Finish a Painting in One Day

I don't usually finish a painting in one day, but I did this one. I used acrylic paints because they dry much faster. It wasn't a small painting either. The size is 3 x 2 feet (90 x 60 cm) It took a long time but well worth it. I love to paint trees. This one is full of color as a symbol of the life trees give us. It's title is "Color Wrap".

Painting by Amy Pursifull (all rights reserved)

http://amypursifull.wix.com/photography

Remove a Tree From My Driveway

Finding a tree across my driveway after an afternoon storm, right when I was headed out with a friend, was not what I expected for this evening. Since I can go nowhere, the only thing left to do is remove the tree so I will be able to get to the airport in the morning. Yes, I do have a chainsaw just for this purpose. I live in the woods.
I must add that I am very glad it didn't fall on my house. It did take out two other trees and a wonderful spruce tree that was once a Christmas tree and I had planted in my yard. At least I can get in and out of my house now and I got it off the driveway before dark. I have more work to do to remove the rest of the tree from the yard, but one good thing is that I have firewood for this winter now.

Beekeeper for a Day

This is absolutely one of the most amazing experiences! Being close to a beehive where these beautiful little creatures are hard at work making honey, raising brood, and keeping their hive clean and cool is ..... Being this close to natures little workers gave me a feeling of joy and such connection. I have seen honeybees up close in flowers, but never this close at the hive with their little wings fanning their home, the little dances to show the other bees where the pollen can be found, and the intensely fast flight path when they fly out to bring more pollen back. What an extraordinary little creature the honeybee is with its melodic hum, and the sound brings the hive alive. Thanks to fantastic beekeepers from Honeybee Bazaar and their lovely dog for sharing this breathtaking experience with me, and thanks to all the home owners of Mississippi River Plantations I visited for this terrific adventure!

I even helped extract the honey too! I love honey, but there is nothing in the world like tasting the honey straight from the honeybees home. The delightful sweetness was unlike anything I had tasted before. Even though I have had very fresh honey before, eating the honey right from the comb that just came from the hive, is a taste I will never forget! Spectacular! If I get the chance to be a Beekeeper for longer than a day I would consider it a great privilege and I would recommend to anyone!

Taste the Wines of Georgia

Driving to Chattanooga Tennessee from Atlanta on I75 North, there is a sign for Georgia Winery and I have always wanted to stop and taste their wines. Today I tried 10 different wines and actually brought some home. You can even see them making wine, and there are tours of the winery on Saturdays. Since it isn't Saturday I had to settle for tasting the wines. I am not a huge fan of wine and prefer it on the sweet side, but they had some lovely wines and it was a very enjoyable hour. One of the most wonderful things was their wine slushies!  It was something I will be doing again.

There were so many wonderful flavors like muscadine, blackberry, and peach wines. All wonderful to the senses. My favorite was a wine called Tennessee Tangerine. Just wonderful! Of course I bought some.



 

Carve Cute Food

So I cook. Yes, I do, but I am not a person that loves to be in the kitchen for hours and cook. For me it's in and out as fast as I can make something I enjoy eating, that's fairly healthy, and can be cooked as quickly or efficiently as possible. This is not to say I never spend time on a special meal, it's just that I don't normally count my time in the kitchen as relaxing or something I really enjoy. So, when I see cute little food items I always wish I could do that and make the food I serve and eat not just good, but pretty too. Anyhow, I tried I really did, after three radish carvings I was back to "Just let it taste good!"
Here is my attempt at pretty food.... at least I tried it once. First I made a mouse, but then I though, "Who really wants a mouse on their plate?" and then a butterfly that I think looked more like a crab. Last I made an attempt to carve a flower which just went from okay to not so okay. My food will just have to be good, fast and healthy, without all the "cute" thrown in!

I Have Never Heard Kudzu Grow

I heard somewhere that if you sit quietly where kudzu is growing, you can hear it grow. This is something I always felt skeptical about, but I am willing to give it a try today. After finding some information about kudzu on the internet, I learned that each vine can grow up to seven feet in a day, it's used for medicine research, and has over 60% digestible nutrient value. I also learned that in Japan people actually eat the stuff (not just goats)  and make paper and even clothing out of it too. The fact it grows so fast seemed promising, so I drove to the North Georgia Mountains to search out a patch of kudzu. (Believe me when I say it's not hard to find! That stuff is everywhere and it grows over everything in it's path!) I found a beautiful area filled with kudzu close to a lake and sat for a while enjoying nature. I heard insects, the wind, birds; and although I truly tried, I can not say I actually heard the kudzu grow... but I did it and I am glad I did.

Next time I try something for the first time, I hope I enjoy it as much as I did trying to hear kudzu grow.