Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Lily Lake scene, May 2012

This is the reference photo I will be using for my next Lily Lake drawing...

Monday, May 21, 2012

Indian-pipe

GEDC7209 by Farmhouse Greetings
GEDC7209, a photo by Farmhouse Greetings on Flickr.

Cheap Admission to Yankees game!

GEDC7224 by Farmhouse Greetings
GEDC7224, a photo by Farmhouse Greetings on Flickr.

Does anyone know what year a grandstand ticket to see a Yankees game was only $1.30? I found this stub as I was clearing out my older brother's drawer in our family home; it must be from the late 50s or very early 60s...

RAD Grad and family

GEDC7243 by Farmhouse Greetings
GEDC7243, a photo by Farmhouse Greetings on Flickr.

This past Sunday, our family celebrated another milestone when our daughter/sister graduated with honors with an Art Education degree.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Monday, May 14, 2012

A Little Garden Talk

OK, so here's a little example of how a pebble thrown into a pond creates ongoing ripples.... over ten years ago, my friend, Becky, from an herb group I belonged to at the time, loaned me a few small  periodicals named GreenPrints, which featured a nice mix of gardening stories and illustrations. She said something to the effect of, "Linda, I think you could do drawings for this magazine."

Thanks to Becky's encouragement,  I submitted a story and some quick sketches about taking piano lessons, which were agonizing to me when I was very young because I didn't practice. Every week,  I sat on Mr. Hurlburt's piano bench, plodding through my lesson book, squirming, watching the hands on his cuckoo clock move ever so slowly. Even though I was an unpromising student, I perked up on the rare occasions he would offer to give me a tour of his lovely gardens, complete with stone arches, fifty varieties of lilies, double petunias started from tiny, tiny seeds...it was truly an enchanted kingdom or so it seemed to a very young girl who believed in the magic of gardens. Perhaps I failed to become a proficient pianist, but the seeds of garden appreciation were planted, and continued to flourish ever since! Anyway, the editor of GreenPrints accepted my story but rejected my hasty sketches. My revision was much better, and I've been lucky enough to be in every issue since then, and even in GreenPrints' eletters, too. Becky was right- GreenPrints and I were a great match.

Earlier this year, Katrina Nicke, president of Walt Nicke's Garden Talk, saw my illustrations in GreenPrints, and contacted me, through the help of Pat Stone, GreenPrint's editor. I'm so pleased to have had the chance to illustrate the cover of Garden Talk's Spring 2012 catalog. My daughter, Rachel, is shown on the cover, playing with one of our porch cats. (Rachel's grown up, now, about to graduate with a degree in Art Ed from New Paltz this coming Sunday). Katrina even liked my note card and calendar designs enough to feature them in the catalog as well. I've learned that Walt Nicke's Garden Talk catalog is one of the oldest garden supply catalog companies in America, started over 40 years ago in the Hudson Valley region of New York state. As I chatted with Marilyn, one of my quilting friends, she realized she taught art with Katrina's mother, many years ago. What a small world!  Somehow, it seems, we are all connected!

GARDENTALK COVER

INSIDE GARDENTALK


So, I guess I'm trying to say, "Thank you, Becky" for pointing me in the right direction. One never knows  the extent of a kind gesture, a chance remark, or a few words of encouragement...planted in fertile soil.

And speaking of plants, I highly recommend Becky and Ed's excellent gardening blog, titled "Plants and Stones"!  It's how I start my day.

May Days 2012

May is filled with birthdays, baseball games, , gardening and this year, my daughter's college graduation!

GEDC7044
GEDC7042


Last week, pinxters began blooming along the Lily Lake trail at Chenango Valley State Park. They are wild azaleas with a delightful, delicate. faintly spicy fragrance.
GEDC7085
GEDC7083

Another couple, enjoying the lake...
GEDC7101

A couple of my Mother's Day Memories:
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Monday, May 7, 2012

Forget-me-nots

GEDC7033 by Farmhouse Greetings
GEDC7033, a photo by Farmhouse Greetings on Flickr.

"Forget-me-not" my flowers whisper.

How can I ever forget what is part of my very soul?

Greater Binghamton 2nd Annual Bridge Run

GEDC6997 by Farmhouse Greetings
GEDC6997, a photo by Farmhouse Greetings on Flickr.

Yesterday we got up early and watched our oldest son run a half marathon in Binghamton. The blue skies and sunshine added to the festive scene as over a thousand runners were applauded by clapping hands, cowbells and encouraging shouts.

Fragrant lilacs

GEDC6963 by Farmhouse Greetings
GEDC6963, a photo by Farmhouse Greetings on Flickr.

Cat wait for my turn much longer!

GEDC6814 by Farmhouse Greetings
GEDC6814, a photo by Farmhouse Greetings on Flickr.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Common Toothwort ( Dentaria diphylla)

GEDC6827 by Farmhouse Greetings
GEDC6827, a photo by Farmhouse Greetings on Flickr.

I think I may have finally identified this wildflower growing along our streambed. According to a wild edible U tube clip, it's tuberous root can be used as a peppery flavoring, similar to horseradish without the bite.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Fringed Polygala

GEDC6888 by Farmhouse Greetings
GEDC6888, a photo by Farmhouse Greetings on Flickr.

I spied several clusters of this beautiful wildflower as I walked around Lily Lake at Chenango Valley State Park earlier this week.