All About Wildflowers

Hi there,

I've noticed that certain wildflowers like to create a statement by growing in great drifts. The trout lilies form a carpet and Solomon's Seal seem to drift like clouds through the woodlands. On a good year, they are a sight to behold. But there are several varieties of wildflowers here that I have yet to see. For example, I 'd love to see a yellow Lady Slipper and the Bluebells.

One of my co-workers used to bring Mayflowers to work. What a heavenly scent! I may be able to find them in the woods along the Parkway. I hope to go exploring there this year. In the meantime, I decided to create a few wildflowers of my own.

                                                                   Wild Geranium

Ontario's flower: the Trillium

 Definitely hands on. Since it won't wash off, I'm hoping it will wear off by, say, July.  :)

                                                     Gift tags and envelopes.

                        Trout Lily ~ sienna and black ink on Strathmore mixed media cards.

I ended up carving two trilliums stamps. Apparently, precision counts.

 

      White gel pen on Strathmore paper.

            Wildflowers: Solomon's seal, Trout lily, Trillium, Bloodroot, Turk's cap lilies, ferns, and a Monarch butterfly.

Just now, I hear the geese overhead. Music to my ears. ( Running to and throwing open the window.) I heard them a few times recently. They are flying home for the season.

Next: A sample of what was and is yet to be. 'Yet to be?'

Sounds familiar? Googling.  Ah yes. I remember now. "The best is yet to be." Robert Browning's full quote: "Come and grow old with me. The best is yet to be." Lovely! ( But I digress...)

                                                               Solomon's Seal
                           

                                       "Do you suppose she's a wildflower?", said the daisy.

From Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ~ Lewis Carroll

"Wildflowers are the stuff of my heart."
Lady Bird Johnson

* * *

And finally, to give a nod to the green. A Shamrock ~ Happy St. Patrick's Day!

'Til next time, lovely people. . .Cultivate your dreams.

Spring Forward

With March's arrival, we the Hyperboreans, or northern folk can officially begin to think about spring.  Just knowing it is on the way makes all the difference. But even though, in these parts, spring takes its time, longer days do lighten the mood. (You notice happier people where ever you go.)

For the people on the eastern seaboard, March roared in like a lion. Unfortunately, that roar was a nor'easter with fierce wind gusts that brought power outages and storm surges. Here, further inland, March skipped in like a playful lamb, and a light wind, seemingly from all directions at once, whirled the snowflakes about. However, the old adage usually holds true:  If March comes in like a lamb it will go out like a lion and vice versa.

More beautiful downy flakes and, surprisingly, each one is uniquely different.

Huddled down in my creativity corner, my snowdrop fascination turned into another watercolour painting, and, then, I moved on to carving stamps and other things.

Paper ~  Flip side of Molin du Roy 140 lb paper.

                                                         Blue tulips, of course.

                                 Sketchbook doodles. Stillman and Birn sketchbook ~ Zeta series.

Watercolour ink blot test. Care to tell us what you see?

Splashes of colour from a $3.00 set of washable watercolour paints. ( An impulse buy just for the fun of it.) Rather waxy, but the paint does not run together, thus no muddy colours.  Brilliant!
Great for kids.

The Ocean.

For this painting on a birch panel, I used Tri Art's liquid glass and acrylic paints. It dries with a shiny hard finish--no need for spray varnish.

I did cast on a hat with Brooklyn tweed yarn. Click here to see the pattern. I am not sure how well the pattern will show up in this colour--time will tell. I do dream of knitting lace though, so I may put the hat away until fall.

                                               A gift that will stay in bloom for weeks to come.
                                                                       I love this colour.

         

                         
                                                  And greenery...Ferns are my favourite.  

When I was a child, I often tiptoed away to the head of the woods to stare at the lush green ferns. For me, they were then and still are a feast for the spirit.

Speaking of greenery, mail order seed packets are on the way. I am determined to have a bevy of blooming sweet peas this summer.  Wish me luck!

 And the good news: this weekend we move the clocks ahead by an hour.
 
Thank you for reading along...  

                                             Cultivate your dreams, girlfriends. 
                                                  They really do come true!

                                                 

The View From Here

Outside . . .

Hello beauties! 

Doe a deer a female deer. 👀

All bluster along the river.

The yellow weeping willows.

Inside . . .

Lately, I've had the urge to knit something. Awhile ago, I bought two skeins of Brooklyn Tweed yarn, so I may knit one of their hats. In the meantime, besides a bit of seed planting, and stamp making, I've been drawing and painting flowers.

At the moment, I have snowdrops on my mind. Must be that spring thing creeping up on me again.  I'd love to see a snowdrop. Besides white, I did notice that, these days, there are amazing yellow and pink ones, too. 

Last fall, I looked for snowdrop bulbs, but didn't find any. If all goes well, and I can find them I will order some by mail next fall and try to force them. Forcing requires about 12 weeks of cool temperatures. A small fridge should work, although they can't be cooled near fruit.

I tried both sides of the Moulin du Roy 300 lb. watercolour paper for the Himalayan poppies. Another beautiful flower that I've never seen. I'm still not sure which side of the paper I like best, although the right side seems a bit more vibrant.( Yes, I am still arguing with paper. Fabriano was sooo perfect!)

I just noticed I am missing a flower stock. :)

Flower doodles.

💖

 (If you've been watching When Calls the Heart, season 5 starts Feb 18th. I can't wait!)

 My last Amaryllis for the season.

Enjoy the week . . .😘