Tuesday, July 13, 2010

"Midwest Blooming..."

There is something to be said about
experiencing
the change of seasons in the Midwest...
especially
when coming from a hot, dry,
summer-browned desert.
The vegetation we saw in Illinois these past weeks
was so dense and lush and vibrant
it actually hurt my eyes!
(Go figure...I think I must be color deprived!)
The corn...which traditionally they say is to be
"knee high by the 4th of July"...
rose in thick, proud, untassled rows
and
stood shoulder to head high
turning
gravel country roads into canyons rimmed
with nature's emerald bounty.
Actually, the fields
were so incredibly deep, deep green
my brother-in-law claimed they were almost blue!!!
No kidding...!
Wildflowers were blooming almost everywhere
they could take root.
Queen Anne's Lace held royal court
over clusters of sky blue chickory and thistles....
painting weedy roadside ditches
in colorful soft washes of floral beauty.
Mmmm...really nice.
Soooo...
inspired by all this bountiful blossoming
I have started
a series of summery floral heart ATCs.
My first one here is
inspired by the sturdy and joyful coneflower.
I post it today
in celebration of two birthdays
in my family...
my brother Mark in Illinois...
and my sister Susan here in Arizona...
both were born this very day
exactly
two years apart!
(They still claim to this day that they are twins.)
HAPPIEST of BIRTHDAYS
TO YOU BOTH!!!
May your day bloom with love and joy
and your hearts be
filled with sweet and special
memories.

15 comments:

marianne said...

How special is that bro and sister born on the same day!
Lovely ATC!
Even when you are color deprived (which I don't think ;))
you know your way with color like no other!

Have a nice colorful day!

Serena Lewis said...

The colours in that heart are vibrant and beautiful, Margaret! How neat that your bro and sis share the same date of birthday two years apart. Happy Birthday to both of them ~ :)

Lisa at Greenbow said...

It appears that you left your heart in the midwest. Beautiful colors. The color is inside you. Happy Birthday to the birthday twins. My sister and I have a similiar situation only 10years and 4 days apart.

studio lolo said...

I love your description of the colors in the midwest. You took me there!

Beautiful heart for the twins :)
Happy happy birthday to them!

It's nice to have you back ;)

Teri said...

Beauteous!!!! I have heard other people say how rich the colors are in the midwest when they come from AZ. Everything is growing so well with all the rain we got that even I notice it, and I have been here for 2 months.

Patsy Taylor-Craw said...

Your description is so beautiful, that I want to go visit. I live in NH, the land of tree tunnels. Congrats to the birthdays. My sister & I are 11 1/2 months apart, so for 2 weeks were are the same age! I just love your work!

Marthann's Musings said...

Love this piece. Living in Missouri I know what you mean. We have had so much rain, that everything is blooming everywhere.
How fun to have identical birthdays. Thanks for sharing.

Angie Willis said...

Your words are as colourful as your beautiful painting. Inspirational!

Sandra said...

So nice! Enjoyed both the drawing and the story.

Alexiev said...

good...

Best wishes from Buenos Aires...

http://www.alexiev.com.ar

Proyectos - Illustrations

Alexiev Store - venta de originales

Rita A. said...

So vibrant and beautiful. I love your colors. Greetings from Arizona.
Rita A.
www.tatteredpast.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Your colors are always so amazing. They remind me of looking at those space pictures and seeing the colors in the space dust and different galaxies, etc.

Lynn Cohen said...

This is such a colorful beautiful poem you have written about your surroundings. I loved reading it. And the painting is again exquisite!

PAK ART said...

beautiful atc and beautiful words. You really do write well "Queen Ann's lace held royal court over.." was just perfect. I can picture it!

Alex said...

Beautiful words complimented by a beautiful drawing =)