Flowers 🌼 🌺 🪻🌹🌸🌺🌷🌻🌼💐🥀🪷

Hello and Happy Sunday. When I woke up this morning I thought it was still Saturday (wishful thinking) because I knew I had one more day to chill. Bruce has appointments this week. So I needed one more day to rest so to speak. I don’t like leaving my house. Today’s celebrations are National Margarita Day (this is the day Bruce has waited for,) National cook a sweet potato day, no problem there we have sweet potatoes. We love sweet potatoes. World yoga day (there is a book on chair yoga that is very good.) National Supermarket employee day, Be humble day. Single tasking day….. what is that a thing? Haha one had to learn that. The color today is gold. It’s also a planting day. Thinking of planting well now is the time to be getting those seeds ready for the 2026 garden season. I have planted flower seeds this year for my gardens. Since I struggle to do a lot and I could never afford to buy the flowers. For years I have had my seed mats and lights so it’s easy and convenient for me. It is snowing still…… I could really use some sunshine!!!  Lots of birds and squirrels have been at the feeders all morning. Today Bruce and I made pecan pancakes. Delicious! 

I was thinking of flowers today so I thought I would share some with you today. Have a wonderful day. Enjoy 😊 

I always plant marigolds even as a child I planted those. They are so beautiful and easy. You can also see the straw flowers which was my first time growing them. I really love those. They are so great to dry too. 

This picture showed up when I searched flowers it is from many years back probably 16 or more now. I always planted morning glories and that year I had them in two pots one on each side of the door and it made a beautiful archway to the front door. 

Of course I love pansies and we put these on our salads. They are so beautiful and do so well here. They even come back here which I find interesting. They can be short lived perennial plants but mostly grown as annuals. Here they keep coming back from reseeding themselves. In NC they couldn’t take the heat so they would start to die off around May. A very early spring flower. 

These are the straw flowers there are awesome and so easy to grow. They dry well too. Here is a source for your seeds https://www.rareseeds.com/strawflower-tall-double-mix

Nasturtiums we love these we put them in the salads make nasturtium pesto. Grind them up for a peppery spice. 

I can’t think of a year I didn’t plant sunflowers. 

The pansies are so beautiful to even paint. 

Dahlia 

Hollyhock 

Daisy 

Iris’s 

Dahlia 

This showed up too a time when I had a beautiful little garden right out my back door. It’s Colby he will be 22 this year. I would harvest the stuff and he would help me with the wheelbarrow. He is my seventh child. 

Dahlias come in so many different colors 

Dahlias 

Dahlias 

Yes this is very old it’s more like 15 years ago now. Everyone was an Alice in Wonderland character. The funny thing is I still have that necklace I made in one of my classes with Jean. Good times!! 

Look how tall those sunflowers were 

Calendula in always grow these too. I just plant these in the ground (well the planter box) as ground growing is not for me anymore. As I have sat here typing this the sun has come out! Yay!!!! 😁 The flowers shown on the universe. Thank you sunshine. Sending you all the love and strength for a beautiful happy growing season. 

Much love and joy, 

Dawn Gallop 
 

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100 Day Challenge Days 21-30

Hello and welcome I have made it to day 30. As a mom to nine and ADHD combined type it’s a miracle. I have really enjoyed the experience and the process. I’m so proud of myself and the encouragement I have received from the community. I can’t thank Jessica enough for having the 100 Day Project. 

As always we celebrate happenings today is National Sticky Bun Day, international mother language day, grain-free day, National red sock day of awareness of cardiovascular disease. So many ways to celebrate for today and everyday. 

I am so thankful and grateful for this challenge. When I think of 70 more days to go. We all know I won’t run out of mushrooms…. There are so many. I have covered so far ones that are edible or medicinal (teas, tinctures) 

The Chaga one I have my own picture of this in my woods. Sometimes I try to add birds or animals. 

This was a lot of fun to paint the lobster mushrooms 

The belly button mushrooms I always see this one as a donut mushroom 

This one has teeth and I actually painted those on look to the right of the Hedgehog mushroom that has broken off. You can see all the teeth. 

I got carried away just painting not thinking I would be writing on it. I love how I made the birches with a cast I see on them sometimes in the light. The lions mane is one of my favorites. 

This was so much fun. If you want to see Days 1-10 http://creationsbydawn.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-100-day-project-first-10-days.html

Days 11-20 http://creationsbydawn.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-second-10-days-of-100-day-project.html

The fox 🦊 is my favorite. I painted her from a book that has amazing watercolor animals and colors Watercolor in Nature: Paint... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1645674142?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share 

I almost didn’t make it today as time got away from me. I talked to Baker and Brooks on the phone tonight and saw Briar she is getting so big. It was a good day. Dusty’s girlfriend came over too. We cooked a yummy cabbage and chicken stir fry. Finished watching the show we watched it was so good. Versailles. We enjoyed watching it. I would recommend it. Well better go. All the best and good vibes. 

Much love and respect, 

Dawn Gallop 
 

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The Ice Storm Still hanging around and yet more Snow ❄️

This is happening right now. Rosie had to go…. Cooper called this morning and is headed to Minneapolis, Minnesota then off to North Carolina. He will be going to another school there for his MOS. Jewelee wakes us up really early anyway to go out since she’s 13 years old she can’t hold it like the younger fur babies. Rosie is so funny she sleeps with her “daddy” as Colby calls himself to her. Then she wakes up and wines to go sleep with me. She has to go sleep with mama. 

The video below is right now as I type this message to you. GOOD MORNING ☀️ the bell you hear is one of my favorite wind chimes we had traded with a guy from Pennsylvania at one of the shows we did (a garden show) back around 2019. It’s a lovely bell with copper. This morning Bruce had to fill the bird feeder immediately with the snow. Everyone had come to fly into the yard. 

I had typed this message yesterday to post and time flew away from me. So read that anyway 😂

Here we are on today Thursday the 20th of February. Things to know for today…National Chocolate Mint Day. I can tell you a story for that. When I was a kid and if we were to get ice cream my mother wouldn’t let me pick a kind out (my aunt did) my mother would always make me get mint chocolate chip so she could eat it. Even one time when I was older like 13 or so I was trying to get an ice cream and she convinced me to get the mint chocolate chip and I was like seriously can’t I even get what I wanted? I wanted the chocolate peanut butter. To this day I don’t care for anything with mint in it. My daughter Amanda loves anything mint. Mint coffee and mint ice cream. In fact speaking of Amanda she called this morning at 6:30 am I’m glad I was up. She wanted me to help her pick out a Lego set for herself. Her and her daughter (our granddaughter) Aubrey love to put Legos together. Which is something she always loved as a child too. In fact one year we went to the Lego store in Orlando or Disney shopping center whatever it was??? She bought the Pirate Ship and it was huge and very expensive. Levi loves Legos too he even has the Titanic ship set. I have a huge collection myself from years of all the boys having them. Plus Colby has had countless sets himself which he finally gave to me to add to the collection. I pull them out when the grandkids come. It’s a real big under the bed container full to the top. Everyone loves it. It’s a great way to use mindfulness creativity as with the kit you follow directions. With the box of random pieces your creativity soars to new heights. I have seen the grandkids make some pretty interesting pieces. Soon Brooks and Baker will be able to play with them as well. A couple more years. 

The ice storm has finally stopped and most of the ice is now melting. It’s 35 degrees so the sap might run some today not too much. Bruce has been working on some stuff for this year. He has put a lot of time and energy into it so hopefully it will be successful. Positivity!!! 

Other things happening today National Arabian Horse Day. Colten and Eryn have an Arabian stallion. I am not a horse person so I know nothing about them. Only what Colten tells me or I see on a show/movie. My mother always loved horses. I did have a Barbie horse if that counts…..brahahaha!! My mother decided when I was about 11 we would go horse back riding and it was over in Hampton Virginia. Close to where the K-Mart was on Mercury Boulevard. Well my horse took off fast and towards the water and literally scared the horse out of me!!!! I never cared to get back on one. I did want one of the mini horses once as our vet was into them and had so many she offered to sell us one. Bruce said NO! Then there was a horse show I was the photographer for. Cody had some of the best pictures taken of him that day. He was like three years old going to Britches and Braids school. Jackie owned the school and the horse barn. I really enjoyed that day. Amanda took riding lessons. She enjoyed it. Wow did you ever think so much verbiage could come from celebration days. Smiling! 

I know can you believe it the suet cake baskets are empty…… it’s on my list! 

The pond had started to melt but old man winter decided we needed more snow and ice. 

This birch tree is loaded with ice. 🧊 

Of course these little visitors visit me every day several times a day. 

Brooks sitting in the gator. 

Uncle Dusty 

Well guys I am going to finish my coffee and watch it snow/birds. I will be waiting to hear from Cooper when he lands in Minneapolis. Have a good day and send wishes for a Happy Friday. My mom sent a message that she had played golf this morning and that Florida was finally warming up. Bruce had his CT scan yesterday late afternoon. We went in Walmart to get birdseed and apples. Today’s celebrations are National Cherry Pie Day. Need I say more. Clean out your bookcase day, oh my goodness I would need a huge help for that. Amelia would be a great helper for that…..hint!  National Leadership’s Day. National Hoodie Hoo Day, Fish Fry Day. So many even a National Lego Day today. Oh yeah and National Muffin Day. A great day to Celebrate!!! 🎉 enjoy….

Much love, 

Dawn Gallop 
 

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Hestia Goddess of the Hearth

Hello and welcome today my is Thursday the 19th of February. Bruce has a CT scan as on the MRI his neck has progressed even more than it was six months ago. The moon enters Pieces today at 2:39pm. This was the painting I did in mystic space. 

I wanted to share a little something about a class I am taking. It’s a very personal journey. We are in mystic space and we paint intuitively. In the mystic space one might have a feeling or experience and paint that or one may see something in their minds eye. Which is what I painted from. We learn the whole story of Hestia or myths of her. I even had my alter decorated with her in mind. Hestia is the goddess of fire and the spirit of the home. The daughter of Kronos and Rhea. She is a Greek goddess. When she was born Kronos with his anger issues swallows her and she is dismembered. Well each baby Rhea had he swallowed. When Zeus was born she gave him a rock. As Zeus grows up and finds this information of his brother’s a sisters in Kronos stomach, Zeus has him vomit them up. Hestia was first and now the last to be reborn. So she was now the youngest of their children. Hestia wanted no parts of the family life as she was happy being the center of the hearth and no drama for her. You can attribute the fire and a kettle for Hestia. Very powerful goddess. 

I put together this lovely spirit doll for Hestia. She hangs in my painting space. The enamel piece I made many years ago with Linda Darty her book is here https://a.co/d/05C59z72 I have it. I spent two days with her years ago learning enamel work. Good times. That piece reminded me of Hestia. 

 Then I painted her as a teen or a younger girl. I had a lot of fun with this one. I used 100% cotton paper and my oh my it absorbed the paints. The fire is all liquid watercolors. I had so much fun painting her. 

I hope you are having a great week. Sending all the positive vibes your way. The ice storm continues everything is frozen. I am hoping to get some pictures when Bruce can help me to go outside. The ice is so very dangerous to even walk on. I am sure you are aware of that. All the best. When you have a fire in your pit or your fireplace think of Hestia. 

Good vibes, 

Dawn Gallop 

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