I spend the first couple of hours of every work day putting fingers to soil, working my knuckles inches deep to dig up a weed, thrusting a shovel through sand and clay to plant my latest nursery purchase. Spring is my favorite season in the garden; it is absolutely alive with color, leaves and petals dancing in the breeze, butterflies and bees humming, feeding, buzzing, resting. I painted this piece as the summer heat roared in, leaving the delicacy of spring a mere memory.