We had our first visitors for the season come in from Philadelphia this past week. It was great to spend time with dear friends. And while I didn’t get a lot of painting done (save the one), I did get some new reference photos taken and got a couple of older paintings varnished and just about ready for framing. We also took a trip to Williamsburg mid-week and learned lots! I know I will be going back again with my camera and try to capture more painting possibilities. I’m also going to inquire into doing some plein air painting there. Hubby and I bought season tickets this year (a nice deal for Virginia residents if purchased before May 31st). Pay for one visit and get in free until December 31st. There is a lot to see and do in Williamsburg so have the option to visit multiple times for one price seemed like a no-brainer.

In other news, we had several new birds visit our feeders this past week. One, a Catbird, is a pretty, grey bird with a black cap. It really does sound like a cat making a mewing noise, hence, it’s name. And, we have received several days of visiting from a Ruby-Breasted Grossbeak. Our Philly visitors knew what it was on sight as it is common up north, but when I looked it up here and reported it in my sightings list in EBird, I learned it is a rare sight here. I even got questioned about it from the regional coordinator! Yikes. But I got several good photos and was able to prove the sighting. So, here are photos of both the Grossbeak and the Catbird:

This past week I also started harvesting the first asparagus of the season from our garden along with some wintered over cabbage and broccoli. The asparagus, collected one or two stalks a day were stored in a hand-thrown ceramic wine cup and as the first two were sitting on the counter, the sunlight came pouring in the window and I just had to paint them: