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Kirchner, Flowers, Still Life This was my first attempt.  I realized after taking the photo that the background at the top was too severe and should not be dividing the space exactly in half. I was going for a "path of light," which is something I also have been working on in my watercolor paintings. Leave it to Pamela to point out that the pale gray background did not work to portray the light. I used a dark blue as a background behind the flowers on the right. She said that in the light, the dark blue would become a pale blue. Here is her "tweaked" version.  She converted the white blank space to a window, which would be a source of light. I had not even imagined this as an interior still life. But doesn't that solve the problem? So then, I remembered the principle of phototropism. Flowers lean toward the source of light. So I redid the flowers, too.  I am pretty happy with this piece, and will probably stitch and quilt it. I bought a pair of hiking sandals to take to Hawaii. They are Keen Whisper sandals. You can't tell in this sunlit photo, but the straps are a pale lime green!  I thought I better try them out before we go, so I took Kasey to the sprawling Joyner park in Wake Forest. I had to wear socks because it was only about 45 degrees F. It was a gorgeous sunny day without a cloud in the sky. This park is a former family farm. There are acres of paved trails that wind through grassy fields, around a pond, along the woods and a creek, and into the old farm house and barns.  There are many ancient oaks.  Along one section of trails, there is a wonderful low stone fence. I noticed a pair of bluebirds sunning themselves on the warm stones. Here is the male.  As we walked along the trail, he kept moving farther down the wall, until he finally flew to this small tree.  And he kept moving just ahead of us.  In the vast open spaces of this park, they have provided metal benches with interesting shapes.  When I took grandkids Lily and Avery to this park, they didn't like it because there was no playground. But it certainly is ideal if you want a beautiful place to walk or ride your bike. I think Kasey would like to go every day because of all the trails and the new smells. She has her nose to the ground all the time, and snorts like a pig rooting up truffles. There is a lot of construction at the other end of our street at home. She got hold of a chicken wing left over from someone's lunch the other day and chomped the whole thing down.  Last night I took her out the front door for "last call" about 11:30 PM. I was astonished to see a herd of nine deer crossing our yard, one at a time. Kasey took off after them, but came right back when I called her. She is a good dog despite her proclivity to eat garbage off the side of the road. I have never had a dog that would come back until it was good and ready. |
and we got caught in the rain during our errands.
Yup, that's my gnarly hand that I tried to draw the other day! Lily caught her first fish.
Of course, all the fish got thrown back in.
A pair of bluebirds has produced a bumper crop of eggs in their nesting box. I don't know that we have ever had five eggs in the same brood. 
Our bluebird box has a hinged door that you can open to view the nest. Today, Mama and Papa Bluebird were very unhappy when I opened the door. I was being dive-bombed as I tried to take the picture. Usually they just fly off to a nearby tree and watch. They are probably my second-favorite songbirds.
Although the seasons are usually several weeks behind us in the mountains, there were definite signs of spring, including the daffodils I planted along the driveway.
