We’re more than half-way through June. The solstice is just a few days away. Summer is well and truly here.

In Wisconsin by the time November rolls around, we’ve usually had our first frost. Sometimes we’ve already had our first snow, too.

For me, springtime in the garden always means violas and pansies. They’re some of the first things to show up at garden centers and one of the first things to bloom in my garden.

I was blown away by the responses to last week’s post about social media. Thank you to everyone who left a comment, sent an email, responded on IG or shared thoughts over at Skillshare. It seems a lot of us are a bit dissatisfied right now. Today, though, I thought I’d post something a little lighter!

These are my favorite days, dividing my time between my studio and my garden.

I’ve been unplugging as much as possible. And it feels good to be so focused. I’ve fallen in love, again, with my art. There’s so much to paint! Some flowers come and go in the blink of an eye.

Hello, my friend. How are you? Are you hanging in there.

I had a rough week. I’m fine. I’m safe. I’m healthy. My family is healthy. My business is doing fine. Matthias’ business is doing fine.

And yet…

In my first Growing Inspiration post I wrote about nasturtiums. If there’s a flower I’ve drawn and painted more than the nasturtium, it might be the viola.

They always have a place in my garden.

I sit in the garden and watch the robins taking turns on the nest in the birch tree. The nest is perched in a crotch of branches high above my patio. It doesn’t look very secure, but I’ve watched it hold tight when its windy. One robin swoops to the branch and the other plunges away. A few minutes later they switch. And switch again.