first, listen

this is my first artists book, 

no songs but crickets.

as i was thinking about posting this morning 

this photo appeared

and i thought

why not?

birthday moons

i heard from dear ones 

(you know who you are) 

and got some presents

(thank you all)

went to work and 

walked with wendy.

new snow for my birthday.

slippery roads,

two cars in the ditch out front!

ice cream after school snack 

i'll celebrate alone,

 everyone needs to be home

tonight. 

no more accidents.

quiet monday

 walking the moon

 and then back home:

i'm liking where this one is going

flax &

cotton paper

plant magic

in the sky (mostly)

 a ring, 

lights in the night sky

 another ring or so

 lights on the frozen ground

 and in a pup's eyes

 snow fell

 and snow crystals lit up today's sky

 as day nods into evening

 a bit more snow

another light in the sky

and a book ready for sewing

last of summer plants

captured on paper

snow day

wednesday evening sky over the meadow

thursday started out rough

not nearly enough sleep

wendy has some hard nights

and then so do i

 but on thanksgiving

we went out to the meadow

 and played

wendy, melissa, and me

 we gathered up some milkweed

stripped up a bunch while wendy played

can this be called spalted?

it was a glorious time 

before a small meal with just four of us

family and friends

simple food, wine, and conversation

later

we stayed up talking to all hours

melissa and i

and after a wonderful morning of talk and tea and more talk 

she took to the road for cleveland

unfortunately she encountered lake effect snow 

along the way.

which made its way to the north country today

a reminder 

of a bundle of cloth

and one of paper

we prepared and jarred up 

to be opened in a while

back in chicago.

and here in the north country

a gray day, but it looks like winter

has arrived.

thanks

 this gift of place

of belonging

of love

this place to speak

and to have my work seen

friends who have found me

and i them; you

thank you.

a happy thanksgiving.

mouse tale

india passed on 

a wonderful poem i didn't see

first or second time round

but my little mousey inspired her to send me this

and if i know her just a wee bit

were she here, i'd hear this little tale!

thank you!

 evening 

 in the mail came this

a wonderful little watercolor

from a very dear old friend

to wish me happy day 

very early!

my old farmhouse

a towel tossed on the basement floor

 found a sleeper

sleeping the long sleep.

i usually catch mice in traps

(it's an old farmhouse with 

a million mouseholes and ancient pathways)

but never, never

have i found

such an odd surprise

tucked under a dirty old rag.

coloring paper

 the colors are even more vibrant

as they say farewell to summer
(though sometimes it tends to murk)

the chemistry in the arches,
sizing, etc, 

seems to make patterning
 more available and rich on the paper surfaces

color and pattern

the paper has stretched and wrinkled.

even post pressing

it's surprisingly strong 

it looks like i have one more to do

i found some new plants

pattern inside a sphere

taking off the dyestuffs

and

reusing them on some cotton cheesecloth

that was quite pale

and now has a bit more oomph.

glimpses

friday evening

 the decaying corpse

of a raccoon from last summer

someone made a tiny golden offering

north country boro!

jubilation

machine made paper 

and 

 a variety of dyestuffs

the end of autumn for sure 

first batch of

dyeing on arches text wove

the second batch is in the press

might make some interesting books?