Out of the Frying Pan

Cutting back the oregano

The wisdom jar

My favorite summertime snack

Something about Rainier cherries just shouts "SUMMER!" to me. Most of the cherry trees of my growing up years were Bings, which is a perfectly nice variety. But I always favored Rainiers and still do.

This is from the sage plant that envelopes grows near the miniature roses.

Summer garden

The summer garden is beginning to come in: lots of salvia, rudbeckia, and a few Shasta daisies. The Johnson's geraniums are on the run because of the heat, but they'll be back in a month or so when the evenings get a little cooler again.

Making some changes

Late in February I decided to launch three "Picturing" blogs. Based on how these have been received (i.e., their traffic and income) I've decided to change from daily publication of Picturing Plants to three times a week. Picturing Angels and Picturing Birds will both move to month publication.

This seems like an admission of defeat and maybe it is. But much as I love historical illustration and much as I think it isn't seen enough on the Web, I need to clear more time for my own work. Job one there is getting prices revised and installing a shopping cart.

Making changes is something that's hard for me, so we'll see how this goes.

Butterflies don't read...

See this: Gardening with Binoculars: Royal Catchfly catches a Butterfly

Classes and critiques

The two-Saturday course I've just finished was with Colorado photographer Eli Vega. Check out his site for some really beautiful photos. These are the images that I submitted for critique:

 

 

Eli's main comment to me was that I "have a good eye", which was encouraging. I've been taking some workshops through Boulder Digital Arts and hope to do more.

I feel bad about needing to deface this photos in order to show them here. Google image searches have resulted in enough problems that I'm afraid this is the way forward. But I feel bad about it.

If you're interested in how some Christians are faring in China...

...read this.

Go, Rockies Todd

As I slide ever closer to the seventh decade of life, Todd Helton's durability impresses me more and more. What talent! What attitude!

Speaking of attitude, I'm in a brief workshop that suggests attendees show up with three or so photos for critique. My attitude, which ought to be an open mindset, is worried and insecure. If you have a thought, please drop me an email. Although I've had very good experiences with collegiate critiques, a workshop is a different animal and I feel intimidated.