Art for Heart's Sake

My Canvas

Hi and good Monday morning from here in Nelson.  It's another beautiful day (oh bother!) and I've got the sprinkler going already.  Yesterday I managed to get quite a bit more of the main garden weeded - yikes I realised just how rock hard and dry the top of the soil is.  Ack!  Oh please rain soon!

After lunch I decided to try and finish my canvas, which I did.  The most nerve-wracking part was doing the centre of the flower (it's meant to be just a peak into it from side on) and writing the word with the dropper in my ink.  I think the hole in the dropper is bigger than Donna's one because oh boy is it bold!  I also splashed the white paint and black ink around a little with major trepidation in case I got the flower!  Eeeeekkk.  I am pretty happy with the finished article and every time I look at it I honestly can't believe I did it!  I think I've fallen in love with doing backgrounds too!

It is now hanging on our bedroom wall.  I can't wait for February's tutorial now and I'm also going to do another one hopefully in time for me to take it to the market this Saturday.  Yes that's rolled around again so I also need to sort out my plants later this week too.

Chester is a bit off again today.  We gave him a worming tablet last evening and he was very restless when John took him out before he went to bed last night.  This morning he didn't eat his breakfast (Chester that is, giggle) either so I'm putting it down to the tablet.  Time will tell.  Flaming heck, what next??  It's a week since he had his seizure and I still jump everytime he moves in his sleep. 

Today I'm going to continue weeding and luckily the part I'm doing is in the shade for most of the morning!  Yay!  Smiles...

What to Water Next??

Hi, crikey I so wish it would rain!  This morning I looked around the garden and thought ''now where did I water last, what haven't I watered for a week, is anything looking wilted, sigh!" giggle.  I normally am quite organised re my watering regime but at the moment I am trying very hard to weed the main perennial bed and this means that I am discovering areas that I thought were well-watered are actually flaming dry!  Ack..  Hence I end up watering an area out of sync.  Such a problem, giggle.

Yesterday I got quite a bit more weeding/cutting back done, in amongst getting bitten by rotten mosquitos.  It  was slightly humid with cloud coming and going so they were out in force in the morning.  Mid-afternoon we went to the Sarau festival and it was really good.   We wandered around the various stalls and I tried my first ever Perry - pear cider, delicious!  We also bought some glorious peaches that are crisp, sweet and delicious!  We enjoy having sliced fruit for a snack around 8.30-9pm so these peaches are perfect because they don't break up into mush when they are ripe.  I can't remember what variety they are (we got some last year too) and I forgot to ask.  They are the most gorgeous shade of deep pink with white flesh with a pink flush to it.  Yum!!

I thought I'd get my canvas finished yesterday but when I looked the gessoed flower again I decided it needed more texture before I painted it so today I am hoping to get it finished completely.  I'm excited!

It's Nelson anniversary day today so John has the day off.  He has been building a raised bed in the kitchen garden in an area that was basically a convulvulus bed.  It is the 14th bed and I haven't been able to use it since it was first dug around 4 years!!! ago.  He's lined the bed with black polythene, put drainage holes in it for obvious reasons (which eventually the convolvulus (bindweed) will get through and put another layer of permeable weed cloth over that.  I'm hoping the drainage will be good enough - who knows it could end up retaining moisture quite nicely in the summer.  I must go and take a photo of it as John is out buying soil/compost mix for it right now.

Okay I'd better get into the garden, I can see the sun coming out - oh POOKIES!!  Smiles..

Working on a Canvas!

Hi there, I had a wonderful day in the garden yesterday and managed to get a reasonable amount done, considering the blasted weather!  It was blowing a gusty SW and by 2.45pm I decided I'd had enough of being buffeted around - it was too hot in the sun by then too.  I am watering like a mad thing at the moment because parts of the garden are so dry, at least for the top several centimetres. 

I finally got a chance to go into my studio and work on the first online tutorial from Donna Downey's ''Canvas Create'' January download.  So far I have done the background and the basis of the flower.  Today I am hoping to get the rest of the flower done and the canvas finished.  As soon as I have I will post it for you.  I looked at the finished background and honestly thought ''wow, did I do that??!!'', how cool!  One thing I've realised about myself - I tend to try to eek (ermm spelling?) out my paint and this definitely doesn't work when you are trying to do a painting.  I need to learn to let go and throw it around a bit (not literally, giggle).  It's mainly because I can't afford a lot of my favourite sort of paints because they are very expensive and not available here in Nelson (so there's freight on top too) - they're the Golden brand and they're fluid acrylics.

Here is a photo of Madge the duck and her brood.  She had 9 ducklings, then 8 and this morning just 7.  I saw a hawk fly off with one of them yesterday morning, down by the pond.  I heard a racket but by the time I got outside the hawk was flying off with it.  Still, that's nature - hawks have to eat too!  Aren't they gorgeous?!

Today I am going to do a bit more gardening too.  It's cloudy at the moment so I'd better get out there.  This pm I think we are going to go to the local Sarau Festival, which is a celebration of the blackcurrant harvest.  The Moutere area is one of the major growers of blackcurrants in the country, supplying a major brand blackcurrant cordial brand - ''Ribena''.  We will be leaving Chester in his den for a couple of hours so just hope he doesn't decide to have a seizure while we're out.  I guess I won't know about it even if he does!  Smiles..

A Lovely Day Spent in the Garden!

Hi, firstly if you haven't read Mary's comment on my post yesterday please do, it's delightful!  Love and hugs Mary. 

Yay I finally got to spend a few hours in the main perennial garden yesterday and I LOVED IT!  I pulled out weeds, cut back some perennials and generally had a great time, tugging and snipping!  I only managed to get a fairly small area done but it looks so much better.  There is no doubt about it, gardenign is good for my soul!  I left Chester in his den but opened one of the windows in the living room so I could hear if he started crashing around, phew silence!  A southerly change came through around lunchtime which cooled down the temps a bit and there was also a cool wind blowing so that meant I managed to garden for most of the afternoon too.  

I got something exciting in the mail yesterday.  I entered a giveaway on one of the blogs I follow and I won a gorgeous set of artist pigments (shimmery powders) complete with all purpose medium (just a tiny bottle).  What is really cute is this particular product is a new release from the USA that isn't even in the shops yet - ermmm so how do I use it??  Good flaming question - I'll need to wait until February when hopefully there will be an instruction video available.  Giggle.. still I can gaze at the glorious colours - teal zircon, pink azalea and snapdragon - all very bright!  So pretty!

This morning I took some photos of the Oak Garden and I am so happy with the amount of colour that is in it at the moment.  I put so much work into this garden in Spring and it is paying off now.  I'm also watering a lot more than usual too.  Which reminds me, I'd better toss around some more sheep manure pellets to keep the garden fed for the next few months too. 

The first photo is of a rugosa rose (whose name escapes me!).  Just look at this gorgeous flower - like a powderpuff.  Unfortunately (or fortunately!) there was a bug on the flower too.  She smells lovely too!

Here is part of the Oak Garden, I hope you can get an idea of how colourful it is!

Today I'm spending a lot more time in the flower garden if I can.  I think it is going to be pretty hot by this pm but I'll do my best.  We didn't get any rain to speak of, blast it, so I am copiously watering too, especially as there is a blustery wind blowing again today, ugh!  So glad I'm not a vegetable right now!  Smiles...

A Hot Day!

Hi there, firstly Chester got through yesterday without any ''blips'' so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed but hopefully he won't have another one for a long time - crikey! Every time I put him in his den for a rest in the morning I will be holding my breath and walking around on eggshells.  Ugh! 

Just in case you are wondering why we put Chester in his den (crate) every morning, it's basically so I/we can go outside and do things in the kitchen garden or elsewhere on the property without worrying what he is getting up to.  I'm sure he would just sleep on the floor but it takes away the ''not knowing'' factor.  It's something we've always done since he was a puppy and it is very much a part of his routine now.   At his age he still needs a good rest (at least 1.5 hours) after his morning walk.

Yesterday was horribly hot!  Needless to say the only thing I got done in the garden was watering like a mad thing.  Rain was predicted overnight but we didn't get any at all which is SO frustrating.  We have a five acre very steep paddock behind us that is for sale and at the moment the grass is extremely long which is a fire risk at this time of year.  I was hoping for regular rainfall to help dampen the grass but so far, no such luck.  I've spoken to the owner of the property (the same man we bought this property from) but he's had to sell his big tractor/mower so I have no idea what's going to happen.  When you have large eucalyptus trees just over the fence from the grass it can't help but make for a little trepidation.  It's the old story, what will be will be, and I musn't worry about it. 

Here is a photo of a little (well not so little!) visitor we had down by our pond on Wednesday around 3pm.  It looks a little bit like a hare but I'm fairly sure it is a rabbit (granddaddy?) as it had a rabbit's very recognisable scut when it took off up the hill! 

We have quite a few of these little guys around and I'm not worried in the slightest.  Yesterday I took Chester down the drive towards the pond and we surprised two rabbits in the drainage gully.  It was so funny!  One of them must have been sitting there for quite a while watching us as we watched one running away.  Next thing the other one took off from almost right in front of us.  Hmmmm good mental image of Philippa flapping along behind one dog!  Giggle.  Needless to say I turned around and went back up the drive before that could happen.. Yikes..

Today I'm really hoping to launch myself into the main perennial garden.  I have so much weeding and mulching with compost to do before we go away in mid-April.   I'm going to be working like a flaming trojan, particularly as our housesitters aren't gardeners, except for vegetables.  Oh crikey again!  Off I go to walk the dog.  Smiles..

Garlic!

Hi, yikes it's Thursday already - where has the week gone?  Firstly, Mary, thank you SO MUCH for your lovely comment re Chester, it helps to know I have such lovely friends around the world!

Yesterday we kept a fairly close eye on Chester and so far, so good!  He is lying asleep in his den right now, after his walk, and I have to say I am a bit nervous it will happen again.  Fingers crossed, as I don't think my emotions could cope with it.  Let's just say Rescue Remedy is coming in handy right now. 

Back to the garden.  Garlic is one crop I have never had much success with.  I don't know if it is because we are on Moutere clay or if garlic just doesn't like me, giggle.  This year I bit the bullet and added some dry fertiliser especially formulated for garlic and it does seem to have made a difference.  I don't like using prepared dry fertiliser mixes as a rule but I was fed up with tiny bulbs of garlic.  Here is the result!

John plaited it for me and it is hanging in a cool area of our kitchen.  I also planted 3 elephant garlic cloves too - wow I can see why they call it ''elephant''!

In actual fact elephant garlic isn't related to garlic at all, it's closest relative is the leek and that accounts for the more leek-like flavour.  I don't really like using it as a garlic because it doesn't have much of a punch of flavour.  When you slice it, it is crisp like an apple - quite odd!  Love the huge bulbs though.  I have some in my flower garden just for the flower-heads.

I had the sprinkler on the main gardens near the house for about 7 hours yesterday.  I tend to water each area for 1.5 hours to make sure it gets a reasonable soaking.  I would love to be able to hand-hose but it would take me way too long so I have to resort to an efficient sprinkler instead.  I got some compost put into the glasshouse but apart from that I didn't get a chance to do much in the garden yesterday.  Hopefully I can this afternoon if it's not too hot (blue sky and sunshine again!).

I'm off to make myself a much-needed cup of tea.  Hugs and smiles... 

Chester's Seizure!

Hi there, as you can tell from the title, yesterday was not a great day in our household.  I took Chester for his normal morning walk and put him in his den for a rest.  He always sleeps for a couple of hours after his walk.  I was sitting at my laptop when I suddenly heard his water bowl being hit so I went round the corner saying (in a rather stern voice) ''what are you doing?'' and here he was having a major seizure. 

I can't tell you how petrified I was, I got such a fright that I instantly leapt for the telephone and rang the vet.   The receptionist (lovely girl) told me there really was nothing I could do except wait for it to finish and she told me he would be disoriented and might vomit.   As I was talking to her the seizure got worse and I started to cry so she immediately told me she'd send the vet out - I was close to Chester so I'm sure she could hear him thrashing around - his water bowl was flying all over his den.  I couldn't open the door in case he hurt himself more or me.

His fitting stopped after around 3.5 mins and he started to bark like crazy.  She told me just to leave the room until the vet got here so that's what I did - which was incredibly hard!  He never barks like that!  When they got here they pretty much diagnosed an epileptic fit and took bloods and urine to check too.  No toxicity showed in the blood tests so it wasn't from eating anything toxic.  His kidney enzymes were up a bit but apparently that happens with seizures and also his temp was up too, which also happens.  We need to watch him for the next 48 hours as the chance of another one is heightened during that time.  I'm a bit of a wreck!  Now need to check with the kennels to make sure they will still take him if there is a chance of a seizure.  Oh crikey, life feels a little too hard today!

On a brighter note, the vet didn't bring her stethoscope with her and lo and behold I happened to have my Dad's one - the original one he trained with and ''look what's this?'' another one in pieces in a box (which worked far better!).  How cool that my Dad's medical equipment came in so handy - I knew it would one day! 

I didn't accomplish much at all yesterday for obvious reasons so I need to get something done today.  I'm trying my hardest not to worry about Chester but so far it isn't working.  Smiles, slightly worn out ones!  Oooh here is the photograph of those figs!! Hugs...

A Gorgeous Plum!

Hi, it was gorgeous, really it was!  We picked the one and only Santa Rosa plum on Sunday and I was going to photograph it.. but..........ermmmmmmmmmmm..... we ate it before I got the chance!  Giggle.  I can tell you it was exceptionally DELICIOUS.  Juicy with an almost floral plum flavour and a slight tart edge.  It's times like this that I wish my Dad was still alive because I used to pick up the phone and say ''Dad, you'll never guess what I've just eaten'', then I'd go on to describe the intense flavour with oohs and aaahs coming from the other end of the phone.  Oh how I miss you, gorgeous man!

Late in the day I also found three very dark figs on a small fig tree I have planted in a wine barrel near our bedroom.  I remember seeing them forming but forgot about them until I spotted them yesterday, perfectly ripe and untouched by birds!  Talk about the most jammy, figgy figs I've every eaten - just divine!  I was given a piece of a very special old type of fig by a friend of mine too so I rushed over to that small tree and sure enough there is a huge juicy looking fig that is almost ripe.  I'm going to put a little ''sack'' of permeable frost cloth around it today so the birds don't steal it.  It's the only one on the tree!  Our Brown Turkey fig (slightly less tasty than most but still gorgeous) is going to be loaded this autumn and I just have to hope we get most of them before we go away in mid-April.  If not at least our house sitters will enjoy them.  That's the hardest thing about going away - missing the fruit that will be ready then.  I did take a photo of the figs and will post it tomorrow for you (it's still in the camera!).

I managed to get the glasshouse weeded and pulled out one of the zucchini plants that had finished.  There is still a lovely yellow zucchini going strong, plus the fennel that I'm leaving for seed, oh and a tomato that has struggled but is still ripening.  There is also a lebanese cucumber that I almost dug out so I hope it will recover.  I apologised profusely as I pushed it's root ball back down into the ground and watered it well!

In the kitchen garden I have a few white turnips that have germinated and also some beetroot I sowed is finally doing something.  The germination rate was shocking but I was taking a chance sowing it in summer.  Beetroot is more of a spring/autumn crop here.

Today I am going to put some fish compost into the glasshouse and dig it over, ready for planting and sowing a few things later this week.  Okay, I'd better go because Chester is giving me the ''when are we going for a walk?" look!  Smiles..

A Chilly Start - in Summer?

Hi, well as predicted a cold southerly blast swept (literally) up the country yesterday delivering a bit of snow to the Southern Alps and causing temps in some lower north island places to drop 10 degrees C!  We got a bit of the change but mainly just a gusty wind and a few tiny spits of rain (darn it!).  This morning we woke to 5.6 degrees C which is ridiculously cold for January!  It won't last long though, the sun is already hot at 8.30am. 

I managed to get part of my little glasshouse weeded yesterday so I'm hoping to finish it while it's in the shade this morning.  I have florence fennel going to seed (so I can collect the seeds), plus one yellow zucchini (courgette, Mary - yikes I meant to reply to your comment last week, sorry!) doing well but apart from that the rest needs to be thrown out so I can recompost and plant more. 

I also planted a Worcesterberry I've had for about a year on the west side of the kitchen garden shed.  I'd been struggling to know what to plant there because it gets sun from the afternoon and realised the worcesterberry is perfect because it will thrive in partial shade.  Yay! 

On Saturday I picked a gorgeous bunch of Abraham Darby roses which I simply adore.  I have to say he doesn't last very well in water but for a couple of days he looks and smell fabulous! 

I'd better get going as Chester is getting impatient for his morning walk, then into the glasshouse I will go, hey ho!!  Smiles..

A Day Gardening!

Hi, yippeeeee, yesterday I managed to get quite a lot of gardening done even though it was very hot.  I got the asparagus weeded by late morning.  There are still oodles of couch roots under the soil surface that I couldn't get to properly because of the major asparagus ferny fronds but I'll sort that in winter when they have died down.  At least I can put some aged horse manure on the top of the bed and pile barley straw onto the bed too. 

I also uncovered the strawberry patch and much to my horror I fond another dead thrush.  I pinned the netting down really thoroughly leaving no gaps that I could see but still he/she managed to get in.  ''Right, that's it!'' I said to myself.  The bird netting is no more and as far as I'm concerned the strawberries are for the birds.  If we get a few berries all well and good but I just want the thrushes in particular to enjoy them!  Enough death around here already, crikey!

It was too hot to go back out into the kitchen garden in the afternoon so I did a bit of cutting back on the edge of the woodland garden.  Ooh my lebanese cucumber in the kitchen garden has produced about 7 gorgeous cucumbers so far.  They are yummy!

This morning we had another lovely visitor - this time a Royal Spoonbill which is rarely seen in home gardens.  We are near an estuary so it must have taken a detour!  John saw it land in a tree just on the other side of our neighbour's fence and we thought it was a white heron at first, until we looked through my Dad's binoculars and realised it's beak was spoon-like.  Out came our bird books.  We tried to take a photo of it but it was too far away - John went outside to try and take one but it took off and flew right over his head.  Just amazing!

Download Royal Spoonbill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quite a sight I can tell you.

Showers and a southerly change are predicted today, with some parts of the lower south island possibly even getting some snow flakes (in the mountains I imagine).  Crikey!  We tend to miss the southerly changes here but we might get some showers all the same.  I, for one, am looking forward to slightly cooler night temps.

I finished a small board canvas for my brother's birthday on the 29th.  I won't post it until after that date just in case he checks my blog (but I don't think he does).  I am really happy with it and just hope he likes it too.  It's the first time I've painted a flower for anybody, gulp! 

I'd better get back outside - at least there is a bit of cloud around today, phew!  Oh here's a photo I took of Chester being a goon with his favourite toy - tomato!  Smiles..