Spring is finally here and I feel it’s so much easier to wake up to clear skies in the mornings, anticipating a sunny day!

Trees are green again, everything is blooming and birds are singing. My birds recognizing app been pretty busy this month 😅 And I’m so proud that I can recognize a lot of birds myself just by their song 🤩

I’m still working on the next animated episode. It’s slowly coming together, and I hope I will finish it in early May.

I was planning to do PlainAirpril (a challenge where you paint every day), but I managed to finish only one picture 😭 Apparently, life had other plans for me 😆

The highlight of the month was my talk with Lulu and her community. Lulu is an amazing animator and teacher, she brought together so many people, and her community is truly incredible. Check it out if you wish to start in animation! I was very nervous and spent a week preparing my talk 😅 But I shouldn’t have worried, I had a great time talking with such wonderful people.

I also went to a couple of sketching events, which always improves my mood and makes me feel more alive!

Nothing new in my Etsy shop, but I’m happy it’s busier than usual. The time between calendar seasons used to be very slow, but now people are getting Yens & Spinny plushies, and it truly makes me excited to pack them and send them to their new homes 🥰

Seattle-based folks can now get my flip books in Paper Pushers Print Shop!

• Work has started in the garden at last. Yens has been clearing small sections at a time, turning the soil and setting things in order. Spinny follows closely, making sure nothing important is accidentally improved.

• The clothesline was put back up for the season. Yens hung the first cloth to dry in the breeze. Spinny supervised closely and later suggested it might be better if it moved a little less.

• Something has been digging very small, very neat holes near the garden path. Yens suspects a bird. Spinny has begun planning a very small and very clever trap that involves string and at least one crumb.

• The sun has been visiting often, filling the rooms with warm light. Yens opens the windows when he can. Spinny follows the patches of sunlight across the floor, sits in the warmest spot and refuses to move.

• Spinny found the long-lost apple under the porch, now with a small sprout growing from it. Yens planted it in the garden. Spinny checks on it daily, just in case it remembers him.

Hummingbirds are amazing creatures, so tiny and fast. I’ve been stopping to watch them more often, and it always feels like catching a small miracle..

I hope it brings a bit more space to breathe, and more time to notice the small things and appreciate them.

All the best,

Nina

(And also Yens, and Spinny, who is watering his new apple tree and patiently watching it grow.)