Full Moon Magic

In case you didn't notice, the moon was amazingly full and glowing the last few days. Since we have several 100-year-old oak trees on our property, I wanted to share the view from our front porch. I'm still getting used to a new camera and am not sure how to adjust the aperture and shutter speed manually. So the clouds are a bit blurry, because they were moving while the camera's slow shutter speed was capturing the moon in all it's glory at night.

And here is a picture from across the street looking at our front porch that night. It's the old southern style wrap around porch on a craftsman style home. And the oaks are full of Spanish moss that hangs and arches over the walk toward our front door. The possibilities for Halloween decorating are endless!!

I hope you were able to glimpse the moon's magic and bask in all it's mystery!

How I've Missed You During Our Move to Haunted St. Augustine

My word it's been several months since I was last here!! So sorry! You see, we've packed up and sold many of our belongings and moved across the country from sunny northern California to sunny northern Florida! So as you can imagine, there was lots of "stuff" to shed, boxes to pack and a few holidays in between to celebrate with family and friends before the big move.

But now we are here and have almost unpacked all the boxes. I've refurbished a thrift store find into my new art work table and have a beautiful studio loft above our detached garage. And I am itching to get back to my paint brushes and paper mache creations.

We are now in St. Augustine, which is the oldest continuously occupied city in the nation. It was first settled by the Spanish in 1513, and then other European countries tried to establish a stronghold on this beautiful piece of Florida coastline. The city's history is full of battles and bledshed, which makes the area ripe for ghosts. Tales abound of the haunted fort, cemeteries, drug store (picture above) and jail/general store (pictured below). I can't wait to incorporate these, along with the areas large oaks dripping with spanish moss into some of my watercolors!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and have started the new year on a bright, but spooky note! I want to share one more photo with you. This one was taken on our move/ road-trip across the country. It's a huge mansion that will make its way into one of my future paintings, which will commence soon! Happy Hauntings!