A Walk along Old Madrid Plaza in Southern Colroado

My turn~ MY TURN! You are reading straight from the fingers of Diamond K Folk Art, aka Rachael Kinnison. I own the Lady's Repository Museum here in southern Colorado~ quite a change for me moving out here from Upstate NY~ but I have adapted......Our home & the Museum lie smack dab right **ON** the Santa Fe Trail, and in particular, the olde Madrid Plaza Commissary~ it was an adobe built in the 1860's....there are remnants of the olde post office straight across from the house. So if I'm not in the studio working on dolls, or painting, or in the gallery, I spend my days walking around alot....looking for treasures with my 4 children. I just had back surgery in April, so my walking has gotten considerably slower...but that even can be a goode thing, cause I'm finding all sorts of neat goodies. In the yard here around the house I pick old clay & glazed marbles, bits of broken china, neat metaly things...and my favorite~ DOLLY PARTS! WOO HOO! Here are some of the marbles.....and a 1903 Indian head penny.....
Here is the view from my front porch looking out on a nice Colorado sky
Some of my favorite dolly parts..................I have a whole jar of faces but cant remember where I put them at the moment...someplace I wouldn't forget no doubt.........
There are also lots of dinosaurs to be found in these parts~ About an hour from us is the longest consecutive stretch of dinosaur prints in the WORLD...... here is a little fossil of a flower I found, and used in my walkway.....can you see it~ the little 3 petal thingy...........
But my favorite 'hobby' walking about , is looking for arrowheads. The last 3 days, have yielded each their own treasures~ I LOVE to pick arrow heads....

Day before yesterday.......
And early in the morning when I was 'supposed' to be working...I found this little white one~ would have been used for hunting rabbit........
So there is a walk around our Madrid Plaza....not much left of the original now, the rock walls, a few adobe buildings, our house now sits where the Commissary was, and then there is me......here i sit in the studio doing what I ought to be doing now........'Hi Ho~ Hi Ho...its off to work I go' ... until next time!
Ciao~ Rachael

Hi from Pear Tree Primitives

I'm Suzanne of Pear Tree Primitives. My family has lived in Boise, Idaho for almost two years now. We moved after my husband completed his doctoral degree in music at Arizona State....(I know what you're thinking, what's he going to do with that?) Well, he taught one year, a sabbatical replacement, at Boise State and we didn't want to move again..it is very pretty here in Idaho and we have family in the NW, so we stayed and now he teaches part-time at a local high school and is a part-time music director at our church...he says, someday when he grows up, he wants to have a full-time job!

We have two sons (12 and almost 15) and this past year I home schooled both of them... we just survived our first year! And when I'm not busy with my boys, I enjoy painting and creating folk art. My husband enjoys woodworking, and when he has time, will make small wooden wares for Pear Tree Primitives.

Back to Boise...having lived in AZ for 9 years, it is a nice change to live where there are seasons...although, just a few weeks of snow would be nice. I'm also enjoying gardening again. When I managed to get something to stay alive in AZ, I felt a great sense of accomplishment! But in this climate, plants are flourishing...and I even started some flowers from seed! (Something that would not be easy to do in AZ).

Here are a few photos of my garden. The sweet peas were started from seed and have really gone wild! I did manage to start a small herb garden in AZ and now have started one here. Some are cooking herbs, but mostly I like their fragrance and flowers.


We inherited a row of lilac trees and a front hedge of roses. I've had to learn how to care for roses...mostly I just leave them alone and they are fine!
This year we planted a berry garden. So far, the squirrels are enjoying a nice breakfast every morning! But we've had a few strawberries, marionberries, blackberries and raspberries too!


Lavender is one of my favorite fragrances and plants, and our lavender bed has been beautiful this year. The lambs ear likes this spot too!


Here is a photo from our front yard...we live across from a wetlands preserve, and then beyond you can see the foothills.


When we moved into our home, one of the first things we planted was a pear tree! This year it is producing some pears...they are cute, but I don't think we will be eating them!
Thanks for letting me share a bit of Boise with you...at least what you can see from my yard!

And please visit

The Primitive Gathering
(just updated on the 15th) for wonderfully made hand dids for your home.

Hello From PieCake!

Happy Summer! The weather has been so beautiful in Western PA...we've been blessed with many days filled with sunshine!

My name is Lorraine, and I am the owner of PieCaKe PRiMiTiVeS, thanks to the total support of my loving husband and wonderful 7 year-old son. We live in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh.

Here's my little guy......




We don't live in a historic town, but we are surround by a lot of history....The French and Indian War was fought around the Western Pennsylvania area. We live near the Bushy Run Battlefield, and Fort Ligonier is only about an hour away. We like to visit these places at least once a year. We also live about 10 minutes away from Kennywood Park, which is one of the oldest amusement parks around. The Thunderbolt rollercoaster is a really cool wooden coaster! If you are in the Pittsburgh area, these are just a few places to visit:o).


I have been making my goods for a few years now, and I love it! I have met so many wonderful people, many kindred spirits....I feel very blessed to be able to do what I love...One day, I hope to be able to do this full-time!

Well, I hope you are having a great summer. Primitive Blessings to you!

Bluejean Life In Kentucky

You've all heard you can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl. My mother is living proof of that.


Following her here to Central Kentucky, after living in Columbus, Ohio and the Chicagoland area for all my life, I really wasn't sure if I was going to like this country way of living. It didn't take long before I fell hard for this place. It doesn't matter where you go, how far you take a drive or walk... Kentucky is full of breath taking beauty!

All you boaters and fisherman out there... look at this picture of Green River. Blue water... surrounded by nature's beauty and there's tons of fish to be had there.... just bring a rod and some bait! This River is long! 300 miles of gorgeous water. Flathead Catfish, Bowfin, Blue Sucker and Freshwater Drum are some of the fish here... but don't forget there's the famous Lake Cumberland not too far away either.



The barns everywhere! One time I lost count at 100 barns just driving to my parents house 25 miles away. I guess that's where I got the idea for my logo. Every barn here has a different personality also.... some house animals or farm equipment while others dry tobacco. Of course this picture is of a newer one, and there are some that are hundreds of years old.... good old primitive wood... hard as a rock!




When I first moved here, the locals were calling this area "Little Texas". Of course how I am... I just had to find out why. There's so many cattle and oil wells here... along with Horses that it's just like a Little Texas! I forgot how many different kinds of cows there are in this world, but I can guarantee that every kind is right here. We even have some Long Horn Cattle. (and no, I've never been cow tipping) LOL

Imagine seeing 100 cattle just grazing on these gorgeous fields and pastures while driving through curvy roads on a sunny day. Are you seeing how I just love it here?



This picture isn't anything special here, it's just down the road some.... but at night there's always deer in this field... I'm talking 50 deer sometimes. Of course I'm an animal lover and I never had seen anything like that growing up.



This is another picture of Green River, but this is one of the spots where you can find me playing with my new puppy, Riley. There's a beach right on the edge of the water there and she just runs and plays until she's worn out.

Out here in Central Kentucky where I live now.... there isn't any planes to be heard, there's no smog... no major traffic jams or toll booths. You share the road with the local Amish in horse drawn buggies and you chat with your neighbor. People wave when they pass you in a car here and yes, sweet tea really IS a southern thing! I've learned what bush hogging is, I've learned how to bag corn, I've learned to say "Ya'll" and I say it a lot! lol.... I've witnessed goats being milked, cows being born, local honey being harvested. I'm friends with the Amish and I absolutely love it here.

There nothing like the shopping in Columbus, Ohio.... or of course the City of Chicago... but there's nothing like Kentucky either. But if you want a little city life, Lexington and Louisville is only just over 100 miles away from here. :) I'm just a city girl who turned country..... do you blame me?

Come visit and say hi!

Blessings, Jean :)

Hello from Honeysuckle Lane

Welcome to another post at Birds of a Feather. I'm Lana of Honeysuckle Lane. For those of you who visit my site, read my blog, or subscribe to my mailing list ~ you know I am a lover of nature. As early as I can remember in my childhood, the outdoors has been a part of my life ~ from playing in caves and under bluffs in the woods behind my parents' home to camping and fishing to walking in the woods looking for wildflowers with my Mom.

So there's just no way getting to know me and not getting to see a glimpse of nature or hearing the latest news about my chickens.

Quite often I enjoy walking in the woods that surround my home, looking for jack in the pulpit (pictured below), or maybe a lady's slipper, or Solomon's seal...

and I love to happen upon a bed of sunlit ferns gently waving in the morning breeze...

and when I wander back to my home, look who is waiting for me on the back porch ~ Sam. He's adorable but very lazy these days. He'd prefer to lie in the sun and wait for me to return and scratch his belly.

I' d planned on taking you on a tour of my community as Sarah did in the previous post, but with everything going on it completely slipped my mind and I'm actually posting a day late. When my turn comes around again, I'll try to be on time and have more photos of where I live.

Be sure to visit our online market, you'll be amazed at all the wonderful talent that is represented there. You will also soon realize that it's not just a business for all of these ladies ~ they really love what they do and it shows in their handwork.

Take Care & God Bless,

Lana

~*~