Garden friends

When word spread around that I was going to retire, friends began to ask, what would I do. Of course they all knew I was a 'painter' . I said, "I think I'd like to plant some flowers. "
Gardeners are the most generous people that I know! The spring before I retired in 1994. People began to give me flowers and bulbs. Some I had to plant in the snow and mud.

Amazingly a lot of them grew and flourished. There was a small irrigation ditch running through town, behind my property. There were openings for water to be let in and shut off. Every spring the ditch needed to be cleaned. So there were lots of digging little ditches to different flowrs. It grew to be a large garden, and I put many favorite rocks around in the garden. I always had a cat or two to keep me company.

I took pictures and painted pictures of all the flowers ,cats , moutains and cliffs. I had "come and paint" groups every year. It was a busy time, and in Jehovah's great sun and wind and dirt and friends, the hole in my heart healed.
I also fit in some vacations with friends to the great south west, and back to the ocean and then across the country. How great to have 10 years of retirement!