Wildlife pond clean-up day - Maree

I know no subject more elevating, more amazing, more ready to the poetical enthusiasm, the philosophical reflection, and the moral sentiment than the works of nature. Where can we meet such variety, such beauty, such magnificence?
- James Thomson

Summer always brings the same chores - cleaning up everything the winter killed, fixing up borders, re-planting empty spots and, the biggest job of all, cleaning out my wildlife pond. That means pumping out all the water, scooping out all the leaves and sludge build-up, scrubbing and re-filling with clean water. The pond is quite large, so the job takes 2 staff members most of the day.

The pond has a waterfall and a fountain, not shown in the sketch, and this area, which is also where my tortoise lives, is a great attraction for all sorts of water birds. I purposely leave it to grow a bit wild with some tall indigenous grasses and a couple of indigenous trees for shade. Some of the residents are lizards, quite a few varieties of frogs, many insects including scorpions and spiders, and a few visitors like Mollie, the Mole Snake, some Brown House snakes and the odd Rinkhals (Spitting Cobra). Unfortunately Hedgehogs can't enter this area any more as I had to fence it to keep the tortoise in - left to wander the garden she cleans up most of my plants!

A busy week-end- Concetta Flore

Well, what a plesant week-end. I hope it was the same for you. Spring has arrived with the first warm days and flowers. Here are the three watercolours I produced: artichoke plants from Elisabetta Mitrovic's vegetable plot, a beech forest in the afternoon light, and a detail from a domestic pond. All of this , in good company and eating lovely food. What best?

Oxford Pond Abloom with Daisies

Oxford Pond Abloom with Daisies
Originally uploaded by linfrye

Daily Practice
Journal

Thank you all once more for your kind and most generous comments!

Our plein air yesterday was rather poorly attended -- but those who came, had a great time despite the high temperatures! We arrived at Howell Woods around 9 am. We boarded a nicely air-conditioned truck, and for the next hour toured the almost 3,000 acres! Ponds, sloughs, dense woodlands, swamps, fields -- all in Carolina's myriad greens and tans -- birds - orioles, egrets, herons, buntings, and more than I could name -- were all part of the trip.

We returned to the visitor's center to pick up our painting gear and/or head out to other sites to set up for the day. Since I was coordinating the event, I stayed close to the center and settled myself in the Native Plant Garden so I could check in anyone else who might have arrived late.

I began painting -- but the social aspects of the day seemed to take over (LOL) and so I didn't get to finish what I had started. Around 1 pm, the heat hit us hard, and most of us decided to call it a day.

So instead of my partial work, I've uploaded this sketch of the pond up the road from my home as I saw it a few weeks ago -- filled with daisies and wildflowers.

I'll be gone for a few days as Charles and I make our way to South Carolina to visit my daughter and our grands. Riley, now 5 months old, is on solid food and rolling over and gurgling her comments in that special baby tongue that is so tender to hear! We simply HAVE to see she and Taylor! (and of course their parents! LOL) -- they're growing so dang fast! Where does the time go?!

We'll be back before the weekend ends -- but I'm not sure how much painting I'll get done. We're scheduled for a blueberry picking and waterpark visit, special dinners and catching up ... The temperatures are supposed to climb to almost 100F (MERCY, it's not even AUGUST yet -- and THAT'S our hottest month!) - so we'll all be looking for ways to keep cool.

I hope your weekend is filled with fun and joy -- and that you too - stay cool!

Lin Frye
North Carolina