Happy May Day!

Round Robin and Postcard Swap 

Lilies of the Valley

It's finally May, and I am itching to get outside and plant some pretty flowers.

The weather is getting warmer and I hope it stays that way,

because I'm gonna plant my plants regardless.

Lily of the Valley is May's flower. They are so delicate and pretty

but every part of them is poisonous. Just a word to the wise :)

May also holds Mother's Day (U.S.) and my birthday. 

It's almost my favorite month...but that distinction goes to June.

That's when the peonies are in bloom:

Inspiration Avenue's Postcard Swap is in full swing.

I got my 5 names yesterday and can't wait 

to start making postcards and get them in the mail.

This will be a month filled with art-making.

I have Kim's GORGEOUS journal in our Round Robin swap.

front

back

It's always intimidating to start, 

when I have worries of messing up this wonderful book.

Kim's art is so amazing, I love the way she decorated the 

front, back, and inside pages.

Speaking of Kim, she is the host this week 

of Inspiration Avenue's weekly challenge.

Do you know the poem,

“Monday's child is fair of face,

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe, 

Thursday's child has far to go.....”

The poem is the theme of the challenge.

Do you know what day of the week you were born on?

If not, Kim has included a link to find out.

Tuesday. 

My favorite day of the week and the day I was born.

Not the reason I like Tuesdays though, I'm sure.

Tuesday is good because of course it's not the dreaded Monday.

And yet it's very early in the week, and anything exciting might still happen!

Time still to get things done. 

Never mind that I probably won't accomplish nearly what I'd like.

The possibility is there.

Have a fabulous May!

Foliage

I just started doodling, and what do you know,

it turned out to be an entry for Jenn's Foliage challenge

at Inspiration Avenue!

It's relaxing to just sit and doodle . . . I am not that handy with a pen ~

my lines are messy, but I still kind of like her, and I'm calling her

Primavera

So ~ a quick, simple entry calls for a quick, simple post.

That's all I've got!

******************

Oh, except for one thing.

I got my own URL for my blog!

“The Magpie's Nest” was not available (of course),

so I am now The Fanciful Magpie.

In case you didn't notice.

If only I could figure out how to delete the

Cutest-Blog-on-the-Block background that has

attached itself permanently to my html.

I have to cover it with white so it looks like I have NO background.

Still have the little logo in the corner, though.

Gr-r-r-r.

 The next day...

O.  M.  G.

I just created my new grabbable button for The Fanciful Magpie 

(very proud of myself because it worked the first time)

And even better than that ~

when I went to remove the html for the old button,

THERE was the code for 

that *^&%#*@ CBOTB background hiding in the widget!! 

I never had so much satisfaction clicking "Delete" :)

 So now I have a new button, and a blank slate for my background!

You probably have no idea why I am so happy.

But I am.

:)

Have a super fantastic weekend!

Inspiration Avenue - The Allegory of Spring

The Three Graces

Splendor, Mirth, and Good Cheer . . .

 

Beauty, Grace, and Charm . . .

Aglaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne . . .

The daughters of Zeus and Eurynome.

I decided to take a small portion of Botticelli's

Allegory of Spring and paint the three graces, modern version.

(Do these lovelies have even one bit of grace among them, 
let alone three? I'm not at all sure.)

I took the Cupid aiming at the three graces from Botticelli's painting also.

I was hoping he would strike the apple, but I think he is going to miss.

The robin, flowers, green grass, and falling apple blossoms

all are some of my favorite parts of Spring!

The apples themselves are a bit out of season,

but they're included in other representations of the three graces.

These are modern girls, they probably picked them up at the Giant Eagle. lol.

I'll leave you with a tiny portion of a poem by Lucretius

(written in six books, eons ago, in Latin) called

De Rerum Natura or On the Nature of Things

Springtime and Venus come, and Venus' boy,

The winged harbinger steps on before,

And hard on Zephyr's footprints Mother Flora,

Sprinkling the ways before them, filleth all

With colors and odors excellent.

This thoughtful challenge was the brainstorm of Priti.Lisa ,

who always presents us with a challenge that requires our thinking caps!

Visit Inspiration Avenue on Sunday to see

the gallery of Springtime Allegories!

More 
on the 
Apple Tree

You know, some things in the garden are the result of hours of hard backbreaking labor, and you can look at them and marvel at what a good thing you've accomplished.

And other things are just there for the taking, through no effort of your own, just showing up year after year, not asking you to do anything at all.

This apple tree is like that ~ it's an old-timer, been there I-don't-know-how-long. Before my time of tending to this garden anyway.

It's extra-beautiful this year. Maybe it's the weather, maybe the beauty comes in cycles and this is its year.

For the past 2 years I had a compost bin near the tree to which I religiously added all the kitchen waste, grass clippings, leaves, all the stuff you put in a compost bin. I moved it this spring, but in my usual fashion, I rarely used the compost and it's been sitting there melting into the soil. Too lazy to dig it out of the bin and spread it around! It always seemed like there wasn't enough to bother with. Could it have been nourishing the apple tree all this time? If so, I'm glad I've done something for this old tree, however inadvertently!

As I was walking to the shed the other day, the sight of it made me drop my keys and gloves and go back in the house to grab my camera. I'm glad I did because we've had some windy days and rain, and the blossoms are already disappearing.

Spring Chores

Tuesday was an absolutely magnificent day, and today promises to be even more beautiful. I wandered out into my winter-weary yard yesterday and tried to think what to work on first ... I have to admit I got sidetracked for a bit just soaking up the sunshine and daydreaming.

I started to cut back the zebra grass, but gave up on that pretty quickly. The grass is over 7 feet tall and usually stands up all winter long, but was smashed all over the patio by the snow we had last month.  All I had were my little pruners and I soon got tired of nipping each individual grass stalk.  It seems like you need a special new garden tool no matter what job you are doing! I'll have to make a trip to Lowes and get something that will slice right through the whole mess. I've seen the landscapers hack through them with a chain saw, but I'm not planning to get that radical.

The picture at the right is the zebra grass in early summer. It's still growing.

 So near the grass (everything's near everything else in our little yard!) the grapevine was looking like it needed more attention than anything else in the yard. I've read that grapevines should be pruned in late winter, and we're just squeaking out of winter so now is the time, right? I hope I didn't wait too long and I hope I didn't kill the darn thing because once I got started I was like a woman possessed! I couldn't stop!

Here is the grapevine about 3/4 finished. Yikes.

Here is the grapevine last summer.

Here is the pile of viney stuff that I hacked off.

So now you have the pictures that will save me writing 1,000 words!

I have never, not once, cut back the grapevine this drastically. I even woke up in the middle of the night worrying about it! I hope I didn't harm it irreparably.  Because I   need this grapevine to spring back to its former self. As you can see, the support system is not attractive, no no no. The birds love the concord grapes that we have in abundance in August and September. As well, I usually make some jam or something and one of my neighbors made some delicious wine one year, so we need these grapes! It makes an excellent dense hedge for privacy. Although I enjoy talking to my neighbor, Barb, and we have to peek through the thin parts to talk, but all in all, it's worth it. When you stand near it in September, it smells like someone just opened a jar of Welch's grape juice! lol. Reminds me of being a kid!

On another note, I am finally admitting that I am a hopeless fan of American Idol! Hubby and son are not fans. Jesse will watch it for a few minutes if he is passing through, but soon moves on to something or somewhere else. It's now at the point where it begins to get entertaining ~ once all the strange auditions are over and you see how talented the remaining 12 people are.  It's just amazing to me how much talent each of these kids have! I'm not a fan of Simon, but I find I agree with him most of the time. I never vote (really!) but it's interesting to see how the voting goes. I'll be tuning in tonight!

Daylight Savings Time Begins

Altogether Not a Bad Day...

...to lose an hour.

We've been spoiled by the warm sunny days of the past week

and tricked into thinking winter is over.

I usually moan about the hour that disappears 

when we turn the clocks ahead, because I like to have 

more hours in the day, not less.

Today it's dreary, spitting rain, dark and damp. 

Who would even notice if the light lasted an hour longer this evening?

Goodbye, extra hour, and good riddance!

Tomorrow's bound to be brighter! 

*********  

"Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through 

a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; 

Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, 

and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity."
Joseph Addison