journal
the crossroads of art and life
The Dew on the First of May
I am at peace with my three trillion freckles. But when I was a child, I lamented them daily. I was dubbed Freckle Face and Shrimp by my classmates (yes, I’m freckled AND short). When my mother suggested that my freckles would disappear if I tried a remedy from an Old...
Frida’s Garden
Our outdoor life is about to begin. We raked the yard this weekend, using lots of muscle to get the matted leaves and film of road dust off of the sleeping lawn. The garden and half of our house foundation are still swallowed by blankets of snow, but the weekend was...
Maison Pepin
Montreal in spring is much like Vermont. Not quite free of winter. I went there two weeks ago with three dear friends. We go there every spring to eat, hang out, browse, and discover. We've been doing this for 12 years? 15? We're not sure. We tend to go back to...
Underneath: Luminous Opera
Morning light creeps through the curtains around 5:30, and what's new is birdsong. There is still a crust of snow on the fields, but patches of grass are making a comeback—albeit matted, brown and littered with twigs, and less savory piles revealed after the winter...
Mudded In
Early spring is a test of visual deprivations. Scents are coming back on the breezes. The fug in the barn when we leave the house is damp wood, hint of tilth, awakening squirrel den, and thawing woodpile. Daffodils, lilacs and cut grass are at least a month away. It's...
Making a List of 50 Things
Today I opened up to a list of 50 Things I Love that I wrote back in the fall. Do you have a pen handy? If so, do yourself a favor, and write down 50 things you love. It is affirming and—if all goes well—you'll end up with a list of 58 or 62 or 75! The ones on my list...
Finding The Lost Garden
Fall is here and I'm still nursing an elbow injury that I got last April right before we moved to The Little Brick. My ideas for a summer of gardening had to be put aside. No serious digging, pruning or shovel work for me. So I took to the gardens and field with my...
Painting Under the Sky
WHEN YOU PACK UP your tubes of paint, brushes, fold up easel, and all the rest, you find out quickly what you forgot as you set up to paint outside on a summer day. When it's hot and sunny I often forget my hat. Sunscreen sometimes too. (Luckily I paint with a group,...
Follow Along
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Something in here that is beautiful