Living with Puppies

Because we share this land with coyotes and bobcats

outside activity (and there is a lot of it!)

has to be constantly supervised.

Sometimes one needs to find sanctuary

I made the mistake of thinking I would get some weeding done

as I supervised outdoor activities.

Of course the Rusty Pups wanted to help and so 

they discovered the joys of

romping through foliage

and tasty flowers.

And boy the garden WAS beautiful this year!

 They also discovered the joys of munching on tiny stones.

Quite an acquired taste.

With trees being chopped up we are all covered in tree sap

 impossible to remove!

What the heck is all that water falling from the skies?

Who can resist this face!

A stick always has to be shared.

Soon I am going to have to find some snippets of time

to get back to stitching two pieces started earlier in the month.

They have to be one next month.

Hmmmm!

But the sun is shining and Rusty Pups also need to be trained!

A New Generation of Rusty Pups

 A sunny Friday afternoon

A drive across the province

We pick up our eight week old Rusty Pups

They first experience away from Mom

is a two hour drive back to our side of the province.

It must have been quite harrowing.

Being deposited on grass for the first time

was a much less troublesome.

A wondrous tactile exploration!

By Sunday they had mastered stairs

The tree guys are coming on Monday

so they decided to get started ahead of time....

 ....and give them a helping hand.

RP Brandy

and RP Ginger.

They have big shoe to fill

coming in the footsteps of our beautiful

RP Kayla

and RP Shandy.

They make us laugh!

Walking Muskoka Woodlands

Walking Muskoka woodlands 

Rustling layer upon layer of Maple leaves

The grand girls filled the woods with giggles and brightness

Fallen trees criss-crossed the ground

Nature at work

I wasn't the only photographer

and

 I wished I had bright yellow boots too!

Lakes are strewn all over this land of trees

Rocks too

Magnificent rock walls can stop you in your tracks

One thing for sure you won't find either one of these

in Muskoka!

But you might come across a few of these

And you will for sure come across folk with a sense of humour!

Water is never far away

And big sticks abound for small dogs to test their strength with!

Learning to fish is a serious business in this family!

Ashley actually caught a fish
and used the occasion to practice her big fish tale technique!

Brett and Amber have chosen a beautiful environment to call home.
Thank you both.

Manitoulin Memory

Looking towards Killarney from Manitoulin Island

Spirit Island

Judy Martin's home

Judy's inspiration

Photo by Miranda Bouchard

For years and years Judy and have visited each other

stitching

sharing

supporting

dreaming

discussing

critiquing

sometimes friends joined us too

This time Miranda Bouchard joined us.

We are happy Miranda is curating our next show

I believe we are all finding this intergenerational collaboration very rewarding.

Thank you to the Ontario Arts Council for funding Miranda in this curatorial project.

Top Judy's work in progress Bottom Penny's Whispering Cairn

 We viewed pieces together

sharing thoughts and insights

It is a special friendship

when you feel comfortable

giving honest critique and receiving it.

Thank you for that gift

Left Penny's Stone Islands  Right Judy's Dark Side of the Sun

Sometimes we turned things around

Sometimes we turned things upside down

Sometimes we got the scissors out and took things apart

Left Penny's Work in Progress Right Judy's Work in Progress

Judy and I are very similar but oh so different too.

For this show...

Judy aims at inspiring people to gaze skyward

at it's enormity 

but also to find that immensity in ourselves too.

My goal is to inspire us to observe the places we live in

to recognize how we are in nature

and how nature can fill the immensity that is us.

Judy's Work in Progress

We reach out

We touch

We are textile artists after all

Touch is everything