Last night was cool enough to warrant two quilts, a delicious weight over my body in the morning. This afternoon was hot enough to warrant a dip in the river, though by the time we got there it was already late afternoon, and shadows stretched long over the bright water. The water was vigorously cold, [...]
I finished another piece Friday night—this time it’s of a trout lily. For your viewing pleasure:
Trout Lily Brings Spring
5 x 7″
pastel on board
Now if you don’t know trout lilies, let me introduce them to you. They are tiny little things, and they bloom very early—one of the earliest blooms I find down by the South Toe River. There I find hoards of their tiny slips of leaves, mottled and coated with a fine reflective sheen, but very few flowers. I’m not sure if these colonies of leaves sans flowers are just too young, or maybe they don’t get enough light to bloom, but I know there are other places where I can find the yellow flowers, their petals peeled back in exuberance. I’m still hoping that one Spring I’ll walk down and find those patches of dappled leaves hosting crowns of blooms.
I’m pleased with this painting, and wish I could capture the magic of pastels for you to see, for the original has far more luster than what you see here. Pastels are so divine, and I am really enjoying working with them on Ampersand’s Pastelbord. This week I am doubling up–I have a commission I am starting on, and I also will be painting the lovely bellwort. Now there’s a fine lady of a flower!
And how will I do this, and harvest potatoes, squash, can peaches and beans, and visit with my mother and sister, and go to a birthday party, and plant turnips and beets? Well, I’m not entirely sure, but I have been utilizing Google Calendar to keep track of all the assorted tasks and deadlines that I have, in the studio, the home, and the garden. It has really helped manage my time better. And this morning Jason and I had a great planning session, delegating tasks to our energetic intern and reluctant kids. Let’s hope we can keep it up and make time management a joyful morning practice! Along with coffee, of course.
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Renee found this trout lily for me, and surrounded it with sticks and precious rocks she found in the river so that I could take this picture.
And finding the first Bluets of Spring always thrills me! Such small and delightful flowers, always blooming in happy bunches.
When I started homeschooling McKinley and Renee, my idea was that we would spend a lot of time following our bliss. I also knew enough from my experience with homeschooling my three older kids that the vision and the reality would not often meet.
But that is changing. There are a lot of reasons for this, or maybe not. Jay and I are getting up every morning and listening to something inspirational, usually something to do with the law of attraction. We had a practice of this some years ago and the happiness we sowed was reaped almost daily. So there’s that. Also I have been exercising on my mini-trampoline on a daily basis, which seems to have a very beneficial effect on my whole being. I’m calm, more organized, and have more get-up-and-go energy. And flaxseeds are awesome, I eat them everyday!
So there are all these little changes, simple, beautiful things, that have also brought about a richer life experience for all of us. Today would be the perfect example of this. We read together in the morning (The Invention of Hugo Cabret), had a great breakfast, and then played with our new compass set, making designs and coloring them in with the brilliant color of Berol Prismacolor pencils.
Later in the afternoon we went down to the river, where I found this serendipitous clump of daffodils blooming. They were happy to be photographed. Renee meandered about, chatting me up with her delightful observations.
Daffodil Surprise
Then we rediscovered our patch of ramps, as we do every Spring. and dug some up for dinner! Ramps, or Allium tricoccum, are a wild member of the onion family, with a strong garlic onion flavor. They appear in early Spring and are an Appalachian favorite. We also discovered that the mint was sprouting and collected some tops of mint as well for our first cup of fresh mint tea this year.
Our Patch of Ramps
Then McKinley had his own ramp to show off! I love the look of determined exhilaration of his face. He made sure I got this photo, arguing with me a bit about whether the flash should be on or off, and what settings I should have on the camera.
Ramp it Up
And here is our ramp-corn-cheddar quiche, along with some of our drawings from the morning, and a quart of delicious mint tea. The banana cookies are not shown, but I can assure you they were delicious. And my house is still clean.
The Fruits of the Day
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Two weeks ago I was scheduled to attend an art market, but my plans were thwarted by a minor emergency. It’s quite true that, emergency or not, my creative endeavors are often thwarted–by sick children or a busy husband or my own lack of energy–and that this has been a source of ongoing conflict in [...]
