Spring is here!!! Well, nearly Summer for us here in the Desert Southwest. The temperature was up in the mid-90s yesterday, but today.... we are looking for cooler temperatures (75) and the possibility of rain!!!   Rain is really welcome here, as we have been in a severe drought for a long time. Really long time I should say.  I would like to add that some people like the idea of living in a place that has blue skies everyday and perfect (well, nearly perfect) temperatures... well,.. I like that part as well, it is fun to be able to go out without worrying about whether you will be caught in a downpour or if the temperatures will plummet and you will be frozen. The problem with the weather being near perfect (and I do realize that Winter freezing temps and Summer boiling temps aside) is that you forget to appreciate the warmth and calm... and you also forget that water is a precious thing.
We here in the Western part of Texas are in what some would say is a desperate  situation.  It is. One of the lakes that we use for water is at 17% and the other larger lake is at 0.4%.... yep... that is a 0 before the decimal point. I haven't been out there to see it, I know it is a wasteland and I can't bear to look at it. The other smaller lake is not unusual to be so dry, it does that all the time, When it is full, it is full, when it is dry.... it is very dry.  So we are relying on underground sources to keep us wet. We can only use water outside for 2 hours per week, which will keep the trees alive, but I personally don't think it will help any of the shrubs at all... There is no washing cars, no filling pools, there is no allowing kids to play in sprinklers... One town has drilled wells to allow the city pool to be filled, another really small town has had their pool filled by well water for a long time, and I remember how cold it was, like jumping into a bath filled with ice cubes. brrrrrrr.

This type of weather does lend itself to anyone who likes to paint. My favorite time to take oils out is in the late Spring or early Summer... I love that you can paint outside with no interference from the weather, and that the oils will dry quickly and you can finish a painting really fast. I love that the sun is totally at your command. I love that it is bright and lovely and full of life this time of year.  We have a family of House Finches living directly next to our front door. The little alcove is perfect for them to stay out of the sun and wind and with the exception of my family, they have no one to bother them. I am going to paint them today... the four surviving babies and the Mom and Dad. The sun is bright, the wind is fairly calm, and I am aching to paint, I haven't had a chance to get out the oil paints for a long time... I have been preoccupied with fabric paints and sewing and jewelry making for so long... well, I want to paint so bad I can almost taste the paint... do you know that feeling? That feeling when you smell oil paint, you can almost taste how it is, how smooth and silky and how it glides across the surface, how wonderful it is?  No...maybe that is just me. I taste stuff when I think about it, and when I get near oil paint it is probably like what a connoisseur of fine wine feels by just smelling a  Domaine Romanée-Conti.  Just knowing that the experience will take you to a blissful place and make you almost heady.
Well, I am off ... I'll post a pic maybe of the finished product.