Time for Verbena.....

 

Its time for ...Verbena.... wild Verbena...and you can smell it long before you see it... When i'm trimming the yard in the Spring i always leave it... i can't help myself... The purple is much more vibrant than my photos... they are rather sun washed out... 

I don't plant it... it comes up on its own.. Some years i have more than other years... but its always welcome and says 'Spring' to me... 

I had the eldest GrandLittle spend the night with us last night... So i'm busy digging myself out from that... Doing up the breakfast pancake dishes, putting the blow up air mattress away... We had fun playing outside in the dark with flash lights and glow in the dark golfballs... then a late night watching 'Hotel Transylvania'  Grandpa made his famous and quickly devoured pancakes in the morning... 

The little snail slithered out my pencil just the other day... I'm going to leave him black and white.. just like the owl and then use copies of them for all kinds of coloring options... :)  Lots of fires going on here in TX... a few up near our beloved Fredericksburg... ! Be safe and have a fabulous week! Hugs! deb

Viola or Johnny Jump Ups.... ?

 

Kathy at the Lake House has inspired me this morning with her pictures of her daffodils and Lilac buds.

So while i was out piddling around the yard i snapped some pictures of my Violas just about overflowing their pot... they were still in the shade... 

They have been so easy to grow this winter. They have withstood temps of 11F... Granted i did throw a cover over them for those two frigid nights... but a little sun and water when the soil thawed and they bounced right back... 

My Granddaughter helped me pick out some more from the Garden Center yesterday but i think i'm going to wait until the big blow tomorrow passes... 30 mph winds with 60+ gusts... um... yeah we'll wait.. 

And last but not least.... i pilfered some more seeds... lol  from the sunken garden in the middle of downtown... These.... well lets just say they were unique... they were tall ... some as tall as me or hubby... and they were like umbrellas... crazy... i looked online but the closest i could come was Aralias... ? Anyway... I do not believe they are Winter hardy... but they grew remarkable well in that sunken garden... I have knicked the seeds and have them in that wet paper towel, ziploc bag thing i did when i had such good luck with the Yucca... So i'll let you know!!! Take care and stay safe in this weather!! Hugs! deb

Inked!

 

Inked and ready for the Stockshow: Creative Arts Division competition...  I really don't think he will receive any kind of ribbon.  I've been doing this long enough that i feel i know a little bit about the judges....lol   They don't like crazy stuff... they like fairly realistic stuff... and i don't think this ticks the right boxes... BUT... i LOVE him and want my little part of the World to see him. I'm especially proud of myself for those claws.   

Funny claw story... every photo i was finding online showed owls with three toes on each foot so thats how i sketched it... then something told me to do a little more research... nope they have FOUR toes but they often tuck the one behind the branch for support.., so i squeezed in another toe !   So now you know ... the rest of the story... 

I have a few more projects to finish up before the 29th when i turn everything in....Mainly a windchime to string up and get this owl in a frame with a matte because he is an odd size... and unfortunately he's a little off center of the page...  Take care... and thanks for stopping by! Hugs! deb