someone else's photograph

Sometimes lately I've drawn or painted from another person's photograph, always after asking permission from the photographer. Usually it's something posted on twitter. The good folks working at Kew Garden post lots of interesting plants, for example.

Last night, a writer - Michael Marshall Smith - posted a photograph of a plant I have never seen growing in the wild. I became a bit obsessed with trying to get the feeling of that photograph onto paper. I did not succeed, but at least gave it a few good tries over two days! Here is the sequence in order of appearance:

Many times after I finish a sketch I think of another way to approach the subject. This time I actually did it. But it's still not satisfying.

Hmmmm.

Also, don't know if sharing this will make an interesting post.

Don't feel that you have to say something nice in the comments - really.

~~~

P.S. There are still a few hours left to enter the giveaway.

I'll do the random number generator thing after midnight tonight.

Good luck, gardeners, or friends of gardeners!

~~~~~

respite

We haven't had new snow in 4 days!

And no snow is predicted until - oh rats.

I was going to type "Saturday" because yesterday the forecast called for a clear week. But I stopped typing to check, and found we are expecting 6-8 inches on Wednesday.

Still. One more clear day!

The snow is still deep. The paths are all packed down and nearly as slippery as ice, so I often just walk through the snow. Especially if I'm carrying buckets, or hay.

Only one gate is functioning now; the rest are snowed in and frozen shut. On Friday, I had to heave a bale of hay over a fence for the goats, then climb over after it and push the bale under the deck on the stilt barn, so it would be protected from rain or snow.

This may not sound like much, but these days, it was quite an athletic feat for me.

Speaking of goats...guess what time it is?

Yes, cashmere harvesting season has begun.

Slowly. It will pick up soon enough, so I am making an effort to do as much combing as possible now to help get ahead of the long push that I know is coming.

When I bring bags of cashmere into the house, I leave the tops open in case there is moisture in the fiber. But the other morning before I was fully awake, I heard an odd rustling sound coming from the table on the porch. I dozily wondered what could be making that sound, then came fully awake with a snap as I remembered the bags of cashmere carefully placed in a plastic carrier on the table. I saw a flash of white as Della hopped off the chair where she had been sitting, busily rearranging cashmere.

The evidence:

I'll have to find a better place for the bags.

Della and Moxie are Wild Girls.

Ms. Piper has also been on a bit of a tear recently!

Raiding the rubbish while I am asleep. Stealing the plastic container of joint supplements and eating ALL of them. Taking off into the woods so frequently that I am now putting a lead on her even to walk down and check the letterbox.

And here's what a cat's little dish looks like when Piper has managed to get to it, two minutes after eating her own big bowl of food:

Maybe it's just cabin fever?

I think I must have the opposite of cabin fever. I've spent the past three days shuffling around, recovering from the longest trip I've made in ages; very worthwhile, but physically grueling.

I left for Maine at 3:45 AM Friday, to visit a cashmere goat expert and try to learn a bit more about this thing I am doing. And it turned out to be four intensely focused hours of information and experience. It was excellent.

You know how sometimes it's the busiest, most knowledgeable person who is willing to generously share their valuable time and superpowers?

It was like that.

One half-hour of the day, I declared "my vacation in Maine."
Here is the sketch to prove it.

When I got home, I knew my Occasional Helper had already done both the morning and evening chores as arranged beforehand, despite this being his month "off." Words cannot convey the gratitude I felt - to arrive home after a 16-hour day, utterly exhausted, and know that there were no chores to be done before I could go to bed.

I did take a quiet walk around with a flashlight, to see each animal and say goodnight. But it was just a pure luxury.

Reliving my Vacation In Maine.
That half-hour has already inspired two sketches.

Which reminds me, I haven't done my daily markmaking and it's getting late, so time to post this and get the sketchbook before I fall asleep. Sleep is a good thing, and if we're likely to have snow on Wednesday, tomorrow will be a busy day.

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

~~~~~

into a new week

Hold onto your hat, Ms. Piper!

Apparently we are to expect more of this in the middle of the week:

I don't think I'll be putting away my high boots any time soon.

~~~

Meanwhile, in the "Spring will come!" department: my order from Sow True Seed has arrived, with all my 2018 vegetable seeds except pole beans and turnips, because STS doesn't carry the varieties I've chosen. I also bought flower seeds when they were on sale at a local store: zinnias and sunflowers. Color? Yes, please.

This year I plan to start several things indoors from seed, so I won't be tempted to buy plants. (Unless I find that amazing, velvety, nearly-brown Rudbeckia again. If I ever find that again, I will certainly buy it.) The last time I started a few vegetables indoors, we had a wet, cold Spring and they got leggy before I could transplant. Fingers crossed for an easier transition this year.

It seems like a long time before we'll be seeing flowers in the gardens here in Massachusetts, so I've been sketching flowers from photographs. Like these primroses:

And this iris.

I've been trying to draw an iris for several years now.

I think this is as close as I've come to being satisfied with the result.

Not very satisfied.

Will keep trying!

And finally, this is a terrible photograph, but I'm sharing it with you because it's also wonderful: the first bluebird I've seen on my property.

Ever.

~~~

Here's hoping for a week of wonderful firsts!

And wishing a huge snowfall to my friends in Colorado.

~~~~~

catching up a bit

Well. The laptop is back and, after a couple of initial hiccoughs, is being put through it's paces, bit by bit. Photographs have been uploaded. The optical drive has been tested with an audiobook on CD and soon - since a trip to the library this morning - a movie on DVD. So far, so good. Time for a little blog post.

Let's see. What's been happening? Well, there's been weather.

Fog.

 Snow. And more snow.

Also sleet, hail, freezing rain, and warm sun.

It's February. Anything can happen.

I've been trying to get things done, indoors and out.

Little by little.

Emptied and washed the kitchen cupboards, then reorganized.

Rearranged the stilt barn, so there is room to sneak just one goat out into a little private dining area for a special bucket of grub.

Got some of the construction disorder under control.

Made two long trips to pick up goat supplies.

Started my first seed list for the 2018 gardens.

Took hundreds of photographs.

Della - a rare portrait!

Wednesday was in the high 60s (it snowed on Thursday, hailed on Friday) and my Occasional Helper was here for three hours. We got a few things done, which is good because he is taking the month of March off. I sometimes don't see him for a couple of weeks, but a whole month in Spring will be quite a difference. I may have to pull my socks up and work harder. Or look for a Very Occasional Helper?

No, probably that first thing.

I've continued with the Daily Markmaking; last night was #54. It's a watercolor based on a photograph of Sambucus in a recent snowstorm.

Some nights I suddenly realize I am dozing off and haven't done any markmaking. So I grab a pen or brush and look for something I can work on without getting out of bed. Like the knitting basket on the porch table, or the last winter squash on the windowsill.

Here, Moxie is closely observing the start of a watercolor sketch:

Hope your weekend is going well!

~~~~~

monday notes

Lately the weather has fluctuated between bitter cold and right-around-freezing, the latter feeling downright balmy by comparison. And after a Sunday composed entirely of rain, I am relieved to report most of the vegetation has been freed from that dangerous coating of ice seen in the image above.

The ground, however, is another story.

These are paths leading to chores:

The ice cleats are getting quite a workout.

Someone mentioned seeing a bobcat the other day.

It's not exactly common to see a bobcat here, but this is the time of year when it's somewhat more likely. They are focused less on being invisible to humans and more on socializing with other bobcats.

I have no bobcat to show you, but here is some local wildlife.

Very local.

A little too local.

 This squirrel was taking a brief break from trying to chew it's way into the attic. It is perched snugly between two Barnyard Theatre floodlights, on the power line that runs between the porch gable and the workshop. Surrounded by wiring, in other words. And this squirrel was unimpressed by the woman standing in her slippers on the ice below, shouting crossly and waving her arms because she had been awoken by the awful sound of something chewing the wall.

The little ventilation opening at the peak of the gable is blocked with wire screen, but clearly more must be done and very soon; I cannot allow squirrels into the attic again. Maybe this one raised babies here before. Or maybe this one was born in my attic. Well, squirrel, it's true what that fellow said: you can never go home again. I watched a squirrel carrying leaves - one mouthful at a time - up an oak the other day, making a proper squirrel nest. Kindly choose a nice tree and do the same.

When not shouting at squirrels, I am continuing my daily markmaking efforts.
This was last night, #42:

Painting was a nice distraction while backing up tens of thousands of image files to external drives. I later fell asleep during the backing up - midway through 2015 - and had to finish this morning. Because...tomorrow the laptop is going back to rehab for another "7 to 10 days." Not everything was fixed on the recent visit, and enough is wrong that it cannot be ignored. I'm not thrilled with the idea of being computer-less again, but as far as the repair goes, I feel hopeful. The laptop has it's own Case Manager this time.

So this blog may be quiet for a bit, but I'll try to visit yours via the Tiny Cellphone. Apologies in advance for any spelling errors in comments - I can barely see the cell screen so the keyboard tapping is pretty hit-or-miss.

~~~~~

today in pictures

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turning the january page

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster, has January. Ups and downs, with a lot of snow, torrential rains and flooding, extremely cold weather, and occasional bright days when I have gratefully taken hundreds of photographs.

My workaday world has been one of entirely treacherous footing, which changes nothing about the daily chores except that they take longer. It's a relief when there is snow to walk on instead of ice! I think Moxie agrees, as it makes her commute to the barn much more pleasant:

Piper has been spending a lot of time in recent weeks sensibly snoozing on her couch. She usually accompanies me on the short penguin-walk to the letterbox, but must wait for reasonably safe conditions before we go walking in the woods. We've made the most of it whenever possible!

The biggest January news in Goat World - apart from the ongoing hoof-trimming which always results in heating pads and icepacks for the trimmer - is that the handsome buck returned for a brief visit on Sunday. Now both Vinca AND Azalea may become mamagoats in June! I haven't gotten a good picture of either one this month, so here instead to represent the entire Cloud Harvest Cashmere herd is a January portrait of LeShodu, my Matriarch doe who turned 13 last May:

"And STILL the Boss!"

What I've really wanted to write about all through January - and in December, actually - is the wrapping up of the final "mystery" phase of the 3-part construction project. But I haven't, because it isn't. Wrapped up. In fact, there has been a series of absurd delays - not caused by me or by the carpenter, I hasten to say - beginning in November. November! And I don't want to say anything more about it, partly because it might give away the "mystery" and partly because my head might explode. So...

...moving on to a very different project, my Daily Markmaking effort of 2018 has progressed nicely. I've drawn or painted a little sketch every night in January. Here are a couple you haven't seen:

Something I really enjoy about watercolor is the way it looks close up. For example, here is a "detail" view of the above:

(I just enjoy this.)

~~~

It snowed again last night, so February is starting off as February often does.

And on we go!

~~~~~

the markmaking continues

 One of my clothesline posts.

This post was old when I was young.

One of the bells hanging by my temporary gate.

I jangle them when I pass.
The sound cheers me, and lets the goats know where I am.

Mushroom.

From a photograph taken a few months ago,

walking in the woods with Piper.

Shriveled fruits of a Maple Viburnum.

From a photograph taken this week,

walking here at home with Piper.

My sketchbooks are developing a unique topography...

an unplanned effect of painting with a very wet brush

on very inexpensive paper.

Most of the daily markmaking has been taking place at night, when I wake up and can't get back to sleep. This has unexpected advantages! For one thing, the process is unencumbered by the daytime pressures of all the waiting tasks tugging at my mental coattails. Also, it is extra-satisfying to create something in a period of time that would otherwise be fretted away in wakeful unease. So, keeping a sketchbook, a pen, and a few watercolors by the bed has turned out to be quite a good thing.

But still.

Really.

Between you and me?

I'm a photographer.

~~~~~