This is a photo I took today of the same patio that the painting from yesterday was painted from. The painting was done in early fall in September. I wanted to show you the same scene and what it actually looks like in the middle of winter. I love to paint. But I also love to garden. I'm not sure which I love the most. Maybe they can't be compared. Anyway, I had forgotten one very important thing. But first let's go back to fall. In October I was sitting in my living room at eight in the morning having a wonderful cup of coffee and enjoying the peace and quiet of my home. Just like I had been the morning I did the painting. One big difference...it was way to cold to be outside. As I was finishing up my coffee I began to hear a loud screeching noise. You know, like fingers on a black board only hundreds of times louder. And there was lots of loud thumps and bumps. I finally decided I had to go check it out. We have lived in our house seventeen years. One of the things we've loved is the trees in the neighborhood. There were several huge pecan trees that were probably sixty to seventy years old in the lot just behind us and to the south. When I went to check on the noise, the trees and the house were GONE!!! The sky was wide open. They had come in with bull dozers that morning and removed everything. I had forgotten that until I looked at my photo this morning. I'm even happier now that I did the painting. The pecan trees were the screen that the sun is peeking through. Without them it isn't the same. I really believe this will be a good thing for my garden. We still have plenty of shade but we will have lots and lots of morning light. My garden should thrive in it.