Crime Scene

I was on my way to meet a friend. It was morning and the shadows were long. The night had been cool, although bright sunshine promised a warmer day. Pono bounded ahead of me, excited about the cool air and the prospect of being outside. I was still a bit groggy from sleep as I trudged up the dusty hill. This wasn't the kind of meeting that had been arranged ahead of time, but this friend is the kind who stays in one place.  She's steadfast and dependable. It didn't even occur to me that she might not be there. As I approached her usual spot, I looked up. At first, it didn't register. I knew something was amiss, but I was still groggy enough to not realize what it was. Then, it hit me. She wasn't there. It didn't make any sense. She was always there! Confusion.

When I finally reached the crest of the hill and looked around, I saw it all. The evidence was all there in front of me. She had been cut - hacked apart, really. The marks in the sand clearly showed how she had been dragged from where she was standing. She was in pieces. Someone had burned her. I felt pain, sharp and deep. Tears didn't come at first. I merely stood there, shocked and frozen. How could someone be so cruel? Who would do such a thing? It was unthinkable, yet there it all was, in front of me. And I was too late to do anything to save her.

I then began to think about her and what she meant to me. Her beautiful, long limbs. Her strength. The way she flowered last spring. The way she looked when the morning light hit her. How I always felt comfort when I saw her. She asked nothing of me, or anyone. I am convinced she knew things I didn't. Now she is gone. Forever. She died, for one night of campfire pleasure.

Waning

A new, untitled monotype.  7 x 5 inches.

Yes, I know.  It's been a rather long silence from me. My computer crashed!!!  Even though I have an old computer I can use, it just isn't the same as my beloved laptop. I have been able to retrieve MOST of the essential data from the crashed computer, but it took days and more patience than I really posses. That is my version of "the dog ate my homework."  Excuses are so lame.

Mostly, I am still a little wiped out from the studio tours. I have been printing new monotypes and even a new linocut. I have been running around, delivering art to people who bought things over the art tours weekend. I have been bundling up in warm clothes, as the desert suddenly turned cold, dark, and gloomy.  (seemingly overnight.) I have been writing down recipes that I will never make. (a new hobby.) I have been running and walking with the fuzzy dog. I am reading a book called Cutting from Stone, that was lent to me by a friend. And, ultimately, I am waiting impatiently for my husband to come home. Without the business of preparing for the Art Tours, I have suddenly found myself thinking about how much I miss him, and perhaps that has added to my downward spiral. I guess this is the "after tours crash."

Please don't worry about me. I will survive. I am not looking for sympathy or even good advice right now. I am just telling you what I have been up to. I think I am also trying to purge myself of this state I have found myself in by writing about it.

So this is a short post saying that I am sorry to not write anything more interesting.  AND, I am sorry that I haven't caught up with all of my fellow bloggers. I truly am! I am just not myself. A faint version of my usual self writes this, waiting for the tides to change. Just like the moon, I wax and wane.

Someone left a book at my house during the Art Tours. Is anyone missing a copy of Pressfield's book? If so, email me.

Happy Hummingbird

November first!  Wow. 

The Art Tours last weekend was a wonderful, busy few days.  A big, smoochy thank you to all who came out!  I cannot thank you enough for coming, for your comments, and of course, to those of you who found a piece to take home with you.  You ROCK! 

Came home from a run with Mr. Pono this morning to the sight of my Autumn sage literally covered with hummingbirds.  They were zooming all over the front courtyard.  Now how could I let that go without trying to capture a few moments for you?  I couldn't. 

Love.

I'm pretty sure this is a Black Chinned Hummingbird.

Happy November!