Monarch and Milkweed

Monarch & Milkweed

colored pencil and ink on book page



revisiting old work-carolina box turtle

Carolina Box Turtle 

 created as an assignment 

Ceramics I  class in college

made life size

using photos

and shells found in the woods around home

 glazes  mixed to match

 colors of the shell and body
he was displayed in a ceramic vise
drawing attention to
pressure from human encroachment into his environment
the ceramic vise was later broken accidentally
the pressure it symbolize unfortunately remains

one of my favorite creatures
slow, persistent, self protective
disappearing at an alarming rate
threatened by human encroachment
roads, logging, cars
not nearly as many as just a few years ago

sassafras wall hanging

i promised someone a bit ago that i would post images of this leaf pounded wall hanging

 done as a demo piece for my appalachian arts students a few years ago

 

young tender sassafrass leaves

 a single-, a double- and a triple-lobed

 were pounded onto a piece of prewashed muslin

after the piece dried it was soaked in salt water for about an hour then rinsed

a micron pen was used to add details to the leaf pounding

everything was ironded to heat set the colors

 a patchwork border of stash fabrics was sewn around the leaf pounding

 and then the entire panel was hand quilted

both the leaf contours

and concentric pattern around them

the color has survived

several years hanging on my hearth

as well as hand washing

and line drying

with no signs of fading

still fall...

 at our house...

 its still fall...

 i was hoping it would last a while...

 and so it has...

 making the most of it...

 looking closely downward...

 above zoomed in closer...

it cant last much longer

at least there will be pictures

filled with the colors

and textures

to remember

the smell

and feel

of this

one glorious autumn

Weekend Road Trip Around the County

hwy 28 toward Fontana, left to Fontana Dam, overlook just before the dam rd...

from the dam parking area, walk up stairs onto dam, look through gates of dam...

continue onto dam, look below the dam...

 look up to see the mountains in the distance...

cross the dam and walk a ways up the road on your right to see lakeside leaves...sweet gum...

oak...

hickory...

 

return to car and back to hwy 28, onward through Fontana Village, at Deals Gap turn left onto 143, turn right just before crossing the bridge atTapoca Dam onto the "Magazine", park at the rafting takeout and you may get to see the mist rising off Cheoah Lake...

the Cheoah is super clear so you can see bottom until it gets too deep...

on a clear day with a good breeze you can watch sunlight dance and sparkle off the ripples...

look down the lake to where it disappears around the bend..

everything you see, high and low, is camera worthy...

choosing shots can be hard...

there is beauty in even the lowly fungi...

return back to 143, turn right and continue past Tapoca Lodge until you see a wide place on the left with an obscure brown sign reading "Yellow Creek Falls .3 miles", a fairly easy hike in good shoes will take you to gorgeous Yellow Creek Falls

the final stop before heading back home...

First Act Following Dramatic Entrance

It seems that last weeks snow storm was an entrance for winter rather than an exit for fall.

Last night Act I began to play out.

 At about 1:30 this morning there was very light fine snow falling and by 5:30 when my husband left for work we had about a foot--

AGAIN.

He pushed snow in the Tacoma all the way to town.

 Here is what it looked like out and about in the county today:

Hwy 129 N

Deal's Gap

Hwy 28

Farley Branch

And, this is what happens when the tie holding the salt box breaks

allowing the load to shift.

It's a good thing there was a bank to slide into

rather than one to slide off of.

We are still under a winter storm warning.

Snow is expected to end sometime Wednesday.

This semester at school may end sometime this summer.

Dramatic Exit OR Entrance?



8am from my front porch

front steps-caution required

Although this is spectacular to look at, I hope this is just 2010 making a dramatic exit and not a debut performance for the new season. Winter is less than one week old, and boy is he making his presence known! We remain under a winter storm warning until the end of the day and may get another half foot of snow to top the 12-14 inches we have now. The snow I can handle. The cold is quite a different matter all together. At 15 degrees with a nice steady wind blowing, the wind chills outside are serious business. I am thankful that we are safe and warm this winter's morn. I pray that everyone else is as well.

So what does one do on such a day?  

mitten knittin' of course!

At the moment I have pair #3 on the needles. With five grandsons there is always the need for mittens. The last time I knit mittens for them there were only four boys. Knowing how boys are, I thought I would make them boy proof...a nice dead leaf color that wouldn't show dirt...and all alike to avoid disagreements...well, both ideas were terrible. Mittens the color of dirt and dead leaves get camouflaged too easily in the dirt and dead leaves where boys love to play. And eight mittens of identical color and only slightly different sizes make for a real mess when Mommy tries to match them up while four little mouths whine and eight little feet shuffle about impatient to go outside. So when I asked my daughter if the boys needed new mittens she put in a couple of requests...bright colors so they wouldn't get lost in the back yard...and different so mates were easy for the boys to find...Now why didn't I think of that? Maybe because I only had one boy! And he had such a wonderful big sister to watch out for him!

And when you need a break from mitten knittin'

Peanut and Caramel White Fudge EXPERIMENT

Well, then of course you take a coffee break...but coffee begs for company! This is the kitchen experiment from Christmas afternoon. A few weeks ago when we went across the mountain to Cades Cove, we stopped for lunch in Townsend at the Apple something cafe (good burgers)...which is attached to a gift shop... which has homemade fudge...which I just had to sample! I bought a 1/4 pound each of four different flavors. One of them was a white fudge with salted peanuts and caramel and we both loved it. I have been thinking about that fudge since, and trying to figure out just how to go about making it. This is what my Christmas experiment yielded...really good...but needs a bit of tweaking before I share the recipe...next time I will use more white chocolate and fewer nuts...if it works like I think it will the recipe will follow. But, rest assured this experiment will not be wasted! Although the results are not perfect, they are really close.

Break's over! Back to mitten knittin'...maybe just another 1/2 piece of fudge before I start...hmmmm

White Christmas

--God bless us everyone--

-Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol

this was a quiet Christmas...just the two of us...but considering the fact that we woke to a white Christmas this morning and the snow hasn't let up all day, I'm very thankful that my husband was here...most of the time when the weather conditions are like this he is out in a snowplow making the roads safe for those who must be out...and those who don't have sense enough to stay in...but today...on this wonderful quiet Christmas...he was home with me all day...we had a nice cozy country breakfast...country ham, biscuits, scrambled eggs, fried apples...talked with all the family via telephone...Merry Christmases long distance to the five grandsons...then he played Christmas carols on the guitar...I did some more mitten knitting...then I played in the kitchen experimenting with a new fudge recipe...white chocolate with salty peanuts and caramel...he ate two pieces and pronunced it a success...we watched a movie...I cooked up a nice hot pot of cream of potato soup...he pronounce that a success as well...and now with around ten inches of snow...and more falling...things are back to normal...if you are out in this mess and you see a snowplow coming your way...toot your horn and wave...be thankful that he is willing to give up time with his family so that the roads are passable for you...I hope your Christmas was merry...mine was...very...God bless you...everyone

Cousins

The Blizzard Warning gave us about 5 inches of snow night before last. Today the roads are pretty much clear so all can be out and about--for a bit anyway, as we are again under a Winter Storm Warning for the next 24 hours or so with an expectation of another 3-5 inches on the average with higher amounts at higher elevations and near the Tennessee border (I suppose that means me!).

But on the more encouraging things...After taking what seemed like forever to become comfortable with a background fabric and arrangement of the component images, I think I have finally brought the Cousins piece to a conclusion, other than mounting it on some sort of substrate for display. Here is what it looks like now:

I did some color washes with dilute acrylics to tone down the white areas and reduce the contrast along the edges of the smaller images. More gold paint was added around the main figure and additional green color was washed into his shirt to add emphasis to him. The pine needles and cone on the left side were further developed using a Pitt Pen, which was also employed to push the values on the small pine cones as well. I think the images is much more unified as a result of the added color washes and the banjo picker is now more clearly the center of interest in the piece.


The addition of music and lyrics from the traditional folk ballad In the Pines provided a unifying element for the composition and set the "mood" for the piece. This is a lonesome mournful song that wails and moans like the wind through the tall hemlock trees that stood head and shoulders above all the other trees in our forests until they were destroyed by a tiny little foreign invader, the wooly adelgid;now they are simply silver ghosts of their former regal presence, waiting for the winds to strike the final blow that will bring them to the ground. Like the hemlocks I have loved for so long, the singer's love has gone and he is left to "shiver when the cold winds blow" without a true love to protect his heart from the darkness of loneliness "in the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines".


I am currently mulling over how to display this piece. Current thoughts are to display it: between layers of glass with minimal framing; mounted onto a stretched linen canvas, or a regular stretched canvas with some sort of color/texture painted onto it; or it might work well mounted above a piece of wood so that the fabric image was raised from the surface (this would not provide any protection for the piece, so it seems less desirable).

Brrrrrr--Bolt the Door and Stoke the Fire

Brrrrrr...February is roaring loudly this evening; can anyone in the South and mid-Atlantic say EL NINO? We have been under a Winter Weather Advisory since last evening, but have had very little snow until the last hour or so. Late this afternoon the Weather Service issued a Blizzard Warning, forcasting 4-8 more inches of snow tonight across our area, with up to a foot in some places and deeper drifts at higher elevations (our house is at 3000 ft). The snow predictions are not so bad in and of themselves, but coupled with 60mph winds (with stronger gusts) and current 18 degree temperatures falling even lower into the night, this will be a good evening to stay close to the home fires. My husband will not fare so well; he will be out all night again this evening trying to keep the roads open and safe for those who need to travel, for whatever reason. May all reach their own home fires safe and sound, according to His will.

This winter reminds me of the ones we had when I was a kid; reallllly cold and snowy. For the past several years we haven't had winter as I remember it. When I was growing up we always had hams and bacon in the smokehouse curing under crusty layers of sugar and salt. The weather was cold enough so there was no worry about them spoiling; the only problem was wading through the snow to slice off a chunk of tender pink juicy melt-in-your-mouth ham for supper (in Appalachia we have supper in the evening and dinner at noon). In the barn loft in a nest of loose hay snuggled between walls of hefty bales were apples gathered in the fall from the Sheep Nose apple tree in the garden; covered with a thick layer of hay, they remained firm and juicy until late spring, by which time we had usually eaten every last one. Under the house, in a "tater hole" dug waist deep and lined with fresh hay, the previous seasons potatoes lay in their own bed of hay underneath a covering of worn quilts and blankets that had seen their better days. A few feet away jar after jar of fruits, vegetables, jams, jellies, juices, pickles and relishes stood six deep on the "can room" shelves ready to warm us from the inside out. The wood shed had been filled to the rafters with poplar "kindling" and heavy hardwood chunks of maple, oak and hickory; the corn crib had plenty of grain for the animals and the best ears of "Hickory Cane" had been dried ready to shell during cold winter evenings. I can still feel and hear the kernels sifting through my fingers. To break the monotony of the work Mom and Dad played a guessing game called "Hully Gull" with us; the person who was "it" held a few kernels of corn in their closed hands shaking them while asking "Hully Gull, a handful, how many?" The person who was closest to the right number of kernels became it. If we were really fortunate, Dad would wash some kernels and make "parched corn" by placing them in a pan of hot bacon grease and stirring them until they swelled up nice, round and toasty. They tasted about like half-popped popcorn (which we also grew sometimes). A room full of hands made short work of shelling a couple of sacks of hard white kernels which went to the mill to return a couple of days later, minus the miller's toll, as fresh-ground cornmeal. This meal, unlike the store bought variety, had to be sifted to remove the chaff and needed leavening added to it when it was time to bake a pone of cornbread (which NEVER contained sugar or egg, and was broken not cut). No matter how cold and snowy I remember it being outside, I never recall being cold. Between the wood heater and cookstove, and the stores of food "put up" from the summer; we were always warm and cozy inside.

We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful location. This stream runs around two boundaries of our yard. Not only is it visually inspiring but it makes music transcending that of any symphony. When he visits, our oldest grandson likes to sleep in the upstairs window seat with the window ajar. He says he "likes the sounds". He isn't the only one; if it isn't bitterly cold the window in our bedroom next door is also ajar because we also like the sounds. Right now I am anticipating warmer weather and the arrival of the spring peeper frogs. Nothing lulls me to sleep like the sounds outside my own bedroom window, regardless of the season. Thank you Lord for allowing me the pleasures of living in this place.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

This is a pretty sad photo. Not the photo itself, but the subject: the very last bowl of fresh blueberries from our orchard. We have been blessed with a bumper crop of fruit this year; our blueberry bushes and apple trees have outdone themselves. Over 40 gallon of blueberries have gone into the freezer, jams, cobblers, pancakes, muffins and little boys mouths from this years crop. There are still berries scattered here and there on the branches, but not enough to bother with. Those that remain will be gleaned by the birds (and my husband). In addition to a bounty of berries we have gathered bushel after bushel of apples---Summer Treat, Empire, Cortland, Jonalicious, Red Delicious, Blushing Golden, Golden Delicious, Mutzu, and Adina---and there are still apples ripening on the trees---Winesap, Fuji, Granny Smith, Arkansas Black. Almost all of the trees have looked like this Winesap looks right now.





































Last year there was a very late freeze that wiped out most of the tree bloom here in Western NC; then, we had terrible drought conditions through the summer and fall. There was very little in the way of fruit and nut crops as most trees had to put out leaves/blooms twice. This year it is almost as if they have compensated. Every fruit and nut bearing tree in the area is loaded. Hedgerow apple trees that usually have only scattered fruit are bent with the weight of their crop. My husband and I have been discussing this and I have decided we will probably have a tough winter. All the signs our ancestors looked for are there: lots of fruit and mast, early frost (last Thursday, Sept. 25), bees nests on or near the ground, fall flowers blooming early, Katydids singing early... I hope I'm wrong. I guess we will find out.

Renewing Acquaintances

My front porch, the creek, peace and quiet and I have been renewing acquaintances the past while. I had almost forgotten how much I love solitude and just how thought provoking it can be. The hustle and bustle of finishing up the school year left me drained both mentally and physically, so home I came with not intent other than several days of doing absolutely nothing. My day begins at about the same time as during the working year, but commences at a much slower pace. My better half goes off to work and a nice steamy cup of Starbucks Breakfast Blend goes out with me for the awakening of the day.

Morning Symphony

Quiet time, a cup brewed just so,
Soft breezes rustling dew damp air.
Me and God watch the daybreak unfold;
A private show in my rocking chair.

Sparrows warm up for morning's melody,
Infant soft shadows gently born
Underneath an ancient maple tree.
Quickly, they grow and then transform;
A lacework reflection of my canopy.

Birdsong, in chorus creation compels
There's an audience today you know.
The babbling brook they rush to tell,
A command performance for God and me alone
As morning's sweet symphony slowly swells.

Crescendo followed by hushed respite
Day settles in warm soft and still.
Feathered falsettos begin to quiet
Wonder and awe my heart still fill
Me and God starting the day out right.

After a couple of cups, I usually do the bare minimum of necessary housework...dishes, couple loads of laundry, floors, general picking up...then back to the porch with my spinning wheel, knitting needles, or a bit of reading. The heat of the day builds and the clouds start to form for the usual Appalachian afternoon thunder storms.

Devil's Tater Wagon

Listen chil', it's the ol' man's tater wagon
Hear it a-rumblin' cross the sky
I declare but he's a-ragin'
As it goes a rollin' on by
That devil's layin' a beatin' on
His ol' haint of a wife
Gracious how that hag can moan
Look, fire's a-flyin' from his eye
Boys, you better head on home
She's a-cuttin' loose to cry
Lordy, let's hope ain't too long
Till this storm passes us by.

This is the life. I could really get used to this. Retirement is only, let's see...9 years away. Oh, well. I'll just have to enjoy summer while I can.

Flax Update

The flax is doing well; as you can see it is now about 30 inches tall and is covered with beautiful cornflower blue blooms. It is quite lovely waving in the breeze. The lower part of the plants are starting to turn yellow as it matures, but it is not ready to reap yet. I am somewhat disappointed that it will not be ready to harvest before the kids leave for the summer. I will need to come back during the summer to check its progress and pull it up when it is ready.