Pea Invasion

I love to grow plants and play in the soil.

When I moved, a year ago, my garden consisted of three potted tomato plants and one strawberry pot. The lot surrounding the house was a weed field.

This year along with planting some fruit trees and ornamental trees I wanted to have a veggie garden. I made one 5 foot by 8 foot box and filled it with wonderful, dark, rich soil. This was going to get me by for a veggie garden this summer.

Snow peas are a must and were the first seeds in the ground. I usually plant enough to share with friends and family.........everyone loves snow peas!

This spring was unusually cold and wet here in Washington. In fact, most say we have gone from winter to summer. The lettuce seeds drowned, spinach never matured, and the beets and carrots are scraggly. The slugs ate my pepper and cucumber plant.

But the peas thrived and invaded the garden box.



Other than peas, I have my old faithful tomato plants and strawberries for this summer's garden endeavors. We shall see what next year brings.......

Mergansers at Woodard Bay

As we (Ebony, Ginger, and I) were coming back from our morning time on the Chehalis Western Trail, I saw my friends on the Woodard Bay Bridge. You cannot miss Barry because he always has a camera with a huge lens protruding from his head.......at least that is what it looks like from a distance.

Today his wife, Linda, was with him and I was very curious what they were viewing. I stopped (in the middle of the road which sometimes you can do if no one is around) and asked. Linda described how the Mama Mergansers would carry her babies on her back to move them. I thought about stopping to watch, but having skated 10 miles with the doggies my hunger won over watching ducks.

What a treat when Barry sent me an e-mail with photos! Now I wished I had stayed to watch. Barry is not only a great photographer but also a wildlife specialist who shares his knowledge about what you are looking at when you are with him. Even in his e-mails!

"Here are some of the birds we were watching today down by the bridge. The Mergansers nest upstream, then move downstream with their broods within a day of hatching. Once they head out, they don't return, but spend their early days growing up out in Chapman Bay or outer Woodard Bay beyond the trestle."


Barry Troutman
(reproduced with permission from the artist)

Cute, wouldn't you agree?

The Trail Is In Bloom

Summertime on the Chehalis Western Trail!

Everything is green and blooming.......

Looks like we will have a GREAT crop of blackberries.


When I lived in Colorado the Fireweed did not bloom until the end of summer, but here in Washington along the trail it is blooming profusely.

Ebony likes to get in the picture
The weed I just love is the Foxglove.




I have done several paintings of this flower as I think the spots (I call freckles) are charming.

My favorite spot to sit for a break......


The view from the bench.....



I am so fortunate to have such a beautiful place to spent time on a daily basis.

Picasso and Lump

Today in an art therapy session, I shared the book entitled Picasso and Lump which I purchased in Switzerland after seeing the photographic exhibit by David Duncan.

Lump, meaning rascal in German, was a dachshund who won the heart of Picasso and immediately became a subject matter for his art.

Lump, at bottom, in a cameo appearance
in a Picasso version of “Las Meninas” by Velázquez.

The book, as well as the exhibit, is a lovely view into the personal life of Picasso. The photographs are fabulous and the story is a fun read.

Gertrude Jekyll

I first met Gertrude Jekyll in 1995 when a friend went overboard buying roses and asked if I would like some of them. Little did I know what was in store for me!

Gertrude Jekyll's pink flowers are dainty and lovely, and the fragrance is incredible. The rose fragrance is so divine it was used as the first rose essence in England for well over 250 years. You can actually smell the fragrance three feet away and when you bring a rose in the house, it will perfume an entire room.

Back to the story of Gertrude...

I moved in 2005 and really thought about uprooting her from the garden. The new owners would not miss one rose, right? But I did not. Shorty after moving, I found a Gertrude Jekyll rose at a garden store in Seattle. I bought it and gave it to my girl friend to grow as I would annually bring her bouquets. Now we would both get to enjoy Gertrude, again. And, maybe she would bring be a bouquet?

I purchased a home a year ago today. I am happy to say....

Gertrude is back!




I wish you could smell her!

Footnote: The Gertrude Jekyll rose is one of the best creations by David Austin English Roses and one of the finest pink rose flowers.

Third in the Series

My friend and artist, Judi Colwell, believes in doing series of art. Not only do they show well when hung together, but when you get into the flow of painting them, magic happens.

I took her advice when I became enthralled by the fabulous Irises in my neighbor's garden. I created three watercolor paintings while in the enchantment.

Here is the third in the series:

Number 3
Joanne Osband
Watercolor

If you missed the other two, I will save you time trying to find them searching the older blogs:

Single
Joanne Osband
Watercolor
Royal Purple
Joanne Osband
Watercolor

Alfredo Arreguin - Art in Ecology

Today was the opening reception for the Art in Ecology exhibit of Alfredo Arriguin's oil paintings at the Washington Department of Ecology in Lacey, Washington.

What a spectacular show of art!

Alfredo was there to talk about his life and work as well as answer questions.

I learned that he is so "in the moment" when painting that he claims to be transported elsewhere. He creates designs and images as they come forth while painting. A painting can take from three months to six months for his triptych hanging in the building but has been purchased by the Smithsonian.

Alfredo loves the light and fabulous wall space of the galleries at Ecology. It is a delight to see several of his paintings hung together.....even for Alfredo!

Many of the elements that inform his paintings and give them a distinct character emanate from the memories of the culture and natural landscape of his ancestral home, Mexico. These elements overlap and blend, in dreamlike fashion, with his most immediate experiences and his interest in the environment and the animals of the Pacific Northwest.


Bongo
Alfredo Arreguin

I found myself completely enthralled when viewing each painting. There is so much to see and take in. I bet if you returned, you would see even more. Some of his paintings had a tapestry look to them.

If you live in the area, you must see Alfredo's paintings. They are truly extra-ordinary and absolutely stunning.

In order to view this exhibit you must schedule a tour with the Art Committee. Phone numbers: main number; 407-6000 or Jeffree Stewart; 407-6521.