here is my latest:

River Road

Summer Rain

Sunken Treasure

I'm too tired right now to write descriptions (YAAAWN) but they all have all kinds of layerings with silk, cotton, velvet and denim, lace and ribbons, trims and beads and sequins and other bits and baubles that I don't know the names of, all handcrafted, one-of-a-kind and wearble!

My Fabric Jewelry

My forays into fabric were super-popular at the show, and sold before I even took pictures, so I made some more.

These pieces have layer upon layer of fabrics machine and handstitched together, and embellished with hand embroidery, beads, lace, trims, fabric flowers I made, netting, buttons, cabochons, shells - just about anything, even crochet flowers I'd made a while back.

Assymetrical, bohemian and FUN!

I've let all the frayed edges and the handstitching become a part of the piece to celebrate its handemade-ness.

Each piece is unrepeatable and one-of-a-kind!

Afternoon Tea - Fabric Cuff Bracelet

A cool Spring day. a white cotton dress and this on your wrist. Tea in bone china and cucmber sandwiches...mmm.

Rendezvous At The Taj

Evocative of the colors of Mughal palaces with rich shades of magenta, turquoise, gold and mother-of-pearl, fit for a modern-day princess.

This fabric locket is more than an inch wide and about two inches long from bail to bottom bead, and extremely light around the neck.

Now to make some more!

Please Share Your Thoughts!

This takes a bit longer than you might think, but it's so worth the effort.

I've stitched rows of lace and trimmimgs on to paper using metallic threads, and then embellished them with sequins and cord. I made one all golden, and one all silvery white, and I can't decide which one I like better!
The last piece was crazy-quilted on to paper using whatever my hand reached first, and then also embellished with sequins and a big hand-swen mirror.

The pieces have come out gorgeous, and I love how mounting them on canvas and then mounting that canvas on to a bigger canvas presents them in an eye-catching but understated way.
They look far better in person and are wonderful accessories for any room, as well as being amazing, unique gift items!

Gold on gold on gold - fit for a princess!

My favorite colors - all shades of white - there are six different whites in there.  This would look fabulous in an all-white room.

A more abstract, free-stitched piece, with white and gold and silver all together.  So there, that was all the stitching I spoke about yesterday.  Please share your thoughts!