Swallows, lockets & ivory nut plectrums...

With delight we have watched a little nest of baby welcome swallows grow and this week they left their nest and have been zooming around the outside of the house, trying out their new wings, and munching on zillions of insects. They are messy little souls but the joy we have from observing them is nothing compared to a little (ahem...lot!) of bird poop :-) I'm hoping they can control whatever has been eating the strawberries.
Local produce is abundant this year and Barb dropped in some amazing preserves and Julie blessed us with some of her equally amazing stewed apricots.
In the workshop, Dee has been creating the beautiful lockets shown in the pictures. The process has been painstaking but the results are beautiful. The butterfly locket found a new home the day after it was finished and the star locket was finished today. 
I have also been the recipient of a handmade guitar plectrum made by Dee, from ivory nut. I am a little embarrassed to admit I have spent up to $60 for one pick, on a my quest to find the perfect sound, and the ivory nut pick blitzes every pick in my collection. 
Speaking of guitar picks, Dee is also working on a handcut sterling silver pick in a similar shape but with a tree. As much as I would love to claim it I think perhaps there is a guitar player out there who would also treasure it, so as soon as it is done I will post to our online store.