Fog

The April rains are here. Friday morning work began in the drip and the fog. We could not see the gorge at all even though we are perched on the edge of the gorge in Blowing Rock. By noon we could see Grandfather Mountain from the parking deck of the garden we were working on. The scene changed by the minute as the fog receded into the gorge.

It has been like this all week, cold and misty in the morning, warm and steamy in the afternoons.

Completing the week of garden labor here, I get a surge of gratitude for where I am and what I do. It is a breathtaking movie of nature in action.



Somehow, in spite of all the physical labor the season demands, I am painting a bit. I have been sketching and painting my Saucer Magnolia blooms. I first cut them in bud two weeks ago and brought them inside. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to paint them if they got frozen. Once I brought them in and put them in water, they opened so rapidly it was hard to sketch them fast enough before they changed. I rarely get to see the unfolding so closely. I ended up with many sketches and several washes and colored pencil renderings by the time the process was over.




These are done in my Moleskin watercolor books. I use them to paint studies of whatever is blooming in my garden over the course of the season in the evenings after work as I wait for my dinner to cook. Very fun....

My garden is bursting with color, every day something new emerges. Kitty watches it all from the living room window.

I have a nice pile of mulch waiting in my driveway to be spread.

But today, the New Moon day is rainy and quiet. Rest and a Reike session are on tap. Yay!