Posts in seasons
Beginning the New Year with Stillness and Returning to My Creative Self
Beginning the New Year with Stillness and Returning to My Creative Self

All week I’ve been thinking about what I want to share in my first post of 2024.

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life, seasons, creativityAnne ButeraNew Year, easing into the new year, beginning the new year with stillness, returning to creativity, returning to myself, studio, nature, inspiration from the garden, inspiration from the winter garden, observing nature, creativity, reclaiming creativity, reclaiming inspiration Comments
Surviving Winter: 11 Ways I Bring More Joy and Warmth into Cold Days
Surviving Winter: 11 Ways I Bring More Joy and Warmth into Cold Days

Wednesday morning I woke up and checked the temperature. Negative 19 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of negative thirty-two. It was our second day in a row of bitter cold.

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joy, life, seasons, booksAnne Buterawinter, making it through winter, how to get through winter, how to bring more joys into my days, surviving winter, books, garden planning, garden dreaming, gardening inside, indoor garden, growing an indoor garden, crochet, winter garden, seed catalogs, growing herbs, reading, book recommendations, dogs, cats, making soup, finding joy in winter, warming up in winter Comments
Saying Goodbye to 2021 and Welcoming 2022 with EASE
Saying Goodbye to 2021 and Welcoming 2022 with EASE

Wednesday morning dawned with a blowy, snowy storm. Most mornings after breakfast and coffee I start my day with a walk.

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life, seasonsAnne Buteraword of the year, year in review, 2021 Year in Review, 2022 Word of the Year, EASE, winter, OPEN, Roots and Refuge Farm, stickers from Roots and Refuge Farm, Writing a book, writing in my journal, looking back, looking forward, planning, planning for next year, planning for the year, quitting instagram, Kickapoo Meadery, Kickapoo Meadery mead labels, Skillshare teacher, Skillshare Class, skillshare, sketchbooks, Dana Barbieri, Embroidery, embroidery patterns, 2 Million Blossoms magazine, art shows, Viva Gallery, Viva Gallery in Viroqua Wisconsin, Viroqua Food Co-Op, Anne Butera, Matthias Minnig, papier-mache, paper mache, Craft Industry Alliance, dreaming big Comments
Finding Solace in the Garden's Beauty: Why I Grow Blooming Plants Indoors
Finding Solace in the Garden's Beauty: Why I Grow Blooming Plants Indoors

One of the first things I noticed in the oncology waiting room were two huge Christmas cactuses filled with blooms, even though it was late January.

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life, seasons, garden, houseplantsAnne Buteragardening in Wisconsin, gardening indoors, indoor garden, houseplants, garden inspiration, houseplant portraits, painting inspiration, free gifts, printable art, printable gift tags, printable watercolor houseplant gift tags, watercolor houseplants, watercolor blooming plants, watercolor holiday plants, growing an indoor garden, garden tour Comments
Savoring the Quiet Gifts of December and the Winter Season
Savoring the Quiet Gifts of December and the Winter Season

I cut handfuls of dead flowers from my garden this week. Their shapes are interesting. Petals twisted. Leaves furled as if frozen in motion.

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art, life, seasonsAnne Buterawinter, December, Gifts of December, Gifts of Winter, Winter Reflection, art exhibit, art display, art prints, botanical art prints, sunflowers, sunflower print, sleeping garden, subtle beauties, seeing the beauty of winter, nature, seasons, word of the year, being open to change, be open to the magic Comments
New Beginnings: 10 Ideas for Welcoming a Changing Season and Embracing Your Dreams
New Beginnings: 10 Ideas for Welcoming a Changing Season and Embracing Your Dreams

September is here and I’m relishing the seasonal shifts.

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creativity, inspiration, life, seasonsAnne Buteracreativity, change of season, changing the calendar, change to begin again, fresh start, welcoming a new season, embracing change, 10 Ideas for Welcoming a New Season, 10 Ideas for Embracing Change, Anne Butera's Skillshare classes, Skillshare Class, Banish Fear and Make a Plan to Pursue Your Creative Dreams, end of summer, beginning of autumn, acorns, collecting acorns, new beginnings, embracing your dreams Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: August in the Garden, Week 3 of a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: August in the Garden, Week 3 of a Month of Gratitude Practice

If July’s garden stars were purple poppies, August’s are sunflowers.

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garden, gratitude, joy, seasons, lifeAnne Buteragarden, garden tours, monthly garden tours, what's happening in my garden, what's happening in the garden, rescue dogs, Pitbull mix, rescued pitbull mix, pit bull mix, rescued pit bull mix, garden dogs, celebrate summer joys, A month of gratitude, a month of gratitude practice, a month of joy, sunflowers, summer garden, late summer garden, nasturtiums, dahlias, zinnias, japanese beetles, japanese anemones, canna, stars of the garden, garden tour Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: Engage Your Senses, Week 2 of a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: Engage Your Senses, Week 2 of a Month of Gratitude Practice

Noticing beauty needn’t be limited to seeing it. Last week we focused on COLOR, something we experience with our eyesight, but this week I want you to awaken your other senses.

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gratitude, joy, seasons, lifeAnne Buterasavor summer, savoring, savoring each day, savoring summer, slowing down, going slow, how to slow down, taking things slowly, engaging your senses, all your senses, noticing beauty, gratitude practice, gratitude, embracing gratitude, A month of gratitude, committing to gratitude, joy, Joy List, Joy Lists, celebrate summer joys, a month of joy, a month of gratitude practice Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: Color, Week 1 of a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: Color, Week 1 of a Month of Gratitude Practice

Did you end up writing a Gratitude List after my post last week?

Are you ready for today’s prompt to help open your eyes to the beauties and joys of summer*?

This week I want you to focus on COLOR.

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garden, inspiration, joy, seasons, gratitude, lifeAnne Buteracelebrate summer joys, gratitude, gratitude practice, summer joys, color, celebrating color, focus on color, savoring color, savoring summer, noticing color, garden colors, zinnias, zinnia flowers, geraniums, pelargoniums, colorful leaf geraniums, orange pixie tomato, nasturtiums, butterfly weed, sunflowers, dill, borage, wild bergamot, commissioned paintings, watercolor paintings, watercolor paint, watercolor paint swatches, mixing watercolor paint, mixing colors, wild bergamot watercolor painting, calendula flowers, dahlia flowers, dahlias Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: Inviting You to a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: Inviting You to a Month of Gratitude Practice

Summer is speeding past and before it’s gone I want to make sure I savor all the things I love about it.

To remind me to slow down and savor the days, I’m devoting the month of August to gratitude and joy.

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joy, life, seasons, gratitudeAnne Buterasavor summer, savoring each day, savoring summer, Joy Lists, writing joy lists, gratitude practice, gratitude, A month of gratitude, a month of joy, printable art, printable joy list, printable gratitude list Comments
What's Going on in the Garden July 2021
What's Going on in the Garden July 2021

The purple poppies have been stealing the show around here lately.

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garden, life, seasonsAnne Buteragarden tour, july garden tour, monthly garden tours, gardening, vegetable gardening, garden dog, garden dogs, garden tour video, in the garden, summer in the garden, what's going on in the garden, what's happening in the garden, garden news, garden joy, Wisconsin gardening, wisconsin gardening, japanese beetles, japanese beetle damage on roses, help me identify this plant, 2 Million Blossoms magazine, garden video Comments
Resonate with Summer's Rhythm: How to Slow Down and Enjoy the Magic
Resonate with Summer's Rhythm: How to Slow Down and Enjoy the Magic

Two weeks ago nights were in the 30s and there was danger of frost. Summer weather quickly arrived and today heat index values could reach 105.

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joy, life, magic, seasonsAnne Buteraenjoying summer, summer days, summer's rhythm, slowing down, enjoying each day, enjoy the magic, the magic of summer, summer bucket list, summer joys, summer joy list, summer joys list, fun to-do lists, inviting joy into your life, inviting play into your days, Clara the dog, skillshare, Skillshare, sketchbook class on Skillshare, summer sketchbooks, summer sketchbook class, garden, summer garden Comments
Painting Violas and Pansies: in My Studio with Spring Garden Inspiration
Painting Violas and Pansies: in My Studio with Spring Garden Inspiration

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.

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art, garden, inspiration, paintings, seasons, studioAnne Buteragardening, artist gardener, violas, pansies, viola watercolor, viola paintings, pansy watercolor, pansy painting, garden inspiration, painting inspiration, inspiration from the garden, spring garden inspiration, pansies and violas, spring garden, inspiration from the spring garden, flowers, favorite flowers, my favorite flowers, my favorite flowers to paint, my favorite watercolor subjects, watercolor painting subjects, botanical watercolor, botanical watercolor painting inspiration, spring botanical watercolor paintings, springtime in the studio, springtime in the garden Comments
Why I Don't Clean Up the Garden in the Autumn
Why I Don't Clean Up the Garden in the Autumn

Colorful leaves crunching underfoot. Pumpkins arranged on the front steps. Gently falling snow.

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garden, seasonsAnne Buteragarden assessment, gardening, fall cleanup, fall cleanup in the garden, autumn cleanup, autumn cleanup in the garden, autumn, autumn in the garden, winter squash, garden harvests, marigolds, roses, snow on the garden, end of summer, end of the season, end of the season garden review, garden in the autumn, garden chores, autumn garden checklist, relaxed approach to garden cleanup, winter slumber, gardening season, planning next year's garden Comments
Embracing Stillness: Lessons Learned Waiting at the Vet
Embracing Stillness: Lessons Learned Waiting at the Vet

This year I’ve gone to more vet appointments than I can count. I guess I could count them, flip back through calendar pages and tally up appointments for tests and surgery and treatments and more tests.

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gratitude, joy, life, seasonsAnne Buterastillness, embracing stillness, quiet, embracing quiet, waiting, waiting during medical appointments, pets, loving animals, veterinarian appointments, rescued greyhounds, retired racing greyhounds, rescued cats, joy, gratitude, gratitude practice, unexpected gratitude, embracing gratitude, unexpected joy, pandemic, struggles, mindfulness, inactivity, gift of stillness, gift of inactivity, magic of the seasons, changing season, autumn, beauty, noticing beauty, distraction, being distracted, filling time with distraction Comments
Enjoying Autumn
Enjoying Autumn

This week has been beautiful. Bright sunshine. The bluest skies.

There’s no mistaking that autumn is here, but it’s my favorite kind of autumn. And my garden is still blooming.

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garden, life, magic, paintings, seasonsAnne Buteraautumn in the garden, Autumn, flowers, joy, inspiration, Inspiration, focus, focus on beauty, refocusing, honeybees, aunt honey rose, The Poet's Wife Rose, roses, zinnias, watercolor zinnias, watercolor sketchbook, skillshare, Celebrate Autumn in Your Botanical Sketchbook Comments
Why Committing to Self-Care Is Important (Especially Now)
Why Committing to Self-Care Is Important (Especially Now)

September is here. How did that happen?

During this month we often get our first killing frost, turning my garden to blackened mush and ending its season of painting inspiration. Is it any wonder that I mourn the coming of the fall?

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life, seasonsAnne Buteraself-care, september, summer days, savoring summer, summer, prioritizing self-care, peaches, tomatoes, gardening, being present, being present as self-care, slowing down, connecting to nature, connecting to plants, paying attention, being fully present, garden bouquets, changing the calendar, changing season, holding onto summer Comments