Monday, March 12, 2018

into a new week


Hold onto your hat, Ms. Piper!



Apparently we are to expect more of this in the middle of the week:




I don't think I'll be putting away my high boots any time soon.

~~~

Meanwhile, in the "Spring will come!" department: my order from Sow True Seed has arrived, with all my 2018 vegetable seeds except pole beans and turnips, because STS doesn't carry the varieties I've chosen. I also bought flower seeds when they were on sale at a local store: zinnias and sunflowers. Color? Yes, please.

This year I plan to start several things indoors from seed, so I won't be tempted to buy plants. (Unless I find that amazing, velvety, nearly-brown Rudbeckia again. If I ever find that again, I will certainly buy it.) The last time I started a few vegetables indoors, we had a wet, cold Spring and they got leggy before I could transplant. Fingers crossed for an easier transition this year.

It seems like a long time before we'll be seeing flowers in the gardens here in Massachusetts, so I've been sketching flowers from photographs. Like these primroses:


And this iris.


I've been trying to draw an iris for several years now.
I think this is as close as I've come to being satisfied with the result.
Not very satisfied.
Will keep trying!


And finally, this is a terrible photograph, but I'm sharing it with you because it's also wonderful: the first bluebird I've seen on my property.


Ever.
~~~

Here's hoping for a week of wonderful firsts!

And wishing a huge snowfall to my friends in Colorado.

~~~~~

10 comments:

  1. Goodness, you've still got some weather! Mrs Britain and I spent most of yesterday pruning... So THAT'S what a bluebird looks like! Blue. Despite the famous song with the line, "There'll be bluebirds over, the White Cliffs of Dover.." we don't actually get them over here.

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    1. Bluebird population plummeted here in the late 20th c, and has been coaxed back up through conservation and protection efforts. I never saw bluebirds as a kid, but in recent years see them where people have put up nestboxes in open fields and tried to deter house sparrows from killing the bluebirds.
      Blue, yes...but also red in tooth and claw!

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  2. Lovely bluebird! They winter over here, in the Preserve, but I can't get in to hike, snow, downed trees! So thank you for the picture.

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    Replies
    1. I didn't realize that some overwinter here in MA. I don't know if this is an early return or an overwinterer. New things to learn!

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  3. Color! I keep hoping to see bluebirds, but none yet. I love your primroses. That is really pretty!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sally! I'm enjoying working from photographs - they hold still and can be enlarged to be better seen - but looking forward to outdoor sketching again also :)

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  4. An, a bluebird! Irises are hard to photograph too! I love your drawing. You can have infinite depth of field when you draw. That makes a big difference!

    Thanks for your snow wishes- not yet.

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  5. Wow - a bluebird! I've never seen one for real so I definitely envy you this sighting - and so lucky that you were able to get a photo.

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