I KILLED HIM! BUT SHE IS ALIVE

Life and death, happiness and sadness, fleeting impressions that come and go like Monet clouds over the landscape. My life seems very close to emotion this summer as I watch my Mum slip away and become a different, but perhaps happier person. She is 92 and has had a full, powerful and extraordinary life, but now something she cannot control is stealing her uniqueness and returning her to the loving child she once was.

This is my summer for Mum and although I realise I’m forgetting my wonderful, loyal blog fans, I don’t apologise.  My time is being spent giving back to one who has loved and supported me since before I was born. There aren’t too many people we can say that about are there? My mother, my father, my sister and my two grandmothers make up that exclusive group; three have already left this world and guide me from a elsewhere. When Mum joins them, it will leave only my distant sister.

This introspection was brought on by spending time with my plants. Yesterday I decided to move all my planters to the back of the balcony, out of the worst of the biting wind that seems to blow up along our 80 mile lake each evening. In the process I knocked a tiny tomato off a plant which I hadn’t even realised had fruit. This made me extremely sad for some reason and so this morning I immortalised his little life in an image.

Those who have read my blog over the years will know that I cherish my red geraniums and they usually do so well, but on this mainly shaded and windy balcony they are struggling. Therefore I’m pleased that our gardener spent a lot of time this spring digging, irrigating and planting two beautiful borders on the green space we share. Please feel free to use these images to inspire work of your own. Of course then share them with me so I can share with my readers.

For those who are curious, yes I’m still working on my large commission, working title Frida VII. I met with the client last week and she’s thrilled with it so far, has chosen colours for the flowers and agreed to some ideas I want to include. Projected presentation date is Canadian Thanksgiving in October, but I plan to complete well before that. Stay tuned for more progress shots.