Blessings of the Season
Each season has its own blessing. For me, one of the blessings of Spring is new life, new beginnings, i.e., beautiful spring flowers leading to summer flowers and on to fall flowers. You get the picture. Will I ever get tired of flowers? Doubt it. And with Spring comes the urge to clean house, what ever that means to you. To me, it is letting go of things that no longer serve me. Those things could be clothes, accessories, books, what ever. Letting go of old or not so old things is a wonderful gift to you and to those who receive them. For you it is lightening your load. To others, well that is obvious, good, new to them stuff.

After all that work I always like a little something new for my home. A new piece of art that really speaks to me can give a room a whole new attitude. This month I am celebrating a glorious Spring after a long, snowy winter in Colorado Springs. Since this is Easter weekend it seems fitting to showcase the Lily, in this case the Day Lily. The name of this painting is “Tranquility”. As I finished this painting I had an assistance packaging some orders for me. When she looked at it her comment was, “It looks so tranquil.” I said, “Ooooo perfect, I’ll call it Tranquility.” And so it is.

By next month I should have a new website up. It will be Mickey Baxter-Spade/Just Flowers or Flowers, Flowers, Flowers, or All About Flowers. Needless to say you will find my floral paintings and interesting info about flowers. Why don’t you leave any ideas you might have for a name in the comment box. If I choose your idea I will send you a complimentary box of my fine art note cards.

Bella’s Insights

Happy Spring Everybody! Boy, mom and I are ready for nice weather – you know, no more shoveling snow for awhile. I get my exercise when mom shovels, back and forth, back and forth across that driveway. If it’s not windy I have a lot of fun bouncing in the snow. If there is a blustery wind I would rather be under the bed, and I’m not kidding.

Hope you all had a nice Easter. I found a new friend Easter morning. A big bunny holding a basket with treats was here when I got up.  The treats were delicious so I gave the big bunny a kiss. I’m looking forward to his visit next year.

You just never know what mom is up to. A couple of weeks ago she found something new. Carrots, nooooo, carrots aren’t new to her but purple, yellow, red and white carrots were new to her. She is kicking herself for not buying them – she thought she would wait until closer to Easter so I would have a special treat, you see I love orange carrots! Well, she chose poorly, no more colored carrots. What was she thinking?!? Then she told me all about colored carrots. . .

Mom read that carrots have a storied and murky history. Carrots were originally purple and yellow. Purple and yellow carrots originated about 5,000 years ago (What!) in present day Afghanistan according to England’s Carrot Museum. It’s thought that mutations and natural hybrids derived from both cultivated and wild varieties of the purple and yellow carrots producing an orange “mutant” carrot. Oooooooo, is that a good thing?!?

It was around the 16th century that the Dutch took these mutant orange carrots and created a sweeter, more practical modern orange (yummm) or “western carrot.” It’s said that the modern orange carrot was invented by Dutch growers to honor the House of Orange, the Dutch Royal Family. Though we love our orange carrots we can be thankful for their purple and yellow roots. (roots, hee, hee – get it?)

Color means something when it comes to carrots.
* It’s beta carotene and alpha-carotene that give orange carrots their color and their reputation, lots of Vitamin A.
* Not only are purple carrots higher in beta carotene than their orange cousins, they also possess the anthocyanins which provide the purple pigmentation. These powerful antioxidants are good anti-inflammatory agents and also help prevent heart disease by slowing blood clotting.
* Red carrots derive their color from carotenoids. Carotenoids are made up of lycopene and B-carotene which are effective cancer fighting agents found in Tomatoes. Depending on the color, each variety has individual health benefits that your body will thank you for.
Well, that was a little different, huh? You just never know what mom will come up with. Stay tuned next month. This is Bella “the food expert” signing off.

Ta ta for now,
~Bella

DayLily
The lily, especially during Easter time, also symbolizes ‘new life’. Day lilies belong to the genus Hemerocallis and are not true lilies. “Hemerocallis,” derived from a Greek word meaning “beautiful for a day.” The day lily is aptly named due to the the fact that their flowers open at sunrise and wither at sunset. A lily is seen, as a graceful flower symbolizing all that is elegant and graceful.

“Life’s not about waiting for the storm to pass . . . It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” — Vivian Greenered

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