The wildflowers in spring

This is the flower blog. I have been awed by the flowers recently. I especially love wildflowers. As I mentioned a day or so ago, I have already packed my wildflower book, so I won't be identifying any of these flowers for you. I think you will find them lovely anyway. I cannot seem to chose a favorite. I had a favorite picked out, in the form of these exquisite purple flowers, but then two days ago the red prickly pears began to bloom. (I wasn't sure if they were prickly pears, but Matthias seems to think they are.) These red blooms are so vibrant! I don't remember seeing so many of them, last spring. Yet, that may be one of those things that memory decides to trick you with.

The other flowers I would like to share with you are the old fashioned roses that are growing in our backyard. They are the most magnificent color! If I wasn't busy packing art, I would be out there with my paints, capturing them that way. The photo was quicker...

It is quite green around the Arkansas Valley right now, and I am drinking it in, knowing that we will be surrounded by brown desert soon enough. I wonder if it's possible to stockpile green in your mind. I think it is. There are flowers of every color, that we have been discovering on our morning walks with Mr. Pono. The Arkansas River is raging, with all the rain and the early snowmelt. It is brown and high. Pono still loves to go in, although he is not much of a swimmer. Mostly, he enjoys wading. Matthias was throwing sticks in for him, so I got a photo of Pono, daring to stretch his neck out for a stick in the turbulent river. You don't have to worry about Pono in the river. He will not go out further than he can wade, and even if he ends up deeper than planned, he is an excellent, if reluctant, swimmer.

Tomorrow, the big truck arrives, and the loading begins. This move is coming upon me more quickly than I was really ready for! Sunday is the day we plan to leave. Who knows if I will have the energy to continue the blog through this whole adventure, but I will do my best.

Spring in the Arkansas Valley

I have been enjoying spring immensely. On the morning walks with Pono the dog, there are visual delights aplenty. We've had warm sunny days as well as cloudy, wet days, but the main ingredient in these days is the absence of the winter cold. I love that. I have run across blooming trees, trees with brand new leaves, bright and green. I even saw two geese with 5 goslings in the river over the weekend. So fun. Here are some of the photos I have snapped, including one of a broken robin's eggshell that I stumbled upon next to the river. Aren't the colors intoxicating? That blue Colorado sky is almost TOO MUCH sometimes.

The monotypes from Monday still aren't completely dry. I couldn't resist scanning one more anyway, just so you could see. I am pondering a title, and so far I have thought of naming it "Drinks on the lawn". Ambiguous, yes. For some reason, the ink blobs become figures for me (everything is figurative in my art!), although I must admit that this one is candy for the imagination. Which is why I thought my title might spark some lively discussion. Or not. I think coming up with titles for abstract work is challenging, because I want to hint at the possibilities, without providing interpretation. I want people to come up with their own ways of interpreting the art, because that is the part that fascinates me. Maybe I should stick to "abstract #1" and generic titles like that. I have tried that, but it doesn't seem to work for me. I think titles like that are too generic, and don't provide any sense of where the work comes from.