Summer In Full Swing

Sitting in our gazebo on Sunday morning, our little skink, Jonathan, appeared inside the gazebo, looking for his morning repast. He posed, of course. Jonathan is nothing if not vain.

Then, when I adjusted my gaze outside to observe our rhodies, they seemed to just dazzle the world with their brilliant color. Just as I was looking hard at our little garden retreat, I remembered the NY Times project, "Lens: One Moment in Time". The Times has invited people all over the world to take one picture at 11:00 AM eastern time (adjusted for wherever you are around the globe) and send it to them. There's no prize, just the pleasure of participating in a global photography event. So, I snapped my picture--our retreat, where we sit for a few moments each morning and each evening, to just look at nature, our flowers, out koi's, our hummers, butterflies, dragonflies, whatever crosses our line of sight.  It's our daily pause button, where we don't need telephones, radios, or TVs. Just our little nature retreat.

Summer?

I am wondering whatever happened to the notion that Spring follows Winter. This year, we seem to have had about a week of Spring, followed hard on its heels by Summer--temperatures steadily now in or near 90. Flowers are popping up all over and then disappearing. Yesterday, our little wisteria (little only because I keep trimming it to avoid having it consume our entire front garden)  popped solidly into its full bloom.  So, we now have tulips, cherry blossoms, wisteria and azaleas, all competing for attention.

Cherry Blossoms

The cold winter seems to have produced abundant spring cherry blossoms. Our weeping cherries sprang into full bloom suddenly and they are wonderful to behold.

Spring has arrived

We experienced a horrific storm front Sunday night, with lightning strikes practically on top of us, rain arriving in sheets, hail, and wind. It was sturm und drang for about two hours, then it settled down into a quiet roar and heavy rain. Eventually, it left behind two inches.  But throughout the storm, I had two thoughts. One: would our basement flood; and Two: would our tender young daffies, tulips, and newly sprouted weeping cherries survive this onslaught?
Early in the morning, I arose, crept downstairs and, delight of delights, the basement was dry and the cats were whining for sustenance.
As soon as it was light, I went outside, and what to my wondering eyes did appear but . . . lively flowers intact all over the garden, including especially, those delicate weeping cherries.
So here below, is my record of our delicate flowering trees and an oak not yet ready to yield to spring.

Spring Art

Two more possibilities for the Spring Art walk are illustrated below:

The first is a pond reflecting its surrounding trees:

The second is an early morning at a misty pond in Black Mountain.

My next Blog posting will include a few pictures I am considering for our summer show. Old things that remain picturesque.

Spring Art

It's Spring here in the North Carolina Piedmont, and winter has released its grip, allowing crocuses, daffies, forsythia and cherry blossoms to begin to brighten our days. With Spring, I begin to consider an upcoming Art Walk in downtown Concord. Some pictures I might enter in the show include some peaceful landscapes I find attractive.

First, a view of The Blue Mountains in Oz:

Next, a scene from our local horse rescue farm,. a place where old, sick, or abused horses are taken in and cared for by volunteers, who simply love horses:

Next, a visit recently to friends from our India days, provided this scene in the Georgia Mountains:

Up in the DC area, the C&O canal, with its old lockhouses, standing guard next to the canal, provide a sense of history and charm to a bustling region:

And lastly, the Potomac River at late afternoon, provides a sense of peace, generally lacking the our Nation's capital these days:

Downtown

Our little town of Concord keeps changing. One restaurant, now Gianni's, a fine Italian restaurant is the last of four incarnations just since we arrived here. We think they finally got it right with Gianni's. But a number of other new arrivals, The Chocolatiere, amazing French chocolate pastries and other delectables, a new art gallery, and several reinvented restaurants have transformed our little town, turning it, hopefully, into a destination of choice for our surrounding neighborhoods.

Gianni's, truly fine Italian dining

The Chocolatiere, fine handmade chocolates, pastries and a glass of wine.

Art Gallery -- original art for your viewing pleasure.

Little Feather Gallery and Fine Crafts--the shoppe that means you don't have to go to Asheville.

Bistro  restaurant

And the Old Courthouse, now a gallery and theatre in a classy old setting.