The Changing Seasons – April 2019

 

It´s time again for the wonderful challenge The Changing Seasons hosted by my dear friend Su from Zimmerbitch!

 

This month is clearly dominated by one theme – flowers!

April started with my beloved cactus showering me with its beautiful flowers! This cactus is a descendent from a plant that belonged to my great-grandmother, and is well over 60 years old! Most of the time it blooms once a year (around Easter), but sometimes even twice.

Each flower gives off a few drops of super sweet nectar which I always lick up – not directly with my tongue, it’s a cactus mind you and I’m not stupid. 😉

I’m not sure if it’s okay to do so, but so far I couldn’t observe any negative side effects. Apart from the fact that I feel a bit like a hummingbird. 😉

 

One of my cactus flowers – isn’t it gorgeous? (April 2019)

 

Last year I  missed them by a week or so, the short-lived flowers of the Magnolia trees. So I took special care to catch them this year, making regular trips to a nearby cemetery that has one of these glorious and beautiful trees.

The smell was sheer overwhelming and this time I felt like one of the busy bees, flitting from flower to flower, trying to catch as many pictures as my camera could hold – which is a substantial lot! But I promise to keep it short for your sake. 😉

 

Magnolia tree (April 2019)

 

Magnolia flowers (April 2019)

 

Love how the light shines through the delicate petals of the Magnolia flowers (April 2019)

 

Looking up I can only see flowers and a clear blue sky! (April 2019)

 

This woman was clearly just in awe of the splendor as I was (April 2019)

 

And then there is my ranunculus, one of the filled variety, which are pretty common I admit, but nevertheless I’m totally in love with them, especially this one, as it shows this wonderful poppy red color that I simply adore.

The petals remind me of the beautiful skirts of a Flamenco dancer, or – and this is my sweet tooth talking again 😉 : puff pastry! 😀

 

Poppy red ranunculus (April 2019)

 

Puff-pastry or Flamenco skirts? 😉 Ranunculus (April 2019)

 

Almost golden – Ranunculus (April 2019)

 

And these I bought just yesterday – my beloved daisies! Simple but beautiful. 🙂

Pink and white daisies – if this isn’t Spring, what is?! (April 2019)

 

And since I’m a firm believer that every excursion deserves a treat, I was happily indulging in this home baked Italian White Bread (one of my favorites)…

 

Homebaked Italian White Bread (April 2019)

 

The crust tasted just as good as it looked. (April 2019)

 

…or home baked Cream-Cheesecake after each trip!

 

The Amigurumi Easter bunnies were very tempted by my Cream-Cheesecake too, but opted for carrots in the end – phew! 😉 (April 2019)

 

But of course, this artist can not live alone from taking pictures and baking and eating. No, that wouldn’t do!

This artist simply needs to draw and paint and make pottery as well! 😀

And being in full Spring mode, I couldn’t help drawing and painting a couple of butterflies à la Maria Sybilla Merian, a German-born 17th Century naturalist and scientific illustrator, whom I have the greatest admiration for.

 

Pencil drawing of Cocytius gossypiifolia (April 2019)

 

In 1699 she travelled to Dutch Surinam together with one of her daughters to study and record the tropical insects there.

 

Watercolor of Cocytius gossypiifolia (April 2019)

 

Because of her careful observations and documentation of the metamorphosis of the butterfly, she is considered by David Attenborough to be among the most significant contributors to the field of entomology.

 

I’m currently in the process of painting a second butterfly on this sheet of paper (Butterfly watercolor – April 2019)

 

And as promised, I also worked with clay again – another yarn bowl that I hope to sell on Christmas markets later this year.

Being still in Spring mode, I chose a sheep motive. 😉

 

Sheep yarn bowl made of red clay, unfired (April 2019)

 

Detail yarn bowl (April 2019)

 

 

And this was it! Well, most of it, to be honest. But I think, this will do. 😉

 

If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic):

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

If you do a ping-back to Su’s original post, she can update hers with a link to yours.