Pottery. Photography. And All Things Handmade.
Much has been going❗️ I have yet had the time to blog. I have been glazing, firing, photographing, listing*, glazing, firing, photographing, listing, aaaannnnnd glazing, firing, photographing. (*Listing: writing descriptions and pricing of my new handmade pottery for my BackPorchStudio shop on Etsy.) In the meantime, enjoy our neighborhood hawk who frequently stops by! 😍... Continue Reading →
“Grandma! Grandma! There are snakes in the pine trees!” our grandson shouted excitedly as he was running to the back porch. Knowing that we do have at least one snake I thought to myself, “Drat, that snake had babies!” So, I grabbed my camera and asked our grandson to show me the snakes. (Yes, I grabbed my... Continue Reading →
Another humid week last week! I don't mind the heat but when the air is as thick as pea soup and there is no breeze I start to feel a wee bit uncomfortable and grouchy. Luckily, my attention has been on things I can do inside in air conditioning! As I mentioned in my previous... Continue Reading →
As I wait for my newly thrown clay pieces to air dry, the back yard has been keeping me busy. Between the unusual cool wet weather and back yard critters (rabbits and squirrels) our garden isn't doing well. We have yet to pick a ripe tomato! Plants I rescued from the garden are doing well... Continue Reading →
JULY UPDATE!!! In May I blogged about this weed that took over the garden and I mistakenly identified the weed as heal-all. The plant that over took the garden beds this spring is NOT heal-all at all. It is Red Dead Nettle instead! For more information about Dead Nettle scroll to the bottom of my... Continue Reading →
I meant to publish this yesterday . . . Thursday . . .Now Friday 🙄 Posted originally on my other blog, Grandma Is Blogging, in 2018. Slowing moving posts here from there. We used to feed the birds. That was until the cats started feasting on the birds. Inadvertently, we fed the squirrels too. One day,... Continue Reading →
What beautiful weather we had last week! Clear blue sunny sky. Flowers blooming. Birds, bees and kitties busy. Note the elevated Kitty water bowl: a TONKA Toy dump truck. This TONKA dump truck has been through two generations (children & grandchildren) and now serves as our back porch watering hole for cats, birds, squirrels,... Continue Reading →
Hooray! Spring sprung! The much anticipated warmer weather, blue skies and tons of sunshine has arrived. Nature rejoices and so do I!!! Spring training on my back porch studio. Warming up with a small lump of clay (about 1/2 pound) this week. Spring training on the soccer field. Our grandson behind the ball and me... Continue Reading →
Feeding birds through the winter has been a family activity for over 25 years. It started as a homeschool project where we could observe wildlife first-hand. We learned about bird identification, social behavior (pecking order on and around the feeder), and which physical characteristics of birds dictated food choices (sunflower seeds, thistle, millet, nuts, berries... Continue Reading →
One of our many visitors this summer! One of the reasons I love throwing on our back porch! I had my hands in clay. Grabbed my camera and took a shot! My camera is a little muddy .
Waiting for me in my splash pan this morning! Gray Tree Frog The frog wanna-be-potter was placed just off the back porch onto a nice cool shady rock. The frog climbed up onto a fern frond. The frog watched me for a seemingly very long time. I honestly thought it was contemplating whether or not... Continue Reading →
It has been a bit hot on my back porch this month. I have been firing loads of greenware (air dried unfired clay) in the kiln for a bisque firing. The bisque firing prepares the air dried clay (greenware) for glazing. Days are growing shorter. Kids are back in school. It is the end of... Continue Reading →
Due to the rain and high humidity, the weeds have taken over. Daisy, Purslane & Thistle Yellow Woodsorrel (sour grass) Spotted Spurge/Prostrate Spurge creeping into the cucumber bed Largest Dandelion Ever Crab grass, purslane and yellow woodsorel making a home among the dill, basil and oregano I'm reading a lot about common weeds. Why? Because... Continue Reading →
The falling leaves gather around my pottery wheel. My throwing days have come to an end for the year. The temperatures have dropped quite dramatically this week making it a challenge to photograph my pottery on my back porch. "They" say it may snow this weekend! This month I have been busy with many behind... Continue Reading →
Mid-June already? I have been busy throwing mugs . . . Enjoying time with our grandson . . . Celebrating birthdays . . . And gardening . . . Ah, summer. Summer is like childhoodFull of warm memoriesAnd gone too soon.
Our resident groundhog, or something, never made an appearance today due to abundant snow and sunshine. But official word from Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania is we will have six more weeks of winter. Punxsutawney, PA – This morning, Pennsylvania’s own world-famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. https://dced.pa.gov/newsroom/punxsutawney-phil-predicts-six-more-weeks-of-winter-for-2021/ Six more... Continue Reading →
Today was glazing day. And laundry day. Glazing and laundry on the same day? What could go wrong? I shouldn't ask. It is still 2020 after all! While eating lunch, I noticed a young Robin drinking from one of Miss Kitty's handmade water bowls. It is nice see other critters enjoying a drink from my... Continue Reading →
The back porch has a half dozen handmade pet dishes filled to the brim with cool fresh water. I made them just for her, Miss Kitty. She prefers drinking from the Tonka dump truck. It used to be our son's now it's our grandson's Miss Kitty's. So, I keep it filled with cool fresh water.... Continue Reading →
Originally posted in September 2018! Not much has changed in our backyard. We are a little older and hopefully a little wiser. Summer vacation? Well, I really didn't have one but I sure enjoyed my summer! I enjoy summer, vacation or not. Summer is my favorite season! Being on our back porch throwing things,... Continue Reading →
The sunflowers made it despite the critters of early spring and summer. This pot houses my 3rd round of sunflowers. I decided not to transplant them to the back yardand keep them close to my back porch. Glorious results! Close up of the potted sun flowers next to the back porch. Such a sunny delight!... Continue Reading →
I spent the day weeding yesterday. Wore myself out and ended up going to bed rather early. I woke up to an array of wild life this morning! A praying mantis hanging from a sunflower bloom munching on a wasp. A very hungry caterpillar feasting on what is left of dill. Luckily, I harvested the... Continue Reading →
Back Porch Studio 