#440 • Pushy Poppy

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http://www.claudiadiller.com/blog.htm

 

All of us gardeners go snooping around the ground for signs of life as soon as the snow melts. We're like truffle hounds out there maniacally sniffing for a hint of fungi. So far I've got two daffodil shoots and a bunch of poppy. I don't remember the poppies popping so soon, but I can't remember what happened yesterday either. 

Personally, I think they're all pushing their luck right now. You want to hope Mother Nature knows what she's doing, but the climate is evolving so fast, maybe she, like us boomers who are on a non-stop treadmill to catch up with technology, might be on the same apparatus.

Pushy Poppies • 8' x 8" watercolor framed to 12" x 12" • $275

#439 • Whispers From Beneath the Snow

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I took a trip to the coast to visit a friend this past weekend, and she has flowers - snow drops and crocus and lots of green shoots. They're always ahead of us down there until the sea breeze kicks in later this spring. Then we inlanders jump ahead. 

I've lost count, but last week may have been the third fake spring. So as not to give up hope - it tends to wane this time of year, here's a sketch of some spring flowers gifted to me on my birthday years ago from a friend's garden. They remind me that somewhere beneath the remaining piles of snow there are little shoots patiently waiting to break through. I think I hear them whispering, we're coming, we're coming! Though that could be a fake-out too!

Whispers From Beneath the Snow • 8" x 8" acrylic framed to 12" x 12" • $275

#438 • Three Birch

 

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I always thought there was something special about birch trees. I found this piece posted by Nibwaakaa, The Indigenous Women's Ingenuity in the Great Lakes Region. The link is below.

"According to Ojibwe tradition, a spirit-boy named Winabojo once sought shelter from the Thunderbirds in the hollow interior of a birch tree after being chased by them from the birds' nest. The tough bark of the tree protected Winabojo from being attacked by the creatures, and upon emerging from his hiding place, Winabojo declared the birch tree would “forever protect and benefit the human race” with its durable and enduring bark (“Winabojo and the Birch Tree,” 1994). For this reason, birch bark is considered to be a trustworthy material for the creation of many Native American cultural objects, including the piece featured in this virtual exhibit."

http://projects.leadr.msu.edu/indigenouswomen/exhibits/show/four-views-of-a-birch-bark-con/story-of-the-birch-tree

Three Birch • 8" x 8" acrylic framed to 12" x 12" • $275