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

Let's Rebuild: The Inspirational Garden Art of Andy Lakey

I won't be replanting my garden until the end of hurricane season, or maybe not until February 2017. But rebuild it I will. One artist in particular has been inspiring me this dreadful October: Andy Lakey.  Interestingly, he was born in October 1959 and died in October of 2012. He was a "naive" artist, with no formal training, who had an NDE (near death experience) as an adult and began to paint angels and the spirits of all sorts of living creatures. He stated that three angels taught him to paint, and not surprisingly, he's most famous for his angel paintings, which hang even in the Vatican:

Andy Lakey, Angel of Hope, courtesy of the BBC

He said his paintings would transmit the right type of loving energy to the right person at the right time. And the stories of his paintings are quite amazing (you can look up several books about Lakey on Amazon or Abebooks if you're curious). Two of his "Brilliant Nature" series (1997) came into my hands this month. They are not as well known as his angels, but clearly, I needed the energy these little plant paintings provide. Every time I look at them, the clouds lift and I smile:

Andy Lakey, Yellow Flowers, acrylic on wood

This one is rather oddly called "Yellow Flowers", and the one with a yellow background is called, "New Flowers":

Andy Lakey, New Flowers, acrylic on wood

I most enjoy painting miniatures myself, and I really like having these in my house. I wish I could have met Andy, he seems to have been a very joyful person.

Andy Lakey

So in these little energetic works I am finding my inspiration to rebuild my shattered garden. Maybe it will even be fun!
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend walkabout!