This evenings sky

The sky was so clear tonight, the shades and colours were so subtle. Blue, then purple, pink, orange and yellow. The trees silhouetted against the light. It was glowing and I could really see the colours for a change. I realise how much my sight has improved with every new vista. I’m hoping it continues and nothing goes wrong. It was glorious.

Purple Swan

Another digital drawing done with the Artrage app a few years ago. I think this was possibly done using a stylus, not as a finger painting. Why purple? I like the colour. It seems to include blues and reds within it, so that it can be cold or warm. If I could change anything on this I would probably erase the short stubby legs and just have it swimming with a reflection underneath it instead. Somehow it looks like it’s standing on ice…

Purple rice

Tea tonight

Some mixed veg and rice with sausages.

I had some courgette, onion and red cabbage to cook so I added in a handful of rice into a pan of boiling water. I let that simmer while the sausages cooked in my air fryer. I knew that red cabbage releases colour into the water but I wasn’t quite expecting purple/blue to dye the rice.

It was a little bland but I added some brown sauce to liven things up a bit! Tasty

Sunset 19 June 2024

Looking out over a supermarket car park.

The sky had clouded over, but there was a glow from the setting sun behind the grey clouds. It just shows that a minimal landscape can be enhanced by light and colour. There is blue and grey, orange and yellow, purples and blacks all intermingling and changing by the minute.

For once it wasn’t raining, it wasn’t cold, and it wasn’t windy. You could stand and watch the atmosphere evolve as the sun set. It’s not a very exciting sunset, but I enjoyed it.

Colouring my hair purple

What could you try for the first time?

I was singing with the choir tonight and I noticed a friend had got her hair coloured very subtle purple shades. A bit like this free photo but on much shorter hair.

I have had a box of hair colour in the cupboard for a couple of years, but I keep chickening out on using it. I’m worried I might be allergic to the dye and also I have watched several videos and you can’t just use it like shampoo you have to put it in thin layers to spread it evenly over your hair. I don’t think I can physically do that!

I once asked a hairdresser to do it but she would not use a dye by a different supplier as it was a problem if it went wrong. Shall I just try and shampoo it in or give up and throw it away? I have become very risk averse!

Lavender

Lavender, lovely flower, place for bees to sip and feed. Likes hot and dry conditions. The aromatic oils create a delightful scent. Growing in fields of purple and green. Row upon row of beautiful flowers. People still make little bags of lavender flowers to sit under their pillows and help with sleep.

I have tried to grow it but it’s too damp and shady in our garden. I might grow a small plant, but it never flourishes like these plants in the photo.

I remember having a rockery at my childhood home. I think we had lavender growing in pockets of soil in it. It thrived in hot summers when the sun was baking hot.

Hydrangea blue

The bracts are developing to a purple blue. Such a lovely plant. It’s sitting in the yard but I think we will move it towards the house so it gets more light. I remember my grandmother having a hydrangea but hers was pink. I painted a portrait of her in front of it years ago. It grew in a big pot under the living room window. Just seeing this brings back memories of a strong and forthright woman. She knew what she thought and what she wanted.

Hydrangea

Little buds into purple flowers or bracts. The flowers on our new hydrangea are coming out. They were a surprise. Hydrangea usually have blue or pink flowers depending on the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. I’ve heard of people putting copper nails in the soil with them to change their colour. I don’t know if it works as its probaby a old wives tale? A good garden plant and can grow into a small shrub.

Close up

Flowers today, I thought they might be forget-me-nots but I’m not sure. The camera on my phone seems to be quite good if I can avoid shaking too much, so they are quite detailed in this photo Perhaps they are a type of Cranesbill? I like the way there is a reddish purple flower developing in the background. I love the bright green of the foliage, so luscious and fresh.