'The Dancing Ladies'

                                                                                watercolour by Michelle McGrahan Devlin

"The Dancing Ladies"

Like a row of dancing ladies they sway,

In the soft summer breeze

Where they laugh and they play

Oh the dancing ladies they swing their soft hips

And bob their heads yes

As they blow you a kiss.

The sunflower ladies

Are sunny and bright

They whisper and giggle

and gossip all night.

How I love their bright smiles,

And their soft green embrace.

Prettty sunflower ladies

Draped in gossamer lace

Of a spider web dress-

They're a picture of grace!

by Michelle Devlin

This is a watercolour painting I did afew years ago to attempt to capture the delightful group of dancing ladies who never failed to entrance me. Each one was unique, each had her very own personality, and my amateur attempt to paint them did, I feel, capture the feeling of their movement and joyfulness.
If you have never tried painting with watercolours, I highly recommend you give it a try, and just make sure you find a subject that inspires you, preferably from nature. It is more about evoking the spirit of the subject, I believe, than any kind of technical exercise. Have fun with it! The wonderful thing about painting is that if you make a mistake - well you can just paint over it!
I hope my picture of the dancing ladies gives you the same cheerful feeling it gave me to paint it!

MichelleDevlin is based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada

Magical gardens: Wrought iron and pallets make beautiful bed-fellows in whimsical garden

I sip a glass of blackberry wine and survey my garden.

One flower bed slopes comfortably like an old patchwork quilt flung on a feather bed, but is filled instead with flowers and vegetables.
Ornate wrought iron bedposts surround and protect the little patch, reminiscent of a Victorian tea, and make me feel like throwing a tea party.

A makeshift pathway winds through the beds, made from some pieces of an old deck. Tomatoes and eggplants grow between the slats of re-claimed wooden pallets, along with hot peppers, broccoli, leeks and parsley to freshen the breath.

I have to admit I feel an inordinate sense of pride and accomplishment.
Borne from a Facebook post I remember sharing in the depths of winter, (and wishing for!)... that showed a super nifty idea - skid gardening, which appealed to me as it means almost no weeding.... to another favourite oldy-but-goody idea using wrought iron bed frames for garden bed trellises, this spring I hauled in some dirt by wheelbarrow, arranged my skids and bed frames... Add some really neat decking (thanks to the next door neighbour) and Voila! We have created a garden sanctuary!

Ornamental bottles and decanters that I have been carting around in boxes for years and that thankfully nobody actually purchased in my last yard sale sit ontop the skids, peeking through the plants with flashes of gold and crystal, adding a touch of glamour to the whole scene.....

An old fishbowl is my 'water feature' as I laughingly call it, complete with a mermaid castle and a floating solar ball inside it. A slightly dented old tiffany lampshade sits atop the stump of the tree that was hit by lightning last month, and looks magical when lit from within by candlelight.

Fairies adorn the garden, and a tiny china tea set lends a whimsical touch...yet practical too as the bees and butterflies come to drink out of these diminuitive cups and saucers.
Solar lights twinkle as dusk falls, lighting up the garden one by one with magical rainbow hues, while tea lights amongst the cabbages and coriander create enchanting shadows.
Windchimes tinkle in the breeze, hanging from the old walnut tree that shades the garden, along with a blue blown glass ball and star shaped ornaments that twirl in the breeze.

What do we make with our hands these days? I watch the tomatoes grow, breathe in the sun-drenched air. Today I can tell you with great joy that I made a garden with my own two hands as I sit back on my reclining chair, inhale the scent of the fresh green herbs and the flowers, and bask in the glow of a sense of accomplishment.

In the fall we will have pumpkins and ornamental gourds to decorate the house with, but for now I will listen to the drone of the ciccadas and perhaps dream a little dream as I doze in the warm afternoon sunshine.
'Just living is not enough,' said the butterfly.'One must have sunshine, freedom,
and a little flower.

gardening quote  by Hans Christian Andersen

Michelle Devlin is based in Barrie, Ontario Canada

Madame Butterfly's Musings: "Diaries of A Nostalgic Muse" - 'Rural tales of history and hauntings'' / Column 1 / The House On Ewart St.'

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Madame Butterfly's Musings: 'How To Beat the Winter Blahs!'/"Bedknobs and Broo...

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'How To Beat the Winter Blahs!'/"Bedknobs and Broomsticks"/The Tickle Trunk/Column Three

February's winds howl and blow outside, sending drifts of snow across the sills and doorframes. Even the cat doesn't want to go out and play today, the birds and squirrels are huddling in their dens and there's nobody to chase.
Living in rural Caada can be isolating in these conditions, and even though most households are fully armed with an arsenal of electronic equipment and games, children can become cranky and go 'stir-crazy' if too much time is spent on these sedentary activities. Hours spent watching TV or focusing on electronics can cause eyestrain and irritability, and is a contributing factor to childhood obesity.
But what to do when cabin fever sets in, siblings start squabbling, and the all too familiar battle cry, "Mommy I'm bored!" is taken up? Offering to find work for them to do such as cleaning of bedrooms, bathrooms, shovelling of walks can quickly quell such complaints. However when even that won't quite do, there are many tried and true ways to create magical worlds of make-believe in your home that will whisk your children away to the realm of unstructured creative play.
Blankets and bedsheets can be draped, hung, and strung over practically anything from chairs to bedknobs to well...broomsticks! In fact the building of such a fort is indeed a veritable lesson in physics, not to mention co-operation. As long as parents help a little and keep a supervisory eye over the safety of all building projects - kids will do some crazy proppings of lamps to keep a sheet in place... once the stage is set, you can take a step back and let the children's imagination come out and play!
'The Tickle Trunk' is inspired of course, by Mr. Dressup, Canada's beloved television star from the 1960's and 70's. Which of us doesn't remember the thrill of watching each day to see what he was going to pull out of that trunk?
Mine is an old black trunk that I bought at a garden sale and painted with yellow moons and stars. The interior lid has photos taped all over it, memories of dress-up days gone by with the kids.
Collecting costumes for your tickle trunk is easy - there are lots of great thrift shops everywhere, and yard sale season is coming soon! Old clothes make great candidates too...outdated ties, scarves, hats, purses and shoes wiill keep kids happy for hours playing make-believe!
A child's work is playing - it is through this process that they make sense of the world around them. Playing house, re-enacting fairy-tales, pretending to be animals - these activities teach empathy, compassion, and trust.
Old boxes are also great for building forts and creating costumes. If you can get your hands on a fridge box then you are very fortunate indeed - they are good for weeks of fun until they inevitably fall apart after one too many assaults on the castle!
Use your imagination - add some face paints - make some paper masks...a sock puppet or two....the fun is endless! Before you know it the kids have been playing happily for hours, the tv is still off, and the house is filled with the happy sound of children off on a great adventure!

Just watch out for the sharks in the bedroom...quick quick get on the bed - it's a pirate ship!

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