Growing and Learning

Today was my second to last drawing class.  We worked with Conte Crayons, which are a combination of compressed powdered graphite or charcoal mixed with wax.  This was totally new to me.  It was challenging and fun.

I love learning new things, and I am thinking about what class I want to take this summer.  I want to keep growing my skills, and when it comes to art, I can't do this without a good instructor.  I am thinking about learning to draw with pastels.  I like the idea of doing something with lots of color. The class that is being offered will spend time outside the Des Moines Art Center in Greenwood Park.  That idea really appeals to me.

Another thing growing in my house are the little tomatoes in the Aerogarden.  I wonder if I will end up with ripened edible tomatoes?

Garden Dreams

It is spring break!  We had temperatures in the sixties and seventies during February and early March.  Naively, I had imagined working in the garden sometime this week.  I have been reading about raised bed gardening, and have been collecting five hole brick to build my first bed.  It is piled by the backyard fence, just waiting.  The ground is covered with snow, so it won't be this week.

I had expected to have tomato and pepper seeds started by now.  I usually get them going by this time of year.  Other years I have just picked up seeds at Lowe's or Menards.  This year, however, I decided to order seeds from Henry Fields.  I placed the order on February 2nd.  I have contacted them twice, and still no seeds.

The best I can do is my Aerogarden.  I started two pods of cherry tomatoes a few weeks ago, and there are some little baby tomatoes on there.  In the meantime, I guess I will just keep reading gardening books, and dreaming of the time of year when I can get the garden going.  Those garden dreams are part of the fun of gardening.

If you are interested in reading about raised bed gardening, I recommend Raised Bed Revolution by Tara Nolan.  You can find it here.