Spring Is Here

Spring is a wonderful time of year even with it's unpredictable weather. The AZ desert
is usually full of beautiful wildflowers depending on the amount of rain we get. We did have quite a bit of rain this year, but also higher temps than anticipated early on so most of the wildflowers bloomed too early to be enjoyed completely. Unfortunately, it also brought the "Valley of the Sun's" pollen level to extreme highs causing lot's of hay fever symptoms for many souls, including (achoooo, excuse me) ME.
This spring also, however, brought me in contact with a beautiful NEW flower in my backyard that I did not know existed! The picture is to the right of this post and it's gorgeous!! I don't know the name of it, but I do know it's a member of the Hibiscus family. It's weird, i.e. the petals are in a "pinwheel" format. WOW, here I spent a LOT of time trying to teach my students how "NOT" to form a pinwheel effect when painting flowers!! This is just too funny! The leaves are SO different than other Hibiscus and reminds me of poppy leaves. I never used to "see" flowers. I would look, but I did not "SEE" them. This painting journey brings so many things into focus that I never knew was there. I'm almost afraid to blink for fear I might miss something. I am so happy I see things in a new light, and only wish everyone could see what I see.