I was flipping through some photos of our patio from last summer and discovered the beginnings of a few things that I forgot were ever captured. It's warmed up enough now that its time to clean out this space that has largely gone dormant for a few months. And just like last year, I'll have to wait until the new wren family hatches in one of those wall planters before I plant my lantana! Pesky birds. There's a nest in the garage too. We're quite fertile around here.
During the winter months we clear off and store a lot of the items that are on the patio and leave it pretty bare so that nothing gets more wear than necessary, cause its too cold to enjoy. In fact I think there might still be some cocoa mugs out there from the last snow a few weeks ago.
I do the patio slightly different every year, but always try to make it kid-friendly since they spend the most amount of time out here. I will definitely be redoing our little art supply station made from flower pots of pens, pencils and paints and piles of paper. The picnic table is a great place to send them when I don't want to worry about paint spills. I mean if you can't clean it with a garden hose what use is it really?
I even left my own drawing board out there, and only in looking at these photos did I notice that my first sketches for Drawing Room start on the patio. Fancy that! I had forgotten! (and btw way thanks all you Portland furniture owners for your help...I'll be making that decision this week, and thanks Amy, for spreading the word!)
And when trying to decide how to make cheap, relatively weather resistant art for the patio, I dreamed up the painted silhouettes that went on to achieve Martha fame as we all know now. So funny how innocently some things begin. I can remember sitting at the picnic table with the little ones and making a list of all the different types of animals we see in our yard. This is how we decided which silhouettes to make. When looking online for animal silhouettes to use, we came across a bird identification chart, that I decided had to be on the patio too. So I just printed it out and freehanded the canvas, then painted it.
I also now remember that when I shot the pictures that I had just finished reviewing my first samples of needlepoint pillows that I designed, and the launch of those goods seemed soooo far away. Now its just weeks away!
The other variable on the patio each year is which plants survived through the winter. This year, I think about half of them did. Anyone who knows me well, knows that this is an astonishing accomplishment. Helped in large part by my dear Mom checking on them every time she visits. (Mom, the plants say thank you.)
So that's the job for this weekend, return the patio to its fun and cosy splendor. Its quite encouraging to be able to review last summer, because I was otherwise uninspired to do all the cleaning it'll require. Now, I'm thinking how this space of ours may produce new sketches and ideas that might well blossom into..... who knows what!
xoxox,AM