Star's Fault

Wisdom ~

"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it
 for ourselves after a journey that no one can take
 or spare for us."  Marcel Proust

Happy Friday Dear Ones ~ I hope your week went well, that you lived each moment to its fullest, and that you will have time to make art this weekend.  If you do, and use the beautiful vintage wise owls above, let me know?  I would love to hear about your art project. 

I noticed this week that all the craft stores are getting their fall items in, and I shuddered to be reminded that our Alaskan summers are so short.  I promised my horse that we would take two very long trail rides this weekend, as it is to be warm and sunny both days.  The eidelweiss, ground dogwood, fiddlehead ferns and fireweed, wild roses will be in full bloom, and the trails will be lovely and peaceful.  I can already smell the labrador tea in the air, and maybe Johnnie and I will see a few wild grouse along the path.

I think we will go to the zoo on Sunday, a favorite of Mr. Wonderful, and walk the wooded trails that lead to bears, tigers, musk ox, eagles and other wondrous creatures.   The laundry can wait, the kitty hairs on the carpet will still be there, but I am going to capture the midnight sun while it is shining. 

Blessings ~

Eileen

Summer Dreams ~

To say that I have been dreaming of summer, and warmth, the clear sweetness of a robin's song, and living green things, is a complete understatement.  I am longing for the lush exuberance of the Alaskan summer.  It is summer like no other place, intense, beautiful, nature's drama at it's finest.  It captures the senses and restores the heart after the long winter. 

New grass is growing and the trees all have their first bright leaves.  This weekend Mr. Wonderful and I will go to our local greenhouses and haul home tons of plantings for the front porch.  Until then, the porch welcomes visitors and family with a lovely, shabby, monochromatic setting, but there will be great pots of herbs and pansies and hanging baskets full of geraniums arriving this weekend.

I can't wait.

My paper wreath hangs on the door, and since we have a large covered porch, it stays dry and protected from the harshest of the elements.  Large branches stand in footed urns on either side of the door, their slender arms curving over the porch ceiling, a string of lights hangs in random order and sparkles during what remains of nighttime.  Pretty soon it will be light for 22 hours every day, never getting any darker than a silvery, dusky, twilight.  The inky nights of winter are long gone.

The boot scrape dusts away the last of the Spring mud, an elderly wicker chair, such a lovely faded color, sits beside the door.  Vintage velvet and the most wonderful, and rather silly, gardening doll slump over in the seat. 

I love this porch.  It was one of the features that inspired us to build this particular house plan.  It is generous, L-shaped, with wide steps welcoming you to approach the door, 4 large Craftsman stone pillars face the street.  I sometimes sit on the bench around the corner and watch the world go by.  

Peaceful.

To the right of the door is an old plaque that I made probably 30 years ago.  Of the three homes that we've built, it has been posted beside each front door, reminding visitors that this is a home where faith resides.   

Were you to knock on my door on this sunny day, I would welcome you in and offer you a glass of sweet tea.  We've been making sun tea on the back porch lately, and it's so rich and good.  All the kitties would run to see who came to visit, and dear Kona would come straight up to greet you, swish her plumy tail around your leg, and chirp a hello in her sweet soprano voice. 

I hope you would feel completely at home.

Who would ever need to travel to any vacation spot, when home is such a sweet refuge?

Happy Thursday, Dear Ones. I pray your week is going well and that new green things are making your heart feel glad.  

Eileen

Change #2 ~ Something to Share ~

If you had asked me earlier this week if Spring was here, I wouldn't have hesitated for one minute to respond with a happy "yes!"  The sun had been bright and cheery for weeks, the termperatures moderate, the snow was almost completely gone, and even though nothing green was coming up just yet, you could see the new buds on my trees and the promise sweet growth to come.

I even got out the garden books. 

And last week, while driving away from the horse barn, I noticed a small group of mallards in the parking lot playing in a big puddle, three handsome drakes and four hens, all squawking and fluffing their feathers after their long flight north.  The following day I had occasion to be downtown, and alongside a large park and lagoon I watched as the first Canadian geese flew in over the water, a group of almost 40, cackling happy encouragement to each other as they landed, making ripples on its mirrored surface.  I phoned Mr. Wonderful immediately and told him (as he says himself each year when the geese arrive), "we're SAVED!" which translates roughly to "we've actually survived another Alaskan winter dear, aren't you glad?" 

You can't argue with geese. 

 
Last night I woke up, wide awake at 3 am, and trundled downstairs to get a sip of water.  I looked out into the night and saw lovely soft snowflakes floating down through the dark sky, visible in the glow of the corner street light.  It was so pretty, really it was, and I tried to appreciate the soft beauty of the scene, so quiet, so peaceful, but I confess my heart sunk a bit, and I shuffled back off to bed hoping it would only be an inch or two by morning.

... but it was about 6 inches, and never stopped all day long.  Big, fat, wet snowflakes. 

So, as I thought about what to share with you today, I was pretty focused on those geese and ducks, and the new robins that are still working their way north.  I hope they were hunkered down, waiting out the snow storm.  Oh, how sweet their song will be when I first hear it again after a long winter. 

I pray, wherever you are, that you are not waiting for Spring, but are blessed already by its lovely colors, birdsong, the smell of wet dirt and green, living things, and that it soothes your soul after your long winter. 

I can't wait.  For now, please enjoy blog change #2, as I share, each week, scans of lovely images that I have collected over the years.  There is a new button on the sidebar that will take you to the growing collection of images I will begin to post.  I hope you will be inspired to create wonderful things, and that your time in your own art nest is joyful.  I would love to see photos of your creations.  Have fun.  Make art.

... and blog change #3?  Ohhh, I can't wait to show you.  See you soon Dear Ones ~

Eileen