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!”πŸ€‘ 

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.πŸ˜ΈπŸ˜»πŸ™€πŸ˜½ Dan’s been busy. 😘❤️




2018. care to dance?


pretty girls
all dressed up for saturday night
care to dance?





Pretty girls stand together, soft eyes cast demurely to the side with just a hint of a smile. Oh, sweet memories. We were Sweet 16 and all dressed up for Saturday nights at the neighborhood dance hall, standing around waiting to be asked, hoping to be taken out onto the floor for a spin. No one wanted to be a wallflower. Little did I know there really are real “Wallflowers.” They come out to dance in early Spring. I saw them on today’s walk—aren’t they pretty! 



 

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




These are Dryad’s Saddle mushrooms, also called Pheasant Backs. Looking, I can’t help but think of a sunny-side-up egg white, plump and succulent, beautifully mottled with earthy tones of umber. And to think how these and all wild mushrooms play vital roles in helping nature renew the woodlands. Next time I see them in the woods, I must remember to stop, and nod, and say thank you….thank you.πŸ™πŸ»


 

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. πŸ™πŸ»)




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!πŸ˜‹ 




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.







2002. far out!


must be
the old hippie hen out there
is still laying eggs!😘

 


Make Love, Not War!!!




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. πŸ™πŸ» 





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





“Yay! Yay! It’s Caturday!” — 15 x 18” — Origami

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-mΓ’chΓ© clay cats, creating a collection of life-size Quintessential Cats. Here’s a closeup of my Mikey Girl and Willey Boy.