Baby its Cold Outside!

I think this painting by Alfred Sisley says it all! It was cold in 1878 and it is cold today in 2011! Fortunately, even though I have a scratchy throat and a little malaise I have good memories created about

by Alfred Sisley
"La Neige a Louveciennes-1878"
walking among the palms toward the beach in Nueva Vallarta. I know, I even complained because it was cooler than expected. But now that it is -1.1 degrees  in Denver I have a whole new outlook.

    Now I imagine I know how Paul Gauguin felt when he returned from Tahiti. Trying to expliquait to all of his Parisian friends the warmth of the sand. Trying to describe the waving palms and the boom of the surf in the early morning. So now this arctic blast has brought me a kinship back across time to a man for whom I had much admiration for his use of orange.

"Arearea-1892"
Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)
Museed'Orsay

High Flying Color

Wow!~ Out in my front yard Spring has Sprung! I have been so busy enjoying wave after wave of color that I have not posted one colorful thought. Let me change that and go the visual route.

                                                       

                                                                a

Did you know that Iris is the Greek Goddess for the Messenger of Love her flower is the symbol of      communication and love.

                                                           Iris had the duty of taking     women's souls to the Elysian Fields.   

Greek men planted  her flowers on the graves of their beloved women .

                                                                                 

Hues of Brown/ Rootbeer.

                Here is to colorful memories / painting / planting on this Memorial Day weekend.

Color Fragile and Strong

While in Guatemala spring came to the Front Range. This is not the usual time for spring in the Rockies as it seems to normally come about the middle of April. The quiet green furze of leaves begin to appear in the trees and I wait with relief for it all to unfold. This year I feel uncertain as we didn't witness deep snows or multiple cold weeks interspersed with warm days. This year it was multiple warm days interspersed with an occasional cold day. I thought this Haiku in the Denver Post caught the feeling of our undeserved spring beautifully.
"Brittle Denver spring

fragile buds, porcelain blooms

storm's breakage coming"

by Mary Reeves of Littleton , Colorado.
I was surprised to come home to the purple of crocuses and the appearance of daffodils all before St. Patrick's Day. I had just left this sight of violet jacaranda trees in the Parque Central of Antigua.

The Plaza is a meeting place for tourists, school children, demonstrations of clowns, office workers. I think someday I should just sit there from morning through evening to watch the movement of groups of people. The fountain was originally built in the 1700's but restored in 1936. Starting off as I am with violet do you see I am thinking about the secondary colors of Guatemala. The orange of this unknown to me flower, which I saw at the Hotel mansion El Pensativo was unforgettable. I saw a strong representative of the third secondary color - green- at our hotel , La Porta, of Antigua. I am looking forward to showing you at another date the tertiary colors I saw. what an inspiration!