Showers and Flowers

Recently a fellow blogger noticed the picture on my side bar of my Laughing Dog Sierra.  She asked if I would allow her to paint his portrait and of course I said yes if she would promise to send me a jpeg of the finished painting.  Well, not only did she send me a jpeg but she sent me the actual painting!!  Isn't it wonderful?  She captured that loving look in his eyes perfectly.  She is Patty of Listen to the Road blog.  Click on the link to go visit her.  She has been painting these portraits of dogs in shelters and then sells the paintings, contributing all the profit back to the shelter.  Some people are so amazing and kind and generous and Patty is one, to say nothing of talented!  I adore my painting.  Thank you so very much, Patty.  I love my painting!!!

Here are a few photos of the wild flowers sprouting up around here.  Above are the Fairy Bells.  So sweet and all over the place.

Big Leaf Maple is blossoming like crazy, waking up everyone's allergies and spewing out pollen. Lucky for me I don't suffer from allergies.  The yellow dust of it is covering cars and everything. 

Better click on this one to see the lovely profusion of wild bleeding hearts.

This is a blue bell, not wild but has gone feral, along with some cranesbill that is taking over after I brought a tiny plant in a few years back.

Can't end without showing our Oregon State flower, Oregon Grape.  The stiff glossy spiny leaves protect the short lived flowers.  Eventually there will be a cluster of blueberry looking grapes.  Yes, they are edible but as my friend says, not incredible.

I'm sitting out on my deck writing this post and it is the warmest day of the year so far.  Got up to 73 and tomorrow they predict 81.  I can smell my lilacs, they began opening in the warmth today.  The Goldfinches have arrived and are flocking to my sunflower feeders, soon the Black headed Grosbeaks will show up.  We already have the Evening Grosbeaks.

A funny thing I noticed when looking at the stats of my blog.  I've had the most hits on my long ago post that I titled Beading Larson.  That was nearly 4 years ago.  It has received 780 visits.  My post on the passing of Anne Lockard (Miss you Anne!!) received a lot but that was only 487.  I don't know why Beading Larson receives so many hits.  Funny.

I will leave you with this photo of me and my kitty Charlie.  He is a big love bug!But he is very shy and most people who come here don't even realize I have a cat.  He was feral, but I managed to tame him down and now he sleeps with me.

Don't forget to check out Patty's blog!  Until next time, 
Be well.

Goodbye, My Friend

Anne Huskey Lockard

A beautiful friend has lost her battle with cancer.   She leaves behind her husband Gary and many loving friends and family.  I met Anne online about 12 years ago and our friendship blossomed through emails and phone calls.  We never got a chance to meet in real life but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with having her gone.

 Gary, Anne and Dr. Salter

She fought long and hard against her disease and we all hoped she might be in the small percentage of survivors.  Unfortunately that wasn't the case.
I'd like to celebrate her life with this post.

Anne was many things, artist, poet, photographer, blogger, music lover, chef, gardener, nature lover, and she enjoyed a good glass of wine.  She loved to dress up in beautiful clothing and great shoes, her make up perfect.

But she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty and tackle the roughest jobs either!

Anne and the Ramones quilt

She loved many genres of music but especially loved The Ramones and the Misfits and even created art in their honor.  Classic jazz was another favorite of hers.

She was well known to have an unquenchable desire for shoes and Doc Marten boots.  I wonder how many pair she owns?

This pair epitomizes many things Anne.

Occasionally she liked a softer style of footwear.

She loved her little parakeets and they brought much joy into her life.

Yes, Anne was a big fan of Halloween and Day of the Dead celebrations.  You could count on her and husband Gary to always dress up for the trick or treaters.

Photography was another passion. Flowers and nature were especially favorite subjects.  I invite you all to go to Anne's blog, El Milagro Studio and review some of her posts.  She could always be counted on to share inspiration there.

Anne surely is saying this from the place she is now.  She is mourned and missed by many but will live on in our hearts.

You said it!!!!

This is one of my favorite photos of Anne.  In red, doing something she most loved, making art.

I miss our daily emails, our phone conversations.  I miss you, dear Anne.  I will hold my memories of you close and keep you forever in my heart, sister/friend.