neat and sweet
under the shady shadows—
the perfect spot
It’s 101°. And the Scion speaks: “This is the perfect spot. Doing my best to keep cool under three digit skies. Who cares if she has to walk a mile to go shopping?”🛍️😘
2076. veni, vidi, vici!
veni, vidi, vici!
she sees, she stops….then let’s out
a slow whistle
What’s this?! What kind of car is this? It was a beauty. Somehow, I just knew this was something different, special. I googled it. A vintage 1976-78 Ford Mustang Cobra II, celebrated by fans as an authentic, fun-to-drive time capsule of 1970s American street culture and retro styling. What was it doing in the village church parking lot? I scratched my head.
2075. hideaway
ahh, yess
feet in the water, face in the sun
the little frog
A perfect blend of softness and hardness, sunlight and shadows, land and water, stillness and movement. His own little hideaway—the little frog.🐸
2074. congratulations!🎊
exchanging vows
for love, laughter, and joy:
hillary and kevin
Kevin Ravasio (Dan’s son) and Hillary Cadra will marry today. I made this card with cranes to wish them a wonderful lifetime together. In Japan, cranes are auspicious and sacred. They symbolize good fortune, healing, longevity, peace, and wedded bliss.
2073. lumberjack
high up in the air
the trunk cuts loose, and all
the men cheer
The old towering oak tree falls section by section all the way down with a dull heavy thud to the ground. And on the ground, all the other workers wait and watch and cheer.
2072. the mermaid
there she is…
all smiles, waving to the crowd—
the mermaid 🧜♀️
Last night we went to the movie theater to see the old 1948 black-and-white film, Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. And there she was—the star of the film in living color!🧜♀️
2071. the journey
man and his dog
taking care of business
movin’ on
Everybody’s got a phone…in the car…in the office…in the living room…in the bathroom…on the train…waiting for the bus…out walking the dog. “The journey is the reward.” Steve Jobs
2070. psssst!
suspicious suspect
hiding out at the rectory,
hoping to be saved
Psssst! Don’t tell….don’t give me a way.😽
To hide is sometimes necessary, but after hiding, then what? Then what? I can hear my mother saying, “Now how, brown cow?”
2069. clever feller!
he’s no dummy
knows all the ins and outs
yummy-yum-yummy!
Hey, look—that’s a window feeder for the birds. How’d he get in there?!!
2068. happy father’s day!❤️
sun going down
pushing up, up the long hill
dad and the twins
Happy Father’s Day! Hats off everywhere to Fathers, Dads, Pops, Papas, Abbas, Tatas, and more for their protection, presence, constancy, determination, devotion, support and love. ❤️ ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
2066. imagine…
one paper heart
lifting up, up and away,
imagine…
Life is story. The other day I was playing around with this picture, and then I saw this quote, “Your life is story. Right well. Edit often.”
2065. cat and dog
the cat
creeping on tender paws
doesn’t blink
This is a picture of a card from a friend wishing me a happy birthday. She said the kitty’s playing with yarn and eating long noodles. Looks fun! From the time I could use chopsticks, I ate long noodles for my birthday year after year after year. This custom of eating long noodles on your birthday signifies living a long life. I’m still here.😘
I was born in the Chinese Year of the Dog. Dog people are said to be friendly, responsible, observant, and sometimes stubborn. Next time around, I’d like to be a cat, so I’ll aim for the Chinese Year of the Tiger. Tigers are king of beasts—courageous, adventurous, honest and direct, and they can be stubborn too!😘
2064. flying east
beginnings:
cut, fold, snip, fold, paste….
ten thousand times
*
listening
to chinese music, thinking
of my father
Beginning now, another origami composition with little birds….wondering where they will lead me….drifting all the way home to China.
2063. the power of play
two little trucks
one more and a small pushcart
2 + 2 makes 4
*
gently used toys
free to a good home
thinking of Yulin
2062. i don’t get it
we’re in a heat wave
firewood for sale $6.99
i don’t get
I don’t get it. Temperatures the past five or six days have been mid 80s to low 90s—super hot and humid! Right now it’s 8 o’clock at night and the local supermarket has three pallets of firewood on sale out in front of the store. Who’s going to buy firewood in a heat wave?! Did I say, I don’t get it!?
2060. us and them
too hot, too humid
not doing much at all
just sitting
There we were, us and them—five vultures—just sitting. Interesting how if you sit still long enough, saying nothing, doing nothing but just looking around, you can see life patiently waiting to unfold.
2059. another old selfie
oh, happy day….
today—today’s the day
it’s a girl!
*
29,220 days
she’s an oldie but goodie—
hooray!🥳
My golden rules: Get curious. Tinker, play, explore. Discover something new. Go beyond what you think you know. Never stop learning.
2058. bzzz…bzzz…buzz!
two bumble bees
among the flowers and the weeds
bzzz…bzzz…buzz!
Bumble bees live a simple life. All they need to be happy is a bit of food, some shelter and a few flowers among the weeds. Happiness comes from within.
2057. dreaming of butterflies
she’s gone away now
dreaming of butterflies….
thank you
“Dreaming of Butterflies” — 22x16” — Origami
She’s gone away now, my little paper doll, dreaming of butterflies. Fancy in her long robe of many colors patched together corner to corner, end to end, one by one by one. Thank you.
This piece was hanging on the gallery walls of a neighborhood restaurant where patrons gather to enjoy good food in good company surrounded by works of art for sale from many different artists. I am fortunate to be among the many artists. This piece was there only a short while—10 days—before someone saw her and took her home. I’m grateful. Now I am working on another paper doll, this one in lovely blue aizome papers.
2056. moondance
the time is right
it’s a fantabulous night
for romance 🎼
All those lines up in the sky like a musical score….and the moon, oh the moon. My mind flew away to that marvelous song by Van Morrison: Moondance
2055. smile!
just this one
in a field of daisies,
dares to bloom
Bold as sunshine…the leader of the pack!
2054. rice soup
rice soup
filling the picture nicely
yummm…
Too late to eat a hearty meal? Not in the mood for a big meal? Or too hot to cook? This light and tasty soup takes 15 minutes. It’s one of my quick & easy faves. Rice Soup: chicken broth, cooked rice, baby spinach, tofu, nori, cloud ear mushrooms, pine nuts, scallion.
2053. smelling roses
how many ways
to start a summer day
smelling roses
This morning I opened the windows wide and sat down in my reading chair, feeling the soft touch of morning air cool against my skin. Outside, I heard the crow who talks like he’s got something important to say, always, and the red bird serenading his mate across the way. Occasionally there’s the whoosh of a car on the road wheeling by…the quick patter of heavy feet of some runner running by out front…and the clackety-clack-clack on the rails behind the house of the early rush-hour train rushing by as I sit in my chair sipping French Roast, feeling good. Later on, I’ll go out to smell more roses.
2052. munch!
scurry-scurry
run-run, scurry-hurry, run—
stop-and-eat
Squirrels are the masters of stop and go! or go and stop! This one just sat there for the longest time, watching from the side of its eye, holding on to some nut. Munch! Munch!
2051. we go walking
we go walking
over and over again
and fall in love
Just on the other side of the busy city streets with cars and trucks and sirens rumbling by, lie these trees and flowers and rocks and the quiet creek endlessly streaming by. This is where we want to be.
2050. another selfie
who is that
looking back at me—
who?
Every time the brush meets the paper, I wonder what will be. I pick up the brush, look in the mirror and go….then see what comes. Did that really come from me? Or was it the brush doing the brush, or even the ink that had something to say. I wonder. It’s a good one to meditate on.
2049. life on a string
all on a string
how they float and flutter
400 white doves
“Life On A String”— 43x50”— Origami
Here’s a close-up view of the Origami piece in my earlier post No. 2039 now hanging in my bedroom. I love their gentle, silent motions…how these many birds sometimes stir softly, turn, and flutter on their long strings as I pass by. They make me think of an old movie I’ve seen more than once, “Life On a String,” a Chinese fable about an old blind musician, traveling the countryside with his young apprentice as he dreams of seeing once more before he dies. I wouldn’t mind seeing the movie again….it may be streaming on Netflix.
2048. on the road
hurry, honey!
can’t wait to get to bed and
cuddle😘
Have Gun will travel… have Spacesuit will travel….have Laptop will travel….have Kids will travel….have Music will travel….have Bed will travel!
2046. pretty as poison
hey look!
two flies….one flew away
this one didn’t
Hey, what’s that over there in the grass? A mushroom? It was. It was pretty large, 4”or 5”around. Hey, what’s this? A fly. Looks like it took a few bites. We took a picture and looked it up—Amanita Muscaria, it’s name comes from its common use to kill flies!
2045. looking back
going back. . .
stopping in for a visit
with an old friend
Here’s another old selfie. This one’s inspired by a Pierre Bonnard self-portrait. He’s one of my favorite French painters.
2044. for the love of life
new life grows
as the old fades away
tenderly
2043. shopping for shoes….
close to the road
black cows in green grasses
in the rain
On the way home, after shopping for shoes, I was driving through the farm and saw them there close to the road—cows, black cows. I drove on thinking to myself, that might’ve been a good picture there. I’d seen those black cows many times but never so close to the road. I kept driving. I passed by a number of goats on the left and a small flock of wooly sheep on the right far off in the middle of the pasture, and more cows. It was one of those days, rainy and chilly outside. The animals never seem to mind. Why should I? I turned around.
2042. strawberry fields
i’m tellin’ ya
them’s are strawberries
strawberries!
Thinking they might be strawberries, I took a picture of these flowers along the meadow in the woods. They are. Here’s what I read about them. Strawberries are members of the rose family. They have about 200 seeds, all on the outside. Strawberries are powerful tooth whiteners; they contain vitamin C which fights plaque. Eight strawberries have more vitamin C than an orange. The Frence traditionally serve newlyweds a soup made from strawberries at the wedding breakfast, since they are considered aphrodisiac!❣️Aren’t they pretty?
2041. does she or doesn’t she?
there she goes again
turning all yellow mellow
like a buttercup
*
i do, i do
i really like butter—
how about you?
It’s natural to play. One would be wise to appreciate play, for therein lies possibilities for creativity and discovery. It’s true that some of our best ideas can come while tinkering or faffing, or taking a bath, or eating breakfast, sipping tea or coffee, or simply doing nothing! Reminder to play.
2040. yin and yang ☯️
such a mixed bag
a tree is a tree is a tree
….and yet
This is a closeup of the honey locust tree. Soft-sharp, light-dark, tender-tough, clear and fuzzy, so fuzzy. Life can be like this little by little or even all at once. Lao Tzu said, If you want to know about life, look to nature. Life abounds in complementary contrasts.
2039. praying for peace
under heaven
four hundred white doves flutter
like falling snow
White doves are an international symbol for peace. The world needs more peace. Peace begins with each one of us. “If we want more peace, we have to be peace. Peace is a practice, not a hope.” Thich Nhat Hanh
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