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As many of you know, my Beautiful Bride and I have over fifty varieties of roses growing in our yard. Some roses we like because of their beautiful color and form; others we like because of their delicious fragrance. Double Delight is a favorite because it has all of these wonderful attributes of a rose.
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Betsy and I have several different varieties of lilies in our flower beds. We find lilies to be as easy to take care of as roses are demanding. But then the lilies are also beautiful. Our lilies have many different colors. This lily is called Freedom’s Glow, and has a wonderful orange-gold color.
The picture on which this drawing was based is shown below.
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(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)
April showers may bring May flowers, but May flowers look nice after a May shower as well. This painting of our Sweetness Rose was taken last May.
The picture on which this painting was based is shown below.
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(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)
When Betsy and I travel, we’re always on the lookout for waterfalls or cascades. When we go to the beach we sometimes travel through Clayton, Georgia. Bull Sluice is a cascade (rapid) on the Chattooga River near Clayton. There was a nice parking area on the highway, so we stopped and hiked to Bull Sluice. It was a great way to break up a trip.
The picture on which this drawing was based is shown below.
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(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)
Betsy and I talk about going to the beach, but we go for the seafood as much as for the sand sea. This year we went to Calabash, North Carolina, each evening for dinner. Calabash, the ‘Seafood Capital of the World’, is a fishing village where you can watch the boats come in and, if you desire, buy fish and shrimp right off the boat.
The picture on which this drawing was based is shown below.
(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)
(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)
Betsy and I grow roses, but we have many other varieties of flowers in our yard. We have a couple of large clumps of dianthus growing in a rock garden. The photo which served as a basis for this painting was taken on a sunny April day two years ago.
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Our dogwood tree didn’t have as many blossoms this year as it normally has, but the blossoms it did have were beautiful. I got a picture of the blossoms earlier this month.
The picture on which this painting was based is shown below.
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(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)
Some of the happiest signs of Spring are daffodils in bloom. We have several varieties in our yard. This daffodil with the bright orange trumpet is Accent.
The picture on which this painting was based is shown below.
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(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)
One of the joys of Spring in the South is the beautiful azaleas that we enjoy. The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, has an entire garden devoted to azaleas. We don’t have nearly that many, but we do have azaleas around the house. This painting is beaded on the photo of an azalea along our back deck.
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Betsy and I went to Biltmore Tuesday to see Spring flowers in bloom. Our timing was perfect, as the tulips in the Walled Garden were in full bloom and were absolutely beautiful as you can see.
The picture on which this painting was based is shown below.
(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. Clicking a second time will make it full-sized.)
