miracles

i look frequently

at this shed

but today, today i saw it from the other direction.

i turned my head and saw

stripes i never noticed. 

never in 25 years.

 i noticed that 

yesterday's fierce west wind 

had driven the wet snow

hard against shoots of willow and osier

making tiny snowdrifts

on all the bits

of winter killed 

shoots and stems

 and above was evidence of the weirdly

wildly

changing weather

but the landscape held only

mild, hatless weather

and it looked so 

winter weary

but i spotted

green hope

framed by bubbles and ice

sophie rocks!

the amazing sophie munns, 

whose commitment to seeds is astonishing

has posted a piece 

about artists' books, 

and has kindly included

my rock books.

you may remember them:

and of course 
there's one in my header
five in total,
and a few more small ones to come
but look LOOK at her 
concertinas, and how
she has used that structure 
to show the exuberance of her painting
to great advantage.

i lifted this from sophie's blog or whatever that 
collection of images is called
of course i forgot to attribute it
but i will later when i find it.
  

he did it!

 another convert to book making

our leather is all small

so we piece

he was cool with that limitation

 he wanted red pages

 and i use this wonderful old (but green) linen

i scored long ago

at a garage sale

 ties off with a big plastic button 

from my stash

he has poor skills, much enthusiasm 

and is proud as a peacock

as he should be

 in my yard 

two treasures

 an old piece of twill,

 old gramicci climbing pants

on the well pump

tattered, but not rotting

yet

narcissi poking through on march 7

it was 62 degrees.

today a little cooler

tomorrow maybe a little snow.

blue and ice

 so i went for a ski

maybe the last one

no snow for skiing here,

but inside the blue line

there were a few new inches

 and this hag stone

formed of ice

and rock

she sat quietly and said

welcome, welcome

 and so i settled into the icy snow

 amazed by the cold cold forest

a little new snow

 and one large tree that said

turn back this time

listen.

(i have fallen here, 

badly sprained an ankle

a half mile in.)

and today, all ice and tired knees

i turned back.

a small ski is better 

far better

than none

leaving the woods 

for the foothills

where home calls me

and wendy says,

home, supper, please.

and then i made cookies.

come over! you see,

i have cookies!

looking at ice

 today there was almost no snow

left from last week's thaw

but the cold crept back

and it's snowing some

 and all the little drainages

 in this place of wetlands

and springs

sinkholes and deer drinks 

  were still flowing full

under new ice

and this small spot

was chortling 

as it drained toward my land

and eventually 

the beaver ponds.

great blue heron

well, penny, s/he's back! 

friday afternoon.

book

 i actually didn't read the book

 but i took a photo

or two

 of photos of her mom's journals

and one of several page spreads.

tidbits

in my mail,

a record of experiments with wax and dye

by carol at warwick press

 carol loves birds

and color

see the beautiful layout on this sampler!

the tiny knots

someone is traveling through, again,

my backyard

another porcupine?

cat?

raccoon?

i couldn't tell, actually.

and a grandfather maple

who will not be tapped this spring

waits.

silliness

this english (setter) princess

likes the couch (and pillow)

so i covered her

with handwoven cotton

which, it seems, she enjoyed.

two in a row

 skiing 

 again

 keeps me feeling

 right in the head

 centered and grounded

 alive and tingly 

 but on this overcast late afternoon,

almost evening

 wendy took off for a little bit into the woods

just ran off, the brat

 her selective deafness annoying

 but oh, her love of the snow

the trees

the excitement of smells

traces of rabbit, deer, grouse

and three young runners 

who were unable to rid themselves of her

until one of them, wise in the way of dogs,

broke a stick and threw it back towards me

and then she remembered 

i ski with her, not these cute boys!

 another hermitage

 is slowly sinking into

the forest floor

 someone had a bottle

 and roofed over the a frame

with feed bags, then brush

and here is an enameled metal object

that i may try to salvage

next time?