hiding in plain sight
I made this simple woven mat a month or two ago. Ever since it has been sitting on my desk. I liked it too much to toss it, but I had no real use for it either. So there it sat. Then today, out of nowhere, this composition popped into my mind. And I was smitten anew. Damn, I love STILL. Truth be told, I am so busy with speaking gigs right now, that I am having trouble fitting my daily STILL image into my schedule. On a perfect day, I like to get myself in a calm, zen-like, place when I am doing STILL. But lately, I have too many deadlines to be zen-like. The fact that I am making images at all, and not breaking the chain, is the most I can expect. Transcendence is out of reach. And yet, in all the haste, I was able to make this simple and pleasing image today. The power of dailiness still blows my mind.
woven grasses and dried hydrangea florets
after the party
My mom turned 88 the other day. We threw her a party. Most of my siblings live within a few miles of her, including myself, so there were many guests, all family including five great-grand-babies (with more on the way). It was a fun party. Almost everyone who showed up brought flowers. So for the next couple of weeks I will be the lucky recipient of all her spent flowers which she plucks from the bouquets one stems at a time. This should satisfy my color cravings until our northern spring catches up with the rest of the country. If there must be confetti to clean-up after a party, flower petal confetti is better than most.
on what we notice
Here is a universal truth: We notice the things we love. Here is another truth I have learned while doing STILL: We will fall in love with whatever we pay attention to. I love seedpods. I notice them everywhere I go.
seedpod collection
-
I would like to send you ALL of the seed pods from my mimosa tree ;) AND my red bud tree, too. They are the bane of my gardening existence!! If I had a quarter for every seedling I’ve pulled, I’d be a very rich woman! You have a varied and fascinating collection, and I fully understand the attraction.
reply
we’ve got traction!
No rain, but sunshine and warm temps, and we are finally on the move toward spring up here. Those of us with protected, south-facing slopes and walls that act like heat-sinks, are now experiencing the first of the spring blooms. I have a north sloping yard, so I am always last. But even I have tiny blue scilla (siberian squill) along the driveway now. A friend of mine has a two-story warehouse style building inthe city with a sunny south-facing garden, and her magnolia is always the first to blossom. And she always calls me first!
magnolia blossoms
it’s that time again
Not every year, but often, there is a little pause in the arrival of spring where the increasing sunshine has warmed the ground and got the sap running and the buds swelling, but there is not yet enough rain to push them to bursting. This year, is one of those years: Early warmth, but no rain. So as I await the next big push of spring, I satisfy my hunger for green by cutting up the houseplants. Yesterday spider plants. Today a bird of paradise leaf. Tomorrow? Let’s see…the jade plant is looking very inviting. Watch out jade plant you are in my crosshairs!
bird of paradise plant leaf (Strelitzia reginae)
It’s clear that STILL is a meditation for you, which you desperately need at this time in your life. It’s hard being famous:)) This composition is simply a delight, as are you!