Visitors and Final Quote

I missed a day in the consecutive quote challenge but I am not sure that any one is getting notices of my posts so it probably isn't a big issue.

Before I get to the quote here are a few photos of recent visitors to my yard.

This photo was taken from inside the house with the zoom out to almost maximum as the deer was at the back of the yard at the edge of the forest.

This one was taken with less zoom so you can get some idea of the distance. The deer stayed for about an hour around lunchtime. When she left Bob notices that her udder was full so we weren't too surprised after dinner to see this:

Again, they were at the back of the yard, in shade and it was starting to get dark so the photo is not the best quality. These are welcome visitors - even when they eat my flowers - lol.

Now for today's quote!

                                     From your lips to God's ears.

I don't remember when I first heard this phrase but I have used it a lot since I started selling my art, doing Painting Parties and teaching. A friend would say 'That is great, it is sure to sell' or 'you should teach, you will get lots of students'. Statements like this make me think and say - 'from your lips to God's ears'

When I looked the saying up on Google, there was quite an involved supposed history but basically it came from Arabic or Hebrew then to Yiddish etc. It is also similar to Psalm 130:2. I have been surprised many times by the number of people who had never heard the saying before I used it in their presence. It is a good one and I hope God listens - not necessarily about my art but about the state of the world because I use it for those occasions too..

Almost Over

It is so hard to believe that summer is almost over: the time seemed to speed by while at the same time it seemed to be crawling. The heat, the smoke, the lack of visitors to my home gallery and to the Summer Art Market have all contributed to the strangeness I have felt all summer.

I have been spending what leisure time I have had doing some quilled paper and watercolour pieces. I find both aspects soothing and relaxing.

#1050 - Filigree Flier

#1051 - Filigree Rufous

#1052 - Filigree Fantasy

#1054 - Filigree Fantasy #2

I have been sticking with hummingbirds as my subjects because they suit the lacy looking I am going for and they sell very well - everyone loves hummers! I have, however, been taking some liberties with my colours - at least I have never seen a purple and orange hummer - lol.

I have been thinking about my plans for the Fall and trying to get things organized for a few Watercolour Painting Parties. I am also hoping that some of my students will be coming back to continue their lessons but I expect I will have to wait for the weather to get cold before that happens. I was pleasantly surprised last week by an email from Cheryl asking if I could fit in a lesson on the weekend. I did of course and we both managed to finish a pretty decent painting. Here is mine!

#1053 Deep Fuchsia - 5 x 7 watercolour

On a non-art note, a few weeks ago I got a new camera as my old favourite finally gave up the ghost. The new one is a Canon PowerShot SX420 15 and it is working great! Although I mostly use the camera to take photos of my art, it works super taking pictures through the windows of the critters that visit our yard.

baby turkeys

deer and fawn in my back yard

fawn

These are some of the joys of living in the country in the middle of a forest - life is good!

Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment.

A Short but Sweet Visit

This morning we had a charming visitor who had so much fun bouncing around the yard that I wished for a video camera. No such luck and besides there was a bit too much shade. I had to be happy with a few photos taken from inside the house.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed my sweet visitor!

The photos aren't great because this little guy kept moving too much - so much fun! Mom was either just behind or just ahead of this little one and seemed  very calm about the gallivanting.

I was taking some photos of my yard and flowers to send to my daughter and it made me think about the comparison between my yard this past winter and my yard today.

the courtyard in winter

the courtyard today

I know which I prefer - in spite of the heat!