day by day
go out to the woods and walk….
and breathe it all in
“My Peaceful Place” — 5x10” — Origami
A forest of green trees, the sun and the moon, birds flying high, a peaceful place to lay my head down to rest and call home. My heart is home.
2022. behind bars
the sun goes down
the night lights light up
and flowers glow
Pansy flowers with their tender velvet cheeks and sweet kitten faces are a favorite of mine. This makes me want to do something with pansies, make them with paper or paint them. Purple, orange, golden yellow, pale blue. Hmmm….🤩
2021. library talk
tell us
what you love about
the library:
*
“i ❤️ books…board games…play
mr. robbie…mrs. jen…my co-workers
everything! everything!”
I saw this poster at the library—58 sticky notes talking about reasons to love the library. And outside, just outside the front door, a man, a tall man, standing there leaning against the railing holding a cup of half-eaten yogurt in one hand and a cell phone in the other talking animatedly….”that’s an easy million, think what you could do with a million dollars!”🤑
Here are more reasons to love libraries—they offer puzzles, dvd’s, audiobooks on loan, lectures, classes and talks, pinochle and mahjong meetups, trips, museum passes, access to computers, after-school programs, pre-school programs. And all free of charge.
2020. giant
some kind of giant
black, white, and red on top
striking a pose
I admire the pileated woodpecker. Tall and proud, brazenly bold, its booming sounds echoing through the tallest trees, like some kind of giant banging a heavy fist on solid wood again and again. Unmistakable. It stops me every time. I look and look and watch its powerful beak stab and stop, stab and stop, determined to get the job done. I think of the giant woodpecker as a solitary soul. I rarely see more than one as I do with most other birds except, of course, the great Heron. But this time there were two giants together, both with gorgeous red top feathers and most likely life mates together. That’s a good way to travel. Together.
2019. meowzers!
cuddle up,
it looks like an inside day….
meowzers!
It’s Sunday morning and cold outside—feels like 33°! Inside the fire is going. It’s cozy warm and the cats are huddled together, warm and toasty. There’s Tommy and Tammy and Rascal and Phantom.😸😻🙀😽 Dan’s been busy. 😘❤️
2018. care to dance?
pretty girls
all dressed up for saturday night
care to dance?
2017. sundown
old crow looking west
has much to say….to no one
or is he talking to me
*
caw-caw…caw-caw…caw
i swear god taught him to talk
or is he singing?
A crow is a crow is a crow.
2016. stories
slow down….
won’t you stay a while, listen
i have stories to tell
I never saw this tree in the woods. Was it a maple or a willow, beech, honey locust, or pine? I don’t know, but look at it now….it has stories to tell, wondrous stories.
Stopped at the red light I looked ahead and saw this tree, tall and proud. I took up my phone and drove slowly for a closer look. Zoom in, maximize….
2015. wild thoughts
a perfect mushroom
among tiny heart-shaped greens
sunny side up
2014. oh boy!
book on my lap
coffee and blanket at my feet
oh, boy!
Listen, it’s Spring. Oh boy! It’s 34° and there’s a freeze warning. Oh boy! The birds are talking up a storm. Nowhere to go, nothing to do. Not yet. Later on, it’s off to the dentist. Oh, boy!
2013. tu-a-wee…tu-a-wee…
two eastern bluebirds
perched on top of their house
blowin’ in the wind
Two Eastern Bluebirds perched on top of their little wooden house. We saw them the other day in the meadow in the wind in the long tall grasses left over from last winter’s snow and winds. Seven little houses, each occupied now, spread across the meadow. The wind blows and they lean. The wind blows again, wings open, spread wide, and loft up and up and away, and they sing now of spring—tu-a-wee…tu-a-wee…tu-a-wee…
2012. zoom. . .
a pair of ducks
slipping into the cool stream
zoom. . .
A pair of mallard ducks slipping into the cool stream, paddling their bright orange feet, webbed and efficient, keeping pace with our stride as we walk along the creek admiring the mirrored image of the trees crystal clear on the water, upside down.
2011. the dream
hey guys—
slow down, wait up for me
let’s play
“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself at sunset.” Crowfoot
What is life? It is the little boy who runs across the grass and loses himself in his dream. It’s never too late to chase your dream and bring it to life. Do it!
(Thank you, Isabelle, for this picture. 🙏🏻)
2010. keeping company
in the studio
a little brown spider
keeping company
On the window sill keeping company—an origami snail, three birds, a couple of cats, and a puppy. And what’s this? A little brown spider! Where’d he come from? Is he lost or hungry? Or maybe lonely? Dan said, “Looks like it wants to help you fold.”😘
2009. wrung out!
some days
just doesn’t pay to get up
outta bed
Poor thing, looks like it’s been thru the wringer.
2008. together
the goose and his mate
on their own little island—
time out to just be
On an island of sand and stone in the middle of the creek, taking time out to just be, two geese. Just being together is enough.
2007. listen up!
all ears for the coach
dreams of kickoffs and touchdowns
sunday in the park
It was April 12. All eyes and ears for the coach. Mighty young and helmeted, a few barely four years old or three feet tall. I suppose you’re never too young and never too early to play football!🏈
2006. the world at my feet
once was a tree
velvet world at my feet
54 million years
I can see the world at my feet. I’m lucky. I love where I live. It’s wild. Day after day I can go outside for a walk where I might see a fox darting across the road, or some deer lounging in good company or leaping thru the woods, or watch a blue heron suddenly stab its perfect beak into the creek and come up with a tasty fish. I might look up at flying formations of geese overhead honking across the sky, or stop and gaze at the beautiful velvet mystery of moss at my feet. I amaze at how something so lowly and silent can lay dormant for eons and come back to life again after 54 million years.
2005. the lookouts
up on the roof
facing east, west, north, and south—
the lookouts
In the morning, they gather and chatter, enjoying a joke or two, surveying the whole wide world from their point of view. Then, one by one, they rise up, lift up, fly up….off and away.
2004. it’s spring!
dandelions
tumbling onto sidewalks—
delish!
I found a recipe for fried dandelions blossoms. It said they have a flavor similar to mushrooms and they’re delicious!😋
2003. moody morning
beyond the clouds
small as the moon faraway,
that’s the sun
Never too early or late to look up at the sky.
2001. rata-tatt-tatt!!
a tangle of trees
big red-headed woodpecker
hammering holes
Rat-a…rat-a…ratatat…ratat-tatt! Rata-tatt!! Tatt-tatt!! That’s got to be a big one! The unmistakable booming sounds of the pilieated woodpecker draws my eyes to look up searching thru the tangle of trees until I spotted the tall barren trunk of dead wood and waited for any sign of movement. There all the way up near the top, I saw a flash of red, the big bird with head jabbing, neck snapping, beak pecking, hammering, hammering away!!! It’s always a thrill to see life so alive. 🙏🏻
1999. three scenarios
look at me,
pretty as a picture!😁
well, almost
*
pleads innocence—
but he looks guilty to me
says he was framed!
*
please, please
give him some cheese
make him smile
Just playin’!
2000. bloodroot
beautiful—
death and decay….blossoming life
existing side by side
What a beautiful thing, Life. Today is Easter. For those who celebrate, Happy Easter. For those who do not, celebrate Life that goes on and on no matter what. 🌺
1998. perfect, she says
artwork, artwork
here, there, and everywhere
service with a smile!
I always enjoy a visit to my framer. Aside from her high-quality framing services, Rachel Isaac is a top-notch fine artist. It’s always a delight to see what she’s been working on in her studio gallery. Rachel’s collage work features botanicals including pressed flowers, leaves, bug wings, intricate paper cuts, and vintage photographs. https://www.instagram.com/rachelisaacart/
By the way, the Mill Artist Studios (Rachel’s location) in Manayunk will be welcoming visitors to their semi-annual Open House on April 12 from 11:00 to 5:00.
1997. the cats’ meow
swishy wishes
whisky whiskers seeing fishes
it’s the cats’ meow
This is the latest in a series of posts featuring origami fishes (see posts 1979. and 1993.) When I showed this composition to Dan he said, that would make a good flag! I thought about that and came up with a slogan—Yay! Yay! It’s Caturday! It’s been fun, but I might be done for a while with folding fishes.
1995. purrfect!😸😽
mikey and willey
together forever at last
purrfectionately
Dan has been busy at work making papier-mâché clay cats, creating a collection of life-size Quintessential Cats. Here’s a closeup of my Mikey Girl and Willey Boy.
1994. guppies
two guppies
like ships passing in the night
pancho & cisco
Amusing myself watching guppies. It could make you dizzy. They’re always on the move. I took a bunch of pictures. Hmmm….maybe I’ll do a guppy series.
1993. a riddle
what’s gelatinous,
gooey, and sometimes crunchy?
fish eyes!👀
Did you know that fish eyes are considered a delicacy in many Eastern cuisines, where they are prized as an umami-packed treat reserved for special guests? While here in the West, fish eyes have been used innovatively as a way of making egg whites, say, for Fish Eye Ice Cream! 😝 What won’t they think of next! 😘
1992. life goes on
$3.99 ‘n’ up
hey, is that ‘open’ or ‘nope’?
fill ‘er up!
$3.99/gallon. Ackkk!!! And so it goes.😝
1991. that’s a post!
flowers planted
on top of the chain-link fence...
who did this?
On top of the chain-link fence surrounding the cemetery—pretty flowers. That’s a post! I stopped at the light, took out my phone, put the car in reverse, backed up to the flowers, rolled down my window and snapped a picture.😘
1989. village life
waiting for the bus
running, laughing, hugging
….waving goodbye
Just past 8:30, the school bus stops out front. Children waiting skip around or just hang. Moms and grandmoms hang, and a couple of dads, too. I like to look out the window and take in the scene and reminisce back to time I rode a school bus every morning. I lived on a farm. When I wasn’t in school, I’d fetch fresh eggs from the chickens, or run thru the fields picking berries to make jam, or go fishing for little sunfish in the little brook and watch the little mice running back and forth across the floor behind the old tv, and then sometimes I’d see a big black spider crawling across the big white bathtub and I’d scream. I was so happy. After all these years, it’s still feels like yesterday, well almost. I was five years old.
1988. red chair
between two trees
sitting in quiet stillness
the red chair
1987. just like spring
which way, gang
left, right, or straight ahead?
don’t cross the tracks!
Frisky young doe, first one…then two…three, four, five…six. We watched them scamper across the road running, like a band of bandits, racing along the long curve of grassy ground, then halting in a bunch, looking around where to go next. They were young and fresh, just like Spring.
1986. napping 😴
on the sofa
knee crossed over knee….
zonked
“Let’s begin by taking a smallish nap or two. . . When in doubt take a nap. . . A nap is always a good idea.” Winnie the Pooh has a lot to say about taking a nap. I like naps. Short naps are the best.
1985. seeing red
ready to unfurl
buds of red leaves curled up tight
red, white, on blue
Wow. If I had a nickel for every red bud on that mighty red maple, I’d be rich as a quadrillionaire!😘
1984. read
in the bookshop
feeling right at home
reading books
A good book can make you feel right at home. A book is like a garden that blossoms and blooms. Books are like friends. Books are good things to have. “If you only read the books, everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” Haruki Murakami
1983. the quiet
just sitting
waiting for the sun to rise
two buddhas
Early morning is a favorite time of day. Just sitting, listening to the quiet.
1982. our gang
hangin’ out
away from the crowd of grownups
the little rascals
Yesterday’s opening of an art exhibit at Aubrey Arboretum was well attended. It was crowded and loud. Food was plentiful. Wines and children’s punch drinks also plentiful. The exhibition of paintings by Pragya Gupta was impressive and inspiring. My favorite takeaway was this photo of a group of children hanging out together. Made me think of the old black and white TV series, Our Gang.
1981. Lenten Rose
daring to bloom
in time for the lenten season
lenten roses
Looking at today’s weather, it was 37° feeling like 29°. Here are hellebore flowers blooming on this cold, windy morning during the Lenten season just before Easter. Though not in the rose family, hellebores are known as Lenten Roses and are among the few flowers vital enough to grow and bloom in the snows and ice of late winter and early spring. They appear to be dainty and delicate, and yet.
1980. snoozin’
shadows and sunshine
not too much….not too little
getting her Ds
It’s Mikey’s Day! Hey! Hey! It’s Caturday! 😻
1979. fish sampler
a thought, a wish
a fish…a fish…a fish…a fish…
blue on blue
In the beginning there was a thought, and then a wish, and then a fish, and a fish, and a fish, and a fish. I had an idea to fold some fishes, and I wanted them to be blue, so I folded a variety in eight or ten different shapes with one pattern of blue paper, but it wasn’t ‘right.’ I tried a different paper, but that wasn’t right either. Then another in plain white to better show the folds in the paper. Nothing satisfied me. Then I thought about trying tissue paper and painting the fishes. I lost count of how many fishes I folded. Then I had this idea to make a fish sampler. Making wishes on all my fishes—I like this one!
1978. talking to the moon
good morning, moon
what will this day bring?
that’s up to you🌖
Have a good day! 🌖
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