The Tiniest Geranium

I don't remember the name of many of the wildflowers that grace The Clearing campus. I've heard them all, or most of them anyway, but this one sticks in my head for some reason. It's Herb Robert, and it's a tiny true geranium no bigger than a fingernail. And not a fancy, talon-like fingernail either.

 

In honor of seeing that deer on Saturday, that's what I picked to draw today, a Doe. It looks more like a fawn without the spots, and I think it needs orthopedic help, but it's the right shade of brown and has four legs so I'm calling it a deer. And now that song from The Sound of Music is stuck in my head again. 

 

The first year I took KA's watercolor class I packed a watercolor journal in my kit and made notes on each painting on the left page and painted a small version of the painting on the right. I've done it every time since and started a new journal last week. Doing that is the only way I have even a ghost of a chance to repaint anything. I'm getting better at taking notes so each journal's entries are easier to paint from.

 

This morning I got busy framing a few of last week's more successful paintings and hung them on my gallery wall. I don't buy fancy frames or spend money on mats, I just buy the inexpensive basic black plastic frames and go with them. They look okay and don't detract from the art. (You notice I didn't capitalize "art." My paintings aren't worth that.)

 

A contortionist squirrel spent some time on the suet nuggets feeder today. I was impressed that it had wrapped itself halfway around the feeder and still had the muscle to hold on and eat.

 

I zoomed with cda this afternoon getting a critique on a couple chapters of Sailing the Seas and giving her a few notes on an essay. Then I took a walk. I'm amazed that today's walk didn't give me the same hip and leg aches that yesterday's walk did. Was it because I wore different shoes? Because it was a different time of day? Who knows. I was just relieved that it didn't hurt as much. OJ has a soccer game tomorrow evening so I'll do my walking from the parking area to the field and back. None of the places he plays has parking very near the playing field. It must be some kind of rule. And there's a chance of rain. I'll take an umbrella. They only call the game for lightning.

--Barbara