One year I discovered something beautiful by accident.
Now every year around this time I happily repeat the process.
I love when the dogwood trees begin to bud out and so
I pick a few of the knobby branches and bring them inside...
To my delight I discovered that, like a lot of spring blooms,
they began to grow in the warmth of the house!
Slowly the petals get bigger...
...and the little knobby bits on the centre buds become fuller...
...then the petals begin to turn the classic creamy white of a dogwood...
...after about a week inside, the centre buds start to open into these tiny, little flowers buds too!
How amazing is that?!
Nature always marvels me...I think that's why I'm so smitten with her!
Years ago I found this painting for $4 in the thrift shop...
It reminded me of the train rides I use to take up and down the Island to visit my folks
when my daughter was a little girl.
I love train travel.
In the springtime, the dogwood trees would light up the coniferous forest
as the train chugged along through it's corridor.
One day I was in the Victoria Art Gallery and I noticed paintings by this very same artist...
...to add further interest to the story, I was chatting one day to a woman I worked with
at the post office about great thrift store finds and told her about this painting
with the signature on it and it turns out it was her Grandmother!
I asked her if she wanted the painting back but she said to keep it since
it was clear to her how much I loved it and she said her Grandmother was a very prolific painter
and that they had hundreds of them amongst the family.
I like to imagine Isabel Hobbs out in the forest with her
paints and smock and easel, chatting with the wrens and jays...
Anyway, I'm going out to work in the garden to listen to the birdsong, in between the raindrops.
