10" x 13"
Arches 140#CP
Sunset.
Day's end - the putting down of a rushed, intense busyness that marks this time of year. The last glimmers of an almost 'celebratory' completion of a day filled with cooking, wrapping, preparing, planning, and more cooking.
My Friday.
My Saturday.
And then -
Sunset!
That soul-lifting, heart-jumping joy of 'finished' - with a kitchen that still holds the aroma of the day's work. The amen and halleluhah of a good day of labor followed by sundown and the satisfaction of a long night's rest.
Sunset.
This painting began with a challenge posed by my friend Doris with permission from Taru to use her incredible capture (www.flickr.com/photos/taruski/6256283498/) to inspire a painting that both Doris (www.flickr.com/photos/djr-aquarelle/) and I would do. A most special thank you to Taru for the inspiration and the jaw-dropping beauty of her work! THANK YOU, Taru!! Please take a look at Taru's wonderful flickr stream! And check out Doris' alternative and spectacular approach! A really interesting aspect of imagery - to see the same scene through different eyes!
I began the painting after a two-day marathon of holiday baking and gift wrapping and completed the work yesterday. I took a more moody approach to the image, trying to capture that rosey, sienna light that marks the kind of sunsets I love best.
In writing my comments this early morning, with the last glint of moonlight in the west and the sunlight just rimming the east, the sense of celebration did indeed inspire the work ... as it truly marked the ending of two long, long days. It was indeed - my sunset - felt through every tired muscle! LOL I LOVE when life comes together like that!
Hope your Sunday is filled with celebration and all good things!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sunset - Thank you Taru!
Friday, December 09, 2011
Winter's Coming Landscape - Thank YOU Andrey Salikov!
9" x12"
Arches 140#CP
One should be careful for what one wishes. Our warm weather has disappared, and the freezing morning temperatures have arrived! And though I throw on an additional article of clothing -- it FEELS more like the season -- and I can begin to ready for the holidays with a more spirited soul.
My thanks to Andrey Salikov for inspiring this painting! Thank you Andrey! Please see his awesome flickr stream! www.flickr.com/photos/andrey_salikov/6441432041/in/photos... Andrey's view is of a frozen winter scene - and it looked so much like the view of my neighbor's farm that it begged to be painted! Thank you again, Andrey!
Here and there beech and oak leaves linger on the trees....but for the most part, the woodlands are bare save for the evergreens that seem to anchor the landscape. While the mornings are frigid, the afternoons warm to a wonderfully pleasant 50F to 60F. There is often fog in the morning, and often sunshine in the afternoons. Yesterday was one such marvelous day as we took our Plant a Row for the Hungry volunteers to see the Christmas decorations at our state's capitol and Governor's Mansion. What a treat!
There was a small crowd queing to go through the metal detectors before entering the stately home, but we moved quickly - and oh was it worth the wait! The main floor was decorated in high style - enormous Christmas trees from various North Carolina counties decked in different styles. Some were gold, some old-fashioned reds and greens, others, like the one tree in the sunroom and dedicated to our state's military, fashioned with children's drawings and ornaments in red, white and blue! Carolers were singing in one of the rooms and chandeliers, walls, doors, stairways were all swagged with our native greenery! Eye candy to be sure.
Our own wreath-making class the night before - see
www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100002973201572
made us even more aware of how rich our own woodlands and properties are for collecting an incredible variety of different greens and berries and using our native plants for decorations and wreaths.
We had a warm, talk-filled lunch, did a bit of holiday shopping, then returned to the college to finish out the day. A grand time for everyone - bringing this kindred group of generous volunteers even closer.
I got home late last night and began this weekend's busy commitments. Next week is the last workweek for most of our college employees (not me, sigh), and so it will be filled with gift exchanges, luncheons, and the like. I must have all my gifts, recipes, lunch items ready to take on Monday - so I'll be in the kitchen cooking, baking, and then wrapping and mailing gifts in order to get those delivered in time for Christmas. I won't have much painting time, but the house will smell divine! LOL
I hope your weekend is wonderful and filled with those memory-making scents of the holidays!
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Rose Hips Redeaux
9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP
Fickle weather this week -- for the last three days, we've had temps in the mid 70sF, sunshine and mild winds. The plants too are confused - and though they all need cutting back and readying for winter, here and there these same plants are sending up new shoots and blossoms!! YIKES! We have a cold front moving in tonight with rain and cooler temperatures -- and though I am the LAST one who wants to see -- or feel -- the cold - this lingering heat spell just seems out of season!
I suppose it's where one spends most of his or her time that determines what 'feels' like a normal seasonal weather. Growing up on the East Coast of the US, I'm used to four pretty distinct seasons -- winter, spring, summer, fall. Even when I moved to the South, I could still have a winter season -- milder and shorter, perhaps, but a winter - cold, grey, wet, and snow every once in a while. I like this sort of weather -- albeit for a short time -- but enough to be called 'winter.'
Winter for me is a calming and slowing down, a contemplative period when the sun doesn't quite beckon me out of doors, when the plants and animals can be left to slumber and hibernate -- and in a way -- so can I. Winter for me is a time of planning, a time to consider the year and activities ahead. And even though at work we hold classes all winter long, that frenzied feeling of spring and summer activities just isn't there. Quite truthfully, I need a bit of winter to recuperate from the activities of the past year, and rest up for those to come -- don't you? Right now, I am longing for fireside cups of coffee, cuddling up with a good book, retreating to my art table for more than a few minutes at a time... and winter seems to provide just the 'excuse' I need to do these things -- bring it on! (ahem ... but only for a short while ...it doesn't take me long to miss the sun!! LOL)
So that brings us to rose hips. There are still some lingering on the bushes ... provider of vitamin C, bright berries for the birds, and wonderful color amid all the sere foliage. I painted this view of rose hips a while back and the painting found its way to a new home. I enjoyed painting it and so, with warm weather still around me, I repainted the view .... adding a bit more leaves ....perhaps my bit of a nod to the unseasonable weather ... and making the painting as bright as the sun has been this week.
Today we make our wreaths. The workshop has been sold out for weeks and we've a full house. I'll be glad for cooler weather coming later this week - it will help keep our fresh greens brighter and longer lasting. AND it will feel more like winter...!
Monday, December 05, 2011
Holly - Time to Gather the Greens
9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP
Already the first days of December are behind us, and the days seem to shorten as cold returns and daylight disappears. It's after 7:00 am Eastern Standard Time before the first glimmer of sunlight breaks the cloak of dark and merely 4:00 pm EST when the sun begins its decent and evening begins to creep back. Add to this scant bit of 'day' the hustle and rush of the season.... the frenzy of preparations, decorations, purchasing, cooking, finishing up, closingup of the year ... and the days collapse into seemingly mere moments of time.
While it's true that daylight is shortening with the winter solstice is only weeks away, it seems that the FEEL of time is shortening as well. I took an incredible Anthropology class when I was an undergraduate - "The Reckoning of Time" - and how different cultures around the world sense and calculate time. Fascinating. And there's that marvel of a book "Einstein's Dreams' by Alan Lightman where ever few pages, time is being lived in different ways -- like we do - from past to future, or perhaps like in the movie Ground Hog Day - repetitive, etc. etc. Again -- fascinating and imaginative.
But think about it ... each of us lives the same 24 hours - but does every day FEEL the same way? For me, when I'm sad or disappointed, the same hour seems to DRAG and the clock click so v e r y s l o w l y. But when I'm in the flow of painting ... the same hour FLIES by! So .. time... and its reconing .. and its FEEL.
All this to say - it's that holiday "time"....
And for me it's marked with evergreens and berries. My holly trees are chockful of bright red berries and the shiny, pointed, prickly leaves that seem to mark the season. Today we 'gather in the greens' - holly, red cedar, wax myrtle, pine, cryptomeria, juniper, spruce, fir, boxwood, magnolia, ivy, hemlock, bay, boxwood, arborvitae, and pods, cones and berries such as pyracantha and holly berries, and more as we prepare for our wreath making class on Wednesday.
The time will fly as we stalk the woodlands and gardens seeking those plants that will decorate our doors. We'll be noting the wonderful fragrance of the evergreens and the bright berries that will brighten our eyes (and wreaths) with joyful color.
'Tis the season -- and time to gather the greens! But hurry --- time is aflyin'!
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Winter in the Country
9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP
Nope, still no snow -- but THINKING about it as the holidays approach.
The cold welcomes me each morning, and though the temps rise nicely during the day, by 4:00 pm, the cold returns - seemingly even more frosty than the morning with the sudden drop. Still, I favor a bit of cooling these days, as it seems more 'holiday-ish.' I find it difficult to sing Christmas carols when I'm in short sleeves and flip-flops! So, I dream of snow, and imagine that the morning frost is really an inch or two of the white stuff, and the fleeting frozen dew stays on the ground long enough to create a winter wonderland. And what's even more fun ..... as picture-makers -- we can paint what our hearts see ... and not just our eyes! LOL
We begin our holiday cooking today as well, and a bit of decorating. My chores, except a few for work, are about done, and so the weekend can be filled with holiday preparations.
The sun is shining, the frost is quickly disappearing, and the clock is moving swiftly ....
Hope your day and weekend are wonderful.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Pair of Teasels
1/8 Sheet
Arches 140#CP
"The color, we say, is gone, remembering vivid October and verdant May. What we really mean is that the spectacular color has passed and we now have the quiet tones of Winter around us, the browns, the tans, a narrower range of greens, with only an occasional accent in the lingering Winter berries. But the color really isn't gone. The meadow is sere tan....the bronze curve of the goldenrod...the cinnamon seed head of the pungent bee balm....the white parentheses of the stark birches...bronze tuffs of one-winged seeds...of the box elder..." (Hal Borland - 'Sundial of the Seasons'
One of my most influencial nature writers - Hal Borland - was once a columnist for the New York Times. He died in 1978, so his books and words have been keeping me company and helping me 'see' the world around me for many, many years.
I like to start my day (when I'm home) with one of his 'journal' entries, In his book 'Sundial of the Seasons' these entries are daily and mark the progression of the seasons day by day as he saw them in his Northeastern home. Some days, like today, his sentiments echo the words I'm searching for, the observations I too have made - his pen far more eloquent than my own.
When I finish one of Hal's passages, I find myself a bit more aware of the world around me, better able to approach a new artwork with a heightened sense of 'seeing.'
Do you have books or music or words to inspire your paintings and creative work? I'd love to hear them ....
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Fall Flowers - Almost All Gone
9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP
December 1 -- and yet here and there in my own garden and at the Arboretum, I can find flowers that have not yet succumbed to the frost and cold. A few knock-out roses, some of my red verbena, clematis, and here and there, since it has been so warm during the day -- a few IRIS have been fooled into blooming!
These fall flowers were painted more in memory than in reality - as all of my daisylike flowers are slumbering for the winter. I wanted to paint something somewhat soft while using my splash and splatter approach. These remind me of some of those wonderful Thanksgiving bouquets that bright such cheer to the season.
Our soap crafting class was a BLAST! Oh my gracious -- so much going on - great creations, wonderful scents, herbs, ideas, and everyone went home with gifts for the holiday. We've been asked to hold another class so we'll probably do that in January. It was a late night, as expected, and so I'll be dragging as we weed the Plant a Row beds this morning and collect more of our cole crops for the hungry.
Hope your day is terrific!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Snow to Come ? - Memories of Last Year's Snow
1/4 Sheet
Arches 140#CP
No, no snow here, just the cold and damp following our heavy rains yesterday. Instead of white, our world is grey and only those long-clinging leaves on the oaks and beech trees give our evergreen woodlands a bit of autumnal memory.
Snow fell in our mountains, and according to 'weather signs' - like the inside of persimmons seeds, we're to have a snowy winter. I like snow -- of course - when I don't have to shovel it, when the power holds, when I don't have to go out in it. So in the warmth of my office and no snow in the forecast, I can DREAM of snow, remember it from last year, and anticipate its falling this winter.
It's been a busy, productive week - designing portions of the ethnobotanic garden, preparing a wreath as a sample for our class, year-end reports and the like. Tonight, we hold our soap crafting class - and if it goes like those in the past, it will be a late, late night --- but a lot of good, clean fun! LOL
Temps will remain cold today but the sun should be up soon ...
Hope your day is bright!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunflowers for a Rainy Day
1/8 Sheet
Arches 140#CP
The weather has turned cooler with rain, rain, rain and more rain - and this early in the morning (6:00 am EST) the dark is so DARK that the roads, especially with the precipitation, were difficult to navigate. I thought we might all be enjoy a bit of sunshine this morning in the form of some splash and splatter sunflowers.
I enjoy doing these types of paintings --- the freedom of splashing paint, the finding of form, the negative painting. It must be like the work of sculptors, in a way, the carving out of a 'thing' from the surrounding 'confusion.' Very meditative.
While we're having rain in our part of North Carolina, our mountains - four hours west of me - are having snow. Snowfall seems a bit late to the ski industry there, so we're hoping this snowfall will bring kick off the season for them.
Hope your day is sunny and bright!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Riverside Trees - Luminescence - THANK YOU Denis Collette!
1/8 Sheet
Arches 140#CP
Frosty, gray mornings greet me this time of the year - and early mornings smell like winter on the wind. My friends to the north already have experienced snowfall - and it is especially around the holidays, that I begin my annual 'pining' for snow.
I have to make do with the frost - and your inspirational images - right now! I owe a special thanks to my friend, Denis Collette for allowing me to paint from his image of luminescence (www.flickr.com/photos/deniscollette/5214285398/).... THANK YOU, Denis! I have been admiring this capture since LAST November - and tried and tried to paint it without any success. Finally, my muse decided to be kind, and sat on my shoulder as I rendered this interpretation of winter trees, riverside. I LOVE Denis' work- there's a fabulous sparkle and light to them that is such a challenge in watercolor. Still, I hope I was able to capture a bit of the 'magic' I see in his incredible photography!
Though rain is in the forecast, snow is the furthest thing from reality for us. Temps reached 70F yesterday, and our visit to the JC Raulston Arboretum found roses, flowering maples, camellias and more still blooming like colorful candy!
And yet,
THIS morning, the sun waits behind pink/gray clouds and the woodland trees are somber in melancholy - and I wait
for the snows
to come.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Frosty Grasses - THANK YOU Nancy Rose!
1/8 Sheet
Arches 140#CP
The mornings have really become schizophrenic these days. Upon awakening some mornings, the air is so warm that I'm reluctant to put on long sleeves and a sweater. Others, like this painting inspired by Nancy Rose's marvelous photograph (www.flickr.com/photos/nancyandwayne/6316312568/in/photost...) make me want to crawl back into bed and turn on the electric blanket! Frost covers the ground - making our sienna fields look as though we've had an early snow. There's a decided CRUNCH to the icy frostiness on those days - but acting as changeable as the wind, mornings that begin with a CRUNCH often end with soft winds and air conditioning ... and temperatures in the 60sF! Mercy!
Still, this game of see-saw will soon end. The trees have shed their cloaks and only those hardy evergreens and the persistent leaf clinging by a few oaks and beeches remain. In our area of North Carolina, pine trees dominate the landscape as do magnolia, red cedar and wax myrtle - so one can easily overlook all the bareness above those treelines. Still, the somber grey of tree bark and the olive evergreens will be our landscape palette for the next several months. Already, I am missing fall.
Thank you once more, Nancy for your inspiration!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
1/8 Sheet
Arches 140#CP
Dawn is just breaking this chill Thanksgiving morning. With the leaves off the trees, I can now folllow the path the sun takes around the rim of my property - lighting first the eastern trees by the garage - moving westward around the back of the house - and if I linger too long at my computer - right into the window of my office.
Today we celebrate Thanksgiving - a most appropriate time to stop and give thanks for the many blessings in our lives. A traditional celebration centers on roast turkey, sweet potatoes, greens, cranberries, pumpkin pie - so many of these foods that our first peoples - Native Americans - gave to the world.
It is also a day to enjoy the deserved rest following the seasons of growth, maintenance, harvest, preserving - a bit of celebration for the work of the year and the larders we filled.
It is a time of family and friendship - a time to enjoy the blessings of relationships, the kindnesses and the giving.
It is a particularly difficult day for those alone, for those who are hungry, cold, sad....and so for those with plenty to be grateful for - may hearts be a bit more open to share and to help....
We give thanks for so much ...
I give thanks as well -- for you --- for your kindnesses, encouragement, comments, awards - friendships. So often we cannot know the ripple effect of a simple smile, a 'GREAT JOB', a friendly note. These bits of ourselves, given so freely and generously may encourage a struggling soul overcome a hard time, get past an illness, a sadness, a bit of trouble. And we share that with our words, with our art.
And so on this day of giving thanks, I thank each of you - for carrying me through a journey we share, an expressive art we love, and a place that brought us together.
Happy Thanksgiving..........you have filled my 'cupboard' with so many blessings ....
May we open the doors ...
And share with those who may be in need ...
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Fall Walk - THANK YOU - Fossibear!
9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP
A quiet pause in the day
Save the scuffles
of leaves under
our feet ....
My sincere appreciaton to Fossibear for allowing me to paint from his incredible work ....!Please stop by to visit his wonderful flickr stream (www.flickr.com/photos/fossibear/)!
Our walk through the park this weekend graced us with a quiteness that we haven't experienced there in a long while. There were no ball games, no soccer games, not too many other walkers... just that rare autumnal hush that seems to quiet time and surround us with a long sigh. Only our feet making their way through leaf litter made any sound ....
Back to work and though a short week for the Thanksgiving holidays, it's been busy with meetings, budgets, planning meetings, and more changes. Somehow the immersion back to the workweek makes a week of art seem ages ago! LOL
We're in for some rain today and tomorrow, but the temperatures have -- including the flowering shrubs -- confused. Last week, we needed winter jackets and mittens; this week, our students are in shorts and flip flops ... and instead of readying for the winter, so many plants are putting out another flush of growth.
I'm having some computer issues at work, making comments and viewing difficult. I hope these will be remedied soon.
Hope your day is wonderful!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Fall Waters - Fransen - "A Walk in the Woods"
9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP
Getting the colors right on my screen for this painting has been a real challenge ... the wonderful reds and yellows in the painting itself seem to make the scanner go crazy!! (Maybe it too loves autumn!! LOL) Nonetheless, my thanks to Fran for the inspiration and the autumn view (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fahansen/6336108819/in/photostream) -- her photograph that literally had me YEARNING to join her for a walk in these woodlands! Blessings and thanks once more, Fran!!!
Our workshop has been a blend of demonstrations and painting with critiques ...an interesting way of learning. Each of us choose our own images and we were encouraged to have Freeman critique and assist. I've had a good amount of time to paint, which has been a blessing in itself...and I've throughly enjoyed the week. Like most things, I truly hate to see it end!
The rain is behind us, but oh my, my woodlands no longer look like this painting. Bare trees are ever more visible, and the leaf litter at my feet is inches high. Temps are supposed to climb a bit this weekend -- another tease of fall ...but the loss of color in the landscape is more prediction of winter.
Hope your day is great!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Sunset - Moment of Magnificence - Thank You Fran!
9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP
A Moment of Magnificence - inspired by Fran's fabulous photograph (www.flickr.com/photos/fahansen/6333363505/in/photostream) ... please stop by her flickr stream to see some wonderful, wonderful photos! THANK YOU Fran for the inspiration!!
My watercolor classes are going well - it's always interesting to see how different folks approach a painting ...! I LOVE Freeman's work (fbeardart.com/) - he makes it look so simple! LOL We've painted snow (will post soon), and yesterday we watched him paint a waterfall ...last, he'll demonstrate painting fall scenes. We paint today and I have a photo of mine that I'd like to attempt -- fingers crossed.
The weather's turned cold ... and we've had some good rain. With each bluster of the wind, more and more leaves fall ... and I am startled each time I look up to see so many branches losing their cloak of color ....
I can hardly believe that the holidays are upon us .. and with each advertisement, I'm beginning to panic to get some holiday shopping done.
And yet,
And yet,
I want to linger - longer still - in the remaining colors of fall ....
I so LOVE this season!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Sunup on the Lake - Carpe Diem - Nancy Rose
9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP
A special thank you to my dear friend Nancy Rose, whose incredible photography inspired this painting. Please check out her photostream ! Most amazing work! www.flickr.com/photos/nancyandwayne/6309202927/in/photost...
This image of Nancy's so reminds me of North Carolina - though she lives miles and miles north of me. There's a wonderful bond among flicker-ites I think - when they share places of home or of things they love. There's a kind of resonance that speaks louder than words that melts the miles and makes the world a bit smaller. Thank you, Nancy, for this part of your world that can now be so much a part of mine.
The workshop went well yesterday - we had a demonstration and -- homework! This part of the week we're focused on snow -- and though we get only a few days of it during the year, it's such a special time for us when the while fluff doth fall. So today we return with our value sketches and we'll paint. It's a small group of ten women - most of us know a few of the others, so already there's some instant camaraderie. Some are beginning their painting journey, others are looking to try something different, still others are there to learn how to make improvements to their work. It's a good group.
Temperatures are in the 60s and 70sF again - seems so fickle and a bit of a challenge to imagine bare trees and blankets of white. I've pulled out some of my photographs from last winter and know in my soul that those cold, icy days aren't too far away.
Still, lingering on the porch in only a sweater was an absolute delight -- one more day without bundling up and having the heater run.
Hope you have a day of sunshine and creativity. And thank you for your most kind comments and invitations. They are most sincerely appreciated!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Purple Pansies
9" X 12"
Arches 140#CP
Despite the cold and frosty nights, these purple pansies are still peeking out from the leaf litter and adding a violet element to all the fall golds and reds. What I love most about pansies is not only their bright colors, but mercy, are they ever hardy! I planted these in early summer - and they've survived drought, torando, hurricane, hard, pounding rain, and now the first bit of frost. They won't last much longer -- but their seeds will be strewn wily nily around the property, and I'll probably find some of these purple pretties in the lawn, across to the vegetable beds, and hopefully, in other spots in my 'wild' flower garden. Whatever, it will be a marvelous surprise!
Today I begin my weeklong classes with Freeman Beard (fbeardart.com/). I'm looking forward to this week of art immersion as well as looking at landscapes with a 'new' eye. It should be fun -
Temps this week are on the rise again, teasing us once more with the last sighs of fall. Leaves are drying now, so when the wind blows, there's a wonderful rustling melody to the ear. Underfoot, the drying leaves have a definite CRUNCH, and in the mornings, wood smoke evokes feelings of warmth and coziness.
There is so much sensuosity to this season ... tart apples, brilliant leaves, wood smoke, crunching foliage, the nip of frost ....
And always, the fleeting nature of it all ...
Catch it while we can!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Church in the Mountains
9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP
This painting was done for a workshop I'll be taking next week with Freeman Beard (http://fbeardart.com/). I"m looking forward to the workshop and working with landscapes for an entire week! After the last busy four months and the busy weeks that will follow, this weeklong respite and focus on art will be, I hope, most restorative for me and reenergize my creative side.
This painting is from a photo Freeman took while in Asheville, NC. His image was from the summer, and I wanted to focus a bit on the colorful season of fall.
As I look out my window this morning, those magnificent vertical boles of woodland trees are becoming more and more evident. Their splendid gowns of burgundy and gold now lie at their feet as if the trees were too tired to hang their dresses after the fun of the autumn ball.
When I fed the kitties this morning, there was ice in their bowl, and in my garden frost rimes the verbena. There are a few roses still struggling through the growing cold, and next week, our temps will tease us with yet again with warm breath....but the earth has made its annual turn, and autumn will soon slumber for another year.
In the stores, we are reminded that Christmas is less than 8 weeks away ...and like the roses, I am reluctant to see the end of autumn's splendor. I suppose that is the melancholy of fall - its short-lived, vibrant celebration of spring and summer's work, and the magnificent display of its harvest joy.
Still, like all creatures and Nature herself, winter is the time for rest, recuperation, the rebuilding of energy for another year. It too has its beauty ...but I have never been easy with goodbyes ....not even to seasons.
Today I hope to return to the art table and hopefully I'll find my muse patiently waiting for me. The busyness of the last months has made painting - and getting into that glorious 'flow' of the process - mighty challenging. Perhaps today, she'll whisper in my ear, and sit on my shoulder, and linger a while ...
Hope she joins you too! Have a great weekend!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Seasonal Grapes
9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP
Tis the season for these luscious orbs -- and after last night's class on fruit trees and berries -- I'm ready to plant even more! Here in North Carolina, muscadine grapes grow naturally - and many varieties are not only coming to market for the table, but even more are being grown for our expanding wine industry.
This morning our volunteers will harvest the cole crops we planted eight weeks ago -- brussel sprouts, lettuce, cabbage, turnips, carrots, mustards, collards ...we've been using 'floating row' covers - soft, woven netting that covers the plants - keeping out insects and also keeping the plants a bit warmer than the surrounding air. This method has worked well for us to help avoid insecticide use and also extended the season.
The last bit of warm days this week tease us like a lingering caress ...morning's chill reminds me that the sharp pangs of winter are on their way. Winds are rising and the beautiful kaleidescopic colors are quickly undressing the trees and returning to them in the form of next year's nutrition.
Let's savor this last bit of fall ...it won't be around for long.
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Rico Montenegro, Fruit Tree Planting Foundation and Me
What a glorious, spectacular, incredible day yesterday! Seventy-eight people showed up for the celebration, and more than half remained to plant our 43 fruit trees!
The day was warm, sunshiney, and filled with fall color all adding to the celebration! The media was there, dignitaries, and volunteers, all enjoying the day and the time outdoors.
The project was an award from Dreyer's (Edy's Fruit Bars) and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. We were one of 20 projects awarded fruit tree orchards this year. Folks from the granting agencies worked with us to secure the trees, our staff and students worked to prepare the grounds, and everyone from hortictulure students from JCC and another college, to Plant a Row for the Hungry volunteers, staff and friends all dug, planted, mulched and installed irrigation to the trees. At the end of the day, Rico gave us a fruit tree lecture - and tonight, we will learn more about those trees and berries that grow well in North Carolina.
Of course, we all were refreshed with Edy's fruit bars -- perfect for the 75 degree weather -- and fresh apples!
It's been a busy,busy time -- but in a few years, those trees will bear the fruits that will go to the hungry in our community - and extend this amazing gift.