I plopped myself down on the porch swing this morning for a moment of quiet time, and as I was transfixed by the sunrise peeping up over the green barn, its shimmering  rays radiating through the dew in the trees..this gorgeous Yellow show-off stood in my line of sight, saying, “But hey! Look at me, look at me!” I know summer was over yesterday, and I’m supposed to be posting pics of my pumpkins and all the Harvest art I’ve churned out over the last few months in preparation for this PSL season..and believe me, I will get to it…Your feeds will be bombed with Pumpkin Spice, I promise. But for this morning, this sweet rose and I wanted to hold on to the last warm, ethereal wisps of summer..so I pulled out the camera, let Rosey model for me for a minute, and then grasped my hot coffee to my chest a little closer, and wrapped myself in my fuzzy blanket, and remembered how excited I get for Fall..Roses, or not.

According to lore, my property used to be filled with rose bushes..I have a few climbers that have found solace and protection from the ravenous herds of elk by climbing up a few of my juniper trees, deep inside their canopy, their sweet smell camouflaged by the pungent, ginny smell of juniper which must be repugnant to the elk, because that is the only thing on my property that they don’t eat!!! All my other rose bushes get gnawed down to the wood every year…They give it their best shots, I’ll see growth, buds, and I will get so excited, until the next morning, when they are no longer rose bushes, but rather rose nubs.. 😦

But this Yellow Beauty actually started from a small potted rose bush given to me on Mother’s Day by my dear friend and artistic mentor, R.A. Heichberger, or as my kids and I know him, Papa Dick..He’s the coolest dude I know.. He’s my dear friend Heather’s father..he’s a retired Marine Helicopter Machine Gunner, Hunter, Outdoorsman, regular old tough guy, but he’s also a world renowned Western Artist, my teacher, and a secondary grandfather to my kiddos. Maybe it’s the artist in him that is so sensitive, but this tough guy sure knows how to show kindness and encouragement..Maybe it’s the fact that he was a single parent as well, raising Heather all on his own,that he identifies with all the work that I put into this place for my kids… Maybe it’s the fact that he lived through the stress of managing the roller coaster life of a professional artist..Or maybe he’s just family at this point..But any-who…Mother’s day weekend, I wasn’t feeling very super-momish, it was the height of Spring chores, my farm was taking over my life, and my kids were wearing me out..And along comes Dick with this little pot of yellow roses and a sweet, encouraging Mother’s Day card.. Now, I’ve bought those cute little mini rose pots before when I lived in the city…They’d last about 3 days before withering and dying..But this time, I decided I’d give it a fighting chance. I took it out onto my deck, repotted it with some of my magic farm compost (see blog post about the Tomato vine that took over my backyard).. and I swear this little rose bush went from popping out a few quarter sized mini roses, to a summer of abundant, fist-sized yellow blooms..Safe up on my deck,  high above the hungry, pesky elk.. This is corny, I know, but it has been a little dose of joy and sunshine that this flower-loving nerd needed all summer long as I sat outside when I desperately required a minute of quiet (albeit the screaming goats sometimes didn’t quite cooperate). It also inspired a couple of my Watercolor Florals, see images below…So anyway, this is probably the last bloom of the season, which makes it all the more beautiful to me. I was reminded yet again how grateful I am for friends that find sweet ways to spread a little encouragement and joy in this world! Happy Fall Y’all 🙂