Valentine Blue
Stage 4
acrylic on canvas
Barbara Muir 2010
(The painting requires the exact right
blue on the farmhouse. I
found it tonight.)
two other months that insist on a list of behaviours.
In June in my part of Ontario it's safe to put the
garden in. There are a host of events, and one
was our show On The Bright Side. Then there's the
painting work, and pop the garden flourishes,
demanding attention and more plants! June says
sing my song now ....or else, and none of us here want to
hear that part.
We rarely have ripe cherries in June so that was a
surprise, but the tree reminds me of farming.
My friend Flora Doehler lives in the country in
Nova Scotia, and she and her husband Larry
just garden like crazy. But they are really
farming. Our cherry tree makes me feel a
tiny bit of what a farmer must feel. There
it is -- the crop is massive, and it only makes
sense to jump on that ladder (or climb it
very carefully as I do), or climb on the garage
roof to get even more, and pick.
So I couldn't resist and picked some more
fruit today. Six cups, pitted, sprinkled with
a bit of lemon juice and waiting.
Six cups of cherries getting ready
to be pitted.
pastry tonight while I pitted, and pitted and
pitted until my sissy city hands hurt. The
cherry tree fills our horizons so
completely that we hardly discussed the
earthquake that shook our house earlier in
the day, or the tornadoes threatened for
early tomorrow morning.
Steven making his pastry --
cracking an egg.
tonight. The house is now the right blue.
Tomorrow I'll finish it off. I promise.
Oh wait, I take that promise back. It's
my wedding anniversary -- see what I mean --
there goes June again, insisting on celebration,
and how can I not want to celebrate my
ridiculously happy good fortune to marry
a man who makes a fine cherry pie.
Have a celebrating-your-love-of-life day.
6 comments:
In honour of your post, we walked out to our ancient-but-still-producing cherry tree. Next week the cherries will be ready to pick...if the birds don't get to them first. I ate one and it was a bit sour and I thought of Steven and how lucky you are that your man can make such delicious pies.
How do you pit them? Do you have a special impliment?
I am also loving that painting of yours of the house. The colour reminds me of our newly painted studio and makes me think we should paint the door the same colour as the red/orange in your painting. A little bit of Barbara Muir in Bear River!
Thanks for writing this blog and thanks for painting those gorgeous paintings! And thanks for being YOU! xoxo Flora
Hi Barbara,
My mouth is watering looking at that pie that Steven made!it's wonderful that you listen to the demands of June and pick the cherries now, such a bounty!
I love your Valentine blue painting, gorgeous!
Making a cherry pie seems the perfect antidote to threats from outdoors! (I just watched a dvd about Philip Glass, much of which was filmed at his little house in Nova Scotia--so beautiful!!)
I love the painting--the hot colors peeking out from under the cool ones (like Matisse's Morocco paintings)--an effect I wish I could get in watercolor.
Beautiful golden light in your painting Barbara!!!!
I know indeed what a special day in June it was! - because we were there and I remember how incredibly beautiful you both looked – and I must say, you both picked extremely well! I bet you didn’t know then that Steven could bake a yummy cherry pie but then again maybe you did!
xoxoxoxoxoxoMarcia
I love it (the painting. I also love cherry pie but it is so much work to pit them. For that reason, I baked a cherry pie once.
Wonderful colors in your painting. Oh and the pie, yummy! Miss those fresh cherries that I don't have anymore.
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