THE CLOCK TICKS (POETRY)

                   Last weekend I did that dog sledding thing and although I enjoyed it very much I thought this weekend I would do something where I wasn't bruised and frightened.  So I went to a poetry reading.  

              That's pretty safe huh? 

              Well at least until someone starts reciting Leonard Cohen.

              I read a couple of poems I had written but also added this tidbit from the 1970s.  Probably the first thing I ever wrote.

              Funny.  It still seems relevent today. 

THE CLOCK TICKS

 There's still time to

 loose ten pounds

 buy a fancy car

 sip Chautreuse in a Paris bar

 But what of this? 

 The other day I opened a book

 to see my poem written word for word

 the exact same way

 it was in my head
 and strolling a gallery out of the rain

I saw a canvas I'd planned to paint

since April

On the bus home I fell in love

with a man who sighed  "I regret
 If only a while back we had met " 

 At the next stop he offered a hug 

 and went home to his wife

                   
Perhaps
 I am one second too late

 You have written my poems  

 and painted my scenes
 and loved my men

 Of what use is it to be thin? 


.....Chuckle 

                     

                      

TULIPS WATERCOLOR

                 I recently met up with some other artists and we spent the day painting.  I had arranged for a girl to come and do the barn chores for me, so oh what a glorious day that was.

                 This is a watercolor  'Spring Promise'  33x43 cm. There was a discussion and I've heard it before from other artists that you can make quite a decent green from mixing Windsor yellow and Paynes grey.  So that's what I tried here.  The leaves are just a mix of those two pigments.  Do I like it?    The green seems a bit dead.  Makes a nice dark green for evergreens but I like more variety I think.

                 Do you have any favorite mixes for greens or tips to share?
             

SLED DOGS WATERCOLOR

     

FROST AND SNOW

               This is a watercolor ( 33x42cm ) inspired by the experience I had with dog sledding a while back.

               The noisy energy of the dogs waiting to run amazed me.  They were bouncing and barking and jumping straight up until the command was given and they were released to do what they love to do.

               And then the magic happens.  That feeling of freedom.  Of just being whisked over the ground for the pure pleasure of movement through a country winterscape

               I loved the feeling of their energy and also the bright sunlight that was hitting the dogs and that is what I wanted to capture in the painting.

               The owner said they're names were Frost and Hazel but I've changed it to Frost and Snow because it just seems to suit. 

               Thanks to Snowpak Kennels of Truro N.S.  


               I've decided not to whine about my art and all the things I would change if I could paint it over.  Every piece I complete will be a journey and a learning experience and that's what it's all about.        Annie
                                                                 
 

WINTER

                      I live in Canada eh?  Although maybe not as abundant as 'in the good ol days' it is still possible to be snowed in up over your ass anywhere from November to April.  (See previous post)

               There are those who love winter and those who tolerate it.

               The ones who tolerate it calm their frozen fingers by such activities as thumbing through the spring seed catalogs while sipping a hot rum toddy.  The ones who love it have more choice.

                They can hand over a few hundred dollars and strap pieces of metal to their feet and travel down hill about 80 kms hr hoping that crazy kid with the Peppy the Penguin toque will make it out of the way in time.

               There is skating, and snowshoeing, and of course hockey.  Even as a spectator you can make time fly by bundling up in a rink and shouting profanities at the opposing team, and spending half your paycheck at the canteen.

               You can go on a sleigh ride because that white perfection in the winter woods really does exist.  Better not to sit up front though.  Nothing worse then a big horse fart to ruin a pure frosty country breath.

               You can try dog sledding and hope that one of the lead dogs doesn't spy a wild rabbit or have " to go" which could cause a pileup similar to the New York freeway. 

               There is so much fun to be had in a Canadian winter.  

               Some people say they hate winter, but the truth is it's hard to hate.  It has a purity and a cleansing feeling .  That feeling of nesting and renewal, and it's a reminder that things can change.  That your life can go from hot to cold in a flash.  They say that people who live in temperate seasonal climates are less depressed because there is always something to look forward to.  And there is.

              I have to go now and put on several layers of clothes and shovel my driveway

             What do you think of winter? 

               

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD WOMEN

                                                               

                                  It's March now, and even though in my corner of Nova Scotia we were blessed with a little dusting of snow last night it won't last long.  The sun has some strength and there is that 'feeling' of spring.
                     
                        I have named our little hobby farm Windy River for a reason.  It borders the Salmon River and it is very very windy here.

                     The storm in early February that hit the eastern coast dropped a lot of snow in our yard.  The next day I couldn't get out of our driveway, but what really pissed me off was that I couldn't get out of the house.  The wind had drifted snow against both doors and I could only get them open a few inches before they would bind up against the snow bank.

                      I knew I would be rescued because the guy that plows our drive would show up eventually.   Eventually.   And he did.   He comes in to get paid, and if he wanted his money he would have to come  'in the door'   There's nothing that will get you rescued faster then someone who needs to get to your purse.   I can never get him on the phone and he doesn't have a cell, so that lamp was also a signal he knows about that I need some help.  A beacon... like a lighthouse.  Archaic I know but it works.

                    The wind blew and blew and the next day I was trapped again.  I didn't really worry because I had stocked my three favorite things that I use for survival  - wine, chocolate, and lots of organic chicken in our freezer.

                    It's hard to see in the photo but one of the books I'm reading is on the window sill. ' No Country For Old Men.' 

                    I'm thinking this is no country for old women.