Splash of color

I would be quite happy if I could have some flower beds in the back yard. Instead, I have chosen to be a dog mom. So whatever color I want has to be in pots. This year the color is vivid. The dogs ignore these two containers sitting on the corner of the deck. It would probably be a different story if they were on the ground.

It just makes my heart happy to sit at the patio table and see this display. Have a great day.
Linda

Problems

All I do is bark to warn you, mom.

I'm watching him!

I don't like little boys.

The north side of my backyard is visible by the neighbors with no obstruction from plants. My neighbor has a young son, I think he is now 8, that has several problems. I won't go into that now, but this summer the kid is bored. When he is at home after supper, he likes to come into his backyard to play. With a squirt gun. Uh huh.

I don't know Jake's history other than he was picked up as a stray at approximately 8 months. From his behavior, Jake is not a man's dog. He reacts to all young boys, say from toddler to young teen. Jake is getting better being around grown men, but boys, not so much. So my conclusion is that Jake was teased and possibly abused by a young male.

I don't allow the dogs out in the yard unless I am with them, or standing at the door. Just my little phobia since I lost Sarge. So, in my presence, this kid walks up to his fence and lifts the squirt gun over the pickets, and squirts water at Jake. Just his presence at the fence line is enough to cause Jake to go ballistic. I have explained this to him. DON'T TEASE THE DOGS!!! But he is 8 years old, and bored.

My fear, of course, is if Jake ever meets this kid face to face, the reaction is going to be over the top. And I want to avoid that. Don't want anyone to get bit, and I don't want to lose my dog. But I have zero control over the neighbor's son. I also am not fond of confrontations with neighbors, especially this one. In order to have a conversation with this woman, I need a spare week. Yeah, one of those. And even with 7 days, I might be able to get my point across. Then again....

So I think I am going to try for a conversation with the boy. He is lonely and wants attention. And I am on a quest to reduce any type of animal abuse. To me, teasing and squirting my dog is abuse. Sigh. It's never easy, is it?
Linda

If I won the Lottery

I would have pathways with arches

and stone planters on the stone railings

and a bridge over a stream that had an arch

with lots of depth to the gardens

and shaded paths everywhere, so the dogs could wander

with beautiful blooms to brighten up the landscape

and a garden statue

with a dog of course.

If I won the lottery......

Thanks for stopping by.
Linda
(all photographs were taken at the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, July 2010)

A visit to Nashville IN

A few weeks ago I gave myself a treat. The dogs went to Puppy Playground for a day of play, and I drove to Nashville, IN. for a little shopping and relaxation. I have no idea how many times I've been to this small town over the years. A lot. But I never tire of it.

After shopping and purchasing a chunk of art/craft supplies, I went into a store that carries unique home decor items. I wanted to buy several of them, but told myself no. To say they were expensive is an understatement. But it's free to look. Heading back to the car, the garden with the snowball bushes was to my right, and I had my small camera in my purse. I put everything down and took these few pics. So beautiful. Wouldn't it be great to have a wrought iron fence with your plants intertwined in the iron?

And then there is Jake. Jake is getting lazy in his advancing years. He's 3. Yeah. NOW we won't eat unless I place the dog dish between his paws, so he just leans into the food.

Can we say Dog Mom???
Linda

Some new stuff

Happy 4th of July!! Please stay safe.

In the Behind the Art workshop from Christy Tomlinson, she taught us how to make a variety of backgrounds for whatever type of canvas we want to produce. Then you decide if you want to use part of that background, and "block" out the rest.

I kind of cheated. I chose to use some of the background for the girl's dress and did indeed paint yellow and red around her shoulders and braids, but then just let the remaining background flow into it. My problem is I create backgrounds I love and don't want to cover them up. Have to get over that.

Something else Christy told us: if you don't love it, cover it up. Why do we need permission for that? But of course, we do. The HOME canvas was originally a half completed girl I did in February that I hated. Not disliked, hated. I had the canvas hidden in the craft room, and after I finally realized I could not complete it, pulled it out and redid the background. Once that was done, I added the houses in an hour.

Sometimes you have to kick yourself in the ass. Sometimes.
Linda

Garden in the rain

One of the online workshops I took recently is entitled "Color Inspiration" with Christy Tomlinson. She encourages you to look at color combinations in magazines, stores and nature. I started an inspiration journal based on what Christy uses, tearing out ads and photo layouts in magazines. Not quite brave enough to take photos with my phone in stores, but did visit our local Pier 1 as she suggested. Wow. Tons of color combinations that I loved.

Yesterday was a rainy day here, and when I looked out the front door I saw the muted light fall on my flowers. These are SOC (straight out of the camera) shots that were not adjusted for color saturation or tonal values in Photoshop Elements. I just really, really like what the light did to the color all on it's own.

So enjoying this summer. No intense heat (yet), light rain, and beautiful color.
Linda