distracted

i’ve been too distracted to keep the tulips watered and fed. it was a distraction of my own making. after fourteen years of living in our house, it took shelter-in-place to clear my schedule enough that i could finally clean up the maniacally invasive european buckthorn from our two acres of woods..  i’ve been quite happy out among the trees for several days–ignoring the news, working up a sweat, and pushing myself to the point of pleasant exhaustion. i recognize the behavior. they say your happiest moments as an adult are when you are doing things you dreamed about when you were in grade school. all i wanted to do then, too, was go play in the woods.

pink tulips

it starts

last week i watched a squirrel busily and somewhat anxiously scoop up double handfuls of dry dead  leaves and stuff them into his or her mouth before scampering off.  it was the first explicit act of nestbuilding i’ve witnessed this spring and it felt like the start of of something. there are now robins in the woods, juncos scritching in the grass, and goldfinches at the feeders. all thinking about building homes and settling in to raise some kids, with a certain amount of social distancing.

goldfinch nest

and it burns burns burns

the ring of fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   the ring of fire.

dried rose petals

a new (old) studio assistant

my daughter, a college senior, is home from california for spring quarter. she is by far the best studio assistant i have ever had.  so, although the circumstances are unfortunate, i am thrilled to have her back for a few months. today, i just sort of laid out these fern spore fronds on some white paper and then went and read a book. eventually she walked by, stopped, and started to play with them. this is what she created before resuming her walk to the kitchen. ok. thanks for being my daughter, eva.

sensitive fern spore fronds (Onoclea sensibilis L.)

feathers and down

mostly i want to lay my head on this airy smokebush pillow, except for those few sharp quills that i just know are going to poke up through the pillowcase into my cheek.

smoketree detail (Cotinus)