Orchids

My in-laws sent me an orchid in a pot. I had grown several orchids over the years, most of which languished and died when the blooms faded. An orchid I found on a clearance shelf at the home improvement store somehow lasted for years and bloomed again and again. At length, it too perished.

A pair of orchids bought at the grocery store lasted awhile though have not yet bloomed since that first flush. One has since died, the other continues to put out new leaves but no flower stalk, as yet.

The new orchid appeared to be a disaster. Poorly packaged, poorly handled, the pot has lost most of its growing medium, the soggy orchid was naked without it and it looked like it was not long for this world.

I went to work, resurrecting a genuine orchid pot left from the one success, and replanted the orchid in some new medium (think bark & wood chips). I nestled it into the orchid pot, gave it a good soak,  set it in my kitchen window & prepared for it to meet its doom. To my pleasant surprise it bloomed!

I photographed it when there were but a few blooms but over the next week or so more buds bloomed until there were many. At least five or more. Weeks later, they are still beautiful and show no signs of fading.

I had wanted to try painting this orchid but was afraid to try. At last, one day last week, I opened the sketchbook, got out paints & water & set to work. Here is the result. Not as "artistic" as I might hope, but the real pleasure is that I actually made the attempt. I keep hearing I'll get better with practice. I'm trying to curb the urge to have instant perfection and steel myself to keep trying.

I'm still nervous about sharing my painting with others but I may post this to my facebook page and see what others think. In the meantime, you & I can enjoy it together.

Quotable quotes; in the category Well, I Didn't Feel Like Writing Today.

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary."  Pablo Picasso