Mourning Cloak and Blandings Turtle (I LOVE SPRING!)

In Spring
Everyday something new
see
smell
hear
love

Springtime in Ohio

I want to romanticize and humanize this picture, so I will!

Aren't they beautiful?

How they cuddle, speaking softly in the other's ear.

of turtles, coltsfoot and vernal pools

Springtime in Ohio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Birds galore spring peepers peeping sunshine and warm air
hhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...................

Finishing a painting (Why I love Spring)

MY SPRING 36 x 48 Oil on Canvas

(Because I love color and can't resist lush use of color, I played with the colors when I painted this. They're intensified. Hence the title)


When I started this painting there was snow on the ground, but it was February of this year. There was just a hint of that color the trees start to show as the buds prepare to bloom later in the spring. Which is one of the things I love about Spring. Every day brings a change in color which in turn changes the perception of the landscape. The change is so subtle at the start and also so dependent on the weather and the light. (in contrast there are the long shadows of autumn and the sparkling light) Some other things that are great about Spring are the bird migrations; there is always a new bird's arrival to anticipate and to see. Even now in the quiet of winter, the Great Horned Owls are beginning to nest. LIFE always.

As the winter solstice approaches, I take comfort knowing that after the shortest day of the year, the light increases every day. The sun ascends higher on the horizon and the light makes magic in the air, on the trees, on the land.