*thousands white blossoms

My film is back from development and those are the first pictures of the roll, I made them on the most pleasant walk we made in April, all the cherry trees have been in full bloom and the overall atmosphere was amazing! I finally started firing my ceramic pieces that were waiting patiently in my shelf since the beginning of the year. I glazed the first batch yesterday and hope to be able to prepare the remaining pieces for the last firing the coming week. The rainy weather is perfect for such things and I don't have the pressure then to work in the garden. I also got new writing paper & cards from the print shop, that I designed recently. It's always a special moment and I really like how it turned out, I made some product pictures already that I will share here soon, so stay tuned and have a nice weekend!

☙

*garden wildlife

First of all, welcome in May!

It has been a while and to be honest, I don't know where all those days have gone! Temperatures here are still not as warm as usual at this time of the year, we still having to heat the stove and because of the cold nights, the plants are growing rather slow, but everything looks so lush and green right now, it is a wonderful time of the year nevertheless! I thought I share with you some recent wild cam pictures:  those are the animals that are regularly visiting our garden: foxes, rabbits, pheasants, neighbor cats, martens, hedgehogs and deers. A nice variety of wildlife!

I finished reading "Once Upon a River" by Diane Setterfield and I truly loved it, I got completely absorbed by her story and admire her writing talent! What was the most recent favorite book? Or do you have a book on your reading list that you absolutely want to read this summer?

I hope to be back soon with some analogue pictures, I'm still waiting for the film to return from development! Until then I wish you a fabulous May with the scent of lilac in the air!

☙

*Ich fürchte mich vor der Menschen Wort

Ich fürchte mich so vor der Menschen Wort.

Sie sprechen alles so deutlich aus:

Und dieses heißt Hund und jenes heißt Haus,

und hier ist Beginn und das Ende ist dort.

Mich bangt auch ihr Sinn, ihr Spiel mit dem Spott,

sie wissen alles, was wird und war;

kein Berg ist ihnen mehr wunderbar;

ihr Garten und Gut grenzt grade an Gott.

Ich will immer warnen und wehren: Bleibt fern.

Die Dinge singen hör ich so gern.

Ihr rührt sie an: sie sind starr und stumm.

Ihr bringt mir alle die Dinge um.

{Rainer Maria Rilke}

☙

*spring is here for real

At the moment I am working every free moment in the garden, if the weather allows it. Suddenly there is so much to do and think of, all at once. It is always one of the busiest times of the year and I try not to get too overwhelmed, but it's tricky! Finally there are also enough greens to pick to make fresh juices, I like to juice stinging nettles, chickweed, dandelion, mint with carrots or fresh fruits and ginger to wake my tired winter body and it simply tastes delicious! Today we had the warmest day so far, it actually felt a little like summer! 

The pictures above are back from March. The carnations that I got to my Birthday were blooming almost a whole month! It was amazing!

☙

*wake me from my slumber

Wake me from my slumber

so I can see myself in nature's mirror,

so I can touch the moss on the trees

and feel the wind between the twigs of the trees

that are putting forth fresh buds to welcome their annual rebirth.

Wake me from my slumber

so I can feel my feet again,

so I can meet you apart from my dreams,

to dance with you between snowdrop's shadows,

innocently and real.

Wake me from my slumber

so I can be here again

for you.

{Claudia Voglhuber}

☙

*watercolor update #2

It's time to show some more paintings I made in the last months. I painted a second dog in a flower meadow and want to create a series. I'm also thinking of designing new writing paper, I have already some ideas that I want to realise. I just wonder about the right size, I usually love to have a lot of space when I write letters for example and prefer the A4 format, but I made a poll on Instagram yesterday and to my surprise 85% of the people prefer A5 format, but maybe I will make both. Let's see...

The Easter weekend will be quite moody, we had some rain and snow already today, nevertheless I wish you a wonderful time with your loved ones!

☙

*I have felt it all

The turmoil of my life has absorbed me,

while the winds are still gelid

and the peach bloom is shining surreal in the lurid April light.

It emerged when the curtain of heavy clouds opened

for a glimpse of a moment.

Letters have been written with ink and tears.

Birds have spoken when the first rain appeared after months.

Too harsh is the world to me in many ways,

but in the blink of an eye all sorrows are drowning

between the white petals in the air in front of my window.

Just for a little moment.

Just for now.

This year I have felt it all,

and you have been my only witness.

{Claudia Voglhuber}

☙

*tree mushroom

How must it feel to be a mushroom growing on a tree?

How must it feel to be so close and still a separate being?

☙

*winter walks

It is not easy to get used to walks without Sunny.

I imagine him running by our side,

full of joy and curiosity.

☙

*cold winds & moody skies

Not feeling very communicative lately, but I wrote in my journal and replied to overdue letters. I also got a film back from the film laboratory and I reorganized my workroom to have some change. The wind still feels cold here, but weather should get milder in the coming week.

☙