A walk in the Woods

 

Smithgall

Before the afternoon rain storms returned I managed a long over due walk in the near by state park. Here in North Georgia we have many wonderful state parks with water falls as well as many nature reserves. Only a short drive from my house is Smithgall Nature Reserve and Duke Creek Falls.  Over the years I have enjoy many a quiet walk a long the wooded trails of Smithgall with a stop at the Nature Center to renew my knowledge of the local flora and fauna. Or up the road to Duke Creek Falls, for a trek down the steep paved trail to the falls. Well, yesterday I was looking out at the morning sunlight to our still partly flooded yard and then looked at the partly finished painting that I am working on and decided it was time to return to Smithgall and Duke Creek Falls for a little exercise and artistic inspiration. So, putting on my walking shoes and bustling around the house getting ready to leave Patches started getting all excited, he has been missing our walks, too. His back legs have been failing him some in this weather, so I worried about taking him, but his excitement won out.

Our first stop was Smithgall, I took a walk along a wooded trail leaving Patches in the car for our next stop.  He was enjoying the people watching of a bus load of bicyclist getting ready to tour around on their bikes. Listening to the silence of the woods and smelling the damp fragrant air was refreshing to say the least (great to be away from air conditioning). Best of all for this artist was how everything glisten in the sunlight still wet from the rains. Crossing a little bridge I could see the creek was filled and even had a kind of waterfall over some large rocks, all making for delightful sounds.  After checking out the nature center to see if the owl was still living there, but I didn’t see it, did see flowers still are blooming in deep yellow and bright pink.  I headed on up to Duke’s Creek. Here Patch excitedly got out of the car and was a little unsure with his one back leg. We walked slowly along the paved path, I enjoying the visa views of the mountains through the trees and Patches sniffing the damp earth on either side of the path. As we walked Patches leg improved and his joy level was a delight to see. Part of me wanted to walk all the way down to the falls, which is over a mile and then a very steep up hill return walk. I knew that wasn’t a good idea for us today,  so instead we enjoyed a much shorter walk to the first observation deck and looked out though the trees to the falls. While I was taking a few photos a family came by and the two little boys wanted to pet Patches, who was happy for the attention.  The boys not much taller than Patches would have stayed for quite awhile talking and petting Patches, the older one claiming he looked just like his favorite cartoon dog, but the dad soon rushed them on. Our sunlight was diming as the gray clouds started to gather and I knew it was time to head back home. Hope you all are finding things to delight and inspire you today.

Quest for Local Art

A friend and I have been making weekly sojourns to exploring the local art scene in the North Georgia area. So, far we have visited some really awesome galleries and been surprised by the local artisans shown and also, found less stellar art.  We live with in an hours drive of a few small college and university towns. Last week we took a tour of Gainesville and had a pleasant conversation with a local artist in her coop small store front gallery, shared by 5 other artists. Then saw a group show at the college gallery. Yesterday we travel in the other direction to the University town of Athens, where there are many little store front art galleries, as well as a few larger spaces including the Lyndon House Arts center. It was a joy after so many rainy days to be out in sunshine even if it was a bit to hot for me walking around the downtown area after our yummy lunch at the Last Resort Grill. I dined on a “healthy” green salad with grill chicken and followed it with a most decadent mocha cheese cake. I’m sure I walked of the calories during the afternoon tours of shops and galleries.(LOL)  In one little shop we found an artist who made the most amazing wire miniature portraits that he was selling as pins.  He looped wire this way and that, overlapping it, creating a maze of tangled black wire lines that form a face and hair. I wondered if his creativity came out of random playing with wire or if it started out intentionally.  In any case it was inspiring.

We ended our day with a wonderful exhibit at the Lyndon House Arts Center. The show was of Ossabaw Island: Holy Ground by The Ossabaw Artists Collective a group of artists who have explored Ossabaw Island State Heritage Preserve twice a year, since 2009, as part of a visiting artist program, sharing the works of art they created on their visits. We were the only two people walking around this wonderful large gallery space of light oak hardwood floors and high white washed walls flooded in natural light from a ceiling of skylight windows. The art exhibit depicted the solitude, and natural beauty of one of Georgia’s largest barrier islands of marshes, beaches and maritime oak forest. I had to smile at the background sound in this peaceful light filled gallery of children laughing and talking in summer art camp behind closed classroom doors off the gallery.  (I think there is a poem or something in the contrast.) My fav artist in the exhibit was Paula Eubanks and her fascinating 3-d constructions using photos and paint that creative an interesting narrative of Ossabaw Island

Lyndon House Arts Center had a little gift shop where we met a fiber artist who is part of a local artist group that sell in the shop. My friend bought some fun colorful ear rings and we enjoyed chatting with the artist. She told us we needed to check out a place up in Clayton which is in the mountains north of where we live and so we added it to the list. One thing I am learning is we have art around here in great abundance. I think many, many people have a drive to be creative and that is wonderful. I hope we continue to have a growing creative population with venues for all to be shared, both the noteworthy and the beginners alike. Where has your creativity taken you lately?

Photos of Ossabaw Island

On Turning 66

Now turning One that is really a Birthday to Celebrate ...My sister and her granddaughter

Here is my birthday blog. Today I take a few moments to reflect on the 66 years that I have been around. It is before dawn, warm and humid and I am here in my studio. Most years I am traveling out west for my birthday.  This has  been a wonderful year and an interesting life so far even with all its bumps in the road, dashed dreams and lost loves. Would I change any of it? Of course I would if I could do it all over.  But for the most part I wouldn’t change much. There is always that one fork in the road that you wonder if you took the other path what your life might have turned out like. Robert Frost wrote a poem about that,  two roads diverged in a yellow woods and one was grassy and wanted wear…  I loved this poem since I first read it in the 7^th grade. I wrote a report on Robert Frost and illustrated this poem. I can still remember doing that drawing of the yellow woods using pastels that let me blend the colors.  Fifty five years have past and I can remember the feeling of the pastels in my fingers and can see my fingers as they made marks on the paper.  So, I guess I would have to say there is a moment in my life that I would not change or many, many more like it. These simple moments that somehow become memorial. Like the casual conversation with a friend and years later you still remember it or the walk in a park with family when somehow the sun seems extra bright and the landscape is just breath taking.  Then there is the memory of the best moments at work when you see a student light up because they “got it”…that ”aha” moment or when I “got it” because of a teacher, or an exhibit or a friend. I think what I have really gained over the years is how precious community is and what a joy it is to be part of one. For years I was very, very shy…I never spoke in school and we moved so much that I never felt connected to a place, home, school or ever felt like I belonged to a  community. Over the years I worked at letting go of my shyness to become  more out going and truly came to value the many communities that I am a part of…even that silly one called Facebook. So, here is what I have to say about turning 66…life is pretty awesome and whatever the road we choose it is wonderful to share it.

Another June Day

"Thanks, this is really comfortable"

My goodness it is already the middle of June. The time has been flying by since our return to North Georgia. Yesterday the bathroom renovation got underway and great progress has been made. Today there is all new plumbing going in for the new shower. Tomorrow the new sink will be installed and then it will be my turn to do the finishing of laying new tile and painting. This will be my weekend project. It already looks so different in there. The new shower is taller than the old bathtub with shower surround so it just really changes the look of the room. It was such a busy day and so nice to have the sunshine back. Everything somehow seems better when the sun is shining bright on all the green we have around here. I'm still have not  use to seeing so much green.  Living in Baja really changed my vision for the world around me.  I grew up in the suburbs of San Francisco and there just always were nice mature trees, and manicured gardens all around me. Something I just took for granted. Now I really notice them and don’t take them for granted. 

Today I’m off exploring local shops in Clarksville, it is a little town east of us that I’ve mostly just driven through on my way to someplace else. A friend invited me to join her for lunch and a little exploring. I've heard they have some nice little galleries, so it will be fun to check them out. Other news, my painting series is going well…though there are moments when the cats want to get involved that doesn’t always work so well. LOL Tonight it is dinner with a group of friends at a local Mexican Restaurant, always a delight. I'm still playing with my iPhone and got a flashlight app on it and bought a really fun ringtone. So, life is good, I’m enjoying the start of my summer. Hope you are too.

The joys of Smart Phones and Other News

"How do you answer?"

Well it is official, I have now joined the new generation with my smart phone, but unlike the younger generation I have never texted, and find lots of frustration learning this “smart phone”.  Every few years I get a new cell phone because I’m on a family plan and dad manages to break his phone just about the time the old contract is up and they are offering a new phone. While we were in Mexico dad, right on schedule broke his phone, but since we didn’t really get good service, I decided to wait until we got home. This years offering is the iPhone, most of my friends seem to have smart phones, and so I decided it was time to join the band wagon. After getting back to Cleveland I went to the local Verizon store, which happens to be right near the house.  Dad has no interest in these smart phones so passed my flip phone on to him. I came home filled with excitement ( I always love new tech toys), but it soon turned to frustration when I couldn’t do anything with the phone, like make a phone call. So, went back to the store and had the clerk show me a few things and he set up my email. Armed with my new knowledge I thought okay I kind of get this. Then I saw I had messages in my email and I figured out how to read them. I thought this is cool, but then someone called me and I couldn’t figure out how to answer the call. They left a message and I couldn’t figure out how to hear my messages.   

To make a long story short I’ve been reading a book on the iPhone. Then found that Verizon gave a 2 hour workshop on using the iPhone, not at my store, but the near by town of Gainesville and went to that.  The workshop was a group of seniors all trying to figure out their new phones. I left feeling like, oh this is such a cool phone, it does some many really great things. Then I was busy painting, a call I was expecting came in so I rushed to answer it and in that moment  I had  kind of forgot how to answer the phone, said hello with great trepidation…but at least I did guess right. In that moment I realized that I still really don't have this phone down yet. Most of my friends say it takes a while. I laugh at the fact I can do email and surf the web, take photos, even edit little movies and post them to YouTube and FB, so much easier than answering a phone call or listen to a voice message. So, here is what I think, great computer device, camcorder, digital camera, but a phone, not so great.  I’m sure with practice I’ll get it down one of these days. What are your thoughts?

"It's for you!"

Other news, here is an update on my dad. Thank you for all your prayers…. He mostly back to his old self and learning to living with his new limitations…. a big change in diet, which is suppose to be very low sodium. Reading labels I am learning how much salt is in everything…tons.  He will be on oxygen from now on, which he finds annoying at times. He is most happy to be back home, enjoying his music and videos and chatting with his lady friends via the internet. He is looking forward to the up coming visit of my sister, grandkids, and great grandkids. Last week we went out to lunch at his favorite all you can eat Chinese restaurant and I’m sure lunch had way to much sodium, but a fun treat promised for a couple times a month. Wish restaurants around here would offer low sodium dishes on their menus. We enjoyed the ride, which was filled with green trees and lots of flowers.

My one last thing is a product endorsement for anyone with a walker…while traveling home with dad’s new walker I started noticing walkers with new eyes. I met a women at a rest stop with the coolest little ski things on the back legs of her walker instead of the usual tennis balls. So, I ask her about them. She told me you can get them online for a couple of dollars and they work wonderful on gravel and all kinds of surfaces where the legs can get stick in.(reason for the tennis balls). I ordered them on Amazon and they can right away and were only a couple of dollars. Dad loves them, too. Web address below.

 

Walker Ski Glides Drive Medical