We're having a sale on cards during the month of May at Sign of the Wren. These are handmade 4 1/2 x 5 3/4 inch note cards with color photographs on white card stock with white envelopes. They come in sets of 8 and are wrapped in cellophane. They are 2.50 a pack plus the cost of shipping. Available images are included below. Single cards with envelopes, each in a cellophane sleeve, are also available for 50 cents each. Many other photographs are availabe in the single cards and as larger prints for framing. If interested, please contact us at signofthewren@gmail.com

Cactus Heart
The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in far southwest Austin, Texas, was a favorite refuge for me my first few years in the city.  Along with the specimen gardens and galleries, there are a few miles of hiking trails to explore.  The often comical prickly pear cactus offered up this little heart-shaped lobe on one afternoon visit.



The Swallow at 2nd and Main, Smithville, Texas.
The brick building in the background was an antiques shop in days gone bye, back when signs were painted on the sides of buildings and the sidewalks were full of people.  Smithville today is a sleepy little town but home to world-renowned paper doll artist, Tom Tierney, whom we met in his shop on Main Street.



4th of July in the Maize Fields, Tivoli, Texas
Jamie and I had driven down to Rockport, Texas, in the remnants of a hurricane for a getaway over the 4th of July.  We had our friend Tom's pick up and were following wherever the road took us when we ended up in the middle of acres upon acres of maize fields.  The warm gold of the late afternoon sun, the deep terracotta of the maize tassels and the unending reach of the Texas sky all came together in this one spot.  The only sound we could hear was the calliope calls of the red-winged blackbirds nesting in the rows.



The Washateria, Bertram, Texas
Texas is full of little towns that somehow continue to survive far beyond the commerce of the big cities.  Betram has a water tower, a dinosaur made from Toyota parts, a beauty salon called Poofy Dos and this laundrette.  There are a few other business and a police station but that's about it.  We won a free ticket on a Texas Lottery scratch ticket in Betram so it has its own little spot in our hearts.



Yellow Roses, Edinburgh, Scotland
Edinburgh is surely one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it's Princess Street Gardens are a wonder to behold. But every street in the city has something beautiful to offer.  I took this photograph on some forgotten street as we crossed the city to the Royal Botanic Gardens.  The shade of yellow against the gray building stones was simply magic.