Things that landed on stuff that I grew....

When my husband and I moved ourselves to the *wilds* of Val des Monts, I really had no idea what a shift in lifestyle it would be.  I have always been a nature lover and gardener but the challenges of a country garden just hadn't occurred to me.  Not only were there various large creature lying in wait to nibble on freshly sprouted seeds but a million tiny beings above ground and below anticipated new plants to devour.  These issues and the never ending frustrations of a being in a newer, cooler zone, led me to shed more than a tear or two.  Little did I know that surviving the harshness of winter and feeling of isolation would be my real enemy, and yet a blessing in disguise.  
While snowed in up to my eyeballs one bleak winter day, I picked up a seed catalogue with an organic focus on gardening.  A new world of natural science was opened up to me like, companion planting, helper bugs, composting.  I think that planning my attack on my little plot of land with Mother Nature's arsenal in my back pocket is what got me through that first trying winter season.  It also gave me a huge appreciation for the interconnection of all living things.  I was keenly aware that if you poisoned a bug, it could be eaten by one of the gorgeous birds you were buying seed for!  These noxious solutions could kill off some of your biggest allies like frogs, birds, toads, bees and ladybugs, not to mention poison the water we were drinking from our own well.  
All this being said, I just couldn't help but see my world through new eyes, eyes that appreciated every detail of every leg on every creepy crawly.  I am in awe of their brilliant colors as well as innate camouflage.  And soon I was so obsessed with them, I was growing plants hoping for a beautiful bug or insect eater to wander by so I could have a private photo shoot.   This is the tale of my series "Things that Landed on Stuff that I Grew."  


Here are some samples :

and a link to my Flicker account, http://www.flickr.com/photos/37821835@N07/  where you can browse more of my photo projects.  All are for sale, in various sized prints.  Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions or to purchase at:   victoria.maffini@gmail.com