Racing Before The Rain…..A Farmer’s Life

Yesterday was a beautiful Indian Summer day; blue skies, very warm, and the sound of farm machinery all throughout the countryside.
No different here; usually I miss the acreage being cut, but had the opportunity to get a few shots. Those big JD’s move fast!

A glimpse of the trees beyond the corn, in their festive colors. They will be bare fast, I fear---the color seems to change before my eyes. Leaves crunched beneath my feet and gently swirled down in the warm breezes.

And the behemoth comes chugging around the corner, filled with the crop from the field. Swift passes, stalks cut, seed separated…..

Hissing and spewing chaff all about…….oh yes….I would LOVE to drive one of these! (think Milo and the small John Deere….uh huh….not good!)

And finally, this green giant depositing beautiful, golden corn into the waiting semis.
I romanticize---this is a hard life that requires relentless faith and constant upkeep of what it takes to put the crop in, keep the land healthy, feed and nourish the plants and pray for rain….and then dry for harvest.
My grandfather farmed, and I am sure, if he were alive, it would amaze him as it does me, how the process has become so LARGE. But I thank the families who still do this, one acre at a time, in the proper manner. They are our food source, our health, and our ability to step away from corporate farming and the illness and scars it brings to the land.

To all the family farmers; THANK YOU. A THOUSAND TIMES.

Pax….

New Morning.....Light Through The Fog

(click to enlarge)

Only a small offering today friends.

I am better, and naturally, since I *had* to go out to haul garbage, the camera was in hand! It has been very cold in the morning with daytime temps rising almost to 80, so we are having beautiful fog that floats just above the land~~enough that is it beautiful to see and still safe to drive.

The camera I was using had a hard time trying to figure out what the fog was, as there was nothing to focus on. (hmmmm, I know that feeling!) Thus, this was about the best of the shots taken.

I love this time of year! Sick or well--and preferably the latter--every morning seems to present the opportunity for more beautiful color and skies that don't appear any other time of year.

Hoping you all are doing well.....

Pax....

Beauty.......

 

......Speaks for itself......no words can I add to make the natural world more lovely.....

Pax...

Welcomes, An "I WON!" Moment, and a Belated Mothers Day Story

(...or, Anne rambles all over the place on this blog post.......LOL!!! that's a better title!)

I had all the best intentions this past weekend of getting a lot of art done and doing an art post this morning (or late last evening.....for posting this morning). You know that line about "The best laid plans of mice and men...."??? Yep. That was the weekend.

First off, big warm WELCOMES!!! to new followers! I am six away from 100 and I suppose I will have to think up a give-away at that point. I'm also getting closer and closer to a 500th post, which I think HAS to be a give-away mark, so maybe the two will coincide and I can get my brain in gear on what would be a good prize, yes?

Speaking of prizes, I managed to win a good one over at Tristan's blog by captioning the picture below with:

"The Schlitz family realized early in life the bonding potential of daily 'Evening Family Beer Time'. It also helped to distract them from Father, who had most untoward desires and fantasies about the family pet parrot, Caligula.

"Father frequently tried to get Caligula drunk and coax him away from his perch, but thankfully, the parrot was the smart one of the bunch."

All I can say kiddies is THAT ONE was right up my alley!!! Especially the parrot.......  ;-)

And now for the reverant, kind, humane part of today's rambling blogpost.

Yesterday DH decided to wash my car for me, which was very nice but it was cold out and I was not of much help. I was standing around being useless when I noticed a robin with a mouth full of food flying about in the magnolia by the drive. I knew there wasn't a nest there, so I watched and watched until it finally felt safe enough to head to the nest.

Take a gander below.......

This is on the second floor of our house, above the family room (which is over the garage). That robin has sat there through wind strong enough to take the power down, rain so bad it made everything white and hail. There are at least two babies, as I could see their thin little beaks backlighted by the sinking sun, but by the time I got the camera, Mama Robin was having no part in showing off her brood. She hunkered down and was keeping them warm and safe from the unseasonably cold breezes we had yesterday.
If that isn't the one who should have received a Mother's Day bouquet (or worms) then I don't know who is!
Here's to a good week, everyone, and hopefully I will get a chance to check back in on the robin family, with camera!

Pax.

Off for.......

.....the rest of the day, possibly part of the weekend. We're under the gun for weather again and I thought I would just post a tranquil sunset that appeared and disappeared with amazing speed the other evening. I ran barefoot in nightclothes to capture just a bit of it......the glow that was present all around was wonderful, but unable to be retained in the photograph. One of *those* moments....then gone.  ;-)
Hope everyone has a good weekend, Happy Mother's Day to all that applies to and I'll be back Monday for sure...hopefully with some new steps in a project I am working through.
Now off to check the Weather Radar and see if I need to duct tape myself to something solid....
And I was the one whining about wanting Spring! LOL!!!

Pax.

The Generosity of Nature

Admit it; if you have a Maple of any sort in your yard (or anywhere in your AREA) you have lots of these---little maple keys, seperated by the wind from the tree, spiraling downward to land with their little tails up and the seed portion ready to put a root into the ground.

Before the great weather blast the other day, in fact as it was coming in, I was out hurriedly gathering these out of the grass, one by one, watching the sky and hoping my *Bionic Hip* was made of some metal that did NOT attract electricity, especially since I was doubled over and *it* was pointed skyward......not a pretty visual. Sorry!  ;-)

So why would I run out before an electrical storm to gather these?

Because when I picked one up, it got the creative juices flowing. Then I picked up another and compared shapes and veins. Different. And then another, and the whole color was slightly different. Then I thought of all the unique things they could be used for in mixed media......the lights were on and for once, somebody was home!

Thus, in an effort to reclaim some of my drawing skills, this was produced last evening:

It is an ATC, (standard size of 2.5"x 3.5") textured black card stock with Prismacolor Pencil and a bit of white gel pen for highlights. More or less a soothing meditation from a hectic day. I can see trying a couple more of these on different grounds, maybe keeping the colored pencil medium consistent through out; not sure yet.
But the point of this is simply to be aware of what you normally walk by, and don't hesitate to collect.
I am trying each day to look differently at things provided from nature and see what they could provide when placed within the art realm!

Pax.

A Quick Good Morning and Welcomes!

(do take a moment to click on the photo and see all the detail!)

Just popping in for a quick Hello, to say welcome to new followers---and I apologize for being so slow about doing that and say THANKS to some new faces that have dropped by to comment! Hope everyone finds something entertaining in the blog.
I had not planned a post this morning; I am in *part two* of a migraine, but when I went out and got this photo of the sunrise through the wisteria, I could not resist putting it up. The plant is in full, glorious bloom.......and we, of course, are scheduled for thunderstorms. (this always happens...always!) So I shot off several images and enjoyed the scent a bit in the damp cold air, then hustled back inside before anyone saw me out wandering in well worn night clothes. I don't want to be arrested, ya know......
I will have a post as weather allows about the art probably over the weekend, providing I can see straight to actually WORK! LOL!!! It could be Monday.......
So have a good weekend and do something creative, or get out and enjoy all the wonderful things happening in nature right now! Quick....before they're gone.

Pax.

One Perfect Photo......

....out of the many I shot yesterday......it was hard to choose, but when I opened this one on the screen, it begged to be chosen.
I could have filled this page with beautiful images of the flowering crabapple in the front yard as it has exploded into blossom and the directional light of the morning sun brought each flower, petal, leaf and branch to life. The scent was delicious in the early, damp air! Some buds intense pink, some soft, flowers in all stages of blooming.
Oh! How to narrow it down!
But still.....just one to say it all, for now.....

Pax.

Bits Of Life........

Shhhhhhhh.........don't let anyone know we're waking.....

.....Putting on our best whites for Easter......

......Shy faces turning from the camera, hiding their beauty....

....Everything bursting at the seams to welcome Spring!

Where are you, fickle season?

Short humor from yesterday--or--St. Joseph and the fur cap

I had driven in to church for the early morning service, was somewhat tired coming home (driving through thick fog always puts my nerves on edge) and pulled in the drive, glad to be ready to put the car in the garage. It was too grey a day to even really enjoy the reddening leaves; the sun was blotted out and everything was quiet and enveloped in a thick blanket of fog. I was doing the usual once-around visually as I waited for the door to open; the yard needs one more mowing, at least, shrubs along the drive did not get their yearly trim and a few look sickly from lack of water, the magnolia needs pruning....again!
And then my eyes settled upon the concrete statue of St. Joseph that sits on my steps by the front porch. (remember, I am sans camera.....as usual)
And atop the statue sits the *Chipmunk-From-Hell* that has ravaged my flowerbeds and generally made my life miserable in a chase to be rid of this varmint.
Sitting on St. Joseph's head, like a bizarre Daniel Boone cap, with it's tail wrapped around the statue's chin, giving him a fur beard! I rolled down the car window to send a few verbal blasts of disgust in it's general direction.
The chipmunk didn't move---cheeks puffed and feet secured on the concrete pate of the good Saint. Giving me a look of "I know who owns this yard, and it's not YOU, but thanks for the high refuge out of the wet grass....."
I still sat and looked, and thought, well, this pretty much sums up my life in general at the moment, and you have no control Anne.....just go with the flow. Of course, if I had been under the influence of any pain killing drugs, I would have questioned if I was hallucinating......
Happy Monday! Hope you see something interesting!

Inspirational Day......

Yesterday I had a chance to visit a different church with a completely different style of worship. I was almost brought to tears by the authenticity of it and the joy from the members as they participated.

I have always been (other than here!) fairly reserved in speaking about things I consider personal, one of which is how a person chooses to worship (or not, as the case may be). I've felt it is something you find in your heart, at the right time, or it finds you and it fits YOU and that's great; that's how it should be.

So I am letting nature do the rest of the talking as I process my experience. For those of you who hosted me, gratiae!

The communion of whites and pale golds as the shadows begin to lengthen.......

The beautiful pinks and wines of phlox in the evening sun......

The delicate translucent petals of surprise lilies, protected by a sturdy magnolia........

Nature leaves me without words occasionally and this is one of those times.

Have a wonderful Monday, rich with meaning, and joy, and color. Let the beauty in the world around you soak in, and let creativity be it's result!

Pax.

Nature's Amazing Photo-Ops

I had planned, for today, to do an update on the fiber piece I was working on with the marbled flowers; had taken photos, everything so I could sit and post.

Then I decided to wander around the flowers a bit to see what was still in bloom and if anything interesting had opened. And I looked at these Lemon Lilies and thought they were full of Japanese Beetles, the scourge of the gardeners world. I shook one of the flowers, and to my surprise, it was not the offensive beetles at all, but BEES! And not just one lily blossom, all of them along my drive that were this shade of yellow or a darker chrome yellow.

Well, I was thrilled, as I have never witnessed this behaviours in bees before and so I trotted in for the camera to record it. The insects were completely non plussed. They kept in the flowers, moved slowly, made no attempt to run me off. (which probably is a very good thing as I am not yet quite at the running stage.....)

Over and over they would crawl around the inner cup of the flower, occasionally peeking out but not leaving, as is evidenced in this close up.

If any of you who might happen to read this know anything of this strange behaviour, I would love to hear about it! I have gardened for more years than I care to put into cyber-space and have never seen this!

Bees are magnificent creatures, and it is a miracle I have not ended up in the hospital from examining them close up, coaxing them into my hands, holding them and placing them in flowers when they have been stunned. My grandfather kept bees, and I guess that somewhere deep inside, I would like to do that too.

In the meantime, I'll let the lilies do it for me. ;-)

Pax.

P.S. I discovered last evening through an e-mail that the white stole I had worked on (yesterdays post) was finished just in time---it will be worn during a wedding ceremony today! How cool!!!