I am starting to load up the rollers!

So close...

I received my shipment of paper with word that the backordered 100 sheets of beautiful Stonehenge Natural are now on their way. With that, I can almost start to proof these beautiful blocks and begin to tweak and tinker. Almost!
Huge thank you to Daniel Smith http://www.danielsmith.com for their generous discount and superb customer service!
Ten blocks have yet to arrive, with only two people that have not contacted me at all. Good thing because I have tons more ideas for my substitute blocks than just two. I guess I will have to choose.

Just the other day, my cats brought in what looked to be a rather strange scorpion but ended up being a two-tailed lizard! One of the tails had grown out of an injured part of the other and was sticking straight up in the air like a scorpion's tail. I would have photographed the poor little thing, but I wanted to get it out of its "play-dead" trance as soon as possible.
While I carried it carefully toward a cat-free zone, one of its eyes kept opening just a crack to survey me and my intentions. I carefully placed it under a protective leaf and by the time I returned with my camera the clever two-tailed dude was gone under the yuccas. You'll just have to believe me...and wait for the image!

Anyhow, here are three more contributions.

Ellen Shipley - Santa Clarita, California USA
http://pressing-issues.blogspot.com
Every garden has its weeds, hardy less-than-appreciated plants bent on staking out their own little corner of the world. My dandelion lady is having a "Bad Hair Day." Haven't we all? ;-]

Carol Myers - Watervliet, Michigan USA
http://carollmyers.com
http://www.facebook.com/Carol.L.Myers.Art
This fairy sculpture that is in my real and fantasy garden is especially meaningful, as it is the same fairy that my 27 year old daughter Lizzie had tattooed on her back. 6 weeks after she was married in 2012 she became ill with autoimmune liver failure, and after five months of critical illness and hopes of a liver transplant she succumbed to complications. I can still hear her musical laughter and see her delight in butterflies as she becomes a part of this fantastical garden.

Mark Vosmeier - Fort Wayne, Indiana USA
It's Harvest Time in the Fantastic Garden! There is a bumper crop in the garden, and Mr. Scarcrow decides to share some corn with two of his former nemeses., With a sound so reminsicent of those old cartoon magpies, "Heckle and Jeckle," the following conversation is overheard:
First Crow: "I say, ol' chum, isn't this corn simply scrumptious?"
Second crow: "Indubitably, ol' bean, most indubitably!"
Both crows and Mr. Scarecrow (altogether): Ahh hahahahahahaha!

Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com

As they trickle in, you get to meet them!

Important Dates and Notes

Only three weeks to go to the deadline! August 31st is fast approaching.

Please send your image information as soon as you know what you are doing via this page:
http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com/p/2013-fantastic-garden.html

Three more contributions

Ah, let's see, I placed the wildflower where a Mojave wildflower might grow after a spring of sporadic showers and a bit of luck. Sometimes the desert explodes with an incredible variety of color from the blooms of wildflowers but if you think about an excursion for too long...you missed them! The harsh desert dries them out within days. This one apparently likes the mulch in the dry trunk and the light shade of a Tamarisk tree.

The garden hose I placed in the convoluted leaves of our very natural Mojave Yucca, which sends out shoots with wonderful blooms in spring and throughout summer. Tough little plant feeds hummingbirds and various seed eaters help spread the tasty pods.

And finally, the ladybird beetles are everywhere here too! The clever arrangement reminded me of the prickly pear cactus fruit, so I placed them on a growing leaf under a maturing tasty fruit. Careful with the spines! The Paiute Indians used yucca leaves to both grasp and brush the fruit until no spines remained. The red mature prickly pears are very sweet!

Nancy Osadchuk - Calgary Alberta CANADA

I find my eyes are starting to play tricks on me and I don't like that! I chose this wildflower that has more common names than it needs. Prairie Smoke, Old Man's Whiskers, Sleepy Heads, Blood Drops, etc…otherwise Geum triflorum. I grew up in the country and just have to have some wildflowers in my garden and this is one of my favorites; one way to get country into the city! I did not proof it except with rubbing but painted it with ink to make the carving easier to see.

Rich Fowler - San Francisco Bay Area USA

http://www.BoardingAllRows.com

The garden hose never fails to kink or wrap itself around a bush, a clay pot, itself, or my leg. Many thanks to Maria for organizing this wonderful project.

Carole Carroll - Seattle Washington USA

This trio of ladybird beetles will protect the garden from harmful aphids.

Fantastic Garden Headquarters: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.com