The Blue Bottle Tree

It's beautiful in this morning's sunlight.


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The Perfect Day

During the night there was a loud storm with strong gusts of wild wind and sheets of rain that poured off the roof. At sunrise,though, a bright, warm, beautiful world opened up. Evidently It's Indian Summer and I am enjoying the perfect day.
Harry started our day right by making us a breakfast of omelets, then the Baa Brothers and I did a whole 15 minutes of fall clean up:

















Then, we went for a long walk:





(We are so grateful for our miles of conservation land just a short walk from Saturday Farm and this is such a gorgeous time of year. Sometimes we pack some wine and bread and cheese amd spend hours walking the trails. Harry never seems to mind all of the little stops I make to check things out or to take pictures.











(That's my buddy there, Handyman Harry.)





We didn't run across anyone on our walk except this artist working on the little wooden bridge.











(Our pc is broken, so I took all of these photos with my phone so I could upload them to this blog.)
Now, I'm on the couch writing to you and watching the game with Harry. Like I said -the perfect day. Tell me, what is your perfect day?
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Life-size, As Any Other

I painted 8 4'x8' paintings of women. They told me how they wanted to be portrayed and each woman composed a poem to go with their painting. Each painting was so unique - one woman was completely naked except for a feather boa; a dancer did the splits and the painting hangs horizontal instead of vertical. I enjoy the idea of painting you who you are just beyond 'who you are'- who you are becoming. Please comment and tell me how you would like to be painted. This one is of Kerry, a musician and music teacher on Cape Cod. Her poem is beautiful. After I completed the painting, I noticed that the way her arms are placed makes a shield of two intertwined hearts.



I am always the only one
I want to blend in
Be recognized as the same
-even similar
Or just as good
But everything I am is different
So I dress a little less ethnic
Wear my hair a little more plainly
Speak a little less openly
So as not call too much attention
But now
Look at me,
I am as life-size as any other.
And can be called all of the things some never thought I should be:
Feminine
Elegant
Calm
Classy
Intelligent
Exotic
An
Individual

A goddess in my own right.


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Dracula's Cat?

There's something about our cat. Her fur is exquisitely soft and her eyes are large and sweet. Sometimes when she tilts her head just right I can't help but reach down and pet her . For 15 seconds she'll close her eyes and sink a little as if she loves it. Then...FLASH! She's a weed wacker and you'll pull your bloody hand away in shock. On the other hand, she is very clean and never meows - rarely even when she's very hungry. However, around midnight for about a dozen nights in Spring, she will howl - long, loud, pitiful howls completely out of proportion to her size.
I didn't think anything of any of this (except 'she is so wierd') until Har and I went to see the performance of Dracula at the Harwich Junior Theater this week. (It was wonderful, by the way, but we sat in the second row and I was actually scared -next time I want more audience between me and Dracula.). Now it's obvious-I don't understand why I didn't see it before- Smudgey is from Translavania!
She's near me right now; I'm going to take a picture. What do you think?








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Postcards from the Edge

My friend, Patty, MADE this amazing postcard and then just stuck it in the mailbox naked. No envelope or anything. It arrived just fine; even the 'wool' was intact. It's sewn out of fabric. Patty lives in Rochester, New York and we've been friends since I was 2 1/2 and she was 3. Therefore, I looked up to her as older and smarter. It's the same today, only now our age is about the same and she calls herself 'Pat'.

Sleeping in the Barn

On Sunday night our smoke alarm started chirping. A loud chirp with just enough time in between chirps that if you are exhausted you'll start to doze and then 'CHIRP!' you are snapped awake. The alarm is way up in the vaulted ceiling (which 'they' say is the smart place to put it) so I can't easily check it. It's wired in so I thought we would not have low battery warnings. Harry was sound asleep, completely unaware, until I woke him up. Why did I wake him up? I don't know. In retrospect, it was rude. I am used to Harry being able to fix everything, though, so... Well, once I woke him up, it chirped only a couple of times and then stopped. He said that it fixed itself.

'Are you sure?'
'Yes.'
'Are you sure that it isn't going to start again tomorrow night?'
'Yes.'

I was suspicious because this sounded too much like me. I expect 'reality' from Harry. I am not used to having to be The Realist. If the car doesn't start I just go in the house and let it nap for awhile in hopes that it will feel better when I go out to start it again in a couple of hours. So, of course, 4:00 am this morning :
'CHIRP!'

I didn't want to wake Harry, so I took my pillow and shuffled off to our Barn. I haven't slept in the barn since Harry and I slept up in the loft while he was building Holly House; it's now my studio space and sometimes our children stay overnight there. But it is my sanctuary and it was beautiful waking up there this morning with the stove glowing. Here are some pictures for you.(Ellen, this angel reminds me of you. Yeah, you, my friend in Germany.)

Why Sheep?

This post is for my urban friends and some of my artist friends who ask me 1) How did I even think of getting sheep and why? 2) Is it taking away from my art?
Farm animals appeal to me because they are generally working animals that give more than they take, which is why farmers have them - you have to be very practical to make a living as a farmer; you can't afford to keep animals that take resources and don't give back. Working with animals and giving animals the opportunity to work with us is a way of bringing mystery and magic into our life. A farm animal can give us that and affection, delight, joy and practical, tangible gifts like wool, fertilizer,mowing, weeding, eggs, milk, cheese... the list goes on and on. I'd mention meat and leather, but that is obvious and I'm a vegetarian so I'll leave that for someone else. :-) We need to be aware that animals can live without us, but we cannot live without them. I believe they are happy to work with us, but they do not need to be slaves to us and we do not need to be slaves to them either. They have a lot to teach us and give to us.
The other day my friend, Jenny, brought her daughter Emma over because Emma wanted to ride in the wagon. It was a big success. Jenny asked me how this fit into my life. And, actually, you know what? I realize that I believe this is art. It gives to people most if not all of the pleasure that I want people to get from my other creative work and I approached it like I do an art project. I had a vision of the Baa Brothers pulling a wagon and then I pulled together the media (the wagon, harness, etc) and worked to achieve it for the visual and tactile delight. I believe that if people have time with the Baa Boys (and other animals) they will be changed, delighted, touched, brought into the present moment....

The Baa Brothers on Youtube pulling a wagon

Here they are and I'm very excited that they've been able to pull the wagon so well and at such a nice pace to pull children. If anyone knows of anyone else who has taught their sheep to pull a wagon or a cart, I am very interested in communicating with someone who has done this before.
Here is the Youtube link to see the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTkP3xVYr1I
Two Sheep Pulling a Wagon

Uncle Eddie's World - The Time Machine

This beautiful flying horse flies above the entrance gate to Eddie's garden that is pictured below.
Welcome to Eddie's World! When this gate opens it has a tremendous squeak. It is the most beautiful squeak I've ever heard.

(See more pictures of Eddie's gardens and Eddie's castles in an earlier post.)
Hello everybody! I took my friend, Mame, to Eddie's Garden for her birthday. Every time I'm there, I'm delighted to find something new. This time Eddie opened the door to a little shed and showed us his time machine. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but it's very heavy and it goes on your head. Eddie said that so far he has only been able to go back in time 3 minutes. Once I had it on, I asked Mame for the time - I went back 3 minutes too! Actually, I think a time machine that fits on your head is entirely appropriate - time really is all in our heads anyway. If we can stay focused on the present instead of the past or the future, we'd have all the time we need!

Here it is!

Perkin's Cove

On a Harvest Moon weekend Harry and I met Harry's mom and his sisters at the Riverside Inn in Perkin's Cove. His mom stayed at Riverside 27 times with his stepdad, Zeus. Zeus has passed away, but Mama Lee continues to make the trip with her daughters (Kathie and Barb) to connect with him. This year Harry and I were invited and it was wonderful for me to see them all laughing and reminiscing. The picture above of the fishing boat 'Bittersweet' I took from the room that Zeus and Mama Lee used to stay in. Was it a coincidence that 'Bittersweet' was positioned for this photo from their room or is it proof of what Mama Lee has always believed - that Zeus is close to her in this magical place?

Kathie and Harry enjoying this special time together.

Deborah Ann's Rainbow

Yesterday was another beautiful day and the Baa Brothers and I went out at lunch to visit Deborah Ann at her Rainbow- a wonderful shop in Dennisport attached to The Dennisport Natural Market. You can check out her website at http://www.deborahannsrainbow.com. She says she stocks her store with items for the inner spirit and that's definitely true for me. She has books, crystals, CDs, DVDs, calendars, cards, toys, Cape Cod gifts, oracle and tarot cards, chimes.... she fits a lot into s small shop and I visit her whenever I need a gift or an uplift. I also took an art/spirit class at Deborah Ann's Rainbow this week called Soul Collage taught by Brenda Fernandez. I loved it. In the above photo we're trying to get the boys to face the camera. It's not easy because they want to go into the shop. 'After all,' they say,'why are we here?' And, yes; as you noticed in the picture, my hair completely changed color this summer. I think it must be angel hair. :-)

'Do you think after this photo, Bromley, they are finally going to let us shop for our inner spirit?'