Tag Archives: spring

Early signs of spring

Posted on January 22, 2023 | 5 comments

I always eagerly anticipate the first signs of spring. This year, I was surprised to see a dandelion in bloom on January 4^th. That is amazing to me. Now I’ve eagerly started looking for signs.

So far, I’ve also spotted several bushes in bud. Rhododendron, azalea, magnolia. Sometimes I’ll catch a mixed up forsythia in bloom already but then, they often bloom in autumn, too. However, they are easy to force if you just cut some branches and bring them inside. (Put them in water, of course.)

I have a lot of naturalized daffodils in the yard. They are already coming up in several places. Sometimes they’re too early. One year I painted a group of daffodils blooming in the snow so it’s not inconceivable that I might see some soon.

One day last week, I saw three robins in a row in the front field. Sometimes I’ve seen large flocks of them in early spring. Only the males.

And I caught this rabbit in my headlights as I was coming up the drive a few days ago. The little devil was looking for something yummy in the garden but there’s nothing there yet except garlic. A motion-detector solar-powered light is good to chase away night critters.

With the winds, I saw several of last season’s nests which have been blown down. My kids used to bring them to me and I still love the engineering.

These little sketches were done with some very old Osmiroid ink in sepia. (It’s a collector’s item now.) I haven’t worked with ink for awhile so it was fun to get back to an old friend. I used a #4 quill which is also hard to come by these days. There are a number of fine quality pens and inks made in Japan of which I would like to try more. Stay tuned.

5 Comments

Posted in country living, Uncategorized

Tagged daffodils, early signs of spring, kit miracle, nest, rabbits, rhododendron, robins, spring

Spring is coming

Posted on April 10, 2022 | Comments Off

Male wood duck. (Photo courtesy The Spruce.)

This past Friday we were assaulted by Mother Nature with freezing rain, hail, sleet. Just wave after wave, all day long.

But SPRING will arrive eventually. Forsythias are in full bloom, the daffodils are nearly past, the crocuses that I planted last fall finally came up although I think the chipmunks and squirrels got most of them. The yard is a carpet of spring beauties and the redbud is ready to pop. The bluebells are out. Blue and yellow.

Even my largest crabapple is late. This time a few years ago, it was in full bloom. A week of warm weather will surely see it out.

Although we lament the weather as Mother Nature doesn’t always follow our wishes, we know spring will eventually get here. The swift who makes a nest on the porch of my studio is already nesting. The mourning doves are pairing up. And I’d better get the rest of the birdhouses up real soon. Like today, maybe.

As I drove down the driveway late Friday afternoon, I stopped at the creek (which our drive crosses), just to see what I could see. And I saw this beautiful wood duck paddling around. This is the first one that I’ve seen in over thirty-five years! The plummage was beyond words. So colorful and distinctive. I hope that the wood duck family starts a family nearby but the creek with its after-storm gully washers is not the best place for a nest. Maybe up the hill a bit.

Anyway, all this is a reminder that even if you live in the same place and don’t go anywhere, surprises can find you. Keep your eyes open.

Spring is coming.

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Posted in country living

Tagged country living, kit miracle, spring, wood duck

Waiting for spring

Posted on January 17, 2021 | 2 comments

We had a little over an inch of snow last night. The sight that greeted us this morning was so pretty. Every branch and plant was covered. Actually, it seems as if we haven’t had a heavy snow of several inches for a few years. Even though winter has been relatively mild – so far, I am already sick of the season. News exhaustion, tired of restrictions, worried about COVID. Missing my family.

The past few weeks since the holiday crush, I have been concentrating on finishing up my Breaking Bread series of paintings. These are middling to large, 24 x 30 paintings expressing my thoughts and observations of people eating together, or not as the case may be. A few are humorous but most are thought-provoking. Scenes we see every day or used to at least. But they are also mentally or emotionally draining.

I decided to take a little respite this week and paint something lighter. Think spring. Back to some small watercolors with pen and ink, even colored pencil added. Some florals and landscapes. Promises of things to come in a few months.

Landscape with spring daffodils. Watercolor, pen and ink, colored pencil on Arches paper. 10.5 x 13.5 Kit Miracle These naturalized daffodils are a delight to look at every spring. I didn’t plant them but always send thanks to the person who did.

The first one that I tackled was Spring Daffodils. This is a landscape of the naturalized daffodils in my yard. Sometimes they come up as early as mid-February but usually they’re not out in full force until March and April. It’s just such a peaceful scene with spring colors.

Purple Irises. Watercolor, pen and ink, colored pencil on Arches paper. 10.5 x 13.5 Kit Miracle

Another scene is of some of the purple irises out by the woodshed. I know that I planted these shortly after we moved here many years ago but can’t remember the name. It doesn’t really matter. I have many varieties of irises from light purple to deep purple, peach and white, and some more that I’ve forgotten. It’s always a pleasant surprise to see them explode in color in some out of the way place.

I’ll take another week “off” to paint some of these spring scenes. They have lightened my mood and inspired me during these dismal times. Then I’ll get back to the more serious series. I have four more paintings to complete before the big show in May and June.

I hope you have some activity to inspire you during these difficult times, too. Take care of yourselves.

2 Comments

Posted in country living, garden, landscape, watercolor

Tagged daffodils, flowers, irises, spring, watercolor

A spring tour of the yard

Posted on April 12, 2020 | 6 comments

One of my favorite views is of the front yard and the old woodshed. The white patches are swaths of spring beauties, a delicate tiny white flower with faint pink stripes. The forsythia are past but the lilies of the valley are coming in as are the day lilies.

After an unseasonably warm early spring with temperatures in the 70s and even up to 80, the flowers and other signs of spring are nearly overwhelming. I love spring!

This old house had an abundance of established trees and flowers when we moved here but we have added many ourselves over the years. Plus, I’m a great one for digging things up and moving them. I’ve also shared many plants over the years with friends and family. Did I mention how much I love spring?

Come take a little walk around the yard with me to see what is happening.

The east field is a study in various shades of green. The yellow flowers are actually weeds but they’re pretty this time of year.

Crabapple from a start from another tree in the yard. Before is a white magnolia (not in bloom yet) with shiny leaves.

Columbine. No work at all except that they spread everywhere. Such a beautiful, delicate flower.

These bluebells are so easy to grow and require no maintenance at all. They totally die back to come up again next year. I love the way they start out as pink and then the blossoms turn a beautiful sky blue. I’ve moved them all over the yard. The little white flowers are spring beauties, along with grape hyacinths, and some spent daffodils.

The lilacs were here when we bought the place. You can smell their perfume all across the yard.

Not a flower but the martin nest built on the porch of my studio. Yes, we have a martin house but the bluebirds live there. The martins usually build on top of their previous nest but it finally fell down last year. It took them about two weeks of bringing mud, weeds and moss to make this new home.

Narcissus take over after the daffodils are done.

Violets are wildflowers that some people think are weeds. But I love their beauty and variety of colors from blues to deep purples to variegated to cream.

The redbud is a delicate under-story tree which grows from central Indiana and south, throughout the Midwest and southern mountains. The flowers are directly on the branches. The heart-shaped leaves don’t come out until later. They pair well with dogwoods which are just starting to come out and the woods are loaded with them.

I love tulips but they’re difficult to grow around here. The deer think they’re candy and they often don’t make it to bloom.

We call this a tulip tree around here but it really is a variety of magnolia. It’s a new addition to the yard so we were surprised to see it bloom this year.

Azaleas. This color pairs great with the orangey/peach azalea next to it.

6 Comments

Posted in country living, garden, landscape, old house

Tagged country living, crawford county, deer, flowers, gardening, indiana, landscape, spring

Yearning for Spring

Posted on March 10, 2019 | 2 comments

Yearning for Spring, framed, 16 x 20, acrylic on canvas, Kit Miracle, contemporary impressionist

I am just so ready for spring. Living here in southern Indiana, the winters are usually rather mild, at least compared to my years in Michigan. We will often get a little snow but not much to worry about. I think winter here is really like a long fall.

However, this year Mother Nature seems to have taken a fit. Warm one week just enough to tease the early bulbs out of the ground. Then the next week, temperatures diving for the bottom of the thermometer. Last week we saw lows of 10 degrees which meant our wood furnace (The Beast) was doing its best to keep up. Yesterday we saw a high of 62 with some 70s predicted for next week. Last evening the peepers could be heard in chorus in the bottoms. Did I mention that I am really ready for spring?

I felt an irresistible urge to paint some spring flowers. With few early flowers out yet except a couple of bedraggled crocuses and some hardy daffodils, I turned to my photos of some spring bouquets. And to step outside my usual style. Same old, same old, gets boring in my opinion.

Yearning for Spring, acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20, contemporary impressionist, Kit Miracle

The first bouquet consists of forsythia, double fancy daffodils and some branches of flowering quince. I like the subtle colors here and aimed at coordinating the background to the flowers but to subjugate it to the foreground.

Dancing Tulips, acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20, contemporary impressionist, Kit Miracle

The second flower painting took me in a different direction. I aimed for bold colors and lively strokes. This painting certainly accomplished that. It almost looks as if the tulips are dancing. To see the step by step for this painting, click here or go the Artworks tab and click on Dancing Tulips.

With the warming temps coming this week, my real tulips might be blooming. They’re already up several inches and it will just need old Sol to entice them out. I’m ready!

Of course, both paintings are for sale at my Etsy shop.

Thanks for stopping by.

Spring is Nature’s way of saying, “Let’s Party!” Robin Williams

Yearning for Spring, detail 1

Yearning for Spring, detail 2

Dancing Tulips, detail 1, Kit Miracle

Dancing Tulips, framed, acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20, Kit Miracle

2 Comments

Posted in contemporary impressionism, garden, painting instruction, Uncategorized

Tagged acrylic, bright colors, daffodils, flowers, kit miracle, original painting, spring, spring flowers, toned canvas, tulips

Yay! Spring is here!

Posted on April 5, 2017 | Comments Off

Blue Bells and Narcissus

I think that people who live close to nature are generally more attuned to the seasons. Every little bulb that pokes its nose up, the buds on the trees and bushes, and even the wrens making their nest on my front porch.

Hostas and bluebells in early spring

Here are just a few of this spring’s observations on My 90 Acres. Missed posting the daffodils and forsythias but that is what happens. Time and nature keep moving on.

A yard full of spring beauties

Close up of spring beauties and violets

Probably won’t be burning too much more wood in the wood stove. It’s been a mild winter but we always feel like squirrels hoarding nuts when we have big piles of firewood. It will keep until next winter.