The first half of the week was very warm and windy in central Oklahoma. I have already started putting the seedlings on the balcony for a few hours when the weather is warm enough. The second part of the week has been much colder and even freezing in the mornings. So we had to shut down the watering system again at the farm. We are having a severe drought here and I hope we can get some rain soon. I had a few days off at the beginning of the week and I enjoyed sleeping in. I had put my recently purchased crossvine and rose bush on the balcony since the weather had been great. I also put the ginger and aloe vera outside when it was warm. Unfortunately, my squirrel friends loved munching on my new rose bush. They ate up most of the new growth and scratched up the canes a bit. They also took a bite of the aloe vera. I have moved both the crossvine and the rose bush indoors with the seedlings due to the freezing weather. I will put the crossvine out again when it warms up but the rose bush will have to stay inside until planting. I will have to check in the future before putting my plants outside if they’re on the squirrel menu. I did some more work for my boyfriend this week and he bought me another plant as payment. This time we got a Summer Crush hydrangea from TLC. My boyfriend is a big fan of hydrangeas and this is our fourth. We already have a Snowball, a Nantucket Blue, and a Strawberry Sundae, I think. The Snowball is a white oak leaf, the Nantucket Blue is the original pink and blue hydrangea, and the strawberry Sundae is white and pink. This new one is a bright red to purple hydrangea. We have clay soil so it is a bit of effort to get hydrangeas to change color here. I think clay soil is more alkaline and the hydrangeas change color in acidic soil. So we would have to amend the soil heavily to get the different colored blooms. I had a few days off at the beginning of the week and I did some drawing and painting. I am finding stretching the watercolor paper to be a bit of a struggle and I may buy blocks in the future instead. I think the struggle could be related to my cheap washi tape. I have some masking tape to try and I may also get some painter’s tape if the masking tape isn’t effective. I have been reading a book this week called 101 Watercolor Secrets by Anna Bucciarelli. She also has a great YouTube channel. The book has a lot of details about supplies and techniques but doesn’t have tutorials. The photography for the book is very clear and well done. I am only about halfway through the book and I plan to finish it next week. Next week, I will also be putting the seedlings into larger pots. They are already outgrowing the trays. Some of the seedlings did react poorly to the sun exposure and turned a little yellow. I need to increase the amount of time in the sun more gradually. I’m hoping to plant the rose bush, crossvine, hydrangea, and sunchokes next week. However, it is looking like it will be a busy work week for us so we may not be able to go to the farm next week. Next week, I plan to paint some more plants and flowers if I have time.
Lisa Ledbetter 