The Peonies are out

I love this time of year…trees rustling gently, birds darting and twittering, the peonies and poppies blooming in my garden, and of course it’s just the right temperature. While I was talking to Beverly Dalton on the phone yesterday, she saw a hummingbird in her garden and it actually took a rest on one of her trees. Neither of us had ever seen or heard of that before.
John saw a woodpecker yesterday too. A couple of years ago we watched one rat-a-tat-tatting on the trunk of our lilac, and it was hilarious. He (or she) was so totally focused on the task at hand.
I’m feeling pleased with myself today because I’m actually ahead on my book, and I’ve prepared two canvases to start working on this evening. Last night Susan Wilkie dropped over and we experimented with solvent inks and paint…not that successfully, but it was fun anyway. I also bought some dry pigment and I’m going to try making my own acrylic paints. The process sounds like a no-brainer, but I imagine I’ll have to get the feel of it first.