Jules and the Rocks

Jules decided that the pile of rocks generated by our chimney foundation work was just too much fun. He also detirmined that the rock in the very center, under about twenty other rocks was the one he had to have.

He's very persistent!

Still looking! (Doesn't Jules have a lovely tail?) I know; I'm boring everyone to tears, but I adore Jules. 

What Artists Do For Fun in Their Spare Time

Thta's right: we dig deep holes. Deep, deep holes below the frost line. No wonder we were tired last week when attempting to entertain! Two days of climbing in and out of a four foot hole, lifting sand, rocks and gravel over your shoulders makes for sore and achey artists. But it paid off; we're on to phase two of "the big dig".
Another interesting aspect was the strata of all those millions of years of compacted layers laid bare for us to see. I don't know if that photo above does justice, but it was fascinating to see the different sandwiched levels... certain ones provided waaaaaaaaaay easier digging, no question!
Here's another activity that we engaged in. When one of us was down in the hole, the other was sifting the sand from the rocks. Bob has a screen that has has used for this purpose for years; differentiating between soil and rocks or compost and sticks. It works great... and it's sorta fun.

Another Kind of Eye Candy

As I mentioned, I have been making eyes and eye-obsessive work in my studio. (Thank god I making anything in my studio!!) Sewing and beading are (inexplicably) possible under my visually challenged circumstances; in fact I seem to be plowing ahead just fine. I have seven or eight pieces underway. They will be collated together into some sort of a book, as photocopies of fabric pieces work quite nicely. (I started researching photocopying directly onto fabric but it seems expensive. But the effect is nice).
I have to mention that being the subject of an upcoming fundraiser (to help defray some medically indicated financial obligations... like a hefty deductible) have made me feel awkward. Let's face it: I need the help (thanks to all who have donated thus far!) and as an artist, I love being the center of attention. But there is the peculiar sense of having been turned into one of "Jerry's kids". (Remember he of telethon fame? The one weird fact I know about Jerry Lewis is that he wears a new pair of socks everyday and donates his used ones. Whether washed or not, I can't say. And the French love him...) I really don't want to feel at a disadvantage or that the work I'm producing is entirely therapeutic.
On some level, the making of all these beaded eyes (beady eyes) is a way of working out my preoccupation with sight and that makes sense. I guess I hope that this whole experience makes me a "better" artist in that I'm more in tune with my vision (all kinds) and more fully able to express it in whatever means I have available. I am putting some of my work up, on display at the fundraiser as a way of gently reminding supporters that I have done a huge body of work over the years (some good, some odd and some down right weird!)
I sure hope that people will attend my benefit and have fun, first and foremost. I am really touched by all the work and effort that are being done on my behalf. Family and friends are very generous!

Eye Candy- the Wholesome Kind

I have to say that we didn't do too badly for a very crazy, hectic first year garden! Here's a small offering of all the bounty that is available... and with only a cursory effort. We have been so busy- and derailed!- with larger house projects (roof, fencing, chimney, island etc etc) (not to mention injuries...) that I sometimes feel a tad guilty. I actually tossed a bunch of festering tomatoes on the compost pile yesterday. (They are rewarding to throw, however, as they make a nice smooshy splat when they land). The peppers did exceedingly well; I especially like the black ones- very sophisticated and dramatic!

We still have beans coming as well as squash. Let's make that monuntains of squash as Bob planted the seeds directly on the compost pile... Stop by, we'll give you a few (hundred).

Next year, we are hoping to return to the rigors of staged and sequenced lettuce production and tidy rows of garlic. We only actively cultivated perhaps a third of our enclosed vegetable garden. We have lots of room for future experimentation and at a significantly more leisurely pace.

Master Blaster Asters!!

Isn't this a great back yard? I didn't plant- and can no credit for!- this aster display, other than to say that we didn't mow them down. This spring, I thought I recognized woodland asters by the foliage and it gave us less acerage to mow, so let them grow! And we have been wonderfully rewarded. It looks like Fairy Land.
Here's another shot; they go all the way back to Bob's studio. It has been a long lasting display, too. They just keep blooming. As this is very dry and thin soil (not to mention lots of competition from chunky spruce roots) I'd be hard pressed to plant anything else there. They didn't even require watering or weeding. Best of all is that asters are amoung my very favorite flowers.

Not Horsin' Around

Who knew it would be so hard to sell a horse? Not just any horse, but MY horse? Because of my eye, because of the kind of riding I'll be doing at our house (trail vs ring-riding) because of too many reasons to list, it is important that I sell Crispin. He's a good horse- a NICE horse (although we've had a checkered relationship...).
I decided a few months back that I'd list him on several equine sites, put up flyers at tack shops, stop by lesson barns... in short, do all the right things. But due to the economy or unpredictable weather events and who knows? perhaps unfavorable astrological omens, I haven't had any response to my attempts to recycle Crispin.
So today, I'll do what I do several times a week. Pack up my grooming supplies in the car and go visit the horse. This is inconvienient and makes me feel guilty as poor Crispin probably feels neglected and unloved. (Actually, he's hanging with his horse buddies and is very contented to eat all day and gives me a very pointed, "What are YOU doing here?" look when I climb over the fence into his pasture.) He has no idea.
I have only a couple of options, none of them perfect. I can give Crispin away, which seems crazy and counter productive. Apparently, many people are doing this as they cannot afford the upkeep but I just can't consider that seriously... would I ever get another horse? Would Crispin get a good home?
Or, we can find a way (in the midst of everything else we're trying to do) to put up a fence and secure some decent hay for the winter and bring him home. But I suspect that Crispin is very "herd bound" and wouldn't relish living alone. Some horses do just fine on their own, but not our boy! Additionally, as I need further eye surgery, Bob would be elected to do most barn chores for several months, in the middle of winter, with little direct benefit as he doesn't ride. (The manure is nice and there's plenty of it!) I suppose I can hope he suddenly develops "horse fever" and longs to gallop off into the sunset.
The last option is to eat him. As I haven't been able to ride for several months, I'm sure his muscle tone is slack and he's probably nice and tender. I've heard the French love horse meat so Bob could find some tasty recipes and we'd eat for free all winter. Even Jules would benefit! Our freezer is empty after Huricane Irene so this idea is gathering steam...

Not Untouched by Irene



As you can see from the placement of the several buckets, we did not escape entirely unscathed from the wetness that was Irene. We are supposing that the extreme southern dierction of all that woolly wind made the sliding door in my studio a leak factory. I'm glad that it happened in an "unimproved" area of the house; we haven't finished the framework around the outside of this doorway. That's on the list with the chimney as they are right next to each other. The floor here is already stained so no real harm was done. Can't wait to fix it, though!

Shadow Play

Wow! I didn't get to blog all week because crazy Irene pre-empted/ and co-opted everything. But the other night, these oily lamps caught our flowers in a jar and it looked marvelous. I'm glad I had the presence of mind to take a picture as the oil in the lamp gives me a nasty headache, kind of like the variety I get if I'm behind a diesel engine for too long. Not to mention the moise from the generator next door...
Anyway, power's on and cleanup neighborhood wide is underway.
(And to any one who attempted to read this blog posting yesterday, all I can say is that the computer crashed three times (God bless dial up!) and it got posted before I was done writing and editing and it made no sense! Nice. Hahahahaha.)

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

First blog post Post- Irene! Bob and I lost power for four days and it felt like forever. All that food we bought to stock up in case of disaster and shortages? Thrown away! Lots of half-melted slimy berries and vegetables ladled from the "freezer". Pathetic.
It amazes me just how fast I become a sniveling wretch, unable to bear to be without a shower or a hot cup of coffee. The ever resourceful Bob managed to boil water on the gas grill but then of course there was no where to keep the milk. We schlepped buckets of water from our stream to flush the toilet so at least that aspect of life wasn't too disgusting. But all the dishes and laundry that piles up makes you wonder how people in "the old days" ever made art or did anything even vaguely interesting.
I think I took the above picture during the hurricane; it looks like things blowing by. I'm just glad the power- and my wits!- were restored!