There is Something About New Beginnings

My spirit simply soars

when the decision is made

on which piece of cloth to pick up and stitch next.

There's always so many waiting in the wings

pinned to the wall

or laying on tables

but

when I commit

my heart lifts with excitement.

Doesn't it do that to you too?

Such a relief from our current reality

cut off from little munchkins

whose hugs I so miss.

Keeping creativity going is medicine indeed

Morning walks are medicinal too

I read somewhere that doing Sudokus just makes you good at doing sudokus

but 

a walk in the woods where you have to plan where to step

is good for and old mind and muscles like mine!

When Rusty Pups are behaving

A walk is a meditation for me

a time to observe what grows....

 ....and what dies.

The woods can be messy

it's floor strewn with worn roots and new growth

And my studio can be messy

Every flat surface covered in potential

and walls covered in layers of ideas percolating!

 Rusty Pups can be messy

all covered in mud

but today they came home cleanish

no diving into streams

or mud baths today!

Bending in the Wind

 Nearly there

And so happy to have taken the trouble to remove the messy wind of before!

When you look straight on you hardly notice the wind at all now.

But....

....moving around and looking at angles

the wind can be seen a shimmering there.

 A few leaves are dancing

all that's left.

The winds have been strong here these last few days

We lost a couple

Snapped off half way down

Contemplating whether to enter the woods

where trees are blown over

on windy days just like this

but

out in the meadow

 lean into the wind

or be blown to and fro

like rag dolls I fear.

 Back at the car it's sheltered thank goodness

And back home there's a couch for

pooped Rusty Pups 

to collapse on!

Love Getting Started on New Work

Starting new work

Pinning bits and pieces

Here and there.

Sitting down to ponder on how I feel about these combinations

A book of Egon Schiele landscapes catches my eye

I pick it up

It opens to a painting Autumn Tree in Turbulent Air

Which takes me back a few years to a walk in the woods

When I came across an uprooted tree lying across my path

It's roots swirled and curled six feet into the air

A rock still held tightly within their grasp

At about eye level.

Amazing

Exciting

Synchronicity

And so the story begins

The strip of fabric on the right

is silk velvet

with the texture of tree bark

I started by rusching it onto a pre-felt base

Treated it very badly in the washer and dryer.

Once dried I unstitched the rippled velvet

from the pre-felt

and....

....voila!

Lots of work but worth it in my opinion

Meanwhile out on the dykes

our morning walks have been pretty dramatic

Not that the sunrise is of any interest to the Rusty Pups

They prefer to have their nose to the ground

Or look into the distance wondering how far we will go today!

 I hope your new beginnings are exciting to you too.

Sleeping Circles

Curling up into circles after a long walk

is a good thing to do

 Fixing a puppy bed circle

They take great delight in ripping out the stuffing

Fixing it was an hour I'll never get back!

Duct tape next time?

I reckon puppies would win over mighty duct tape!

Sometimes we prefer a semi-circle

I've found snippets of time to work on my beaver dam spiral

Working out how to best express the feeling of

water flowing through it.

Before I decide there will be some unpicking I expect

Always part of my process

Blending into autumn's woodland

Sniffing early morning smells

Not a circle

Nor a semi-circle

Just a bend in the road

The Solomon's Seal looking very yellow on a misty misty morning

 Leading the way back home

along an avenue of brambles.

Happy Thanksgiving to too of us in Canada.

We have so much to be grateful for

One generous person unknown to me

has been mowing the top of the dyke all summer long

Thank you for that.

It has made walking so much easier!

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.

Lately

Lately I have been walking up to the red barn

To look down at the new duck pond

slowly filling with water.

To look at the beauty of naked trees against the sky.

To find grey leaves still clinging to 

high bush blueberries.

 To wonder at the red abundance of nature's harvest this year.

And to fall in love

as I do every year

with the beautiful colours Maples bring us every Fall.

Perhaps this colour-filled time of year

is what drove me to make colourful marks.

Didn't last long

Back to my usual neutrals

Back to stones

Hmmm

Winter is coming

Snow squalls will be back soon.

Can't believe it's November already.