Growing like a weed

Compass plant, milkweed pods, asters and cricket....

Descent of the Bumblebee

A little poem formed yesterday. As autumn becomes more pronounced, I think of that sweet melancholy often associated with this time of year.

Descent of the Bumblebee

Late slant of autumn sunlight

catches you browsing the last summer flavors.

Striped plush on banded armor,

your finely-tuned hoverings maneuver between goldenrod,

prairie jewel and the meager remains of Veronica.

Still robust and agile, your weight bows down each bloom.

Soon, I will find you, some cool, near-frost morning,

nestled in the petals of your final gathering place,

close to deep slumber but not quite,

perhaps already in Dreamtime.

And I will mourn your descent as much as any living thing.

But for now let me dwell on this warm moment,

and you,

full of lavender and light,

lifting yourself off

towards that next season.

For the last day of September

“He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.”

― Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Outside my studio window today. She was asking to be scratched!

An apple by any other name...

I love the cultivar names of fruits, especially apples. I imagine if you are a botanist/orchardist, naming an apple is as satisfying as naming a baby!

At my local orchard there are dozens, each one sounds like the title of a poem. There's Autumn Gold, Honeycrisp, Cheiftain, Wolf River, Empire, Red Baron and my favorite Song of September. And indeed, they sometimes do taste like poetry.

I'll be out at Wilson's this Saturday, from 10am to 11:30am, demonstrating scratchboard and having art activities on hand for kids of all ages.  Stop by and tell me what you would call your apple and why....

Fast Falling

September is my favorite month. I like to savor the subtle changes in season and culture. And always, I welcome this "new year" of routine. But this year, September has flashed by, helped by relentless high temperatures that snuck past even Labor Day, unexpected travel and new school schedules and soccer actvities.

So I'm trying to catch up and stop. I'm recording mentally and graphically what I love; smelling the harvest, hearing the departing geese, feeling the cool mornings on my skin, tasting comfort in that hot cup of afternoon tea, and enjoying autumnal hues just beginning to show.

I'm not late. I'm ready, mind and pencil poised.

Göteborg, red, blue and grey

Returning from a trip to Göteborg, Sweden, I compile the colors of this city. 

Blue for the sea and sky. 

Red for the sturdy buildings and bastions of brick (red, also, for the mirth of the people). 

Grey for the cobbled streets and water vessels.  

Pale yellow for treasured light.

A lovely city with its face to the ocean winds. I enjoyed my time in its streets. 

And now to draw.

keeps the art coming...