The next Generation

Meet Miss Barrie Ann Walker. 

She is hard at work at her mother's nursery getting it ready for Halloween.

She has been raised on the job these last 19 months.  She is the sixth generation of gardening women in our family. Her Aunt and grandmother are professionals, as well as her Mom.

 She keeps pet guinea hens and a chicken  in a pen in the back of the nursery.  

When customers come in she greets them with a friendly 'Hey!' Just like her Mom. She takes the visiting children to see the hens, so the parents can talk shop. 

On the hot days you can find her feeding the fish in the ponds, or cooling off in a fountain. 

I would say, she loves her job. 

Her Great-Great Grandmother, Winifred Vermilion, gardened and raised chickens like no other in her day in El Paso Texas. Barrie's great grandmother Aubrey, grew roses. 

Barrie's grandmother grew me to love nature, allowing me to spend my childhood adventuring in the outdoors with little supervision or restraint.

Her mother, by age six could plant dead squash plants and bring them  back to life. 

Her Aunt Airynee has fairies that hover around her feet as she walks amongst the gardens. 

I love this sweet and tough little soul who already promises to be  remarkable in her own special way. Gardening is in her DNA. I am pretty certain she can see and talk to fairies, like her Great Aunt Vanna, my sister. 

Everyday is an adventure

I used to tell my employees working with me in the gardens that everyday was an adventure.

It truly was.  I have always found myself in challenging situations and enjoyed the always great results at the end of the day. 

Last weekend was no different. Although, I wasn't gardening or hiking, I was campaigning for Senator Obama. I have never donated to a political campaign before. The amounts of money they work with is mind boggling to me and I figured they really didn't need my sweat and blood cash. But the insanity of this election year has caused me to actually send in some money and volunteer as well. I thought, why not get to know some of my neighbors here in town and see if I can help out. 

So I showed up at the local mall, which really isn't a mall, though I do take art classes there, where the Obama campaign has an office. There was a young woman, Katy from Illinois there to meet with and show me what to do. This girl was amazing! So bright and informed and organized. 

She went over how to register voters and ask about their concerns and who they may vote for. Since I was the only person to show up she let me have my pick of areas to visit, so I picked Bradford Mountain Road. Did I mention that I have never campaigned before or that I am in a very religious and republican area?  I am. So, I drive off by myself, because no one else showed up, with my maps and voter addresses, less than a quarter tank of gas (This was the weekend there was no gas in Western North Carolina) and headed into an area I had never been before. I loved the names of the roads I would be visiting, like Mystery Trail, and Rural Retreat, so what the heck, I was on an adventure. Even though, I was feeling alone and somewhat disturbed that they didn't send us out in groups. Fortunately a lot of the people weren't home. Especially the ones in the more scary looking houses and trailers. I dropped off pamphlets and ran from those.

I did hop out of my car at one run down trailer and was halfway to the door when a man came out rather aggressively.  So I said 'Hey How ya doin, my name is'......and started the conversation. 

He said "Isn't that guy a N......?  At that point I didn't really know what to say and started waving my arms around and said 'Well half and half really, but I think he has the potential to become a great leader'. I asked if he was registered to vote and he said no, I'm a felon. By this time I'm thinking I'm way over my head, this place could be a Meth lab, who knows..... but I kept talking.  

It actually turned into a good conversation, and we agreed that the world needed some help right about now. I suggested he not let color hold him back and we waved goodbye. 

I talked with another woman who was firmly for Mr McCain, so I filled out my form and said so you're voting for the same?"   'Yes Maam'  she replied. I thanked her for listening to me and for her time.

 

Some of the other McCain people just shut the door in my face saying 'I don't want to talk to you'. We had a special code to circle for each type of response...that one would be a refuse.

The Obama voters though were more numerous, very nice and enthusiastic, some did invite me in and I found one voter who thought she was registered but she wasn't. I didn't run out of gas either. I think we need more volunteers here in western NC, badly. This town has lost 10,000 jobs in the last few years...why do these people keep voting for Republicans?  They worry about abortion, but it is a fact that in Democratic administrations abortion rates go way down.

So, it was a day spent in an altered reality, but a good one I think. I have also done some phone calling and I am getting a little better at talking to people about the issues. 

What I would really love to do though is give them all a copy of this article from Rolling stone Magazine called the Make believe Maverick. Sadly it tells a story of a man who is very opportunistic, but not very effective. Much of the article comes from Mr. McCain's own book, which is basically a bragging fest on what a loser he is. It is a rerun of the Bush resume. 

I won't even get into the Palin issue.....It is all just too crazy that half of America believe these people know what they are doing~ or if they do know what they are doing...that's the scary part. It is all the pundits on the news, nobody gets a straight and full story. The undecideds were so torn and confused.

I invite people to study up. Study the issues deeply, be informed on the facts, and make intelligent choices based on what you find to be truth. For those of you I talked to who have families that have closed minds, I know it is confusing and the pressure is great, but be sure to keep yours open.

Thank you for listening to me.  www.voteforchange/com  Please vote sanely.

My African Foxglove are finally blooming. I have saved the seed for years now of this rare annual. I had begun to think that the few I had tucked into my narrow, overcrowded and slightly shady border would not bloom this year, but they did. So sweet they are. 

It is seed collecting time in the garden. I have zip lock bags filled with the seed of my pink morning glory,now intertwined and blooming with the Sweet Autumn Clematis, Datura, and Moonvine, which are all blooming so beautifully these cool moist evenings.

The Night Blooming Jasmine is also having a great year, putting out it's

third flush of fragrant little green flowers after dark. I did get to photograph it one rare morning when the blooms remained open after sunrise. As did this  moon flower. I was also enchanted by the dewy bud of tomorrow evenings bloom.

These are the little miracles I experience in my garden that remind me that the world is beautiful, in spite of the Grand Irrationality of the human world as corrupt structures implode for the purpose of renewal and growth. 

Soon these lush plants will succumb to the destruction of a hard frost, until then, I delight in the grace they add to my world. These night blooming wonders remind me of the magic that this world is truly made of.

Ike

You can't be suspicious of a tree, or accuse a bird or a squirrel of subversion or challenge the ideology of a violet.

Hal Borland

I gathered with the High Country Water media Society for a workshop on Daring Color with Ann Abgot.

It was great, no politics, beautiful weather.....and I produced my first still life. I removed myself from the stress of hurricanes and the state of the world.

Great works of art are never produced in a workshop, but so much is learned. You can see my notes scribbled in the sidelines. The drawing was done in a hurry, I need to learn so much more about shadows and backgrounds, but this workshop was a big growth spurt for me.

As always I am inspired by the workshops offered by this amazing group of artists. I am now inspired to look for little silver vases in the thrift shops. Ann does a great job of sharing her technique and is so worth attending her workshops if one gets a chance.
I did notice the people who had already worked through her book had an easier time putting the info into practice.

Finn hates workshop days. It is the only time I ever leave him in the house all alone for a full day.
I made up for it on Sunday and took him for a long morning swim at Wilson's Creek. No one there, the summer crowds are gone. Finn looked like a sea otter swimming in the clear cold water. The moss on the rocks in full bloom from last weeks rain added more beauty to the scene.

I tried to sketch while there but Finn kept shaking water onto the sketchbook after delivering his retrieved stick. He came home tired and very happy. I had the rest of the day to mow, do laundry and finish up the workshop painting.
I love weekends!

End of Summer Projects

Heather asked for a painting over a year ago.

I have mulled the concept over for the longest time.

Her daughter's middle name is Magnolia. She was born in North Carolina. I wanted to paint this one in honor of Miss Rowan Magnolia Boothby. A young girl dear to my heart. Heather has the most beautiful tattoo's of a Magnolia for her daughter and a Jack in the pulpit for her son Jack.

It is matted, framed and ready to send off to Iowa where they now live. Just in time for Heather's birthday.

I had a lot of fun with this one. Painting it on these beautiful rainy days we've had lately. Someday I will turn my Jack in the Pulpit sketches into a painting for Jack.

I have been painting and staining the shed, at last. Though I have been through several shades of red, and am about to try another. I just can't seem to get the right shade, very frustrating, but I must say it has even been a joy to spend the last two weekends up on the ladder, doing the work while listening to the crickets sing. It has been a quiet and peaceful endeavor and nothing makes me happier than making my garden beautiful. The Million dollar Red I tried last weekend is much to much!

I do want to wrap it up and build some shelves inside this weekend. I think I finally found a Moroccan Red color that is perfect...I hope. It is getting repetitive, two coats of primer and 3 coats of colors later. I feel the urge to get a lot of work done this fall. I am working on getting a new roof for the house. It is needed and I can match the color of the new tin roof to the roof of the shed.

I have some beautiful compost from all the leaves I collected in the fall, ready to mulch my beds with for winter. It is also time to get the bulb orders made for clients. People are asking for designs and I have a big fern and native woodland plant order coming in soon. We were just waiting for the rains to come.

Thanks to all the hurricanes it looks to be a beautiful fall coming up. The fall planting season begins! We have a lot to accomplish in the next few months. That's OK, we are ready.

Rain

The rains have come!

Bounty Season

It is late August already! Where does the time go?

The beach trip accomplished what it needed to do...it put me into the wonder zone. The season of the golden light arrived on a Friday, August 8th. A clear golden breezy day at work, that shifted me into the awareness that summer will soon fade. The enjoyment of it's last moments has become priority. Everything I see is so fully blooming and lush, in spite of a serious dry spell. It puts me in a beauty buzz. All I want to do is hang in the gardens, water thirsty plants to make them happy, dream and paint.

I arrived home to the harvest season. Celebrating with large pots of gumbo, tomato sandwiches with whole leaves of basil and fresh mozzarella on crusty ciabatta, and an out this world squash casserole that my friend Carol recommended, with her recommended additions of peppers and such. Yum! I harvested a beautiful bag of carrots this week that will go into a batch of samosas, as will some potato's dug last month. The samosas, frozen and reheated make such a simple, delicious meal after a long day of work. I am addicted to the cilantro chutney I dip them in.

In between cooking and painting I stare at my garden. The Nicotiana 'White Jasmine' is beautiful and so fragrant, bouncing back easily from the neighbors clumsy golden retriever, who has no respect for plants.

I love Pans crown. I keep photographing him in different light. Someday I will try to paint the image.

Finn unlike the retriever, 'tippy toes' into the beds more often than not, to fetch the occasional ball from my wild throws. He also steers the other dogs away from the garden if things are getting rowdy. I do try to heft the ball or stick over the hedge into the neighbors yard. They have no gardens. But they did recently mow. Finn brought home four balls he recovered from the field over the hedge yesterday. I have a large collection of sticks on my roof.

Finn stashes balls on every property we work on. I'll catch him plunging his head into a huge hosta to grab a saved and treasured toy when he needs one on the job. Michael has been away, putting in another beautiful pond, leaving Finn confused and whining for him at work.

Fortunately Matt helps out a bit making Finn very happy. When I am working I am not as easily distracted by ball playing as the boys are. Actually, he barks obnoxiously at them til they relent and throw the thing. Finn knows, when I grab the hose, it is time to hunker down in the shade of an evergreen and supervise me.

I do enjoy this cross quarter season before labor day. I call it bounty season. A stillness accompanies these golden days, the plants seem to pump up their life force, knowing time is short for showing off. The insect chorus provides the background music, I watch the 'Empress of India' nasturtiums glow in the sun, the moonvine and datura glow like the moon, and the butterflies flit from bloom to bloom.

It is magic, and makes all we did in the spring so worth the sweat and effort.