Learning from owls...

 

 

 

This fellow has been sitting here, quietly for quite awhile. 

 

 

 



 

This little fellow is a newcomer.  Poor thing he certainly looks as lost as I felt when I was creating him.  But he taught me several lessons.

 

The first lesson is to follow my heart - not my 'get this done' gene.  The second one is that I need color and laughter and joy. Rather than trying to copy the subdued natural colors we see in 'real' creatures I hope to create a whole new subspecies representing the "Colorful Owl".

 

  I thank each and everyone of you for regularly stopping by to visit. Hopefully my blog will come back to life in the next few months.

 

I have made lots of promises to myself in this posting. For 'healing' purposes, if nothing else, I shall endeavor to keep all of them. 

 

                     "Relax, nothing is under control
                      Inhale the future, exhale the past."

                                      -anonymous

 







The Dragonfly Attack

What fun to be surrounded by dragonflies as they zip this way and that way capturing unsuspecting prey.

It is magical to watch all the flitting here and there. Did you know they can fly backward? They intercept their prey in midair?  Watching them I felt as if I were in the middle of a miniature World War I air fight.
  

Their aerial ambushes were a wonder to see but you have to look quickly. What a wonderful world we live in...

"Important lessons: look carefully, record what you see, find a way to make beauty necessity beautiful." - Anne Michaels

The Discovery of Rocks

This hill that we live on was once covered by large rocks.  Some even had to be demolished in order to build houses.  There is one section of our yard where the rocks have pretty much been left undisturbed.

We decided to reveal them as they had become hidden within the rampant wild green growth of this area.

Some are still somewhat disguised and I love that.  I love the 'foundation' that rocks and stones provide to me.  I love the fact that they sit there both solid and stolid as sun, snow, rain, wind tries to disturb them.

"The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man." - Unknown

Winter Solstice

Winter has come a bit early this year - beginning just before Thanksgiving.

A lacy looking bench changes the landscape with just a little bit of snow.

Although water is still running here - this little grotto pond doesn't look at all like itself.  Are the toads buried deep in the mud below - trying to stay warm?

Nature has outlined the bricks on this path - making it look like the path on a board game.

"In a way, winter is the real spring, the time when the inner changes happen, the resurgence of nature." - Edna O'Brien

[To each of you a Happy Holiday -- I'll be back after Christmas.]

The End of Summer

Our summer has been very strange this year -- sort of a 'water, water, everywhere' thing going on.  But while some of us have felt stunted by not being able to be out and about in the sunshine, our flowering plants have not disappointed.

This is probably my favorite of all of the plants - the Carolina Lily.  What a beauty.  It seems to bloom on its own, standing there alone.  How delicate it is, how intricate is its design.

The Cardinal Flower blooms every year and its deep, rich red makes a great contrast against all the green that surrounds us.

Last, but certainly not least is this small, but mighty  Evening Primrose.  Its lovely yellow flower makes me smile.  It seems so 'plain' but also so happy.  A beautiful tribute to summer, no matter how grey and rainy it has been.

"Hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you". ~Rumi

 

{Just a short note to say that I think I've conquered the 'green word' thing. I will just stick here at my home of four years as long as there are no more problems.  Thanks for your input and patience.}



 

 

 



"Earth Song"

The earth is filled with song.   Sometimes it takes a quiet soul to listen.  Some sounds I hear nearby are the plop of frogs jumping back into the pond; the crackle of dried leaves underfoot; the sound of rain on the roof and the chimes ringing outside when the a breeze blows.

There are of course noisier sounds around me.  The heavy sound of thunder and crackle of lightening; the worrisome 'crack' as a tree branch breaks under the weight of snow or ice; the loud cawing of crows, making themselves heard every morning.

 

I know there are sounds within the forest that I cannot or do not hear but I continue to listen just in case they make themselves heard to me.

"The longer one is alone, the easier it is to hear the song of the earth."  - Robert Anton Wilson

Insignificant?

For me there is a joy in feeling insignificant.  How many times have I stood near the sea, watching the huge waves crash ashore, looking into a vast expanse of sea before me?

How many times have I stood in the desert looking at the vastness of land with raw, rough unfinished edges everywhere?  How many times have I seen the light as it changes throughout the day?

How many times have I touched the trunk of a huge, very old tree - taking some of its strength into my hands?

It is so easy for me to get mired in my everyday life - the one that demands control or busyness or ego.  So I like feeling insignificant - looking at the vastness of the dark sky, the moon and stars the only light.  I am a very, very teeny, tiny part of this universe and putting me into my small place somehow makes it all right.

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." - Edgar Allen Poe

Earth's Gifts

As I make my way through life, each day coming one after the other, I gather within all the parts of the earth that support and sustain me. 

I can learn from a tree which has stood here for many, many years.  Learn of patience and fortitude, strength and determination.

I can learn from the rocks -- those that tower above me, giving me a true perspective of where I fit into this wonderful universe.  And those that I hold in my hand - warm from the sun.

I can learn from the water which often makes its boisterous way - quickly and loudly.  At other times it is a trickle - barely dampening the earth beneath it.

I can learn from the sky - so very high above me.  Covering my existence with a beautiful shade of blue.  Showing me the vastness of the universe and my small place within it.

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

"Sometimes I need

only to stand

wherever I am

to be blessed". -

Mary Oliver

The Sounds Around Me

As I walked this morning there were sounds everywhere.  We are fortunate to live in a neighborhood with very little traffic -- thus the sounds I hear on my early morning walks are purely natural.

This morning I heard the cackle of wild turkeys, the ever present caw of the crows, the busy sounds of the squirrels and then there were the various birds - hiding in amongst the foliage but making themselves known through their song.  And I wondered what 'silent' creatures were hidden away among the leaves and on the ground, those whose sounds I will never hear.

The above stitchery came out of a long ago "Quilting Arts" magazine.  It is one of the most wonderful stitched renditions of a crow (or raven - I'm never sure the difference between the two) that I have ever seen.    Sadly I do not know the name of the artist -- so I share it with you making apologies for not being able to give you the name, perhaps some of you recognize this needlework and will let us all know whose it is.

"A bird in hand is a certainty.  But a bird in the bush may sing". - Bret Harte 

"...if you trust in Nature..."

"If you trust in Nature, in the small things that hardly anyone sees and that can so suddenly become huge, immeasurable;

...if you have this love for what is humble and try very simply, as someone who serves, to win the confidence of what seems poor

...then everything will become easier for you, more coherent and somehow more reconciling, not in your conscious mind perhaps, which stays behind, astonished, but in your innermost awareness, awakeness, and knowledge." -

Rainer Maria Rilke - "Letters to a Poet"

A Button Quest

Lately I've been on a button quest.  Not just any buttons will do -- they must be at least 1-1/4" diameter -- they must look contemporary -- they must look like they came from the earth, carved or sculpted from wood or stone or any manner of natural material.

Luckily for me - I found some of these treasures locally.  One source was a surprise to me and that was Hancock Fabrics.  I knew they had a lot of buttons there, but they are now carrying some lines that feature larger, natural looking buttons - just what I've been looking for.  Another local source is Waechter's Silk Shop - a wonderful fabric store in Asheville where they have a whole wall of buttons. 

Now that I have this lovely pile in front of me, my fingers are itching to create more abstract punchneedle pieces where I can attach a little 'piece of the earth'.

"If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is nature's way". - Aristotle

Winter Thoughts

This is turning out to be a winter we will all remember.  Over the Christmas holiday, here in our little nook of western North Carolina, we received 9" of snow.  That set a record - going back to 1969.  It was beautiful and I loved that it fell on Christmas day itself.

Many of our friends in the UK and in Europe were 'snowed' in earlier in the month and another set of storms in California and Nevada brought torrential rains, flooding and mud slides. Nature once again has shown us that we are but small players in this universe of life. 

As I sat here, looking out at the beauty that the snow had brought, there was this small voice inside that asking 'when are they going to clear the roads?', 'what appointments will I have to cancel'?  Fortunately that voice is much smaller these days than it was in my earlier years. I remember days when I just knew I had to get to work, come snow, ice or whatever.  One time I broke two ribs after a fall trying to hike up a hill a block from work. Was that one day at work worth it?  Of course it wasn't.  But I guess that's the human spirit to think that we can tame the natural world.

For me - a few days of imposed quiet within the confines of my house and yard are just fine.  For now I'll enjoy the beauty knowing that the snow will soon melt and all will be back to 'normal'.

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather". - John Ruskin

Reflections

Not long ago I decided to make a series of beaded pictures whereby I created a beaded piece, mounted it on fabric and framed it.  Here are some thoughts I had as I created these two first pieces.

"Shadow Play" -- a piece that reflects the light and dark, the shadows and glimmer that appear each day.  Sliding into the colors in this piece I let the beads speak for themselves and they seemed to know what they were doing, where they should go.  This piece was stitched 'on the flat' which was a joy to me after completing "RSVP", the hand sculpture.  Beading 'on the flat' allows so much more latitude as to the various stitches that can be used and where the beads go.  I love a piece where I can let the beads flow - as if you come upon a form and shape in nature and it takes on a life of its own.

"On Gossamer Wings" -- this piece was a 'natural'.  I had found the dragonfly button and just had to use it.  As I beaded this piece it was late summer, a perfect time to be using these colors and this theme.  I was able to allow the summer light to creep into the work by using some beads that sparkled - much like the sun on a small pond.  As I've been in a 'learning' mode this past year I hadn't done much about adding bits and bobs on top of the beads but this time I found a stick which had some green lichen on it to attach on top of the beads.  I immediately fell in love with this idea and I know I'll try to layer more in the future. 

I know that a 'series' is not made up of just two pieces so there will be more (and more and more) of these to come -- aren't the opportunities, the inspiration and the creative freedom of encrusted beading just the most wonderful experience?

“Make visible what without you might perhaps never have been seen.” Robert Bresson

Goodbye Summer

Summer days – discovering a hidden waterfall by traveling up a ribbon of long and winding pavement. There was Shunkenwauken Falls, right along the road. The water pouring over the rocks making a warm summer day seem cool and tranquil.


Summer days - A multitude of frogs living in a small pond outside my studio window. My in-house biologist/ecologist contributed this picture of resident “Big Bubba”. DH has the knack of walking right up on the frogs whereas when I approach all I get are plop, plop, plop as they jump back in to the water.

And so I bid goodbye to summer by walking behind the waterfall at Bridal Veil Falls. There is nothing more welcome than a waterfall on a summer day.

Goodbye sweet summer and welcome fall!

"The summer song sings itself." - William Carlos Williams

Into The Fog

I love the misty fog that has been gracing our hilltop these mornings. The cool damp air touches my skin like a balm against what will later become a warm southern day. It is bliss to start off on these walks up the hill with the forest surrounding me.






The forests in this area are very dense at this time of the year. From the ground up it is difficult to see further than a few feet into the deeply shadowed understory. The fog then tends to blur the view even more, like organdy fabric over everything. This all seems to make the forest itself even more mysterious. There is life in there, deep in the green depths of the woods. There are animals - deer, bear, bobcats, turkeys, squirrels, rabbits all living out their lives quietly unaware of me (unless I startle them). There are snakes and frogs and all manner of insects. There are spiders gently weaving their webs in amongst the foliage. Perhaps there are even elves and fairies hidden within - peeking timidly out to see what stranger is passing by. I hope I don't startle them as I am only passing by, enjoying their view and their solitude on this foggy morning walk.

"Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us". - Henri Matisse