The Iris seems to do well in Georgia,  my neighbor always has an abundance of them.  I had to paint them.  I had fun with the background, it was done with a white glaze over wet paint, which gives you a nice soft look.  I painted this right after a trip to Europe,  where I saw a lot of impressionistic paintings done with similar edges.  Gauguin especially does this.

I donated a couple of my butterfly painting for a Humane Society fund raiser, and felt good about that.

My little terrier came from the same shelter, she is now 15 years old and a little deaf and confused, so we have to keep an eye on her, which we are happy to do.  I'm going to switch gears and work on a collage for awhile.  I'll be on a hunt to find just the right elements.