I know I must seem obsessed by spring.  After several months of being house and studio bound due to a cold-related health challenge, being able to go outside for more than two minutes makes me a bit giddy.  I feel like a caged bird that's been set free!

One of my favourite things to do as the warmer spring weather melts the blanket of snow is to walk around and see what is uncovered.  

The other day while out exploring with the dogs, we found the long lost Dora the Explorer ball. 


We hadn't be...
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While walking up to my studio yesterday, I saw my first flock of geese flying north.  There have been robin and killdeer sightings, too, but not yet by me.  These are fairly good indicators that spring is truly on its way, although it is not unusual to see robins looking for worms under the snow.

Getting back into my studio to work on the backlog of portrait commissions and other projects feels wonderful.  Even though I was fretting the whole time I was away, thinking about all the work I had ...
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A couple of weeks ago I attended our local Rock and Mineral Show.  As always there was a good turnout of vendors selling rocks from all over the world.

Not all of the rocks were ethically and sustainably mined, but by doing a lot of digging (through boxes of rocks, that is) and asking many questions, I was able to find a good selection of fair trade (most found by small independent rock hounds) stones.

I always find myself more attracted to the rough cut slices of rock, rather than the polished...
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