Rumi on love and kindness

My plan today is to just "be kind". I'm working on the first of the 2019 Simple Inspiration Calendar designs and the quote is from by Rumi, my favorite. "Your acts of Kindness are iridescent Wings of Divine Love, which linger ad continue to uplift others long after your sharing." It's such a beautiful quote and I hope my painting does it justice. It will have flowers, hummingbirds and butterflies. The hummingbirds are mostly iridescent anyway.

So I'm looking for places to be kind. On my walk this morning a cat came up to me and seemed to want to walk with me, or rather lead me on a walk. So I walked the short way behind her and lovingly petted her at the end telling her how beautiful she was.

Here is another Rumi quote amongst hummingirds that will be in the 2017 calendar.

The rocky Maine coast

I recently went to Maine for the first time ever. It's not so far from Vermont but I never wanted to leave the state to go anywhere in summer because... why? Vermont has everything and more. Well not an ocean but beaches, mountains, rocks, gardens, flowers and many chickens. Maine was a great time and being by the ocean felt a lot like being a kid again growing up near the beaches in South Florida. The Rosa Ragosa reminded me of the times I spent on Nantucket with family. I'm in Florida now and enjoying the heat.. haha.. no really... I like the heat. My favorite thing to do was climbing on the rocks, smooth ones, beach ones, jagged ones.. doesn't matter, they are all lovable.

Coffee coloring pages

Wouldn't it be great to always wake up Awesome? My favorite way to wake up is to walk to a yoga class. I feel kind of awesome after that and ready to get to work.

You can see these coloring pages in the "Cheerful Journey" coloring book by Lang at lang.com. They also have calendars, journals, puzzles and a really cute traveling coloring book. I tried to do one of the coloring puzzles with my artwork with my dad but neither of us have the patience to do it. People that do puzzles are quite amazing.

Wake up and be Awesome!

These calendar designs from my "Simple Inspirations" Calendar by Lang were the inspiration for the coffee fabric line. I love coffee! It's always fun to take existing art and turn it into something else. The coffee designs are also used in the coloring book products I've been working on also with the Lang Companies.

Fun at the zoo

Fun time with my grandkids at a Florida zoo! Those shorts I made with fish fabric I designed years ago. I'm glad I saved some because they are really cute. It's great fun playing with the kids.


Monster trying to get the tiny children.

Woodcuck

I was walking down the hill to my yoga class on the lake and saw this cute little woodchuck. He was coming at me which kind of freaked me out. Then a guy in the apartment next to the path said he was coming for treats. I guess this guy leaves treats for him every day. So he was friendly enough and a fun surprise. Doing yoga on the sailing dock in the lake is such a luscious way to start the morning. I love Burlington!

Baby Squirrels

Rarely do I see a red squirrel in the forest but yesterday I got lucky and saw one,  although I couldn't get a good picture. There have been lots of chipmunks lately too but they run away too fast to get a good picture also. I should start bringing treats. 

I do have pictures of two baby squirrels that I found on the bike path last year. There was no mother around and they would have been someones dinner in the night so I had to rescue them. I mean who could walk away from a crying baby squirrel in a tree?  Raising them was crazy! Feeding them 5 times a day with formula in a dropper, washing them like their mom would, keeping them clean and warm while they grew was all new to me. So here they are. They were so fun to watch as they grew.  Of course I became their mother by caring for them and they would run and jump on me and climb up me like I was a tree until I grabbed them. One jumped on my face, which I didn't expect, but my glasses saved me from being blinded by his little claws that are pretty sharp. They were finally released by an official rehab person who has nut trees on her acres of property. I hope they are happy!

Watering cans

OK I'm working on another batch of coloring pages!

Shelburne Farms

Went hiking with a friend for my birthday at Shelburne Farms. Years ago I was a volunteered at the raptor cent hidden in the woods.  My favorite bird was a blind Great Horned owl named Maddie. She loved when I sang to her and I loved watching her head spin around wondering where the sound was coming from because it was bouncing off the walls. It's a hidden sanctuary for winged "ambassadors" that are tooo injured to be released. Winter was a fun time because sometimes we had to wear snowshoes to get back to the aviaries to feed them. The Barred owns and screech owls were also amazing to sit with and just watch.

Morning wanderings

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I'm back in Vermont,  enjoying wandering around town in the mornings getting inspired to start work on another calendar. The flowers here in summer are so spectacular, maybe because compared to winter they are just so alive and beautiful. Last time I was here it was still snowing and everything was brown and brown. Yay for color!

Delilah

Delilah...named after my great grandmother who helped the Dr. deliver babies in a horse and buggy.  She was a strong and independent woman.

The joy of chickens

It's such a joy hanging around with chickens. They are so simple and busy. A rolling blueberry sends them running in excitement to see who can get at it first. My favorite chicken, Delilah, loves the spring when I'm digging in the garden and finding juicy worms for her. But she follows me around everywhere.

Yay for snow people!!

It's important to experience what you intend to paint. So that is my excuse for making snow people! Besides it's just plain fun. I love her. 

Cooped up

My chicken coop reminds me of sunny days to come. It's a cheery face outside all winter as I come and go.

Magic purple ball

Good morning... magic purple ball out in my garden. I know it snowed again today but soon you will be surrounded by beautiful purple Iris and Peonies. Be patient. Your color inspires me to paint some purple cabbages and peppers in my new garden painting.

Spring in VT?

There have been many sunny days lately here in Vermont. My tulips and peonies are popping up but this morning there was a fresh layer of snow. It was nice snow but I was glad the sun came out and melted it. On with the spring thaw.

This is a winter painting that will be in the 2017 Simple Inspirations Calendar from Lang.

Aria and the mermaid

My grandaughter Aria with her new best friend, a mermaid! She was so excited to meet a real mermaid that she just stood and stared and was speechless. Well the mermaid didn't exactly speak English. She mostly just made sweet sounds like a dolphin or like a mermaid should. It was a magical day!