Friday, February 7, 2014

White as Snow



Hansel and Gretel



White as Snow.





We promised to take good care of them.
They had been abandoned.

That was last Summer.









































They greet us every morning.






A portion of our pond always stays open, it is where the water comes from deep within.  







I wonder if they are a pair. 
Will there be little ones this Spring? 
We will soon know. 






It may be minus 7 degrees outside but my greenhouse is waking up.
The days are getting longer 

Have a great weekend my dear friends.

Gina




21 comments:

  1. Dear Gina,
    I can hardly wait to see those dishes on my table to complete the set you painted for me last year. They are marvelous and your great talent
    shines through brightly!!!!!
    What luck Hansel and Gretel had not to end up in that forest of the witch. Instead they came to your paradise to enchant us in this wonder-
    fully white winter world. Great story, photos and post.
    Warm greetings, Sieglinde

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    1. Dear Sieglinde, Your plates and bowl should be arriving today. It is always a pleasure to work with you. You have a well trained and artistic eye. Much credit goes to you for the success of this collaboration.
      Hansel and Gretel have adjusted beautifully. They get along well with the rest of the pond residents.

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  2. Dear Gina,

    Your dishes are beautiful (of course), and I'm guessing that creating that fine blue line over those scalloped edges might be a little tricky!

    Regardless of their gender, your Hansel and Gretel are certainly a pair. How nice that they found each other! (Maybe they're siblings like the original Hansel and Gretel!)

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    1. Dear Mark, All it takes is a steady hand and a little concentration.
      I think that you are right. They could definitely be siblings. They look so much alike. It is seldom that rogue geese are so consistently white. It is difficult to tell their gender. However, they live to be more than forty years old.... enough time to get it all sorted out.

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    2. I had no idea they have such a long lifespan!

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  3. Dear Gina - the dishes are lovely - it must give you a huge amount of satisfaction to create such beauty.
    Hansel and Gretel are looking very much at home on your lovely pond - fingers crossed that you do get some little ones too.

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    1. Dear Rosemary, I love working with my friends and customers because they always have new and original ideas. All of them know exactly what they want. It gives mean opportunity to try out new designs and techniques.
      Because our geese came without Birth Certificates we have no idea how old they are. It usually takes 4 years before they fully mature. The two are never more than a foot or two apart. The more I watch Geese the more I'm impressed with their intelligence.

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  4. It was fun to see the further adventures of Hansel and Gretel!

    How wonderful for you to have that greenhouse beauty in the chilly months. xo

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    1. Dear Frances, Geese are so smart and so entertaining. I could write a book about their antics. I am so glad that I have a greenhouse. It makes winter not quite so long.

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  5. What a lovely pair of Geese - Hansel and Gretel. I do hope that they have babies.!
    Do they sleep outside Gina, or have they a little house to sleep in.
    Love your new plate design.
    Your greenhouse flower is stunning.
    happy weekend val

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    1. Dear Val, We have provided several sheltered places for our Geese. However, they like to spend their nights out on the pond. They warn our other birds when the raccoons come by.
      The yellow flower is an Icelandic Poppy. They love my cold greenhouse.

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  6. Your photos are always eye-catching Gina! I could stand here watching your amazing bright photos and admiring your fantastic ceramics!
    Wish you a happy Sunday!

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    1. Hello Olympia, You are always so generous with your compliments and I thank you very much. Hope you also have a wonderful weekend. ox, Gina

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  7. Those geese know a good thing when they see it! How nice of them to be the 'scouts' for the other ducks. This morning in the leftover snow I saw raccoon tracks going across my decking. Where are Hansel and Gretel when one needs them? (no ducks here - except my concrete one, though!)

    Those are luscious plates; I particularly like that first one with the berries! Please share what plant that is. The yellow in your Icelandic Poppy is a harbinger of Spring for me! I love that intense hue.

    I'm going back outside to shovel snow/ice so maybe I can get out tomorrow. I will have to take my saw and get rid of 3 branches from a tree that is across the road in our little subdivision (we own the streets - so there will be no city help here). My little Honda Fit might be able to scoot under it. I'll have to measure to be sure!

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  8. Hello Mary, Raccoons already? Ours are still hibernating. The first bowl shows grapes albeit with a lot of artistic license.
    You have a full day ahead of you. Sounds like you need a little help. How interesting that your streets belong to you as a group.

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  9. Hi Gina... just found your blog through enchanted home. LOVE your kitchen and now that I am here, I LOVE your blog. I have been going through your old posts. Will definitely be back. I am a nut for all hand painted ceramics.

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    1. Hello Katie and welcome. If you are a nut for hand painted ceramics you have come to the right place.
      Thank you for your very nice comments...you have made my day. ox, Gina

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  10. It will be such a lovely thing come spring if Hansel and Gretel are a pair and have a family! Such beautiful clean-looking geese - they certainly knew where to come for a wondrous home. Your pond photo is awesome - such a scenic place and so special that it looks full of life even in the throes of freezing winter weather.
    The new china pieces are so pretty - love the edge treatment, you must have such a steady hand!

    Thank you dear for your kind comment re: my Feb. frustrations. Hopefully Friday will be a good day - although here we just might be celebrating "Love, hearts and flowers" under a fresh covering of snow if it falls in the next day or so!

    Gina - when editing pics have you been able to add your own textures or overlays since PicMonkey made changes last week? I cannot do that anymore which is most disappointing - won't allow me to open them from my iPhoto on the Mac. (Perhaps you don't use Mac - not sure). Also, the SAVE has become a nightmare for me (so easy before), and when I do eventually go through several hoops and am able to save an edited pic, the computer freezes up for several minutes and I'm unable to do anything. PicMonkey was perfect before they fiddled with it again - and although someone from there tried to assist via an e-mail, I still can't get things working as before. Ready to throw in the towel!

    Hugs - Mary

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    1. Dear Mary, I am so sorry that you are having such a difficult time with your photo editing. Knock on wood, I have never had a minute of problems with PicMonkey. I use their service almost every day. I tried some of the new features this morning and sailed right through them.. I have such a simple camera (Kodak Easy Share DX 7590) that I really need a good editing program. I know that this program would probably not be good enough for a professional but for my needs it is easy and perfect. My computer is a Dell desk top. All of my editing is done from it. You have probably already tried Chrome?
      I know how it feels when we have computer issues. It ruins everything and we are ready to throw in the towel, as you say. I would be very sad if you did. I live in a very small community and computer help is difficult to come by. When my computer crashed I was able to find a young college kid who helped me retrieve all of my information. Getting help from professionals has not worked for me.
      So, please keep looking for local help, check with everyone you know. That computer whiz kid is just around the corner. Wish I could come by and commiserate. ox, Gina

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  11. Ist es nicht schön, jeden Morgen mit einem fröhlichen Geschnatter begrüsst zu werden?
    Hopefully there will be some little ones soon in Spring.
    Meanwhile stay warm!
    xxxk

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    1. Dear Karin, Geschnatter stimmt. Und jeden Morgen. I'm always so surprised to realize how very intelligent geese are. It is difficult to determine if they are a breeding pair...we will have to wait and see.

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