Photography Class

Last Saturday, I took a class with a local nature photographer, Steven Schwartzman.  I follow his blog: he has a beautiful picture every day.  I've learned quite a bit about native Texas plants and insects through his pictures and descriptions.  It's a great resource.

I signed up some time ago for a UT class held at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.  Unfortunately, it was held three days after my eye surgery (the cataract in my left eye was removed).  So my vision was not at its best.

Nonetheless, I learned a little more about the 35mm camera I bought last year and thoroughly enjoyed the class.

Here's my best picture from Saturday.  Too bad I don't know what the plant is.

Pears with Pitcher

My latest oil painting is of a pitcher with pears on a table top.

The teacher's painting was darker; it had more of an old-world vibe.  But I prefer a lighter look.

I'm scheduled for cataract surgery in a couple of weeks.  I'm wondering how this will change how I see paintings and colors.  I know that in dim light purples look like brown  Good grief!  I hope this pitcher isn't purple!

 

Update:  The cut pear looked like an apple and it had a certain Escher-like quality, so I made some changes.  I also added a branch of pear leaves to fill in the table space.  I still have issues with the "pearness" of the cut fruit.  There may be more changes...... 

Jigsaw Puzzle

Sometimes when it's too hot to move, I do a jigsaw puzzle at my kitchen table.  This is one that Alice gave me; it was in her pile of things destined for her next garage sale.

It has several "shaped" pieces.  I worked on those first, then the edges.  The hardest part was the last 50 or so - all solid red (maybe a LITTLE variation), with two "outies" and tow "innies".
It's a good exercise in color awareness, if nothing else.

It's now apart and waiting to go back to Alice's stack of stuff.

Knitted Rug

At Emilie's Quilt House, there is a rug in the Dutch Doll room that looks like an old fashioned rug but is, in fact, knitted from fabric strips.  The owner, Kay, recently finished her move from Austin and is now faced with organizing all of  her "stuff", including many family things.  The pattern for this rug was unearthed - scrawled on hotel stationary from Saratoga Florida.  Dated July 26 (my birthday).

Since I had my "chunk box" of scraps with me on my last visit to Emilie's, I decided to try out the pattern.  It's fun, but hard on the hands.

The pattern didn't give a needle size to work with, but the largest Kay had were 14s and they seem to work well.  

Love the note in the instructions that say "no orange"!  I, of course, ignored that part.


Here's the start, done at Emilies.

Here's a little farther along, durnng Show and Tell at our monthly Bee meeting.

Here's the finished rug:  It's nice nd soft and squishy to stand on.

Purple flowering sage

My former neighbor just sent me a picture of the purple sage bushes (cenizo?) that I planted around the utility meters about ten years ago.  I bought one gallon plants, I think from the nursery in New Braunfels.  The Texas Native Plant database   (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/leucophyllumfrutes.htm )  says that they grow to eight feet tall, but Jacki says that these are about 15 feet high and the prettiest in the neighborhood. 

It was so kind of her to send me pictures.  Maybe I can get down that way and see them while they're still in bloom.

Sunflowers in the back yard

A bit of serendipity from my birdfeeders - I have several clumps of sunflowers growing in my back yard.  They are very tall, higher than the eaves of the house and garage.

The neighborhood kitty likes to hide at their base

Hummingbirds and bees have been seen flitting about in them.. 

It's a bit more difficult to go out into the yard because of where they came up, but I guess you have to "suffer for your art".   ha

This picture was taken in May, before the clump filled out.  Now there are many more stalks and a profusion of blooms.  I've trimmed a few so that I can get the the main part of the yard.

Next year, I definitely need to plant some of these behind my fence, in what I call my "back forty (feet)".

Part-time Kitty

My neighbor Jennifer has four cats.  They roam the neighborhood, which is ok with me.  One likes to spend some time on my porch.

Sometimes he/she hides at the base of the sunflower patch, watching the bird feeder

Doesn't seem to want to be petted.

Doesn't need to be fed, watered, or taken to the vet.

Definitely my kind of cat!