a peace

 dragonfly found on my walk

the turtle was here!

vetchling blossom

tendrils and shadows

a place to rest

my neighbor is carving

an owl, perhaps?

long view

working out the envelope for the edition

almost ready 

there have been three work day mornings

and the weekend

since vacation began.

i'm feeling like myself again.

see those leather circle weights?

shanna leino made them.

useful tools, and snazzy, too.
a little buzz that's neither bee or hummingbird:
Grampians Texture, march, 2016. 
i'll be teaching.

dawn

at 4:20 this morning they began

those morning birds

and they've been at it since.

it's a wee bit calmer now, at 5:43.

the school year has a day and a half left

and since last tuesday no kids in my class

(no exams, though i now work in a school with finals)

~~~

i've met new plants this spring, 

ragged robin is a favorite name

so is vetchling.

~~~

i'm really just checking in to say hey

it's solstice and beautiful

despite the horrors here in the u.s.

(murder escapees closeby, racist crimes, hatred hatred hatred)

i am saying

beauty.

BEAUTY.

joy

JOY.

feeling all right!

i'm feeling all right!

and particularly grateful 

that this came today.

the summer HANDPAPERMAKING

with a review that i wrote 

about hiroko's amazing book Kigami and Kami-ito.

i was really happy

and honestly

a little scared, too,

when HP editor mina takahashi asked me to write this.

but i am so happy it's in print.

and proud to honor hiroko
who gave me a weekend of her precious time
teaching me paper spinning.

~~~

in today's mail came a wonderful,

colorful box

of overbeaten abaca scraps from 
helen heibert

who offered two boxes

to two artists who had creative solutions

for what could be done with them.

i'm tickled to try 
with these so much fun colors.
(i've always loved working from the scrap bin) 
and this will be especially fun with such spiffy scraps!

~~~

the last day for students was monday,

and already my wonderful t.a. lori

and i have been planning for next year.

in between, though,

we will have a nice summer break.

first thing, 

though,

is to finish my edition

NOVEMBER, A MAP

which i hope to write about here,

soon.

fiber/summer

lovely!

ryukutextile.com

mari yamaguchi newell's work again.

mari included a few goodies in her package

and i am really looking forward to working with these

there were two tiny woven pieces that i bought

and she sent a small old book
for me to spin.
it's wonderful to receive such amazing items

fiber from japan
meets north country
basswood is linden
soon to blossom

must be a dead calf in there

 turkey vultures

there were thunderclouds and lightning flashing around to the north, 
along the big st lawrence river

i've never seen them here before

they seem so intent on being here
avoiding going home while roosting out the storms.

as i prepare for the next things,
my class at women's studio workshop,
i remember this piece made 
by yuko kimura
in last year's morgan class

it was fun to see this over on her website!
oh,
yes, by the way.
 one more day of students.
and a week or so to work after.

checking in

it's been over a week

but so busy

some days very warm, others with a fire burning...

these two startled me

out the living room window

one mostly shed out, 

the other still wearing her ghost coat

 my friend has her funny ones "back ta home"

 school's out for summer 

at their community school

and they return across the road

for summertime.

  it seemed i got the nectar out a little late

but the hummers were around

 through the screen their edges are unclear

 i caught the tip of the tongue

 one eats while another sits on a last year stalk

of black eyed susan

 the news is the turtle egg laying!

i generally see three every morning

big mama snappers

on the road sides

working on laying business

 and this silly teen, like my students

making a lot of noise outside my classroom

 only five more days with students

 lovely plants all along my walks

 seeds, too

 just checking in to let you know

i am still around

the stomach virus was BAD. 

i'm better, mostly.