Winter Rainbows

Rainbow in January, Chamber's Mountain, near Iron Duff, NC

What does it mean to view a rainbow in winter? Old Man Winter slips the surprise from the long sleeve of his cloud cloak in the blink of an eye. He has a grin on his face. You weren't expecting it were you, he laughs. And if you missed it when it was so clearly bright and bowed, you missed a rare opportunity to lift your winter spirits and transform them into bouquets of bliss.

Having the Greatest Gift

What could that possibly be? For you, I don't know. But for me it would be ".. a sense of wonder so indestructable that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength...". This quote is from Rachel Carson who wrote, Silent Spring, in 1962. And before she wrote the book that opened our eyes to seeing the interconnectedness of our natural world, she wrote, The Sense of Wonder. Perhaps it was this contemplation of the beauty of the earth around her, that led to her concern with synthetic pesticides being used so carelessly. This sense may have fueled her passion for preserving the environment and for the strength she needed to overcome the discrimination she experienced as a woman scientist. I am wondering what it will fuel in me. Certainly it is gone beyond a spark and has set me on fire many times. The spark is often a quiet one.

Lighting My Way

Thanks to all for lighting my way this year. My journey was glowing so much that I never saw the darkness that surrounds all things. But without it there is no way to experience the moving spark scripting our lives in love each and every moment. I took these photos last night in beautiful downtown Clyde, NC. The pear trees are a blooming mass in spring and a seasonal sensation illuminating my way into a new year. May your new year be flashing with love and light!

Real December on Hap Mountain

The scenes of December can be wild with saturated color or silent and bluish in tone. And this transformation often happens from one day to the next. The wonderful thing is I don't have to go anywhere to see this slide show. It projects itself all around my little cabin on Hap mountain. And the winds howling nonstop provide the sound effects that would scare the pants off an Eskimo!

Lanterns, Pots and Planters

For the holidays you can have fun forcing a few paper whites, amaryllis bulbs, or buy red bromiliads instead of poinsettias. Put them in one of my new pots or planters, to make a one of a kind gift.

Or light up someones life with a LED candle lantern. I have two that are made from rice bags saved for me by Masami. So if you want one, show up at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville, NC this Friday, Nov. 18 through Sunday, Nov. 20 from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 pm. I will be demonstating how I make these.

Soaking In It/Soaking it in

I am immersed in a vat of copper, gold foil, and persimmon and raking papery leaves gingerly over emerald patches, trying to get back home. It takes more than the moving of leaves from one place to another to settle into my nest. Two weeks is not enough to let my travel motions and memories simmer. This is going to be a long process and just like The Turtle, slow. So I wait while planting poets daffodils and wood hyacinths. I wait while cleaning out my pond where my purple elephant ear has taken a dive. I visit fellow artists at the Southern Highlands Guild Fall Fair,drive to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned and to the hairdresser to cut the locks I let grow on my trip. I shared some of my journey in person instead of on this blog. But somehow it isn't the same. I perhaps can't go home again unless I am blogging! For that is the home I created while away from home. But, I am fortunate to have many homes. The mountains draped in dappled dreams in front of me are very compelling and comforting. They have dyed me my favorite shade, Carolina Blue. "Twenty thousand roads I've been on and they all lead me right home to you"..Gram Parsons

Tractor Pull

Wouldn't you know it, it had to happen within a mile of home, but what a great place to have it happen! My neighbor Charles Sams, down by the row of mailboxes (which were moved while I was gone), had to get the tractor from his barn (that was recently rebuilt after a 2010 snowstorm sent a tree tumbling on top) and pull The Turtle away from the bank that her driver slid her up against because of a very wet, gravelly road with a big hump. It took him about 5 min. to get the tractor, hook it up to the front towing bar and pull us out. With great neighbors with tractors, one doesn't need a cell phone (mine does not get reception this far out) or AAA. That is one reason Spring Creek, NC is such a super place to come home to. Everyone, please thank Charles.

PS---I think the Turtle was spooked because the mailboxes weren't on the other side of the road where they had always been.

And there was no snow as the photo shows, but the forecast is for possible light snow tonight and the winds are already whirling in from over the mountain. It is true that the road up here is about that scary looking...good for a Halloween fright.