Critters from the weekend
Music: John Fahey – I Am The Resurrection (etc)
I’ve discovered the danger of Ebay.. I’ve never really searched for records that I wanted before, and when I finally did recently, I immediately bid before checking on alternatives (err, lower prices).. For the sake of the pocketbook, my exciting first foray into the Ebay record world was for the most part unfruitful after being outbid and gathering myself enough not to bid further, but I did get this record for a nice price: The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death by John Fahey. A great one for sure. It’s been spinning on my player for days now. Thanks dude, in Torrence, CA, for sending me this in great shape.
Happy weekend to you. I’m off to celebrate multiple birthdays and other events. Plus I hope to clock some nature time in these cooler temps. I felt immense joy sipping tea yesterday morning and hearing rain fall. And then smiled wide as I walked through it. The heat that I had to endure during last weekend’s art fair made me appreciate cooler temps more than ever. It was by far the hottest I’ve ever felt at a fair — I was actually trembling because of the heat Sunday afternoon and had to take refuge in a restaurant. Fall is definitely my favorite. Definitely.
Another week of work ahead preparing for Omaha at the end of the month plus my upcoming exhibits. And looking forward to getting the kayaks out on the water Saturday. Til next time..
Dapper
How silly he looks… but come to think of it, how silly we must look to him. Hmmmmm…. Oh and then there’s this one.. (I amuse myself).
Buggin’ Out
This praying mantis shared my porch with me this morning as I ate breakfast.
Happy First of September
September, 1918
by Amy Lowell
This afternoon was the colour of water falling through sunlight;
The trees glittered with the tumbling of leaves;
The sidewalks shone like alleys of dropped maple leaves,
And the houses ran along them laughing out of square, open windows.
Under a tree in the park,
Two little boys, lying flat on their faces,
Were carefully gathering red berries
To put in a pasteboard box.
Some day there will be no war,
Then I shall take out this afternoon
And turn it in my fingers,
And remark the sweet taste of it upon my palate,
And note the crisp variety of its flights of leaves.
To-day I can only gather it
And put it into my lunch-box,
For I have time for nothing
But the endeavour to balance myself
Upon a broken world.
“Whether you believe in God or not does not matter so much, whether you believe in Buddha or not does not matter so much; as a Buddhist, whether you believe in reincarnation or not does not matter so much. You must lead a good life. And a good life does not mean just good food, good clothes, good shelter. These are not sufficient. A good motivation is what is needed: compassion, without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their rights and human dignity.”
~Dalai Lama~
Atchison State Lake, August, 2013.
“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.” -Dalai Lama
Unfortunately, my cabin stay for the Perseid Meteor Shower did not yield any meteor sightings because of a thunderstorm all night long. I did really enjoy being out there regardless – it was nice and quiet. It’s good to get away from time to time. I’ve also found new love in the Douglas County Fishing Lake – went last weekend with friends and my kayak and explored the water and parts of the shoreline. I also saw a green heron for the first time ever. I’m going back this weekend to float around and forget about every minute to come.. But first, lots of work to finish as I think of those minutes to come. Til next time.
Fungus Among Us
Saturday a group of friends and I hiked the 4 mile looped trail around the Woodridge Area of Clinton Lake in Douglas County. The rain we’ve had over the last week spurred lots of mushrooms and fungi out of the ground. I’ve never seen so many varieties before on one outing. Today I’m heading out for a quiet night at a cabin at a county lake to watch the annual Perseid meteor shower. It should be a good show. And I’m sure lots of photos will come out of my evening and morning explorations. Til next time…
Polyphemus Moth #2
I encountered my second ever Polyphemus Moth over the weekend. And strangely it was in the exact same spot as the first one that I saw over two years ago, give or take a few inches… This one seemed to be sleeping. As it got dark, it moved a bit, and by morning had left. As far as I know, they move about at night and only live about a week or so.. Here’s a link to the photo of the first one I saw in 2011, taken after it had dropped to the ground off the door: https://ruralpearl.com/blog/?p=2737
Recently…
Pardon me, loyal readers, for being so absent from my blog-a-log. I’ve been taking advantage of every break I get and doing as minimal as possible. Actually, that’s not true — I’ve been in simplify mode. I’ve been filtering through my house and getting rid of things that I don’t need, cleaning, etc. Otherwise, it’s been a pretty busy summer of paper cutting. I still have lots of new work that I have not yet posted here, which I will in the coming weeks. I head out Thursday for the Uptown Art Fair in Minneapolis, and then after that, my summer shows will be in the past. As will summer, really. Also in my past is my hair.. I decided I no longer needed it — it was almost down to my waist, and I woke up at 2am the other morning and decided it was time to let it go. I cut off a lot of the past along with it, so to speak. And now I’m enjoying a new sense of self. I’ve gotta do some sort of drastic transformation every so often..
Anyway, this record (These Trails) has been serving me well all summer on the road. It’s in my head now– never gets old. Til next time..