The view from my Cape Cod studio ...

With the winter season winding down here in Florida, I find myself more and more homesick for our home up north with each passing day. I can almost hear the mockingbirds calling in the trees and the echoes the woodpeckers' bills make throughout the surrounding woods.

I so look forward to carrying my first morning cup of coffee out onto the deck and hearing the quiet voices of men casting their fishing rods off their small boats in our little cove. Climbing down those 92 precious wooden steps to the lake, sitting on the dock and dangling my legs over the side to dip my toes into the gently lapping waves. And the stars at night. Oh, the stars!

This is the summer view from the bay window in my studio when the blue wave hydrangeas and the fairy roses are in bloom. Heaven is just a month away ...

What's on my workbench ...

Anklets! Lots of summer anklets with fine silver heart and flower dangles with pure silver seashells fused to them. Sterling silver clasps and spacers and tons of colorful gemstone beads of every description: Onyx; labradorite; apple, poppy, leopard and aqua terra jaspers; soocho jade; amethyst; Russian aventurine; chalcedony; citrine; cherry quartz ... something to match everything in your wardrobe!

An update on the ospreys ...

Back on February 19th, I posted this photo I took of the osprey nest I spotted only about 20 feet from the end of our boardwalk near the beach.

Sadly, some time within the past two weeks the nest disappeared. There's absolutely no sign of it or what happened to it. We're all wondering if the wind blew it down or if a raccoon or some other animal destroyed it, but one morning I walked by and there was no hint it ever existed. The thought that the hatchlings might have been lost is really devastating to contemplate, but there doesn't seem to be a way to determine this with any degree of certainty.

Interestingly, the mother osprey began rebuilding the nest in the very same spot a few days ago, but has since abandoned it. I'm not sure if the weather is playing a factor in this development, as it's been extremely windy at the beach the past few days. I hope she returns and continues the job she started. And I hope even more that her babies are okay.

Under a Full Moon

Here's a photo of my pendant titled Under a Full Moon that is featured in the Spring '09 issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine. It's a little difficult for me to let go of this one, but I'll have my issue of the magazine and lots of nice photos of it to remember it by. (Weeps gently.)

A visit to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Last week my husband and I spent several wonderful and enlightening hours at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, a local Naples branch of the Audubon Society. Two miles of wooden boardwalk run through the sanctuary, which is a haven for many species of birds and animals.

It's so quiet there, one can literally hear a leaf falling from a tree. It's not hard to imagine the sudden thunderous roar of a dinosaur stomping through the forest, so primeval and eerie is the untouched landscape. Here are some photos I took as we quietly walked from one end of the sanctuary to the other. During our visit we spotted a red-shouldered hawk which unfortunately my digital camera with its limited zoom capability couldn't capture. But we were lucky enough to see the incredibly colorful tillandsia plants growing from the sides of trees, the strangler fig roots growing down many of the trunks and the odd ibis warily eyeing us from their perches as we walked along.

I can't wait to visit again!