PARTNERS, sold

PARTNERS is a 7x5 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.

For some reason, I just can't get excited by the human figure at the moment. Maybe it's politics, maybe the economy, maybe it's just burnout. I'm still doing figures, however. They just don't happen to be human.

I live a few miles from Lake Carroll, which is full of geese. Occasionally I see a lone swan. I have no idea where she is most of the time, but I'm keeping my eye out and my camera ready. One of these days you'll see her too. I just hope the weather stays relatively warm.

For those of you not in the Atlanta area, we've got Forsythia and daffodils in full bloom all over town. You can see new buds on trees. My iris leaves are about 6' tall, I can see signs of azalea buds. All of this, as usual, will almost come to full bloom just as a late winter storm comes through and freezes it all, turning them all a wretched brown. My plum tree, again, would not bear fruit.

But maybe that's not such a bad thing. I have not mastered dealing with a tree laden with gorgeous plums all getting ripe at once. During those summers we do have fruit, I make plum cobbler, plum jelly (OK, so maybe it's sauce), I even tried canning some last year. That was an interesting evening. I give bags and bags away. I know of several people who have pretended they were thrilled with a bag full of plums, and I found out later that they had no idea what to do with them either.

But still, I look forward to reaching up right outside my front door, and picking a sweet juicy plum every hot summer day.

Winter, go away and don't come back.