Misty Monday

This might look suspiciously similar to yesterday's posting, but that would be because the weather is suspiciously wintry...except that the background is very green. Perhaps I'm a bit too fascinated by the daily weather changes (or lack thereof) here, but you have to admit that it IS a bit odd. I hear that it's the wettest/coldest spring in 45 years (or some say even longer). Did I mention that it was 30 degrees and snowing again this morning? It's definitely the oddest spring I've ever experienced. Oh well. I hear summer is coming soon. Hmmm, we shall see.

Thoughts from Jake and Albert: 

Rain and snow, go away!

It's too cold outside for us to play.

The sun is what we'd like today. 

And if not, with Dad on the couch is where we'll stay!

Stop It, Already!

Just to be clear, it is Sunday, May 29th. In  most places in the northern hemisphere that would mean people are wearing shorts, enjoying some sun and getting ready for barbecues and beach time. But no, not here. It is just barely over 32 degrees this morning....

...and this is what we woke up to. Yes, there is white stuff on the ground and on the roof again.

Even the deer seems a little perplexed by it all.

The weather report says we can expect 12-18" of snow before this storm moves on. Really?! Stop it, already, and give me some global warming, will you please!?

The Legacy of Heroes*

The legacy of heroes* is the peace, safety and security we enjoy, the ability to be who we are and to express our discontent as easily as our gratitude, the creative freedom that results in prosperity beyond measure, and many more incredible blessings that come with living in this country. The legacy of heroes requires incredible sacrifice, love, commitment, pain, suffering, loyalty, devotion and many more things that we too often take for granted.

It should never be reduced to flags blowing in the wind or mere words on a crumbling headstone or faded memories of another time and certainly not complacency on our part.

Let us remember those who have made so much possible for each of us and have asked for so little in return. Let them not be forgotten like the flowers left at the graveside. May God bless every man and woman who serves our nation, and the families and loved ones who wait patiently while they do.

May we celebrate the legacy of heroes as if every day were Memorial Day.

*Saturday Centus

Drama-free Zone

I love our home. We decided from the start that we wanted it to be a place of peace and serenity where it feels safe and calm from the craziness of the world. For the most part, we've been able to pull that off and home is a great place to hang out. There are some days that drama drifts in uninvited, like a bad wind.

I'm not a huge Oprah fan, not because I don't like her, but just because I'm not a huge TV watcher and especially not during the daytime. Nonetheless, I respect Oprah and think she is a person who has done much good in the world.

We did tape her final show and watch it, and the two things she said/did that impressed me most were 1) her message that we are all responsible for ourselves and the choices we make and the energy we bring into a situation and 2) her acknowledgement of the existence and importance of God in her life. 

The first relates to what I've been thinking about today - when we don't own our choices, it's almost guaranteed to be drama in the making. My own experience tells me that the vast majority of poor choices we make in our lives are a direct result of not feeling worthy and not valuing who we are. A direct off-shoot of that is that we begin to feel like victims and to blame others for our unhappiness.

The second part - relating to God - is probably worthy of a posting of its own, if not a whole blog, but not today, other than to say that when we recognize and celebrate the existence of a loving God, we are far more apt to value ourselves and make choices which reflect that.

Now that the weather is finally changing and the landscape is turning rich shades of green, I love being here even more. The view, above, is what I saw from my kitchen window this morning. Not too bad. I'm not becoming a hermit, but I don't feel any great pull to leave and go into town. When I do need to go grocery shopping or run various errands, I'm always happy when I'm done and heading back home.

Our dogs are part of what makes home feel like home. They're pretty fun and I like that with them, like little children, there's no drama.  They just are who they are and they love you no matter what.

Albert is catching up to Jake in size and sometimes it's hard to tell them apart unless they are side by side.

That's Albert in the blue collar and this is Jake, peeking out from between my husband's feet as he gets his back scratched. 

Shameless Self Promotion

Earlier this week I mentioned that I had prints to finish for an exhibit and some of you were actually kind enough to ask me about it. So, it's not like I'm going out and buying myself a bunch of billboards on the I-15 corridor, but here's the skinny for those of you who wanted to know.

The city of Ogden has a First Friday Art Stroll that takes place on the first Friday of each month, as its name implies. It's an opportunity for people to get out and see some cool art, check out the historic 25th St. area and just have some fun. The event started out on 25th St, itself, but in recent times has extended to include shops and merchants on nearby neighboring streets.

The very cool (and talented) people at Timberlodge Collection have offered to show my photography in their store for the upcoming Art Stroll event, on Friday, June 3. If you're in town, stop by, say 'hello' and check it out.

I'll be showing and selling the following images. Some of them might be familiar to you if you've been following the blog, but others are new. If there's one you just have to have, let me know and we'll see what we can do about that... ;)  Except as noted below, they are all printed on fine art canvas with an archival finish (wrapped edges, no frame needed), and ready to be hung.

Wind in the Trees, 48"x30" 

 Winter Song, 30"x45"

Surreal Snow Day, 30"x45" 

 American Linen, 53"x40"

Becker's Beer, 53"x40" 

April Showers, 36"x24"

Aspen Abstract, 60"x40"

 Dockside, 44"x30"

From Another Day, 40"x26"  

 Old Truck, 40"x26"

Moonrise, 45"x30"

 Peaceful Pond, 45"x30"

Pineview, 60"x40"

 Private World, 30"x20"

Snowy Aspens, 60"x40"

 Snowy Sunrise, 45"x30"

Water Flowing Over Rocks, 12"x18"

This one final piece is a collage printed on linen fine art paper with white borders, mounted on black foam core. It can be ordered framed or unframed. 

Ice Collage, 22"x55" (unframed size)

Wednesday Walk

We're less than a month away from the start of summer. I think we're basically going to bypass spring altogether this year. Things are definitely greening up and leafing out here, but the temperatures are still on the chilly side.

It doesn't matter though. We've been breaking out the shorts and t-shirts and making the most of it. This morning we went and explored one of the nearby county parks. It's expansive and beautiful with lots of camp sites and hiking/biking trails to explore. It's fun knowing that we have that within 10 minutes of our home.

As you can see, there's still plenty of snow. The rivers and streams are running full and furious as a result.

The dogs enjoyed getting out and exploring along with us.

Albert decided that rolling in the snow would be fun. And then he raced around in circles to shake it off his coat.

I love this place and can't wait to explore it further.