Butterfly Flower

Today we found a new arboretum to visit, in Bothel. It was odd, in that when you first came in the gate there was somebody's house there. If I had been alone, I know I would have turned around and left. But Joseph, being the brave one, went and knocked on the door to ask if we could visit the park. I was supposed to be waiting in the car, but Elora and I decided to hide behind a bush instead...the car was hot!
Joseph came back and told me an old lady had answered the door. She and her husband were the caretakers of the arboretum, and the gate was just to keep their dogs in. Visitors were more than welcome.

Strangely enough, it really did seem like we were in their back yard. There were paths that went back through trees and pretty bushes, with squirrels and birds aplenty. It wasn't anything like the arboretum in Seattle, which had been just blocks from my home. This one was much smaller and more private.
Anyway, there was really only one thing in bloom this late in the season. I had never seen anything like it before, and I couldn't find a tag to label it, as many of the other trees had. It was a large bush with beautiful blue flowers. The flowers on this bush grew in such a way that you would almost think they were leaves themselves. They were shaped somewhat like butterflies, I thought, and grew in little clumps with smaller flower parts in the middle, kind of like a spray of baby's breath. (Except that part was blue too.)
So has anyone seen a plant like this before? I like it.

Portfolio

I promised myself that my next post would be a nice wordy affair, drawing upon my vast writing portfolio... have you seen my three poems published in the New Era? (the most recently published was sold over six years ago, but I digress..)
But, unforseably, the scanner/printer that we bought months ago is now working with our previously defunct computer. (yay!) I couldn't let the opportunity to post a few pieces of art go to waste...especially since my readership hasn't seen much of my art work in six years or so either.
Hmm, I must admit the last couple of years haven't been that productive, but I'll show you some of my favorites. Keep in mind that the copy quality isn't nearly as good as it could be, as I had to reduce the file sizes considerably and most of these are copies of copies, as the originals are too big.
I hope you don't mind! (And I hope my portfolio isn't shamelessly pilfered by internet theives to be used on unknown websites.)

Harvey and the Boys
This was drawn around 2001, shortly after I moved to the Northwest. I loved my cousins' pictures of the kids growing up. I played with the idea of doing a book on adoption using their photos, but got bored after a few drawings. This was the first.
(seriously, the real thing is so much better.)

Crystal and the Boys
This one was actually just finished a year or so ago. I started it around the same time as the first, but just wasn't liking it. Originally, it was much larger, and there were more people off to one side. I finally realized it was the composition bothering me, so I cut off two thirds of the drawing and added the log. Now I like it better than the other one!

Harvey and Tim
This isn't one of my favorites, as I don't especially enjoy doing portraits (everyone wants one when they know you're an artist) .But some of you have met my uncle, so I was going to ask if you thought it looked like him. Well?
By the way, Tim is now a very annoying 16 year old.

Sadie
This is Joseph's neice Sadie. I did this one along with a drawing of her sister as a Christmas gift. I had taken the photos myself the previous summer when we visited them. I love the original of this one, especially the blue in her hair. The copy definitely doesn't do it justice...especially with that prominent line through the bottom! The color is off too.

Jordan
This is Sadie's sister. See previous picture for explanation. I like Sadie's picture better, but this one is okay.

Self Portrait
Hmm, I wonder who this is? I actually love this drawing; we have it hanging in our home. I'm sad that the copy really didn't capture the colors and the blending of the original. Its much too dark, among other things.
Before I got married, I shared a house in Seattle with four other girls. My room had a balcony and I took this picture with the sun coming in from the glass door behind me.

And thus concludes our artistic journey for today. Thanks for joining me!