A Good Tired

With the Art Show over and a Sunday free and clear of committments (other than the addition drawings I am procrastinating on for one of my clients), and with the sun shining and the temperature finally seeming like spring, we headed out into the yard to tackle the sea of green that seems to have sprouted all over the yard.

Seems those pesky weeds get a good jump on all the other plants, perhaps because they know their days are numbered, or perhaps so they can try to fool us into thinking they an early perennial.

And fool us they do, is that yarrow or an imposter? Is that tame spurge or it's weedy cousin? And then there are the dandelions and the quack grass that attempt to hide amongst the tender green shoots of the perennials. In order to erradicate them, one needs to gently tease the soil up from under the plant - get one's fingers down into the soil and yank those roots out. Then ease the soil back down onto the young plants so as not to disturb them too much.

With some help from the little neighbour boys (who seem to find our yard and what we do much more fun than their own), we managed to get rid of all the weeds in the front part of our yard.

And as we stood back and admired the cleaned up garden, the soil free of it's early "greenery", the plants and shrubs and bulbs ready to burst forth to show off their summer finery, we felt the aches and pains in our winter softened muscles. As we put away the tools and took a tour around the yard planning and admiring our days work, we took pride in our aches and pains, knowing what we had accomplished.

As this Sunday comes to an end, we can take solace in our tiredness, knowing that it came from good, hard work and knowing that it's a good tired!

The Artist Within

Update - Mon, April 30

the missing Apples & Jugs - Acrylic

The Art Show was a resounding success - I sold Five paintings so was really pleased. I have noted the SOLD ones below.

Saturday - Apr 28, 2007

So today is our Annual Art Show and Sale for our local Art Club. Last Night we set everything up so I took pictures of all my submissions. Because many have asked me to send pictures, I have decided to blog (also many of your are wondering where I have been on my blog!!!!). This is one of the reasons!!

I note that I forgot to take a closeup of one picture (Apples and Jugs) so will add that one later today.

Enjoy the Show!




Board 1





Board 2








Board 3

Board 4

Fall Bounty - Watercolor

Welcoming the Morn -

Watercolor/Wax Resist on Rice Paper.

Sunflower - Watercolor

SOLD

Summer Bounty - Watercolor

Struggle - Watercolor

SOLD

Poppies - Watercolor/Wax Resist on Rice Paper


SOLD

Pond Beauty - Watercolor

Peppers and Jug - Acrylic

Onion Study - Watercolor

Ladies in Red II -

Watercolor/WaxResist on Rice Paper

SOLD

Ladies in Red I -

Watercolor/Wax Resist on Rice Paper

SOLD

Of Mice and Men

So now that the "three foot drift" has FINALLY melted, we have discovered that even in the dead of winter - life thrives!!!

"Click"

The little buggers lived under that drift travelling through their grassy paths in our lawn finding all sorts of delicious morsels to feast on!!

Like the little tree seedling that we found two years ago in mom's garden and lovingly nursed along!

If it isn't the deer in the summer browsing on my beans, it is the mice in the winter........

Sigh......

Can It Be!!

Can It Be!

Is the illusive season of Spring really here? According to the forecast, it just might be.

Looking out the window, the sun is shining, the ground is black, the birds are singing and I see the buds swelling on the shrubs.



Can It be that soon these buds will pop with that fresh, bright green that signifies spring is really here.



There are certainly other signs as well.










The three foot drift I believed would still be here in July has .....






............... just about melted away.










And of course it doesn't take long for the nasty harbingers of spring to spring up - WEEDS!

The snow is hardly melted and there is not only weeds growing, but they are already green and ripe for the picking.

And while this wonderful, new beginning is a most welcome event, it also brings with it the hard, cold fact that we have one HELL of a lot of work to do.

Someone came into the office yesterday with news that they had planted their sweet peas and their peas yesterday!


Crazy???




Well for those of us itching to feel the soil on our hands, it is a small price to pay to try it out.



A walk through the garden last night showed the tiny sprigs of the asparagus plant poking through the dirt - a sure sign that fresh asparagus is only a few weeks away.

I might shop for some seeds today!



Can it be that spring has FINALLY arrived??

SNIPS & SNAILS

What are little boys made of...

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dogs Tails.....

And so the childhood rhyme goes.

Perhaps Springtime finds of mud and water make for much more fun.

Sara and the kids came to visit for a few days and this afternoon the snow that fell overnight melted, the sun came out and it was tolerable to head outside, much to the delight of two housebound little people.

Of course the discovery of some water in the birdbath to wash ones hands in was tranformed into a gooey, mud puddle at its base.

Mud puddles and little ones seem to be made for one another, especially when running shoes were swapped for rubber boots. After a looooonnnnggg winter of ice and snow, playing in a mud puddle is so much fun.

Mark had a great time with all the rocks hauled with the sweat of the owners. He decided that many of these rocks were not where they should be and decided he would make his own garden of rocks.

He spent a good hour hauling stones from our dry creek bed to his little garden. I decided that if those rocks could be moved by a three year old and give him an hour of fun - then they could easily be moved back once they have gone home.

And pretty little girls dressed in pink - what are they made of.....

Why, Sugar and Spice and everything Nice.......

....... until her big brother made that mud puddle under the bird bath.....

Move those Mountains!!

So we travelled to Fernie through cloudy, cold weather all the way until we turned the corner at the Crowsnest Pass and there was the thing Alberta has been looking for for the past month.

SPRING!!!

The sky was blue, the sun was shining and there was virtually no snow.

When we stepped out of the truck, the warm breeze was a welcome respite from the biting cold winds back home.

We went for a walk, just soaking in the sunshine and feeling the soft, spring air. Obviously, spring is a rather new phenomonen here in Fernie as well as the playgrounds were crowded with kids, people crowded the downtown with bikes and strollers. Layers of clothing were piled in the Baby Stroller as we found our comfort level in the spring air.

It is coming Alberta, it is a mere 45 minutes away - if we can, we will pack it up with us on Monday and bring it back!

If we could just figure out how to Move Mountains!

My New Look

When I checked my Aunt's blog this morning, I found she had changed her template so I decided to check into changing mine.

I started looking around in blogger and found the section where you can try out various templates before making the change (I am sure it was there all the time, but me being such a computer illiterate just discovered it...or rediscovered it as I most likely was there when I set up my blog?????).

Anyhoo.... I had a great time going through all the choices and trying to decide what I wanted my blog to look like.

Change is good As the Seasons change (if they ever do!!!) we look forward to making that transistion from one season to the next - winter to spring, we put away the heavy clothes and look forward to the freedom that warmer (hopefully it comes!) weather brings.

So while we "patiently" wait for Mother Nature to change the weather, changing my blog template is one thing that I can control.

So take that Mother Nature!!!

Global Warming - Whither Art Thou??

IT'S APRIL 4, 2007


We are "supposedly" in a global warming crisis..............





This year is going to be "supposedly" the WORST hurricane season EVER!!! (not to mention that 2006 was supposed to be the worst and that sort of fell flat)



"Supposedly" man is destroying this planet and causing all manner of problems that are HEATING the earth









Hmmmmmm - As I sit here in Eastern Alberta typing this on APRIL 4! the snow is lightly falling outside, the dogs water is not only frozen solid, but has a layer of snow on top. It looks more like January outside than April. It first snowed in October - that means 7 months of snowy weather - more than half a year.







"Supposedly" it is to warm up by the weekend
and we MIGHT have spring.




SIGH......

These pictures (taken this morning - April 4, 2007) give credence to my "Global Warming Denier" status.



Of course the "Global Warming Enviro-wienies" , The Fruit Fly Guy and The Failed Presidential Candidate will all say this is proof of Global Warming because it is "not normal".



Riiiiiiggghhht.........



Well, I for one would like to have a little bit of that "Global Warming" visit our part of the world



Please!!

MOTHER NATURE'S BIG, FAT JOKE!!!

HA, HA, HA!!!!

So here it is - April 2, 2007 - and this is what we wake up to - not only that, but the temperature is more like December than April.

Sigh..........

Guess Mother Nature does have a sick sense of humour.