City Views, Country Dreams

Good evening from New York.

In an earlier post, I mentioned a casual resolution to do a drawing every day of the then new year. We are now reaching mid-March, Spring is nearly here, and I have not done a drawing every day.

Last night, our clocks went forward an hour as we adopted Daylight Savings Time. It's 6 pm according to the re-set clock as I type and the sun is still lighting the sky. Perhaps spurred on by the sense of time rushing by, and also by the dreadful news of natural disasters in Japan, I decided to actually do some drawings this afternoon. When my mind fills with sad thoughts, I usually try to counter them somehow.

Here is one of the drawings, more of a stylized inky scribble than a drawing. I was inspired by a little kalanchoe plant, whose photo will appear later on.

Earlier today, I took a walk over to Central Park. There was a very strong wind blowing, and I was curious if I would be able to see any brave spring flowers.

I did see a few, amongst them these purple and yellow crocus.

Here's a rather limp hellebore, viewed through the parallel lines of some protective iron fencing.

I think that if you look very, very carefully at the next picture, you might just see one or two daffodil pioneers, trying to encourage the rest of their comrades to burst into bloom. With the help of a couple of warmish days, this hillside will be golden.

This next view, taken in the Shakespeare Garden just goes to show how little really is now in flower. I saw mostly dried out stems, leaves and lingering seed pods. These natural stages of the plant world are also beautiful in their spare way.

As I walked along the side of the lake, I saw this charming duck couple, trying to find a little private place for their courtship. Those trees without leaves provided a frame for the picture, but no shelter for the ducks.

I made my way home, and decided to just do some sketches of one of my potted plants. And so, I will leave you all with the subject for this afternoon's drawing session.

Please do not look too carefully at the clutter of my apartment that is apparent in the background.

I am pleased to report that after the sketching session, I continued to sit down with paper, pencil, eraser, pen and calculator and think that I have now just about finished my annual tax forms.

All in all, it's been a fine Sunday, even though I am missing that lost hour.

Best wishes to all.