fall 2011

These lovely beech trees have caught my imagination...

month's events

Hard to believe that a month has passed since my last entry. It's been interesting month with the usual and unusual. We've been cleaning up outside, bringing in plants and wood. School's been  very good; first graders are settling into what's expected in art classes. I've been walking and making art. Now for the unusual we had about 4 inches of snow on the 30th and lost power for about two days. None of our trees were fatally damaged. We only had small branches on the yard. Part of the butterfly bush had to be cut back
The snow has finally melted. We even sat out in the field yesterday afternoon until the sun got low and the temperature started down. I trimmed the butterfly bush and noticed that it's still putting out new growth. Next weekend the rest of the house plants will be in their homes for the winter in the kitchen on the rafters as close to the grow lights as possible. And I'm going to dig up a bush in garden #1 and move the composter to the field.
I'm not an avid gardener in the fall. A neighbor has cut back all the plants and you can see the ground. My gardening needs are directed and limited by my hands' achey joints. I'm careful about overdoing some activities in fear of not being able to do those that require some fine motor control.
I'm off to a class at "all About Paper" in North Hampton. My sister, Anne's also taking it then we'll have a late lunch.
I'll get some nice pictures to post this week.

sun at last having fun with art

Today is a perfect day weatherwise, as far as I am concerned. It was only 37 degrees this morning. It has warmed to a lovely 60 at 2:00. The sun is toasty warm; Deezel has been sunbathing most of the day. Zeek has gone out several times only to come in a short time later.
Deezel and I did 4 miles this morning. The water is very high in the ponds. I saw a great blue heron and we both watched and listened to the chatterings of a flock of turkeys . They were about to cross the road, saw us and turned around in that totally chaotic, turkey style.

Yesterday, I did leaf rubbing with the 4th graders. I liked it so much I did some at home today with water color pencils. I  outlined the leaves with a Micron 005.

The second is of only dandelion leaves.

Here is the owl art work from earlier in the summer. It is based on one from my "doodle book". I used envelope papers on this piece. I liked the richness of the scrapbooking paper. I'd gotten it on sale at Stamped Designs in Dover.

Owls on October 1

We went to Strafford to see an owl program with live owls. Actually she had six: a saw-whet, a screech, a barred, a snowy and a Eurasion eagle owl. I've heard a barred three times over the summer, around 3-4:00 am when the windows were open and no air conditioner humming.

This is a page from my doodle book. I also did an entry in ART JOURNAL MMXI-2, but need natural light to get a good photo.

This great horned owl was hurt as an owlet, rescued and now cared for at their aviary. It is not open to the public; they do shows.

Check out http://www.eyesonowls.com/

mixed media month

September is flying by.... it's the 26th - feeling like August, and us without a pool - gardens are not at their best, my containers do look good. All the begonias and impatients have found a spot in the windows of my studio; I brought them in to avoid the cold weather we had for about two seconds. We've had the hazy. hot and humid weather for several days.
Anne, Ila and I went to see "William Daley Selected Works" at the Lamont gallery on the campus of Phillips Exeter academy. We went to hear the gallery talk on Sept 17. It was fabulous. He's 87 and lectured for over an hour to a large, mixed audience. Lectured isn't close to what he did. We laughed and were awed by his energy, focus and fabulous slides of his work and the work that has inspired him. He'd been at classes during the week. check it out at  http://www.williamdaley.net/

I've done some work over the month. Several pages in my art journal revolved around the 11th.  These show the mixed emotions around the sadness and the hope for resolution around the memorial.

The final spread is from earlier in the month.

Labor Day weekend

We finished cleaning up the brush and wood from Hurricane Irene's visit a week ago today. It's 91degrees at noon.
Very humid day. I wondered about 2009.

 
 a single hungry
hummingbird visits blossoms
goodbye to summer

The hungry hummingbird

                                                       returns  for one last sip of lovely nectar.

I've seen very few hummingbirds this summer. Today's Haiku could read:

                                                          Hidden from view  birds

                                                  rest among faded blossoms.

                                                        Cooler air unfelt..

                                          

September 2, 2011 or 9/2/11

Looks like good numeration for some art journaling.... NINE, TWO,ELEVEN

Wednesday, I added a fun entry to my school blog http://www.ekesartistsworkshop.blogspot.com/. My fall focus is "color". This week I'll have the first graders see what paint can make on large sheets of white paper.

It's dreary this morning, cool and little humid. Deezel and I are planning a 4 mile walk in a bit. Here's a recent pic of the boy. He's actually sniffing a bee on the butterfly bush. So far he hasn't gotten stung and remains curious about the little buzzing things. He weighed 189 at the vet's earlier this summer, but we think he's lost a little. He doesn't eat well when it's hot.

We lost power for about 30 hours and celebrated when the tree and power teams showed up to remove the branch that fell from our locust tree. But we were so lucky to be spared the torrential floods AND power outages.

I brought in most of the containers from my gardens. I feared for heavy rains and branches falling on them. They look lush and lovely now and we'll have about another month for them to be outside. I'll bring them into the sun porch, then to various spots around the house for maximum light in the winter ahead.

This begonia is one I had last summer.

The new guinea impatient will have to be replaced next summer. I've never been able to have one over winter.

Of course, the supertunia is indescribable. 

 The geranium might survive in the house for next summer.

Coleus is always a success in my "container gardens'.

Yesterday, Anne, Ila and I visited the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion on Little Harbor for their art and sculpture exhibits.  We enjoyed the out door sculpture. It was NH scenic at its best with the mansion and the harbor and the blue sky.
nhstateparks.org/explore/state-parks/wentworth-coolidge-mansion-state-historic-site.aspx

With lunch at the Ice House in Rye.