Bring on the Butterflies!

Our garden this year has been neglected more than usual; however out of concern for our polinating friends, Jackson decided to add some plants to help out the bees and the butterflies. With a little help from his dad, he was able to add a butterfly bush to the meditation garden, and for the birds, a blueberry bush and cherry tree. It was with interest then that I stumbled upon master gardener Eileen's blog, Milkweed Gardens. A gardener for the Orange County Extension Office in Florida, Eileen enjoys butterfly gardening with her children and encourages parents to turn their backyards into a hands-on, butterfly biology lesson. Hm, creating a lifelong gardening lesson and enriching the environment at the same time? Sounds like a good addition to the meditation garden.

Key West: Butterflies

As a slush storm hurls itself towards the Northeast yet again, I had to share the beauty of Key West's Butterfly and Nature Conservatory as a hopeful sign that spring might actually return again. It was incredibly serene to wander the sunlit paths inside the glass structure, with butterflies and songbirds floating around us, turtles and Chinese button quails underfoot. Jane even found one hitching a ride on her hat. In the hatching center, you can stand and watch a butterfly emerge from his cocoon. When I walked out of there with lower blood pressure and ready for a nap, I couldn't help but think how fantastic it would be to set one of these up at home.

Beach House

When Jane of modernemama asked if I would paint a portrait of her Andrew Gellar modern home, I decided to dive headlong into the task. It was made easier after a terrific meal (and several bottles of wine) at Crew since I had a better fix on how I was going to represent their already interesting home in a surreal painting. I knew Jane to be a cat lover and The Guy, a fan of the butterfly, but I wanted to make the images more complex than that. After looking at some works by Italian painter Georgio de Chirico and Belgian Rene Magritte, I decided to develop two different images. The top image, a symmetrical facade, became an open book, with the chimney serving as its spine. The ground started as a chess board, since The Guy soundly trounced me in a game, but the image needed something to alter the scale, hence the blue jay feather. I love blue jays, not just for their color, but for their ability to transform their call to sound just like a hawk. The second image was more straightforward, except for the topiary shrub on the right, a dog peeking around the corner to check out the cat and the luna moth. It was a great exercise to try to capture both home and homeowner in such a symbolic way.

Portrait of a Lady

Our painted lady butterflies hatched this morning. In this picture, the last one is emerging from his cocoon head first. What a way to introduce spring! The shiitakes are being watered, the birdhouses are being painted, I just took the compost out, and peony bulbs are going in the ground this weekend. Whew.
And did you hear about the blog r3project.blogspot.com? The New York Times featured this blog about trying to live an environmentally responsible lifestyle on the cheap. In light of that, my other spring cleaning goals include finding a way to recycle my old computer equipment and to dispose of the archaic toxins cluttering the basement. I hear earth911.org is the place to go. I'll let you know how it works, right after I cancel all my catalogue deliveries... ok not all of them. Somebody's gotta save the economy.
SAVE THE DATE: March 29th: Earth Hour-- turn off your lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Oh c'mon, it'll be so romantic playing Candyland by candlelight.