Getting Through It With Friends and Drawing

Another “brown paper package tied up with string”. And again from Australia. We were told years ago we could no longer do this in our country because the strings catch on belts. Australia must not have belts that are as touchy as ours. Everything and everybody right now is “touchy” here in the States. We just want this year over with and someone besides a sociopath leading us all down the drain of his own swamp.

I have made an advent calendar of sorts to help me get through until election day. I keep this inside a cupboard door. It has 84 more strips to pull off and then he will be empty and hopefully out of office in January. Maybe his supporters will either smarten up or lose their memberships at his golf clubs because he had to bankrupt them to pay legal fees. We can only hope. So far I have only “knee capped” him from his first day in hiding.

But inside the package was this!

What a thoughtful gift! More malted cookies coming up. I might even try putting some in my morning smoothie. Thank you, Jan.

Here are the last six days of drawings a day with haiku.

Deer have helped themselves

to tender leaves while the birds

chose to eat the grapes.

 

A nasty fungus

that Lee brought in for drawing.

We have both washed our hands!

 

How about looking

at the possibilities

of flipping over.

 

Soaking wet feather

from a turkey was the one

good find for drawing.

 

Sometimes the only

way to draw it correctly

is remove some marks.

 

Late summer mint stems

are still so full of themselves.

It’s mint julep time.

 

I am finding little moments to work on My Life in Clothes book. Now have added a clothes line for under wear and other summer outfits.

Also the Fairy book has the start to a new page.

We keep up with our walks. Sometimes alone past a skinny woods and other times being watched.

I still see things that feed into drawings.

Like this owl.

And this watchful tree.

That is enough for now.

Til later. I need to go tear into Trump!

 

This One Is Mostly About Lee And His Days

This is some of the switchbacks coming up to my studio. I need to get more mulch delivered to finish it off. We walk the trail every morning and search for something for me to draw in my Drawing a Day book. I photograph things along the way to feed into my Fairies Book.

Like this.

A snaggle-toothed elf wearing a pink hat emerging out from under a watchful eye.

Rain on crape myrtle trees bring out fairy faces.

Our dried leaves fall down with every squirrel jump made to shake the wet down on our heads. Some colored as to look like fall is here.

Twin fawns appeared in the yard.

Lee stops to replace the rocks knocked off his wall by deer and squirrels.

Usually I lead, but this morning he got ahead of me. I made a little movie of his feet walking in front of me but it did not like being here.

We return home and I draw in my book. The fourth image of a feather found this morning is the last page of that book. I have two more this size to go before I have to make more.

Irresistible!

A wet turkey feather left

for us this morning.

 

A small and fluffy

taupe-colored tickling feather left

for us this morning.

A knot that came loose

from its branch on a felled tree –

more interesting.

 

Barely visible

a feather from the trail to

finish out this book.

 

And lastly I would like to thank all of you who send cards or little things for Lee. You are so thoughtful and it makes us smile. He has forgotten the friends we used to have, much like some of them no longer think of us. And to be honest I have finally let my disappointment in them fade away.

Today he came in from the yard carrying two pairs of work gloves.

“Why two pairs of gloves?”

“I want to take both pairs with me.”

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“Where is home?”

“Michigan.”

“No, you don’t want to go there. It is too cold and grey. That is why we left there twenty-seven years ago. We live here now.”

He looked so sad. So I said, “Let’s bring in the ferns from the deck, hang them up with a good shake, and you can vacuum again.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

He loves the hum of the vacuum and leaf blower. My job is to make sure one is used inside and the other, out.

Now he is having a good nap and I get to do this….have a visit with all of you who tune in.

Til later.

 

 

Forest Influences

We are still here. All books finally mailed to Australia. Such an ordeal with deliveries being held up across the world and postal service under attack here in the US by its own government. It may take some time to get anything being sent via snail mail.

My studio is all cleaned up and a pattern for some pants all cut out. Maybe Monday I can get to the sewing machine. I had to order linen online as stores for apparel cloth are hard to come by. Quilting, yes, but clothing, no.

Here are the last four days of drawings and haiku.

A Japanese fern

propagated all over

the front of the house.

 

Today’s three feathers

tiny fluff of thrasher with

hawk and a titmouse.

 

Remember the large

leaf with juicy stem from

early July? Blooms!

 

A dried and curling

lotus leaf of gold and brown

moves with the currents.

 

And in the woods a wreath that a fairy left for us.

And this!

That inspired this!

He is just kicking up dust as he walks along with his bag of whatever his feet turn up. I still have not figured out what to put along the bottom of the pages, but I am working on it.

And new in the yard. Our first fawn of the season.

Sadie is like us, staying put.

The air conditioner man had to return today. The one with tattoos who has Trump stickers on his truck and works with a biker missionary. Lee and I hung out with him in the driveway as he added more parts where he could get to his tools. I told him that he was our days entertainment and we just needed to hear someone else’s voice. I asked lots of questions about tools and parts just to keep him chatting away.

A friend is now coming every Thursday to have lunch with us on the porch at safe distances with lots of fresh air. Another real live person who will stay longer than the repair man.

Not much else new.  I might try to find another artist to talk about.

Til later.

 

 

 

 

 

My Birthday! A Good Day to Catch Up.

I will add the six days of drawings a day…or maybe it is eight.

A mechanical

pencil and another with

disappearing ink.

 

All things Australian

are some of my most treasured

and loved possessions.

Sixty inch measures

that very few of us are

are interested in.

 

This beautiful tool’s

sole responsibility

is ripping out seams.

Magnifying glass

is attached to some tweezers-

how very handy!

 

Beautiful needle

of bone keeping company

with William Shakespeare.

I need some practice

with drawing more spools of thread

but not pincushions.

 

Practice is needed.

And the results are showing.

Two more spools of thread.

 

Okay I am now caught up on those. I also had time to cover all ten Bush Books and make the collars that hold them together.

I have contacted a different printer about putting the Stoat Book all together for me. Then I will need to make the covers for those. Since several of those books will be going to Australia I will wait until the Stoat Book is finished before mailing them off.

Thank you to those who have asked for a copy and when they are sent out, I will let you know which environmental charity to donate to.

Thee are still some unspoken for, if interested. Just message me.

Today the rest of the mulch will be spread and maybe a weed puller will appear as well. Not too many people want to bend over anymore.

I will leave you with Lee’s latest place to put rocks. He is happy doing this.

And one more thing. I have not drawn anything into the latest Responsibility Hand because it is just more of the same ….. more of the same jobs he no longer does. Now it is keeping him from sadness and worry and wondering when I will take him home. I simply tell him he is home and does not need to go anywhere right now. His tears take a bit longer to bring him back. Some funny story helps with a good back rub.

I better go and check on him.

Til later.