It is indeed Spring!

The other day Lisa asked her blog readers what symbolized the onset of Spring for them.  She showed a lovely Bluebonnett blooming in her garden.  For me, Spring is ushered in when my Bloodroot begin to bloom.  Each blossom last for just one day, and then the leaves emerge, and the spent blossom slowly turns to a plump seed pod.  As you may have guessed, Bloodroot gets its name because the root of this flower contains blood red dye.  I have never investigated this fact, because I treasure the few plants that I have and do not want to disturb the root system of any.  So today, as we arrived home from our Atlanta weekend, I was greeted by two Bloodroot blossoms....and as you can plainly see, there will be a third.  So, Spring has officially sprung!  YAYY!!


For some reason I was up early this morning....well, the 'some reason' was Barker who just couldn't seem to settle down.  Normally he sleeps soundly and doesn't even get up when we do!  (For those who don't already know it: Barker is a jewel of a dog!!)  But last night and this morning he tossed and turned, got up, drank water, ate food, and then tossed some more.  So, I finally gave in and got up at about 6, which would have been 5 a few days ago.  It was peaceful and still dark: my favorite time of the day.


The sun rose over Atlanta:

It was a gorgeous sunrise!  We walked to breakfast at the Highland Bakery...and it was yummy!


Before breakfast, I had given Barker a 'mini walk'.  We take the same route every morning when we are at the condo, but this morning I noticed a new graffitti addition on one of the buildings we pass by:

I like it!!  


I was eager to get back home so that I could get in some good studio time today, so we left shortly after our long morning walk with Barker.  The studio didn't disappoint!  I mixed up some print paste and some lovely yellow green dye:

I applied it to some silk that I had slathered potato dextrin on last Friday, and let it batch.  After a couple of hours in my little 'under-the-bed-incubator' I rinsed out my silks:

not too shabby!  Obviously there is more to be added to this piece, but I'm glad to have the first layer applied.


One more harbinger of Spring is, of course, my Hellebores.  I love them so!!!  They are very special to me because my first plants were gifts from two friends: one who has since passed away.  I can't help but think of him and his kindness when I see his plants blooming.

And yes: it is indeed Lent!


And lastly, here's our boy:

Barker was feeling a bit neglected on Saturday when we visited Charlie.  It's amazing how quickly my allegiance changes....I have to check myself because Barker is a very sensitive boy.  Once Charlie gets a bit older, I know that he will love Barker and pay him a lot of attention, but for now, it's a challenge!

PEACE