In Full Bloom

© Robin Edmundson, 'Bluebell Wood, Full Bloom', watercolor and ink, 14 x 10 inches.
Framed to 20 x 16 inches.  $375.

I know it's too early for bluebells, but that delicious color just calls to me.   I've been thinking about my trees in different seasons, trying to figure new ways to combine favorite subjects in a new way.

Still some work to do, but I'm having fun doing it.

Trees and Bluebells

© Robin Edmundson, 'Bluebell Wood, Just Beginning to Bloom', watercolor and ink, 13 x 10 inches.
Framed to 20 x 16 inches.  $375.

It is almost bluebell season.   As soon as the weather warms, the tops of the leaves start to pop up along our creek and in the woods along the bottoms where it floods.

I love the contrast of the rough gray bark, that fresh moss and the blue, blue, blue of the flowers.

More Bluebells

©Robin Edmundson, 'Bluebells - 546', watercolor, 8 x 11 inches.
Matted and framed to 11 x 14 inches.  $225

Another view of the bluebell wood down by Richland Creek.  

This is the first time I used the 300# Indigo paper and I have to say that I love the pebbly texture. The company has made some manufacturing changes since this batch was purchased and I'm excited to try their new paper.  I hope it has this same great texture.

Blue Bells

©Robin Edmundson, 'Bluebells-545', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches.  $375
[Matted and framed to 16 x 20 inches]

Bluebells don't last long enough and this year was no exception.  That gorgeous blue stays with me and as I drive along our creeks, I watch for that signature blue every spring.

Spring at Last

My favorite view of Richland Creek is during April.  

The bluebells are a week or so late this year, but spring has been gentle and slow.   

We harvested the first of the asparagus last week and the lettuce is getting big.   Peas are up now, too. The onions were so slow coming up that I forgot about them and planted the peas right next to them.   Rumor has it that onions and peas don't get along, so I'll leave some peas there and move some to see which ones do better [though the transplanted ones may be just as unhappy as the ones next to the onions.]   

Maybe I ought to move the onions?    We'll see.

Bluebells by the Bridge

It's bluebell time.   I find them enchanting. 

Enchanting, I tell you. 

Magical.

Ethereal.

Otherworldly.

A. May. Zing.   Heavy on the zing. 

We've got a bunch planted by our creek and I love this batch by our bridge.  

Notice the repairs at either end of the bridge - Lily and I built that when she was 5 years old.  She pounded every single nail by herself.   It's lasted beautifully all these years, but the ends got a bit mushy from being in contact with damp ground.   The girls replaced seven of the boards last weekend and I expect we'll get another 13 years out of it. 

While they were pounding, I was on the other side of the creek looking for more bluebells.

Because they're enchanting.  

Bluebell Wood

I have to say that one of my favorite times of the year is when the bluebells bloom here.  These are Mertensia virginica.  They're wild here and large colonies are common along the sandy and shady creek banks in the bottom lands.

Pretty, aren't they!

Bluebells

Not far from us, on the sandy shore of a creek that regularly floods, there is a wood full of bluebells - Mertensia viginica.   

For a very short time in April or early May, the bluebells bloom and it's as if the sky has come down to drink at the water's edge.

And then they are gone until next year.