under the sun.... a trilogy

on etsy, there are treasury queens, treasury addicts and girls that just want to have fun. i am part of a trio from the etsy for animals team that qualify for all of the above. we share our love for animals and treasuries. we take turns contemplating a title, wait for the opening gate, and charge.... we build a treasury of our delights. we get to promote etsy shops, tell a story, link to animal causes and have lots of FUN! my comrades are annette of dragonhouseofyuen and pey of peylu.

bright eyes and bushy tails.....

a spectacular experience....

a couple years ago, a friend gave us a cactus looking plant that he had for 10 years and said it had never bloomed. after living for 2 years in our greenhouse, this summer we noticed some small buds developing. within a week or so these little buds grew into amazing huge buds. one evening, we noticed they started to open. it took about 4 hours before they completely revealed their full glory of an 8 inch flower. there were a total of 15 blooms on the plant. oh my gosh, the musky aroma was so powerful. of course, i grabbed my camera and spent an hour watching in awe and shooting away. by morning, everything was closed up and about a week later, all the buds dropped off.i researched it and was surprised to discover that what we had was an epiphyllum oxypetallum. a "queen of the night". is frequently referred to as an orchid but actually a cactus. they bloom once a year for one night. what a special night it was! next year, we're going to throw a party!

launch into blog world!

OK...so up until about a year ago, i only used the internet on occasion to shop, usually from catalogues. around christmas time, i saw a segment on good morning america about a site called etsy featuring handmade items from artists all over the world. i checked it out, bought a few things and within a couple of months i was opening my own shop selling my handmade jewelry. today, i will admit i am an etsy addict. i can spend hours browsing through fantastic shops, got hooked on curating treasuries, am preparing to open a second shop featuring my photographs, met a really nice group on the etsy for animals team, started on facebook and i entered the world of blogs. so as a natural course - here i am.....an adventure for sure!