It reached a balmy 34 degrees today which lightened the mood of Minnesotans just a bit. Spring WILL come. The sun felt sunny, the sidewalks melted away for a few minutes before turning back into ice, and we even saw a huge flock of birds filling the sky as we drove in heavy traffic tonight. "Nature!" I thought when I saw them overhead.
I took out my seeds and admired them tonight. There is so much potential in the packets. I ordered from Johnny's Selected Seeds, Seed Savers, and Seeds of Change. It was a bit ridiculous to pay for shipping three times, but I'm pretty particular about my varieties. I stuck with the basics, a few fun varieties, but mostly tried and true seeds that ensure some bounty. I figured I need all the help I can get since I won't have the greatest growing conditions.
I can't wait to get going with my container gardening. I saw a lovely book at a shop about the topic yesterday, but $25 is a bit out of my budget since I liked it more for aesthetic inspiration. I may need to take a trip to goodwill this coming week and scrounge around for some shabby chic type receptacles. The book suggested big cans, bowls, all sorts of things.
My studio is more of a piled mess since I haven't been it for a good 10 days or so. It makes me crabby. I hope to get some solid hours in this weekend. I have a super exciting illustration project to work on, a children's story called "Tom's Thumbs," by Mike Van Auken. I sent him some preliminary sketches and, though many changes to come, this is the main character, Tom. Now I'm working on sketching the entire storyboard. I've certainly read quite a few children's books quite a few times, but it's still a challenge figuring out the best flow for the imagery. Fun, though. Very fun. 
