Found art in-the-works

You never know what might turn up in a junkyard. This chunk of metal is the base piece for a possible mosaic. Stay tuned . . .

Feathers: well it seems that I may have broken the law with the pigeon feather. Or not. Domestic bird feathers can legally be used; I had a flock of pigeons when I was a kid so I assumed that pigeon feathers fell under the "okay" ones to collect and use. In some states and counties one can still raise pigeons, but finding out just what counties and cities isn't easy. Feathers that are legal to collect: all parrots and cockatoos with one exception: Thick-billed Parrots. All domestic fowl, meaning swans, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, peacocks, emus, ostrich. All game birds---wild ducks, wild geese, wild turkeys, quail, pheasants, prairie chicken---if there's a season on it, you can have the feathers.

So, the collage won't turn up on etsy.com. I'll be on the lookout for duck and geese feathers.

Southern Calif. is on fire, or at least it feels and looks that way. The good old Santa Ana wind season always seems to be the cause of fires this time of year but it's more frightening when arsonists strike. One can only pray that the arsonists are found soon! Out here in the desert the smoke started creeping over the mountains during the night; we woke to an eerie amber/brown sky. We can no longer escape the reality of the fires just over the mountains and up in the Arrowhead area north of us. There have been a few brush fires a couple of miles from us. One was started when a stolen car was set on fire in a field. What is with people?!

Many of our every-day problems seem small in comparison with the loss of lives, homes, and pets. Out of the ashes come new beginnings.

Phoenix: a legendary bird which according to one account lived 500 years, burned itself to ashes on a pyre, and rose alive from the ashes to live another period. Link: http://tinyurl.com/9nmdo I've often considered the phoenix to be a muse of sorts.