from Pen and Brush

  Here it is July11th already and I haven't been here since April? I could have sworn I wrote entries more recently than that.  I'm not doing so well with this blogging, am I.

I haven't much excuse. The rain and fog seems to make it hard to do anything, through to completion.

 Gardens are a total mess. What I planted early got so leggy and pale and although I took care when introducing them to the sun, they got damaged badly. I started some things again. I do have lots of sugar peas that need harvesting. The purple beans are pulled out by fresh Robins as fast as they can germinate, or skeletonized by the slugs which are even more prolific than a couple years ago when we had fog settle in until August. Oh well everything needs to eat! Thank heaven for the farm markets.
 Gardens aren't the only things having troubles. Birds various are not doing so well but we have Tree Swallows that are bringing their young out tomorrow, I expect. One may be mobile now. It seems this property is a good place to nest if all the successes are to go by. Robins, Blue Jays, so many Grackles, Starlings, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Hummingbirds, Mourning Doves, Sparrows various, Woodpeckers including, Hairy, Downy as well as several families of Northern Flickers. Juncos are bringing their young out the last couple days and I expect there are very soon to be visible White-breasted Nuthatches. (two families!) I have Goldfinches courting so there may be some of them as well.

 The gray made it hard to get into painting. I have completed several pieces. One in particular was quite intricate; a drum being constructed by Todd Labrador. It is quite the most intricate watercolour I have done to date.  I hope to make my own drum with Todd's help in the not too distant future, maybe over the winter.

After the mill closure there was a big push to form another arts council. That is now underway. I've attended a number of meetings and the paperwork for Registry of Joint Stocks in filled out. Now we need to have executive and committee heads...

Back to painting. Since I was having trouble getting motivated to paint, not because I didn't have ideas, I am awash with ideas, but getting started sometimes can just be difficult. some suggest doing a bit every day for a certain amount of time and it seems to have worked. I feel so much better when I am laying down the pigment. Sunday is another intake day for Lunenburg Art Gallery, in of all places, Lunenburg. I have a smaller watercolour of gulls to go. I need to get a photo of it tomorrow, shoot it is already framed and ready to go.
Coming close to 10. I need a piece of toast to set me up for sleep.