Wednesday, May 18, 2022

getting some stuff done and a pleasant surprise


Monday...Another day and no rain. Our first best chance is next Sunday. We had less than half an inch in April and none so far in May. The ground is cracking and I have to water every day.

We've been watching a lot of TV in the hot afternoons, streaming Barry on HBOMax, a dark comedy about a hit man who tried to give it up when he became involved with an acting class and also starring Henry Winkler as the has-been actor/drama coach til we caught up to the current season with new episodes now coming out on Sundays. Now we're watching Only Murders In The Building, on Hulu, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez about an over the hill actor, a has-been director, and a young woman whose aunt lives in the building who band together to prove that the apparent suicide of a fellow resident was actually a murder and start a podcast about it to garner interest. There's a couple of others we've started to watch...Jessica Jones, MoonKnight, and Monsterland.

I think I mentioned that the truck wouldn't start a few days ago when I was ready to dump the contents on the ash pile and that Marc hooked the battery charger up to it. I'm happy to report the truck did start today and so I got the truck emptied. Yay me! The burn pile is as big now as it was when Marc burned it last week. I also went over to the studio and got started on making the blanks to construct the new box with. Baby steps but I can construct the body of the box while I mull over the little scene for the top.

I've also started a new watercolor of the yellow trumpet flower, the design with the flower, leaf, and bud but not enough progress to show, just the light pencil lines and a bit of green so far.

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Tuesday...Mail came early today and in it was a check from the gallery. Both trumpet flower pieces sold! And to the same person which makes me happy because I intended them as a pair. Also good because the framing turned out to be such an ordeal and to tell the truth I wasn't best pleased with how they came out. And ironically enough, the last time I talked to Barbara late March when she called about wanting a box for the anniversary show in the fall I asked her if those pieces were getting any attention. She paused and sort of hemmed and hawed before saying plainly, no, not really. But it just takes the right person, she added. Well, I guess the right person came along.



Out in the yard the purple coneflowers are in full bloom

and the butterflies,

gulf fritillary

and pearl crescent,

and some kind of bee 

are taking advantage.

The Easter lilies are in bloom but these are the fewest I've had since we bought this place, besides last year when I didn't get any due to the arctic vortex that sat on us for two weeks.

And then I saw these two swallowtail caterpillars on the parsley.

The altheas (rose of sharon) were just starting to come out when we got the first hard freeze and then we got another one and so they were all very late leafing out (and one has apparently died and a big portion of another died off as well) but this one is starting to bloom.

And here's Minnie with her 'aren't you forgetting something' look (it was either past her dinnertime or she was ready for a walk). 




15 comments:

  1. Hurray for checks in the mail! And hurray for the right person coming along! Your flowers, despite your drought, are just lovely. A little bit of paradise in dry Texas.
    Minnie is a doll baby, isn't she?

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  2. I am so very happy that you sold the two trumpet flowers together. I bet it was like Christmas when you found out. I love your flowers. And little Minnie is so screaming cute! I just love her. That face!

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  3. Great to make a sale. And yes, it takes the right person. So glad yours came along.

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  4. My two Rose of Sharon barely have leaf buds, they're still sticks. It's probably not helping that it's still going into the upper 30s at night. The people up the street are still debating on if it's safe to put out the tomatoes. Consensus on the street is that this is the worst spring EVER.

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  5. I’ve been loving both Barry and Only Murders in the Building. The trumpet flowers are beautiful, so glad the right person came along! Can’t wait to see your box done!
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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  6. The "right" person is likely the only person of quality appreciating your fine art. I am glad they are out there and are willing to part with cash for a treasure. Cutie dog!! I love her.

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  7. Such wonderful news about the sale of your beautiful trumpet flower art. I love knowing the pieces will be together.
    I do hope you get some rain there soon. I saw a headline in the SF Chronicle about the weather in the Bay Area of California and San Joaquin Valley, they're already prepping for wildfires during this very dry spring. It seems so early. Sure hope things get better everywhere. Your flowers are so beautiful..

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  8. Unless it's a secretary out shopping for a gift from her boss to his wife, it always takes the right person. And right persons are wonderfully attracted to art.

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  9. Great news about the sale. I just love your butterflies.

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  10. That's great about the trumpet flower pieces! Woo hoo! I haven't heard of any of the shows you mentioned -- maybe we're not getting them here in the UK yet.

    As for rain, I thought we were dry, but I believe you're drier than we are. (And we've had some rain recently.) Of course, hurricane season is around the corner and moisture is sure to follow.

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  11. Congratulations on the sale of your Trumpet Flower pieces. They would adorn anyone's home with style and beauty and I have no doubt that the purchaser will be very happy with her/his choice.

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  12. Good that you are watering as your flowers look so pretty! Congrats on the trumpet flower sale!

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  13. Yay on your sale! That was excellent news. And I love your butterfly & bee shots. And Minnie of course.

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  14. I'm so glad your trumpet flowers went as a pair, and it's fun thinking of the person who bought them -- how much pleasure your work will provide in their new setting. That's quite a spread of coneflowers you have--lovely. And it's looking as though we might get some rain this weekend. 'Might' always is the operative word, but this time I'm a little more hopeful.

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