Earth Day~

~Earth Day~

No matter the season

No matter the weather

There is beauty.

I am mindful of the bees...

I just love to hear them dancing about the gardens

while I'm tugging weeds!

Keeping our gardens organic help the bees to thrive.

We recycle every possible waste item & keep a compost pile.

Continue to make our home more energy efficient...

~Doing what we can to keep our planet beautiful & healthy~

Hope your day has been filled with sunny skies!

Hooked Rug Milkweed Monarch

"Milkweed Monarch" copyright 2018 Michelle L. Palmer

22" x 28" Hooked with #4 and #6 wool cuts.

It has been so nice to see Monarch butterflies in our gardens again!

I took several caterpillar photographs last summer...

The perfect inspiration for a wool rug.

Monarchs just love common milkweed and I don't mind sharing space with

the beautiful plant in our perennial beds.

We have an invasive weed, 'Black Swallow-wort,' that monarchs mistake for

milkweed. The weed is poisonous to the larvae. The plant also crowds out

Common Milkweed. Our region is working to keep the invasive plant controlled.

The best way to remove Black Swallow-wort is to dig the entire root ball.

Trying to pull the weed is near impossible~ it nearly always breaks off.

When walking along trails I pull the seed pods off and

dispose of them in our household garbage.

A little snippet of a wool rug I just finished... 

Painting, punching, hooking & dreaming of flowers

while waiting on the gardens to wake!

Hope you're having a wonderful week, Friends!

Summer days~

Summer is dashing right along~

Wish there was a way to slow it down!

Hubby loves red raspberries... we found a few baskets for him and

a basket of black berries!

We have been in a very rainy pattern~

Torrential rains.

The bees need raincoats!

Fun to find this field of black eyed susans along the 

New York State Thruway~

The bees were dancing with delight at dusk!

My all-time favorite~ black caps!

Black raspberries are such a treat. 

Remind me of my childhood. Riding along field edges in

the back of my dads old pickup truck.

Buckets, tin cans... bellies all filled up with sun-kissed, sweet berries!

I leave milkweed plants to grow in some areas of our gardens~

Pure joy to see monarch butterflies dotting the yard again!

I pluck the seed pods off so I am not overrun by plants...

Juicy snacks~ Plants have had plenty of rain!

Our home & my studio have been upside down most of July~

We are sorting, organizing and painting when we have

a few minutes away from work deadlines.

My plan is to have everything in its place by the

end of July~

August, September & October are my most favorite months of the year.

Hope you're having a great week, Friends!

Eastern Black Swallowtail in the dill

My wee little patch of dill has the most beautiful 

Black Swallowtail visitors!

No worries... I can purchase dill pickles at the local farm market~

Chew on little friends!

If I hold really still... maybe she won't see me!

Way down yonder in the little dill patch~

So amazing~

Color palette of the food and the caterpillar match <3 p="">

Hope your Friday is off to a great, Sweet Friends!

Garden Friends~

Remember the song by ABBA... "Dancing Queen?"

I emailed this photograph to a sweet friend and she wrote back

sharing that the bee looked as if it were dancing on the flower!

How sweet they are to see and hear around our gardens~

Yesterday was a chorus of bees!

Red Admiral was very patient while I took oodles of pictures on our Sweet Peas~

The Trumpet Vine and Sweet Peas are participating in some form of

Garden Olympics! Each climbing to the top of a nearby baby Maple tree!

With all the rain, heat & humidity... who will reach the top first?!

Hope your day is filled with pleasant visitors~

Michelle Palmer Watercolor

Finished my Yellow & Blue Collection this morning...

It is ready to take to the printer!

Gardens are filled with beauty...

Everything waiting months & blooming all at the same time~

Grape Hyacinths...

Pale blue in the background, deeper blues up front.

Painting green "behind" the nest grasses & hairs~

Butterfly... paint light to dark.

Eastern Tailed-Blue has robin's egg blue, French Ultramarine & Indigo!

All of my artwork is scanned & digital files are made for licensing.

We are in the process of setting up a second Etsy store...

Our 2nd shop will sell my original watercolors and prints of them!

Hoping to have prints back from the city soon!

My current Etsy will continue to have new pen & ink fabric treasures

along with needle felted friends!

We will share here when the 2nd Etsy shop is open!

Thank you for your kind comments, encouragement & support!

Hope your Monday is off to a wonderful start~

Earth Day Watercolor

My Earth Day inspired watercolor!

I had promised to share pictures of my finished painting~

Years ago I painted "bits n' pieces" watercolors like this~

They didn't license, so I stopped designing them & changed direction.

They're such fun!

I'm hoping to work on a new one each week & show you my progress...

A sweet plan because I can do "little bits at a time."

Easier on my eyes~

"Building" my Lilac~

Pup and I took a walk this morning & our Lilac trees are LOADED!!

(A mix of blues, lavenders, pinks and purples)

Last Spring's weather left us with one or two blossoms...

(The blossoms that have not opened yet are deeper in color)

They are going to be grand this season~

I will share photographs!

(Adding some green "behind" the flower petals...)

There is no rhyme nor reason to what I paint first...

I'm constantly slipping my hand into wet spots!

(I sketch the type in as faint as possible, paint my first layer over top)

My eyes need a little help from a friend~

This giant hand-held magnifier is WONDERFUL!

Made-up egg tones...

I know that somewhere in our world there is a bird to match each one!

I started my watercolor journey in 1987.

To all who have tried it, you know it is an immediate LOVE~

or very strong dislike.

I love it because it doesn't have an odor.

I love it because there is very little waste.

As a senior in high school, just beginning college~ I needed economical.

Today, if I need to walk away from a piece to tend to family & home...

A little touch of water & I'm back to where I left off.

I read every how-to-watercolor book.

Went through piles... MOUNDS of paper!

Pulled some of my hair out.

Threw a few brushes.

Ripped up a lot of art.

Fell completely in love along the way.

Our gardens are coming alive again!

Hearty Peonies...

Dew is covering every leaf this morning!

The silver shine on the lawn is finally not frozen~

You know their smiling!

Each with a promise~

To be simply beautiful!

Hope your Friday is off to a wonderful start~

Thank you for visiting my blog and for EVERY sweet comment!