What, me watercolor?

Curves & intersections

I've discovered a meditative experience in slowly drawing intersecting curving lines without lifting the pen, then painting the openings with watercolors. No planning, no stress. I just swirl lines and then paint with my kid's box of watercolors. I've used one of these as a tiny journal by writing (in tiny letters) in the openings. It takes about 15 minutes to do one of these, if I dawdle, and when I am finished I have a little abstract painting and more peace than when I started. Give it a try, it's very calming.
It just occurred to me that the seed for this process was planted at a retreat I attended last fall in Austin, TX at Turtle Crow Studio. Jane LaFazio and Pamela Underwood are wonderful teachers, and one of our exercises was a continuous line drawing of a rock cairn near the studio. Thanks, Jane & Pamela!

A kinder, gentler way of drying clothes

I have become my Grandma.

It's the launch of a greener method of getting our clothes dry, and it's great exercise for me. Behold, the clothesline! The sheets smelled wonderful, they dried quickly, and best of all, no gas dryer was killed in this process. The only alarming thing that happened was that I viewed this photo of myself and decided that not only was hanging clothes to dry like my grandmothers, I look like my grandmothers. While that's to be expected, I don't think of myself that way. In my mind, I feel about 25, and while I realize that I don't look 25, this photo was a rude reality check. Oddly, I don't feel different after seeing the photo, evidence of aging to the contrary.

I plan to put wood chips under the clothesline and plant some lovely flowers around the area, which is just outside my studio and only a few steps from the laundry room.

I have to go now because I found a tick crawling on my leg and I am just about to freak out. I guess hanging clothes out to dry could be considered high risk behavior fitting for a twentysomething.

I. Do. Not. Have. Diabetes.

Happy yellow tulip!

My annual physical was today. I knew that my weight loss was a good thing, but I had no idea how good. I no longer have diabetes. I am not pre-diabetic, I am not diabetic at all. I do not have to check my blood sugars. All because I have lost weight and removed refined sugar and most other processed foods from my life. I am one happy, grateful woman today.

Photography Class

Yesterday I traveled about 40 minutes north of my home to a shop in Oklahoma City called Collected Thread. It's a great shop with lots of handmade art, clothing, books, knickknacks, and "stuff". The shop hosted a photography class taught by Samantha Lamb, an Oklahoma photographer, artist, and farmer. (See her dandy blog, Early Bird Acres.) Oddly, my path has crossed hers in the last few weeks in several unrelated ways. I decided it was time to meet this woman so I signed up for the class. I am so glad I did. Both Samantha and the class were delightful.

It was a fun class with action photography ...

Belle, whose wool is destined for art

And still lifes (lives?) ...

Honey and sunshine

I arrived home just as the sun in the western sky was shining on and through some red tulips next to the driveway.

Tulips glowing with the sun shining through them

The day included a meal at a good Thai restaurant and a lots of walking through the Oklahoma City Home & Garden Show with Bruce. It was nice to arrive home to the Abby, Bob, Darrell, and Darnell a cup of green jasmine tea. (More about that lot in a later post.)

So what is it about blogging?

Belle, a little lamb girl, having a morning snack

I've been trying to figure out why I love the idea of having a blog, but I don't make many posts. After some reflection, it seems that the point of a blog is to share your life, or a specific part of your life with others. I have friends who blog only about their art, or their gardens. I visit blogs that are devoted solely to cooking or photography. I am not an expert on any of those topics, or any others for that matter. At least, that seems to be what is holding me back. It is dawning on me that I don't have to be an expert, I can just be who I am. So that is what I am going to do. I am going to post about my gardens (yes, I have more than one), pets, my family, my art, and any other thing that strikes me, maybe even politics. Get back!

I cain't dance and it's too wet to plow

Italian flat leaf parsley

Actually I can dance and I am not plowing, but it is wet. So wet that installation of raised beds has been put off for over a week. I do have one 4 x 10' bed, so I've planted some herbs, lettuce and onion sets. 

Dixondale Intermediary Onion Sampler

As I've worked in the garden these recent mild days, I am filled with wonder. The smell of the earth, the feel of the soil, birds singing, sun warming my face as I look at each small plant and imagine how it will grow. These small and delicate living things are filled with mystery. While I am sleeping in my warm bed, they will be outside in the cold, sending their roots out for nourishment in the dark soil. While I am looking at garden photos on pinterest, their leaves and stems soak in sunshine and moisture, and they grow. It's magic. 

Baby steps, baby steps. Persevere.  

Garden Fever

1/19 tiny baby lettuces

Okay, folks, I've been away for a while. I want to catch you up on what I am up to these days. I am garden-obsessed. I am putting in more raised beds, upping compost production, introducing chickens into the cycle, raising plants from seed, keeping a big garden journal complete with photos, and poring over garden related websites. I want to raise a ton of vegetables, eat them to be healthy, give them to friends, and freeze, dehydrate, or can what's left. This is all with the cooperation of Oklahoma weather conditions for the next several months, so it could go south in 5 minutes of hail (last year) or a few weeks of 100F+ days (last year). I want to put in a tornado shelter/root cellar and expand our small greenhouse into a larger aquaponics operation.

(I feel a sense of urgency about this, no doubt due to my recent birthday. It's so strange to be at a point in life where year to year plans seem so tentative.)

I've been inspired by Ruth Stout, a 20th century gardener who sometimes shocked people by gardening naked. I don't intend to do that (although it does sound nice) but she had a method of growing that makes more sense than the traditional tilling and weeding. Here's a two-part youtube video of an interview with her.

I am reading City Chicks: Raising Micro-Flocks of Chickens and laughing my head off while learning about integrating chickens into my garden. Here's the basic plan: Put some straw down on the ground in a pen. Turn the chickens loose in the pen. Feed the chickens kitchen waste and let them peck around on the ground. When the straw gets nice and poopy, move the chickens and their pen to a new site. Put the poopy straw on the garden or in the compost bin. When the plants in the garden get big enough that the chickens can't eat them, turn the chickens loose in the garden and they eat pesky bugs and poop right on the garden. Of course the garden is well mulched so the chicken poop doesn't burn the plants. Do I have the stomach for all this poop? It remains to be seen. Can I connect with chickens spiritually? I doubt it. Oh, one more thing of course, eat the eggs!

I have ordered plans for a chicken coop and I have hired someone to build it. I haven't decided what kind of chickens to get. Any chicken raisers out there want to advise me?

People are growing potatoes in containers, which takes up less space, and results in potatoes that can be harvested by simply dumping the container over. I have salvaged some big plastic trash cans and plan to use those for growing potatoes. Trip to the nursery for seed potatoes today! Shopping on the Champs Elysee? Getting my nails done on Rodeo Drive? Attending runway shows in Paris? Booooooring! Get me to the seed potatoes at the local nursery!

This is Darrell, my garden assistant. Actually, it might be Darnell, they are hard to tell apart. Either way, I don't expect much of them and they oblige by not doing much.