Goodbye, Crazy 2016, and Hello 2017!

2016 was one crazy year. For quiet gardeners like you and me, even. Just a few highlights from the garden:

Unprecedented heat. Exceptional aridity. In March, the worst toxic algae event on our river in remembered history. It killed every living thing in the river, and poisoned many of the inhabitants who lived on its shores, including me. I won't show a picture, too heartbreaking.

Then TS Hermine. TS Julia. Hurricane Matthew. And much worse for people living on the islands, especially Haiti and Cuba, and for the Carolinas, Georgia, and Louisiana, than for us here on our sand dune.

TS Hermine approaches.

Munin and Hugin, Fish Crows In Residence

Horseshoe crab in the garden after Hurricane Matthew.

After Matthew roared by (thank you for that wobble!!) the sun came back, the air was cleaner than it's been in years, and I found wonderful paintings by Andy Lakey. Finally, rebuilding it all.  That's some gardening year....

Andy Lakey's cheerful "Brilliant Nature" painting.

Related to gardening, because the garden is probably where we met some bad mosquitoes, Zika Virus roared through my family, turning us into scarlet-speckled aliens with bright red eyes. Not a pleasant disease, but again, much worse for those who were starting or building their families. We lost several beloved family members in 2016 also. We know they're in a good place, but we miss them terribly.

Sooo, with all that in mind, I set to painting my annual New Year watercolor. This one is more subdued than usual, but I like it- It's called "Angels, Blue and Green"- Here's to a peaceful 2017 full of growth and joy!

New Year 2017: Angels in Blue and Green- MRobb