#shelfie #4seasonshelf

What's on the shelf today?

On the shelf today are early indoor planting stuff…

• seed packets

• pen & ink sketches of seed packets

• herbs in faux terracotta window planter (indoors)

• clean plastic containers for planting seeds

It's springtime, and the garden adventure begins again here in the Outer Lands Archipelago.

We still have a while until we can plant outdoors, except for certain crops that like colder temps, such as leafy greens, peas, etc., which don’t mind a little frost.

Farmstand Update: What’s In Season

It’s the end of March, and most local farmstands have only one thing as of yet: firewood (see below). But before you know it, you'll see early crops start to come in like rhubarb, asparagus, horseradish and many more bittersweet lovelies. Local chickens are already laying eggs. And fresh daffodils!

Local farm stand with firewood in early spring empty shelves.

~ Nan

P.S. The #SHELFIE short video above is part of the #100daychallenge and will be uploaded to the 4seasonshelf constellation of social media. I created it in Canva, downloaded it, and will send it up to each platform. I’ll also add gameshow sounds on those platforms because it’d be fun. Find and follow @4seasonshelf on your favorite platform!

How you dune?

Here's a photo of an ocean dune by the Incredible Mr. C, please enjoy.

Now, turn south and face the ocean.

Take a deep breath!

That gorgeous video was also captured by my husband. I invite you to take a deep breath and a little break from the news and the rest of your life from time to time. Wow, there’s a lot happening these days. Big stuff!

Fun facts

During the Ice Age of 30,000 years ago, the great Labrador Glacier came to a halt here at the ocean, leaving a ridge of moraines that form the Outer Lands Archipelago islands of Long Island, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Cape Cod, Block Island, and the many other smaller islands.

These sandy beaches have a lot of quartz — that magical stuff that pulses under pressure (e.g., see quartz watches). Combined with sea mist, it’s a very nice thing. A walk on the shore the cure, body and soul.

Many Atlantic Ocean beaches are accessible in two hours or less from major East Coast cities. Some ocean beaches are within New York City and accessible by bus or subway! (Shout out to Coney Island and the Rockaways!)

~ Nan

P.S. I shared the video on a small constellation of 4seasonshelf social media, too. If you found this post from one of those platforms, thank you for coming! Glad you could make it.

P.S.S. The video is part of the #100daychallenge, which as I’ve posted, I’m using to learn more video skills and to get 4seasonshelf (and myself) out there more.

Color with Nan! Modern abstract coloring book

This coloring book page is from page 11 of Random Modern & Abstract Art Adult Coloring Book created by NG Swett and published by 4seasonshelf.

I will be using crayons, but colored pencils or markers would also work just fine. Follow along as I color mine using the short video below.

Download this coloring book page pdf here

Get it, print it out, and get ready to color with me!

Nan’s notes on coloring technique

Feel free to color however you like, have fun, and enjoy the process. Sometimes people worry that their coloring isn’t good. But when it comes to coloring, the only thing that matters is that you’re having a coloring adventure. The more you do something, the better you get!

For me, I like to layer colors.

First I pick colors and then lightly color in the major blocks of color. Use whatever colors you want! It’s a coloring page, not a test. So if you’re feeling blue, beige, red, orange, purple, orange, green, whatever — just go with it and see what comes of it. By adding layers, you can adjust as you go til you’re pretty gosh darned pleased with your coloring.

Once the first layer is down, I add stronger colors and heavier layers on top. Sometimes I add details that aren’t on the coloring page. In this case, for example, I wanted a horizon line. But you don’t have to add that or anything else.

If you want to color inside the lines, then do that. If you like to color neatly, then do that. Personally, I like to start off nice and easy and then get nice and rough.

Don’t forget to sign your name!

And please share yours on Instagram and tag @4seasonshelf so I can see it!

Enjoy!

~ Nan

Day 3 of #100daychallenge: already in trouble…

Creating a short video and posting it online each day takes me hours. But that’s what I decided to do for the official #100daychallenge starting on Feb 22.

With barely a plan, you won’t be surprised to find out that I’m already in trouble.

I’m working on a video about coloring in one page of one of my coloring books. I quickly found myself under a mountain of material that will take more time than I have for today to make something with.

So I thought today’s short video would be about finding oneself already behind the eight ball on Day 3 of a 100-day challenge.

On the plus side, I’m learning a lot. I’ve got to get faster and better at using the tech involved while trying to saying something.

Here’s today’s short video, which is also going on the 4seasonshelf YouTube channel and Instagram.

~ Nan

What happens in live chat …

I'm in a live chat right now with a group of e-commerce people. The rule is what happens in live chat stays in live chat, so unfortunately I can't reveal what is being said.

But I can say there seems to have been a shift among the giant platforms, and Gen Z is making a tremendous impact.