NOW

Ever try to stay totally in the now when you are doing anything other than meditating? Not an easy trick!


I decided to try it while driving from Three Rivers to Visalia - not the entire trip, but a few minutes. Turned off the radio, calmed my mind (ha), and tried to simply BE in the moment. It took about a nanosecond for my mind to start in - did you put X on the grocery list; are we (see my my mind really thinks it's a separate entity from me) going to be late; not much traffic this morning; OH - was that a red shoulder hawk - and on and on and on. Each time I'd return my mind to NOW. I AM driving. Feel the seat of the car. Feel my hands on the wheel. Observe, but do not involve in, my surroundings. Breathe. BE.

Of course, one cannot think one's way into BEING.

I'm convinced that my mind - not my brain, the structure, but the thought process that goes on in ME - is pure ego. Each of those things above is ego:
Did we put X on the grocery list = Did I make a mistake?
Are we going to be late = I don't want to be embarrassed.
Not much traffic = I'm bored.
Was that a red shoulder hawk = Look how smart, observant, etc., I am.

Getting past ego to ME, the I AM, is an exercise in vigilance. To observe without judgment is a challenge. To maintain that for more than a moment is near-impossible.

And, allowing one's self to BE is so counter to how we live life today. We are about doing, accomplishing, thinking, figuring out. BEING is simple. Just BE. How difficult is that? Answer: VERY when one has spent a lifetime practicing being a Human Doing rather than a Human Being.

Smokey's Nightmare

Smokey Bear may not be turning over in his grave, but I'm sure he's at least trembling.

Who ever thought that Scott McArthur would be wearing a Smokey uniform, with BADGE no less, and going off to protect our National Parks?

Methinks he's got a pretty good deal. He'll spend the summer working at Lodgepole in Sequoia National Park. He will have to put in some time in the kiosk (yuk), but he'll mostly be out and about in the campground answering questions, making nice with the general public, and enforcing the rules. What better thing for a guy who remains a kid at heart?




Just for practice, Scottie took our weekend visitors up to the Park for a day of sightseeing.


It's funny how life sometimes shows one how different one is from much of humanity. . . . Scottie packed a lunch and envisioned time outdoors and really taking in the beauties of the Park.

Roger and Lynn were. . . well, tourists, wanting to eat in the cafe, wanting endless photos in front of endless "sights" without necessarily taking time to really see the sights. Still, I'm sure they had a good time. Dorothy, a bit older than the rest of us, was just plain tired. A weekend visit - 6 hours driving Friday, Park Saturday, 6 hours driving Sunday - is a bit much for someone her age.

And, I skipped the Park tour, stayed home and cooked.

Muffy calls me her tree hugger mom, Jeff calls me The Nut Case. I guess Scottie and I really are half a bubble off from much of humanity. The good news is WE love it that way; and we found each other. Picture one of us paired up with a tourist-type. Now, THAT is hell on earth.


I've temporarily finished putting in my garden though there will be more to plant later - staged plantings of peas, carrots, radishes, etc. And, radishes are coming up already!!

Next on the lists of guests is my good friend Michelle. She flies up the 15th and will drive back to San Diego with me on the 18th.

And this week, I do my next volunteer naturalist thing at Kaweah Oaks Preserve - that Tree Hugger thing again.

Yep, we do have a life of our own design. That's a good thing.

Scottie and Cocoa's Excellent Adventure

Take one husband anxious to go to San Diego to see his family and hang out with his buddies.


Add one car, the Scion, with fold-down seats in the back to accommodate the bike, the tools he wants to take, and all his various other gear.



Let the absent minded husband leave the car door open as he's loading a month's worth of crap - oh, make that gear - for a week's visit, and what do you have?


Well, at our house you have Cocoa deciding she really, no REALLY, needs to go along.



Picture the grown man trying to coax the dog out of the car, trying to get the wife to be the bad guy and drag Cocoa out of the car, finally giving in, calling his father for permission and taking the girl-dog along.

A good time was had by all.


Scottie had lots of family time including a cook out for which he did the tri-tip. He managed two eagle trips with Dr. Hannan, and a bike ride with the big boys - not sure what they are, maybe semi-pro - and a meal at his favorite Mexican dive.

Cocoa also had a great time. She even got to hang out in the den and watch TV with Grandpa Hughie.

Foxie, our grandpup, came over for the cookout, and the two girls had a chance for play time.


Cousin Bruce and his dad, Uncle Dougie (brother to Grandpa Hughie) made the party.

















As did Susie, Scottie's sister, and Bobby. . . now what do we call him. . . . I'm thinkin' the son-out-law. Can't be an in-law yet; still he's pretty much family. Yep, son-out-law it is.

Exhausted, Tired, Worn out, Pooped, Drained. . . .

Well, you get the idea.

Scottie has been gone since last Tuesday, and I've done nothing but work. No - no one made me. My bright idea.


After living in our house nearly a year some of our original ideas have changed. We now plan to attach a car port to the house rather than build a free standing structure. So, the area where that structure was to go - and which we had covered in road base and compacted - will now become plantable.

So, I've been digging up and moving gravel and road base. Scottie's shed was always surrounded by mud, the slippery, icky kind that comes from clay. So about half of what I've dug up has gone in front of and on around the side of the shed. That's where he washes his bike, so he can now do it without being ankle deep in mud.

To the front of the photo is a grass I planted 2 of, both on the berm that we do water, that will get 5 - 6 foot tall and stay green and fresh in the summer when much here turns brown.


I left a gravel path that runs essentially from the back door to the steps that go down to my shed, aka the garden shed. Although it doesn't look like much in the photo, the two lines on the sides of the path were dug and roto-tilled (thank you Mantis) through 4 - 6 inches of rock and dg, then planted with about 50 little plants from 6-packs. May not look like much now, but it will be quite pretty when they take off. The little sprig visible to the right of the path is a ceanothus, aka wild lilac.









This is the overview. Ceanothus and 2 lilacs on the left. Either Scottie or I will build a low fence with gate to hide the garbage cans and propane tank. At the back is a small triangular bed with flowers in it, and not visible are the sweet peas I planted some time ago now coming up on the fence. To the right are two blue fescues that essentially mark the front of the plantable area. The large triangle in back gets veggies, and there are small flowers planted along the top of the bank just before the small rose bushes that I planted a while back, and which, by the way, have buds!

And, I'm sure you are wondering about the topiary form in the center. . . . Well, I was given the form from a friend who used to grow a formal ivy on it. I don't do formal. In the pot are 3 tomatoes that will cover the first big globe. The intermediate globe now has screening material and soil planted with nasturtiums, which will cover it, vine up over the top globe and hang down. Pretty creative, huh?
I ran out of energy, and am waiting for Scottie to get back to help with the planting area between the topiary and the fescues, which is where I need to move my herb garden. I planted it before we changed our minds about the car port, and it's now in the way of where that structure will go. Lesson learned: I should slow down. Will I?? Don't count on it.

Of travels, visits and such

A couple of weeks back grandson Declan visited. I've been too busy - not getting the blog updated, not getting the web site updated. Got to get it under control.

Anyway, Scottie put Declan, a confirmed city boy, to work!

They did some trim work on my garden shed - which you may notice is STILL not painted - on Declan's first day.


The boy also got a major introduction to the weed eater! Poor kid didn't know what he was in for on this vacation. Since so many Californians have a gardener, usually Mexican, and rarely bother to learn their names, they all become "Juan". So, I've dubbed Declan "Two".

Yes, of course, I know it isn't politically correct, but here's the deal: PC stinks. It keeps us from communicating honestly and openly with one another. Last week Scottie and I ate at Colima's, my favorite local Mexican food haunt. The owners/managers - a super nice couple - along with the young guys who work there are trying to help me learn Spanish. The gentleman was talking about having insisted that his kids speak both Spanish and English, kids didn't want to, etc., but are now glad they do, can communicate easily with the grandparents. He commented something to the effect that all Mexicans should know Spanish. I commented on the fact that he said Mexican rather than Mexican-American, Hispanic, Latino, etc.

He feels, as I do, that it's become a big issue over nothing and said "we are Mexican". Yea! Go have that conversation when everyone is being PC.

Anyway, enough of my viewpoints, here's Declan hiking with Gumpy in the park. They had to hike 2 or 3 miles to get to Moro Rock (road is closed for repairs), then climb the rock, then hike back. I'm wondering if Two will want to visit again. . . .

Scottie is in San Diego visiting his Dad, gets back next week, then we have San Diego visitors arriving here for a few days, then Scottie starts his seasonal job in the park (in uniform no less). My friend Michelle will then fly up from SD, spend a couple of days and drive back down with me when I got visit my father-in-law. FIL will be alone for 2 weeks while my sister-in-law travels, so I'm going down about the middle to spend some time with him. FIL will be 97 in September. Wow.

I'll also visit Mae Lou, my friend in the nursing home. Meanwhile, I have enough projects to keep Two through Twenty busy for a month! Want to come help?

Busy, busy week just passed!

A week ago was my birthday - 61 - and we barely had time to celebrate.


The day after the B-D, Scottie fixed an amazing vegetarian dinner for me, with a souffle no less, homemade muffins, asparagus, salad - Wow!

The flowers are from a friend's garden.

But, we were in the midst of getting ready for the Studio Tour, so we had to immediately shift gears and get back into that.

Introduced at the Tour was "Fiona's Fairy Filosofy" (copyrighted words and images by the way). Fiona is a Fairy who will be traveling the world dropping off bits of wisdom and "filosofy".

This is one of her first:


I had prints of this one and two others available for sale and comment, and it appears that Fiona is off to a flying start - I couldn't help myself! Get it? "flying" start, fairy, wings, etc?

Tour volume was down 1/3 from the last tour 2 years ago, a result of economy, gas prices, etc., I'm sure, but we still had about 150-175 people in 2 days!

And, with my studio upstairs, I'm paying a price. The plan had been for a helper person - that would be Scottie - downstairs and me in the studio with much of the art in the stairwell. Most folks wanted to go up/down the stairs with me to talk about the art! These 61 year old legs, knees and feet took a beating but had great fun!


Scottie and I both forgot to take pictures, so I'm hoping to get some from others. This one photo is an entire family group. They have an amazing singing group, Faena Brava, involving almost the entire family and are even bringing in the kids. Quite cool that they chose to come.

Buck and Cocoa were boarded for the weekend, and Cocoa has been traumatized since coming home. Not only was she sent away, she came home to all the strange smells in HER house.

Lucy and Ellie were in their carriers during the day, but a surprising number of people wanted to go say hi to them. Lucy had a day of being mad at me and is now lounging to recover.

And, Scottie is back on his bike, I'm back to the rest of my world, and a return to some semblance of normal. Next Tour is in two years, the last weekend of March of 2010, this time THREE days, Fri, Sat, Sun. Mark you calendars!

Getting Ready for the Studio Tour

We hung all the art I have framed in the stairwell then decided that I might as well thumb-tack the remaining art there rather than try to come up with another way for people to browse through all of them.

I'd forgotten how much stuff I have!

Scottie was my first "visitor" - obviously quite taken with the abundant display. Either that or he's just wacky.

Still to do: cleaning, lots of it; cards to put in sets; display for cards to create; display for prints to create;
signs to make for parking; more business cards to print;
prices to mark for paintings. . . I'm sure I'm forgetting
something. Want to come help?

Bits and Pieces

Bits and Pieces was the name of my last art show - - in 2005!

That show was at the museum in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and was a one-person show. After that, life got nuts with moving, everything in storage, building a house, etc., and I thought I'd forgotten how to paint.

So, I'm back painting. Yeah!!!!!

One would think that being in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada I'd be painting big, dramatic scenes. And, I "wanted" to be painting a bit abstractly. But, my art seems to have a mind of its own.

And, what I've done seems to be a funny return to my Illinois farm girl roots. I'm managing to find farm/ranch scenes. Granted we are just outside the "Great Central Valley" of California; and granted, it's the largest farming economy anywhere - but wouldn't you think I'd paint mountains???

Ah well, the Studio Tour is coming up 3/29 and 3/30; and I have a very special introduction to make at it - no hints. After that, I'm determined to paint something abstract.

The top painting here is my recent favorite, Lunch Beneath the Sycamore. The bottom is Scottie's favorite, Yokohl Valley Watering Hole.

Yep, farm scenes.

Friends and Flowers

We took a little walk recently with good friend Dick Burns, 80'ish, former naturalist at Sequoia National Park for 20+ years. It's like going for a walk with a treatise on natural history! Mr. B knows every plant, every bird, and he's just a treat to be with.

So here he is with Scottie - two guys who carry their age better would be impossible to find.





This is sedum growing around a big rock outcropping. (I can't pretend I knew that without asking Mr. B.) The plants are tiny, tiny. Must be that the water that gathers at the base of the rocks nourishes the plants.









And this is popcorn flower. It provide the white to offset all the California Poppy bright orange/yellow that fills the hillsides right now.




It's rainy and gray, so we will be off to run errands today.

Getting ready for the studio tour the end of this month, painting, getting prints made, etc.

Life is good!

Conjugating Verbs

It's that time of year, and all around me flowers spring up everywhere. These are double daffodils, so does that make them twice as daffy?



These are planted on the berm in front of Scottie's shed, 'cuz yellow is his favorite flower color.














And, the miniature grape hyacinths are up - tiny, tiny little guys, and they are right at the top of the steep bank where the sun hits them.









Planted near the daffies is my lavender.

Don't those colors look good together.


Oh, the wood thingies are to keep dogs from tromping on my flowers.








And, Early Blooming Something (I can't remember the name) which I got as a start from a neighbor also sprang into action and grew.


This baby grows in the shade so it's on the north side of the house.







And Scottie sprang into action with the weed whacker to get the weeds, and unfortunately the wildflowers, knocked down.

Of course, I think his brain sprung a leak. (See, I did it: spring, sprang, sprung, right?)

The man is a maniac!





Just so you can see what he's been dealing with, here's a section with clipped stuff and un-clipped stuff. There's still at least a quarter acre to trim!







So, Scottie worked; I worked - cutting new steps into a bank with a shovel (hard work), watering plants (easy), trimming things (easier than the shovel job). . .


And Buck relaxed. That boy has it tough.

Oh, the old wooden wheels are ones I bought in New Mexico and finally got Scottie to put up by the front door.


Next week we'll talk about nouns.

Spring is almost here!

Gosh I love this time of year! I know my blog sometimes reads like a weather report, but sometimes it's just too good not to report.

It's wildflower season, and the California Poppies are having their best year in decades. Our friend, Dick Burns, who is 90'ish, worked as a Naturalist in Sequoia National Park for years and years, and has been here over 50 years tells us he's never seen the poppies blooming like this year. That should be a harbinger of great blooms from other wildflowers to follow.

And, the river is running!


We've already gotten a mailer from the guy who is the local river guide extolling how great it's supposed be this year. So, if you want an exciting ride - including Class V rapids - I'd say plan your trip for April, This is the start of the chute just below the Gateway.





Spring also means tons of birds! Constant refilling of the feeders threatens to bankrupt us. But, who can give up the sound and sight of birds?

It also means my little fountain comes back into action. We've had pine siskins and goldfinches using this for both a water fountain and a shower, but every time I get out the camera for that close-up they skedaddle.




And, Spring means visitors.








We've been graced by Bob the Mad Juggler, aka Corvette Bob. He and Scottie are out doing the back roads in the bright yellow 500 hp (you read that right) Corvette. If I need to gather bail money, some of you will receive phone calls.









And, house guests mean dinner parties, right? We had a hand-full of neighbors in to celebrate Bob's visit. Neighbors Yerko and Scott, to Scottie's right in the photo; Yerko's sister on the far left; Judy who lives across the road, and of course, Bob. So far as I know they all ate my cooking and lived to tell about it.









And, all good dogs must have baths and new neck scarves for Spring.




Spring for them seems to mean lazy days in the sun. Not a bad life these dogs of mine have!




For those who didn't know: check out my web site at www.artbyeddie.net. Be sure to use .net, not .com.

Later.

The web site is up & the Studio Tour is coming

Finally, I DID IT. My website - www.artbyeddie.net - is up and running. Check it out. Buy something even.

And, yesterday was the Artists' Pre-Tour for those of us participating in the upcoming Three Rivers Art Studio Tour. Don't miss it. There is some fabulous art to be seen. Check that website too: www.threeriversartstudiotour.com

I will be very busy the next 6 weeks painting, painting, painting.

I've looked at Clouds from both sides now. . . .

It's all in how you look at it.

This is looking up canyon on a wonderful morning with low clouds hanging everywhere.


It's taken from right off the living room.







Same view taken from the little balcony off our bedroom.



I really wish I could capture the grandeur of this place, especially when weather settles in; but it would take a much better camera than I own.


Anyway, today is going to be a day of painting. Not walls, silly. Painting as in paintings. Gotta start getting ready for the upcoming studio tour. And, I'm working on a web page. Stay tuned.

Snow in Three Rivers!!!!

So, Thursday morning, Scottie wakes me before it's light out to ask if I've seen what's going on outside. Now, that's a dangerous thing to do. I'm not someone who wakes up cheerfully, and the obvious answer to his question is, "well, I'd have to be upright and have my eyes open." But, I did get up, and it was worth it!

Snow, really, at our elevation (1500 feet), wet, heavy, beautiful snow. This is my cute little bench and rock wall with snow.



Once the world got light enough for me to see and my camera to work well, the snow views were incredible. It's not often that the snow level gets down this low.


We decided to take Buck and Cocoa for an off-leash walk and let them play in the snow. They had a ball! They'd take off and head up or down the hills, but surprisingly they came back each time. Many of you may recall that Buck has a history of running away. He's gotten much better at knowing that he actually lives with us.


On our street - Hammond - we ran into a tree that had fallen down across the road. The problem with wet, heavy snow, beautiful as it is, is that it can be quite damaging to trees. We saw several more down around the area and found out at the coffee shop that much of South Fork had no power, so much of South Fork had elected to show up at The Buckeroo for breakfast.






My Buckeroo, alias Baby Buck, alias Dumb S--t dog, took the lead on this part of the walk, but Cocoa wasn't far behind.


By mid-afternoon the snow was gone at our elevation, but still there in the hills and mountains above us.

Much as I wish it would have hung around a bit longer, maybe it's the fact that it doesn't that allows me to like it so much.

Those winters in Illinois, with fanny deep snow, were not so well loved. Nope.

How pretty it's been!

Pheeling Philosophical

OK, why does Ph sound like F? Why not just use F?

I've been reading online news, wondering what is going on with our country, our people, the world at large. . . .

First, Tatiana the Tiger escapes her cage, kills one, and mauls 2 more. Let me first say that the intelligence of Tatiana is amazing. She didn't injure anyone other than the 3 involved in the taunting, two of whom she apparently had to track down. Methinks we underestimate the rest of the animal world, species-centric beings that we humans are. So, we have 3 young men drinking and stoned who decide on Christmas day to go to the zoo and taunt a large predator. Could we just call it felony stupid and move on? Then could we also admit that putting large predators in enclosures that are designed more for the viewing public, read that as "paying" public, than for the safety of the animal and the public is the same kind of stupid. Obviously the zoo is going to be sued & will pay major bucks. That seems to be the only way corporate America learns anything, and yes I see these large zoos as little more than money-generating corporations. So they will get to pay their penalty in the only realm that really matters to them. And the 3 young men have learned a lesson one would hope, well actually 2 may have learned a lesson, one just died for his stupidity. And Tatiana was executed. Everybody gets punished in the way most poetically suited to them. Such is the law of the jungle.

We seem to have this mistaken idea that we are at the top of the food chain. It takes very little to prove just how untrue that is. Life ain't a video game, and as the old story goes it's not so much that we need help holding on to the tiger - we may need help letting go.

Then we have the current political campaign show. It's not much different. On the Republican side, Rudy is finding out that character matters. Romney thinks he has enough money to buy the presidency - and given that the country is heavily in debt while he's loaded, maybe he does. Huckabee wants to make "God's law" - his version that is - the law of the land & has Chuck Norris as his personal enforcer. Fred thinks he can try out for the part but the writers' strike must be hurting him. And McCain is hampered by history. For the Dems, Edwards seems to be having trouble with jury selection. Obama can't sell a "let's just get along" view. And Hillary. . . well, much of her "experience" is in accepting the unacceptable.

I may write in Buckeroo. He likes most everybody, but provoke him at your peril. He will protect the borders of his territory quite well, and he knows who the "bad guys" are (in his case it's coyotes). He recognizes when he's at a disadvantage, i.e., on leash, and is especially careful then. He's got way more going for him than most of our so-called leaders.

This world of ours is very contradictory. On one hand we have very porous borders what with air travel, internet, global trade, etc. On the other hand, at times we revert to the primitive with Bin Laden able to hide out for years in the mountains of Afghanistan/Pakistan and all our technology unable to bring him in. The old ways and old ideas don't fit the modern reality; yet we forget our natures, our animal natures, only at great cost. It's a time of transition. Some of the questions that will face the leaders we will elect have no present answers and will call for creativity and a huge leap of faith. I long for leaders, statesmen/women if you will, not politicians. I don't want sound bites, focus groups, and canned rhetoric. Character, Courage, Creativity.

And, while I might wish to dig in and hide, I'll take the viewpoint about this election that my favorite uncle took about the Catholic Church: The show's been playing for centuries and the costumes are great. So, I'll go - to the poll on February 5th, not church - and play my little bit part. The thing is that without the bit players the big show makes no sense.

Question of the Week: How much worse can I feel?

FF definitely has the upper hand right now and I'm not likin' it. I tried napping on the day bed today with Buck and Cocoa, but I barely got us all 3 settled when the phone rang. Gave it up.

So, seen any nice pregnant onions lately?


I got this little lady a year or so ago at the native plant society, but I'm pretty sure it isn't a native. Actually, I don't know what it's really called - just a pregnant onion, so called for the little "babies" she produces off her main bulb. Once the babies get a little bigger they can be separated from the main bulb and planted to start a new plant. Cool, huh?









And we have some of my epiphytes planted in river rock in an old, old dough bowl I bought in New Mexico. They live next to an orchid, also an epiphyte.

There are a couple more orchids hanging out in the downstairs bath awaiting their next bloom time.

Like those epiphytes.






You see, the deal is that I try to distract myself wen I feel this bad. Dogs, cats, plants. I even tried reading some more of the History of the World, but I can't really concentrate today. Guess it's hot bath time. Some times that helps. Not often.

Tough Week

Some days you're the windshield; some days you're the bug!

Seems that much of this week, I've been the bug. My little part time job has been difficult - something it just normally is NOT. Relationships have been tested to say the least.
Weather has been up and down, which always means my allergies go haywire.
And, just to add to the fun, my fibromyalgia has gone into a major flare, no, not just a flare, really a major flare. Seems that stress sets it off much, much more than anything physical does. So, it's been pain city for me.

Scottie got back from San Diego, and I have been pretty much a slug. We did manage to get to a movie today - The Bucket List. How can any movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman be anything other than good? It was. But, I have yet to cook a meal since he got home. Tomorrow. I've promised.

As always, my critters are a comfort. Check this out:



Of course I know that many people would find this anything but comforting. I was relaxing on the day bed in my studio, checking movie listings on the laptop, when Lucy Cat decided to join me. She's the one who always knows when I feel really awful. Then Cocoa joined us. Time was that it was totally impossible to have Lucy and Cocoa this close. Now they even touch noses! Then Buck felt left out and invited himself up. Fortunately I'd already found out when and where the movie was - love fandango.com - before they all decided to "help" me.

Tomorrow I cook. And I do laundry. Doubt if I clean though.

Sofa Art

There is a local art show that is very tongue-in-cheek called Sofa Art. I'm told it originated after some nasty critic referred to an artist's work as nothing more than sofa art - to fill wall space above a sofa. So, for the past 13 years there has been a Sofa Art show in which all entries have to feature a sofa or chair, etc., and conform to the theme for the year. The show is not juried; the only prize is the People's Choice Award; and the whole thing is just for fun.

So, I've done a goofy, almost cartoonish painting that I was originally going to call Party 'Till The Cows Come Home - as we used to say in the mid-West. Once I learned that no one in this area has ever heard that expression and it is meaningless, I had a terrible time coming up with a title.

So, here's the painting:

And, it's title is, drumroll please,

"...and all you've done is stare at that heifer's udder all night."


OK, I know it's goofy, but it is a just for fun show!