Beet's up!

In class yesterday we were introduced to Conté crayons and toned paper. 

I immediately went for a botanical again and had brought in this gray dogwood from our front yard. It has wonderful clusters of white buds now, just ready to pop open, but I got bogged down in the leaves and left the little white balls for last. Leaves are so fun to draw! The paper,   by the way, is light green, but the other colors are pretty close to true.

I inspect my first two 4x4s a couple times a day. Yesterday I noticed that a few tiny beets had popped up - the winners, the first plants of the season - and today they were all present. There are supposed to be 16 plants because I painstakingly poked in one seed at a time. A couple had wandered to be closer to friends - maybe from the rain, maybe because of the way I watered - but everyone is accounted for. If you click on the photo you'll get a close-up. The grid bars are narrow dowels. Aren't these the cutest little beeties you've every seen?