Red Barn, Last Big Snow

 © Robin Edmundson, 'Red Barn, Last Big Snow', watercolor, 9 x 12 inches.   Framed $300.

After that last big snow we had in February, Eric grabbed a pic of this red barn, gold grass and blue snow shadows.  

Rain Makes Green

©Robin Edmundson, 'Rain Makes Green - Goose Pond', watercolor, 18 x 24 inches.
Framed and matted to 24 x 30 inches.  $750.

We had a wet spring. 

A very wet spring.

Here's the thing though:  It's kind of magical to watch the clouds gather, the sky darken and those sheets of rain move in from across the flats and lowlands. 

The wetlands soak it up [It's what they do best] and things turn a gentle green.

Barn, Bale & Tires

© Robin Edmundson, 'Barn, bale & tires', watercolor, 9 x 12 inches.
Unframed, $250

See those tires peeking out of the grass?   I think they're a type of wildflower that only grows in barnyards out here.   I've decided to embrace that fact.

I've been playing with underpaintings to see if I can emphasize the feeling of heat [or cold].   What do you think?   Does this look hot?

Split Roof & Grassy Bales

© Robin Edmundson, 'Split Roof, Grassy Bales',  watercolor, 10 x 14 inches. 

This place is not far from us, at the bottom of a hill in a damp, sheltered spot.   The bales often sprout before they're used for winter feed.  The old tractor shed's roof split a couple of years ago when we had several heavy snows in a short time.   It's quiet and peaceful.  Even in the winter, the grass stays green for a long time there. 

I studied this barn for a long time before I painted it. I routinely do a few versions of a piece to get a feel for color, shapes and light.    Here are a couple of practice pieces:

I may try to do it again as a snow scene.  I'll keep you posted.

Rowboat

There are plenty of little ponds around here and many folks have small boats to paddle around in - especially if the pond is big enough for fish.   This boat had been pulled out for the winter.

I liked the blue against the orange grass.

Grass

We have a lot of grass here.   Not because we're native prairie, we're not.   When left to itself, this land reverts to woodland.

Well, first it reverts to brambleland, and then it reverts to woodland. 

But because the land was cleared to make room for farming and cattle, and farmers wanted hay, they planted grass.   It's pretty grass, too.

This is one of my favorites - Eastern bottlebrush grass  [Elymus hystrix].   It looks like fireworks.

This is another one we see out here - Orchardgrass [Dactylis glomerata].   It grows all over the US.

This is Nodding foxtail grass - Setaria faberi.  I've seen it called Japanese bristlegrass, too.  Turns out there are a lot of 'foxtail' grasses out there - about a dozen different genuses [geni?] with many different species in each.  

Our cats LOVE this grass and we often pick it to bring inside for them to chase around.   They love it as much as catnip. 

Little Bluestem

Little bluestem [Schizachyrium scoparium] is one of our most common grasses.  It loves the cow pastures and lowlands out here. One of the ironies of its name is that it turns orange in the fall.  The orange stems are very distinctive in winter fields.    It's really pretty this time of year.

It's done blooming now, gone to seed and the plants are letting go of the fluff.    It looks like fairy grass when the sun hits it just so.    I wish I could capture that for you.    Click this pic for a better look.

Grass

We have a lot of different types of roadside grasses, rushes and sedges.     Here are just a few that I found along our road.

Bottlebrush grass.   It reminds me of fireworks.   That colony in the pic above is the same stuff. 

Foxtail.   Our cats like this stuff better than catnip.  Seriously.

Not a great picture, but you get the idea.  This is oatgrass.   I like the whole 'weeping' grass posture.

This is another one that reminds me of fireworks.  It's a rush, not a grass - soft rush, to be exact.   

Cows in Grass

Some cows just look smart.  



See the one in the middle? 

I think she was plotting something. 

She did not appreciate it when I hollered, 'Moooo' so she'd look at us while K2 took the picture. 

Neither did K2.

Those Blasted Walnuts

We have a few black walnut trees in the yard.   Every other year they have a bumper crop of walnuts that drop all over the yard and garden.

All.  Over.

It's a chore to pick them up, but it's good exercise.   And we can save some for dyeing.   The rest are raked into piles and then dumped across the way for the squirrels, or left in the road.    

Last year, I raked a monster pile to the edge of yard and then forgot about it.    This spring, it started growing.  

Because I need 250 more walnut trees next to the mailbox. 

So I got a rake and a shovel one day last week and took care of it.  

The good news is that it had composted beautifully!  There were four wheelbarrow loads full of walnut debris.   I hauled it all across the way. 

The bad news is that when I was done, I had a huge bare patch in the yard.  I had forgotten that a pile of walnuts is toxic to whatever is underneath.

I figure it'll grow grass again sometime.  In a decade.  

In the meantime, it'll be easy to mow.   And fun to see which weeds take that spot over first.   I'm hoping it'll be the wild vinca.   I like that stuff.