I have neighbors who don't speak to me, on purpose.

I have a neighbor who makes a point of coming over with a big smile and compliments overflowing whenever he (rarely) sees me in the yard.

I have another neighbor who once walked by and said under his breath "you can't fix months of neglect in a few hours."

So, as you might guess, I have a substandard yard in my neighborhood. I have more weeds than grass. My attempts at new plantings have almost entirely failed.

But, for a few years now I have been trying to come to terms with the disgrace that is my yard...as well addressing the lack of skill and time deprivation that have contributed to the situation.

So my current plan is three-fold:

- spending 20 minutes (only) a day out there

- plant more of whatever has survived to this point

- involve my sons as much as possible.

And, is it working? So far, "20 minutes a day" happens more often than not...we are not weed-free, not even weed-scarce, but small steps, small steps. I have more confidence in my garden center investments this year, after one week, nothing appears close to death. Involving my sons has meant we removed a much detested prickly bush and I received spread mulch for Mother's Day...big improvements that wouldn't have happened if they depended solely on me. The neighbors are, I believe, cautiously optimistic.

In the studio, I have begun work on 2 large canvases with the sun rising over the sea as a subject. I have introduced some new notecards to my product line and added the ability to purchase cards from my website (shipping to the US only.)