The Allure of Summer Weather

Lying Low, watercolour, watercolour pencils and white ink, 8.3" x 11.7"

Blog 41

 

I had promised to publish the second part of my Prince Edward Island travelogue today. However, the fantastic summer weather we experienced this past week enticed me to spend as much time outside, making the most of the unexpected extension of summer. I find the cold season always extremely long in Ottawa. Therefore, I welcome any postponement of the chillier weather.

 

On Saturday, I hosted a cheerful outdoor Art Café. We were only two, but while we coloured the pumpkin doodle, we chatted and completely lost track of time. Can you guess which pumpkin I coloured? I will laminate it for use as a place mat for the holidays. I will not host an Art Cafe in October because of Thanksgiving and travel. To receive information about the next one, please send me an email.

I also spent a lot of time in my gazebo and went swimming. My husband and I took our dog to the dog park and enjoyed a picnic and a beautiful sunset by the river.

 

 

Today, I went to Petrie Island again with my painting buddies Janis and Bob. We haven’t painted as much outside as we had hoped, but fall usually is a great season to paint en plein air because the bugs are gone, and the temperatures are still quite pleasant. Today, it was hot at 28 degrees Celsius. 

I had planned to paint a little island of trees visible from the east side of Petrie Island, but then a frog sitting in the water right in front of me caught my eye.

While we were painting, we saw a couple of geese and a grey-blue heron. The heron moved so silently that we neither noticed its arrival nor departure. A couple of dragonflies seemed to be attracted to my painting and landed on it repeatedly.

It would be fantastic if the warm weather would continue, but the forecast for the upcoming days shows rain. Nature needs it, and it is a perfect excuse to pick up some tasks I postponed.

I wish everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving this weekend a wonderful time with family and friends, sharing food and giving thanks for all we have.

 

P. S. We changed the times for the Ready for Pumpkins workshop after chatting with the registered participant. We will meet Thursday, October 12 and 19, 2023, from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM, Zoom or hybrid. You can still join us in person or virtually by registering by October 9, 2023.