Early Christmas Musings

The weather turned this week and on Friday, we had snow! Although it’s the middle of October, it still catches us by surprise! The gardens immediately took on the sludge-y look of frozen foliage, and I spent part of yesterday mucking them out and washing up planters and bird baths. I think there is a general weariness of spirit as we go into this winter. This week, Wisconsin had the horrible distinction of being the top hotspot in the nation for outbreaks of the COVID-19 virus, and restaurants/businesses are closing for the winter because they can’t figure out to keep their staff safe. So it was wonderful yesterday to get the line-up of upcoming Hallmark Christmas movies from our friend, Randy! Twenty plus new movies beginning now and going right through to the end of December. I think the tree may be going up the first of November!

I’ve got Christmas cards on my mind and this week’s painting, Grand Island Light, 9 x 11 watercolor, features a forgotten lighthouse. We both love visiting lighthouses – we had pottery lighthouses as centerpieces at our wedding reception – and on our recent trip across Upper Michigan, one of our favorite finds was the Grand Island Lighthouse near Munising, MI. Built in 1868 of wood, this simple-framed lighthouse was hard to see from Lake Superior, so the light was removed and service discontinued in 1913. After years of neglect and deterioration, the Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse Rescue Committee was formed and worked to preserve this unique historical structure.

September Batik

 No matter what’s on my easel at the time, my heart is always near water. That may sound a bit odd coming from someone who’s land-locked in the Midwest, but I feel more at peace when I’m standing on the edge of a mighty sea or sitting in a boat on a lake. Paul says I actually begin to breathe better when I’m within sight of Lake Superior, and I believe that’s true. The rush of the water quiets my spirit and settles the “noise” in my head. We’re living in a time of astonishing information overload; yet, we’re faced with the reality that most of the chaos and injustice of this world is totally beyond our control.  It’s a daily decision for me to respond simply to the things within my control – listening and helping to meet the needs of family, friends and those around me, and helping to steward the earth by tending my little plot of land, conserving resources and caring for the critters. When my energy level seems depleted, I head for the outdoors and navigate towards water. It restores my sense of place.

This week’s painting, Freshwater Sea, 9” x 11” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, captures a moment sitting on the edge of Lake Superior. I love how the water turned out in this painting – reminds me of beautiful batik fabric. If you check out my gallery page on the website, you’ll see that many of my paintings recall special times on or near water – see www.wildriverarts.com  

October Colors

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” - Anne of Green Gables

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted on this site. As you can guess, it’s because I'm outdoors enjoying a lovely summer and fall. It’s our seventh summer on this piece of land – seven years of taking out overgrown trees, planting new trees and bee and butterfly bushes, and adding mulch and top soil to the technically “dead” ground of a Norway Maple grove – and the gardens flourished this year! And with the ongoing coronavirus mandates, it’s been easy to stay home and just dig in the dirt!

We took a few days in late September to celebrate our 12th Anniversary and went on a roadtrip along our favorite route in Upper Michigan – traveling up the Keweenaw Peninsula to Copper Harbor and then across to beautiful towns of Marquette, Michigamme, Munising and on to Sault Ste. Marie. The scenery was spectacular with incredible autumn color smacked up against the bright blue water of Lake Superior and the myriad of spring-fed lakes and waterways. Everywhere we went, everyone was wearing masks and it was fairly easy to “social distance.”  At one point, the navigation system on our truck went blank with only a blue line of the road stretching out on the map. So cool to realize that there are still parts of this grand ol’ earth, close to home, that fall off the grid!

This week’s painting, October Woods, 10” x 10” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, captures the wonderful free-fall colors of this beautiful season.

Gunnal View

It’s the last week of July and typically this is the premier vacation time for most of us here in the North Country. However, this is a unique year, month, week and with the increase of COVID cases in this area, we’ve decided to stay close to home this summer. But we have much to be thankful for: our daughter and her family have successfully transitioned to a new job and settled in a new place in a relatively short time! Last Sunday, we celebrated the dedication of our youngest granddaughter, Lyndie Ida. She is such a happy baby and a wonderful blessing to her parents, Dan and Krista, and her older brother, Brecken. And after several years of absence, we’ve had the incredible opportunity to reconnect with our now-grown twin sons! We are indeed thankful!

This week’s painting continues my love-of-water series! Gunnal View is a 7” x 12” watercolor painting and features the wonderful perspective along the top edge (gunnal) of a canoe and on to the beautiful scenery ahead.  

Dog Days!

It’s been a week or two of intense heat, high humidity, loads of rain and storms, but yesterday, we woke up to cooler temps and reasonable humidity. It makes all the difference in being able to be outside, and it’s so fun to find ripe tomatoes in the garden! Yay!

This week’s painting features one of my favorite dog breeds and takes me right back to the peat bog regions of Ireland. Where are the Sheep?, a 9” x 9” watercolor, captures a faithful friend ready to spring into action at the command from her owner.

Dancing Water

It was one year ago this weekend that a devastating storm hit our area with straight-line winds and a tornado. We were remembering that late last night when another big storm rolled in and took out the electricity for about 6 hours. We are so thankful that we didn’t get the terrible winds. 

It’s been a busy week. Last Thursday, we moved our daughter and her two young children into our house. While we have plenty of room, it was a bit cozy, but she was planning that it would just be temporary. But you know that God usually has other plans and that very afternoon she found out she had a new job! She is so enjoying her work and has now found a new place to live. So, this week, we’ll be helping her move again. It has been a whirlwind of activity, but we are so grateful that she and her kidsies seem excited and ready to move into this next phase of life. In the midst of all the uncertainty in this season, we are trying to daily move forward with hope and nurture a sense of lightness in our spirit.   

I’m so enjoying painting kayaks, and this week’s painting is titled, Dancing Water – 9” x 12” on 300 lb. watercolor paper – and features a wonderful green kayak being navigated along a stone-edged river bank.

Summertime!

And the living is easy – well, not so much. The experts say we’re in the second part of the first wave of the COVID-19, and the pandemic is continuing to surge across America. Currently our borders are closed – all of Europe, Canada and Mexico have now banned Americans from traveling. And the frustration is that the information has been confusing and sporadic: wear the masks/don’t bother; stay at home/take that dream vacation; avoid large groups/let’s pack the bar! Now with cases surging across southern states, the governors are finally yelling: WEAR THE MASKS!

Ah well. What can I control today? Not much! Our family is staying healthy and we are indeed thankful. And in spite of it all, the gardens are thriving in these hot days and we’ve started collecting rainwater to make the dry times a bit easier.

Last week, we got up early and took a “social distancing” roadtrip with Maddie (our cocker spaniel) exploring the backroads of mid-central Wisconsin. Man, we live in a beautiful state! We took pictures of aging barns, silos and windmills, lazy rivers, and the ever-rolling landscape. We drifted along narrow, country roads through towns named Woodville, Elmwood, El Paso, Downsville and Arkansaw, visited a wonderful gallery in Spring Valley, and stopped for a picnic in a quiet park in Ellsworth. On our way to Menomonie, we discovered the Caddie Woodlawn Historic site. We were the only ones there and had a lovely time walking around the farmstead with its majestic white pines and beautifully restored Woodhouse family home, log cabin and smoke house.

I’m working to prepare work for a new gallery near the river, and am enjoying painting boats and water! This week’s painting, “A Good Day,” 8” x 10” watercolor, features a brightly colored kayak navigating a back channel in a blue-water river.