Spring, Where Are You?

Winter weary. Frost fatigued. Ice impatient. It's interesting how the very people who look forward to winter's first magical snowfall can be the same ones who don't want to see one more single snowflake at the season's end. Count me in. I am tired of wearing boots, hats and mittens. I don't want to scrape ice off the car's windshield one more time or shovel the front steps. I'm finding it hard seeing photos of blossoming trees and plants in others' blogs and Instagram feeds. I am aching to see my garden.

Although the calendar says spring arrived here about a week ago, this is still very much winter weather.

And yet, once temperatures rise, Meeko and I will no longer be able to take our daily forest walks. The little forest at our street's end will be too wet and swampy in a matter of days or weeks to walk in. So, I realized that instead of hating the last few days of this long, long winter, I should be cherishing its final moments. So I shifted my focus and my mood followed. Interesting. A recipe perhaps for other areas of my life?

I took these photos near the end of the day two days ago while trying to drink in the beauty of the snow, shadows and light. I thought about the freedom and joy that these forest walks give Meeko several months a year. I thought about the times I laugh out loud at Meeko's crazy antics in the snow or his goofy expression as he runs back to my side on the path. I thought about the welcome break these walks give me in my day and the peacefulness they provide to my spirit.

Oh spring, I can't wait for you to come but do you know what winter, I'm actually going to miss you.

The sun goes down and one season slowly concedes to another.

“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” 
― Mark Twain

A Love Note to December

December has arrived. Our snow came and went and is, as of today, back again. Yes!

Last week looked oddly like springtime. It felt so strange to lose the snow so quickly. I didn't take photos then.

Here are some of the wintry photos I've taken in the past week or so when we did have snow. The forest walk that Meeko and I take once a day and occasionally twice is restorative for me. About 35 to 40 minutes surrounded by nature is a joy. Meeko bounds and leaps and then waits for his less rapid companion who is usually off taking a photo somewhere. We both revel in the sights and sounds of the forest, each other's company as well as occasional encounters with fellow nature lovers, both two-footed and four-footed.

Airborne! 'Superdog' in his head and in my heart. :)

If you look at all of the frozen water, you get a sense of why we can't walk here for three seasons.

Wrap yourself up. It's getting cold.

Autumn and winter. Soul mates.

Love in the forest.

Gorgeous spiky frost on the marsh. It reminded me of a feather boa.

Touchdown after leaping over the log!

Frost-tipped echinacea in my garden. (The only photo not from the forest.)

My beautiful heart tree. When I was trying to find it again, I actually said
'Where is my heart' out loud and then 'There it is'.  My heart.

More leaf love.

Is there such a thing as too much leaf love. I don't think so.

We have lived in our house here for over fourteen years. I didn't know about this beautiful path, even though it is just at the foot of our street, until we had Meeko.  I owe thanks to my furry friend for so many things.

❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Forget Me Not

What a strange week it's been. It began with a very sad event. Very early Monday morning, the mother of my best friend died.

Then on Tuesday, a bus from my daughters' school was involved in a terrible accident. The 22-year-old car driver, who hit the bus head-on, died on impact. The school bus ended up in the ditch. It was not my daughters' bus, but one of Chloé's best friends was on it as well as many class- and schoolmates. Thankfully there were only minor injuries among the teenagers, but the moments of the accident were terrifying for them and afterwards they were subject to a gruesome accident scene that had more in common with a war-torn country than the quiet suburbs where we live. In the moments after impact, the teenagers on the bus and passersby reacted with speed and courage. Police and ambulances arrived quickly. Chloé's friend called her within minutes of arriving home to share what she had just lived through.

So it has been a week full of emails and phone calls, tears and hugs. Reminders of the fragility of life yet also the strength of friendship and the importance of family. Fear and courage. Sadness and comfort. And even smiles and laughter.

Yesterday was the funeral of my friend's mother and, oddly, that helped the week to end well. Chloé decided to come with me, as my friend is like family to us. Emma would have come if she hadn't had two tests that day.

My friend is the youngest of six children and they prepared a service that was touching and beautiful for their mother. I had only met her once. They told the story of a feisty 90-year-old woman who led a full and interesting life yet had some regrets. They spoke of her love of music, nature and her family. They also talked of characteristics that were sometimes hard for the family. As I sat there absorbing the words, I thought this is a real person they are talking about.  There was a bagpipe that played at the beginning and end of the service and a beautiful soloist who sang uplifting songs. It was so moving to be a part of this poignant, honest service. There was sadness in the church but also so much love. I kept thinking about it even hours later.

After the funeral and reception, it seemed too late for Chloé to go back to school, so we went for a walk with Meeko instead.

The sun was shining. There were beautiful green leaves, flowers and butterflies. We took photos. We got down on our knees so that we could see the wild strawberry blossoms and wood violets better. We picked forget-me-nots.  There were Red Admiral butterflies everywhere. One of them kept circling back to Chloé. Maybe there have been other days when we've walked and seen flowers and butterflies, but yesterday everything seemed more beautiful.

The flower photos were taken by me; all of the rest of the beautiful photos were taken by Chloé.

Grey and Green

Grey and green. That seems like a good summary of the past week. The weather is definitely grey (gray if you prefer) and cold and wet.  It's the kind of weather that slows everyone's pace.  Mine for sure.  I wasn't idle at all but my days moved slowly. I'm feeling a little computer fatigue too. So much effort sometimes with hard to recognize results.

The natural world is waking up around me. Slowly and surely, there is more green and bits of colour all around.  I brought my camera on my walk with Meeko yesterday, as I had seen wildflowers the day before. I almost walked right past them as everything was tightly closed. Even the plants miss the sunlight.

It's not just me. Even Meeko looks like he's in a pensive mood. Mind you, I don't spend as much time thinking about robins, seagulls, dog biscuits and squirrels as he does.

When Chloé was little, I sometimes called her Mademoiselle Mélasse (Miss Molasses) as she had a slow way of doing things.  I think I would carry that name well too sometimes. I am slow and deliberate in my thinking and my artwork. I have been working on a painting this week, slowly but happily.  Here's a little peek at a corner of it.

"Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help."

May Sarton

How Not to Paint

Where did the week go? I am very tired, so know that I was very busy yet I certainly didn't get a lot of painting done.

I started a painting of crocuses a few days ago. I chose hot-pressed paper, although I usually use cold-pressed to paint on and either it didn't agree with me or I didn't agree with it. I seemed to be fighting with it. Finally I walked away from my work in progress in frustration. I often feel frustrated while I am in the middle of a painting. Every painting contains myriad up and down moments as the paint, water, paper and I conspire to create an image. I'm used to that, but it's very rare for me to give up on a painting.

Because my week contained more non-painting moments than painting ones, I thought it would be useful (maybe you're too driven? too prolific?) to put together this list.

Kathleen's Handy Tips:  How Not To Paint

• Take the dog for a walk. 
• Make beautiful colour swatches of all of the paints in your paint box.

• Spend days on the Handprint site (an amazing resource!) and stay so long that you become artistically paralysed. 
• Revise your palette based on all of the information that you learned during your days spent on the Handprint site. 
• Revise it again. 
• Make new colour swatches based on your new palette. 

• Start a blog. 
• Reorganize your watercolour paper in your studio. 
• Garden.
• Open an Etsy shop. 
• Have another cup of coffee or maybe a cup of tea. 
• Decide that your many years of painting experience are not enough and reread all of your art instruction books, watch how-to paint videos on YouTube and visit other artists’ websites. 

• Create a Facebook page. 
• Take photos of potential painting subjects. 
• Take some more. 
• Go to the art supply store to find inspiration in new art materials. 

• Decide that you should devote your energy and time to the art of housework. 
• Open a Twitter account. 
• Redecorate a room, refinish a piece of furniture or build something. 
• Check your email, blog, Etsy shop, Facebook page and Twitter feed. 
• Take the dog for another walk. 
• Write a blog post about not painting.

I will confess to being diverted by all of the above activities at various times in the past couple of years. Well, except for one. You can try and figure it out. :)