My friday eve: A quick drive out in the country with my camera as the sun was setting and a lone horse. It’s gonna be all work and no play for me after this weekend (although my work is a bit like play but I have to do it inside), so I’ll be soaking up as much of the next two springy days as I can.
Nature by Henry David Thoreau
O Nature! I do not aspire
To be the highest in thy choir, –
To be a meteor in thy sky,
Or comet that may range on high;
Only a zephyr that may blow
Among the reeds by the river low;
Give me thy most privy place
Where to run my airy race.
In some withdrawn, unpublic mead
Let me sigh upon a reed,
Or in the woods, with leafy din,
Whisper the still evening in:
Some still work give me to do, –
Only – be it near to you!
For I’d rather be thy child
And pupil, in the forest wild,
Than be the king of men elsewhere,
And most sovereign slave of care;
To have one moment of thy dawn,
Than share the city’s year forlorn.
I came across this little feller while I was out running on the levee trail this morning. This seasonal shift is certainly welcome, and I feel like I’m making a welcome internal shift as well. The flowering pear tree in my front yard is in full bloom (my street is lined with them and their foul odor but at least they’re lovely to look at when you plug your nose), daffodils and crocuses (crocii?) are rearing their heads.. even some stray sunflower seeds that I’ve thrown out for the squirrels have managed to plant themselves and have started sprouting out of the soil.
Today I shipped out five originals to a buyer in Texas and ran my printers into the ground getting cards and prints ready for Thursday. Thursday evening I’ll be at the Sion Spring Fling, a fundraiser for Notre Dame de Sion in Kansas City. Things are really starting to pick up and the art festival season will be in full swing before I know it (perhaps even before I’m ready for it..).
I may have to make my work table move next to the window in my dining room permanent. It’s nice having company while I’m working.
April Sunset, Atchison, KS, 2010
Song of a Second April by Edna St. Vincent Millay
APRIL this year, not otherwise
Than April of a year ago
Is full of whispers, full of sighs,
Dazzling mud and dingy snow;
Hepaticas that pleased you so
Are here again, and butterflies.
There rings a hammering all day,
And shingles lie about the doors;
From orchards near and far away
The gray wood-pecker taps and bores,
And men are merry at their chores,
And children earnest at their play.
The larger streams run still and deep;
Noisy and swift the small brooks run.
Among the mullein stalks the sheep
Go up the hillside in the sun
Pensively; only you are gone,
You that alone I cared to keep.
I put my running shoes on and got back out on the river levee this morning. Since it’s been so snowy during most of February and March, and this going on 3 week cold (aka, upper respiratory infection) that is running it’s own course in my head and lungs (I’m not a fan of antibiotics unless absolutely necessary), I’ve fallen off the running wagon. And you won’t catch me in a gym or on a treadmill.. not my style. It was a tough run.. Mind over matter I guess. It was good to be out there. Plus, I’m running 5.7 miles a week from Sunday in a ‘race’ (to and from a brewery..). I should be a little prepared I guess.
I stopped at my midway point to take a little break.. there’s rarely anybody else out there, and I like to stop and look at my surroundings. After pushing yourself, there’s a slight sense of euphoria if you tune in: everything is really bright and clear. I love that. Plus, there were lots of bright red cardinals and even a couple bluebirds hanging around. It was good to see some color after seeing so much snow (and now mud).
I went a little later in the morning than I’m used to and had some company close to the entrance. Something about these folks made me want to take their pic.
Oh, off the topic of running and back to art, here’s a Bob Ross quote I read this morning that I enjoyed:
“In your world, you can create any illusion that you want. I think that’s what attracted me to painting so much. I could create any kind of world that I wanted. Nothing hurts here, no pain, nobody’s unhappy, it’s a pleasant place. Everything’s nice here.” — Bob Ross, 1988
I agree. Til next time…
I’m not usually one to jump on any bandwagons or talk politics, let alone follow politics. It’s all so flawed and frustrating when you think about it.. So I’ll admit to not knowing much of what’s going on in the political world around me, but it’s been hard not to notice the equality symbol floating around lately on the interwebs in support of equal rights for same-sex relationships.
So here’s my lone little opinion since I’m big on love in all forms — love for your neighbor, family, earth, animals, etc… I don’t actually think the government should play any role in marriage. When you bring all these legal conditions and provisions in, it takes away from what it’s supposed to be, which is a commitment based on love. If you’re lucky enough to find that person you love and connect with and that person loves you back the same, then celebrate it, because there’s not enough of that in life.. and life is pretty short when you get down to it. But since we’re subjected to the benefits and penalties that the government has infected relationships with, there shouldn’t be any discrimination between who gets them. People have always been straight and people have always been gay, and shutting out one group promotes hate and fear. Love equals love equals love equals love…
Atchison, KS, April, 2010
Sunset by Rainer Maria Rilke
Slowly the west reaches for clothes of new colors
which it passes to a row of ancient trees.
You look, and soon these two worlds both leave you
one part climbs toward heaven, one sinks to earth.
leaving you, not really belonging to either,
not so hopelessly dark as that house that is silent,
not so unswervingly given to the eternal as that thing
that turns to a star each night and climbs-
leaving you (it is impossible to untangle the threads)
your own life, timid and standing high and growing,
so that, sometimes blocked in, sometimes reaching out,
one moment your life is a stone in you, and the next, a star.
“I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land.” -Harriet Tubman
6 inches of fresh snow at the end of March.. I think Mother Nature is making up for the lack of snow last year. On the plus side, I just acquired a pair of used cross country skis. I might actually get to use them this year.