Some details and a full shot... it is incredibly hard to photograph dimensions wise as it doesn't like to be framed by the camera! but it is 36 x 12 inches x 3 inches..... box canvas.
REDREAMING GOLDEN VALLEY
Soooooooooo i finally finished the painting that has had me trapped for some 3 months.... what a horror show it turned out to be..... it is finally finished. Why is it some paintings just won't END!? I am sure it is something that happens to other people now and again by this was the most extreme case that ever happened to me. Many hours later and it is complete.
Some details and a full shot... it is incredibly hard to photograph dimensions wise as it doesn't like to be framed by the camera! but it is 36 x 12 inches x 3 inches..... box canvas.
Some details and a full shot... it is incredibly hard to photograph dimensions wise as it doesn't like to be framed by the camera! but it is 36 x 12 inches x 3 inches..... box canvas.
GULF OIL DISASTER Pandora's Box is full of Petroleum.
Where to start? Mostly it starts with Hubris. from there spirals into one of the most destructive criminal acts directed at the natural world.It appears to be beyond our current ability to fix it.
There is no going back.
On a visceral level it is an outrage and the beginning of events we cannot in any way control or even imagine the long and short term effects and will continue to grow as time passes. And the solution? to add more poisons to the oceans! What is it about closed loops BP doesn't understand?
On a personal level I think that fire monkeys have gone way too far and i see this as a dire situation. I wonder where this will end?
Tick Tock.
Some useful links:
Boston Globe photos.
Live stream
A blogger doing a great job deconstructing and discussing the Live Cam of the ROV in the gulf.
Megadoom's Channel on youtube
The Ongoing discussion at LATOC
There is no going back.
On a visceral level it is an outrage and the beginning of events we cannot in any way control or even imagine the long and short term effects and will continue to grow as time passes. And the solution? to add more poisons to the oceans! What is it about closed loops BP doesn't understand?
On a personal level I think that fire monkeys have gone way too far and i see this as a dire situation. I wonder where this will end?
Tick Tock.
Some useful links:
Boston Globe photos.
Live stream
A blogger doing a great job deconstructing and discussing the Live Cam of the ROV in the gulf.
Megadoom's Channel on youtube
The Ongoing discussion at LATOC
May Meanderings
So we have been working on a few jobs around the home dependent on the weather at the time as it has been typically all over the place from cold to hot and wet. So FIRST THING i tend to do is check the weather to see what to expect and see if it is an inside or outside job kind of day.
This has meant three different projects running at the same time.... not to mention the fact our chickens have been sick with a contagious bronchitis and we have lost so far three to the infection despite our best efforts. Been quite the learning curve... mostly introducing a new member to the flock needs to be rethought as that is how we developed the problem in the first instance. One of the chickens bought at auction was obviously infected and before we knew it..... we had an entire coup of chickens sick!
Identifying what was wrong was the primary concern from there it was a question of separating out the sickest animals for special attention.
Headed out to Grisamore Farm for plants for the vegetable garden and while there we met a cute little lamb that posed for the camera.
MAY MADNESS
What was i thinking..... preparing for spring in the garden and getting things ready to plant....... unfortunately our spring has been unusually cold and we even had snow on Mothers Day!
The keyhole design by Drew and Jye...... the straw is the pathways for the vegetable garden this minimizes soil compaction and allows greater access to the growing sections..... keyhole design principals and it LOOKS GREAT too!
Removing the last of the single pane windows... we have four to do.... this is the first one...... in the learning room......
The boys and I made this garden art from an old clock and some glass beads and pebbles.... it was fun!Part of our homeschooling activities......
More to come.......
The keyhole design by Drew and Jye...... the straw is the pathways for the vegetable garden this minimizes soil compaction and allows greater access to the growing sections..... keyhole design principals and it LOOKS GREAT too!Removing the last of the single pane windows... we have four to do.... this is the first one...... in the learning room......
The boys and I made this garden art from an old clock and some glass beads and pebbles.... it was fun!Part of our homeschooling activities......
More to come.......
Broken Arms, Seedlings and Ocean
What a busy time the last few weeks have been! Getting seedlings started inside making riffles with rocks in the creek ..... spring cleaning the house..... doing the quarterly reports for homeschooling and also administering the boy's P.A.S.S. tests in language, reading and mathematics. On top of that it is tax time....and that means locating obscure pieces of paper that my filing system swallowed for etax filing at the last minute cause that is the way Patrick rolls...... you know.... the whole err let's do it tonight before midnight kinda thing. NOT the way i like to do things but we are all different and it was still done on time so no complaints.
Doing a lot of sorting and simplifying is also important to note that during this time my darling car Ocean was run over and killed. I was totally DEVASTATED. It is actually hard to even think about as he was the BEST CAT EVER..... and i loved him.
Doing a lot of sorting and simplifying is also important to note that during this time my darling car Ocean was run over and killed. I was totally DEVASTATED. It is actually hard to even think about as he was the BEST CAT EVER..... and i loved him.
The Spring to yet come
Wondering what your growing plans are for this spring? Do you have an idea already of the things you wish to grow and the amounts and types of plants you are interested in growing both for yourself and family or to sell at local markets.
This year my plan is to grow:
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplant
Lettuce
Bok Choy
Turnips
Broccoli
Kale
Onion
Carrots
Beets
Coriander
Basil
Parsley
Asian Greens
Sunflowers
ALL SEEDS are open pollinated heirloom seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds who i have bought from several times in the past and have always been impressed with their product, their service and their philosophy of seed saving.
A good site for information is SPIN FARMING
SPIN FARMING stands for small plot internsive farming. It is an organic method.
From their site:
SPIN-Farming is a non-technical, easy-to-learn and inexpensive-to-implement vegetable farming system that makes it possible to earn significant income from land bases under an acre in size. Whether you are new to farming, or want to farm in a new way, SPIN can work for you because:
Its precise revenue targeting formulas and organic-based techniques make it possible to gross $50,000+ from a half- acre.
You don't need to own land. You can affordably rent or barter a small piece of land adequate in size for SPIN-Farming production.
It works in either the city, country or small town.
It fits into any lifestyle or life cycle.
SPIN is being practiced by first generation farmers because it removes the two big barriers to entry - land and capital - as well as by established farmers who want to diversify or downsize, as well as by part-time hobby farmers.
I hope you find this useful and i am sure down the track i will be adding more as i progress and winter fades.... at the moment i am looking out at some 5 foot PLUS snow on the ground....... but it is melting and i hear dripping water finally!
FEBRUARY HOME SCHOOLING ACTIVITIES
PHOTO EDITING
LIGHT LASERS AND FILTERS
SPECIAL EFFECTS
COOKING
KLONDIKE DERBY WINNERS
SWIMMING TC3 PHYSICAL ED
......And a warm day with a lot of Snow on the ground.
So yesterday was a really REALLY warm day for January and here in Sempronius the temperature reached a marvelous 49f. Sounds wonderful....... until you consider HOW MUCH snow on the ground is going to melt..... and then on top of it we had significant rains.
The weather bureau issued a flash flood warning ...... and discovered in the day when heading out to check on the chickens..... that all the water from the deep ditches on the side of the road were carrying COPIOUS amounts of water and emptying them into our little quiet creek. It wasn't particularly quiet any more. It wasn't even staying in it's banks anymore. As the house sits on the high point of the property there was never any danger of water getting into the house or even cellar...... but there was the issue of the paddock turning into a LAKE. Gee.... no one told me about this aspect of January weather. So as it transpired.... we didn't stay inside and do any book work for homeschooling.... we did move a few things further away from the water and the boys had free reign to play with water dynamics.....and experiment with large pieces of wood and water pressure. Good wet fun.
WINTER IN THE NORTH EAST
NEW HOPE MILL FINGERLAKES NEW YORK
Today i took the boys out for a photo shoot at New Hope Mills as part of our homeschooling art lessons......Mostly because it was a great opportunity to take a load of photos and the weather was very snowy therefore I knew the results would be effective snow is such a great contrasting backdrop .... especially as Jye is just learning to use his new Nikon cool pix camera.
2010
Winter in the finger lakes is a particularly interesting time of year as so many different things come to mind. Your organizational skills must be fairly well honed as traveling is sometimes more treacherous. Personally as an Australian in the snow you have to overcome some personal challenges..... being that snow is not something i have had many opportunities to become totally comfortable with. I think this winter my personal boundaries for driving have significantly improved. I don't get butterflies at the thought of it now..... but i would say i was far from complacent. I still have intimidations from the white stuff.
But as an artist it is a very beautiful time of the year and the world gets smaller and more pure looking as a lot of sins and mess are covered with snow. I like that aspect.
It is also a time to self reflect and accomplish some indoor tasks that improve life for all and focus on the quality of life within. It is an important time for personal growth and change. At least that is how i see it.
Some photos from the last couple of weeks.
WINTER SOLSTICE 2009
What an interesting year it has been since last winter solstice..... one of the most whirlwind in a while for me....Lots of changes and growth and dissapointment and joy and sadness all wrapped up into one.
My own personal focus is on creating as broadbased sustainable home for my husband and boys that is both sanctuary and inspiration. The world is moving in some disturbing ways at the moment.... and to be honest i have some significant concerns. It isn't just a question of Business As Usual anymore.... there seems to me to be an underlying malignancy in the world governments with regard to many issues. Most significantly the issue of overshoot or an economy based on an ever expanding resource base. Failed and finite as it is.... this way of looking at the world is not sustainable. Not only that but i feel it is already too late to make significant world wide changes needed to create a soft landing insofar as the majority of the worlds population is concerned. Peak carring capacity comes to mind.You can't help but think it isn't going to end well.
New Image.... DarkNight Tree..... Winter Solstice 2009
Teriaki Venison Jerky
One of the things we did today was make our first batch of venison Jerky from Patrick's hunting foray's into the forest here in the fingerlakes. The meat is fresh and the kids made their own mix with black pepper from the minced venison and we have venison steaks marinading in Teriaki for another batch.....
Between the lesson in hygiene and food preparation and a discussion of microbes and germs it was both an informative and productive afternoon's work. The boys took an active role in preparing and forming the venison onto the dehydrator trays and of course will get to eat the results.... they LOVE Jerky! Venison is apparently the best.
More photos to come of the finished product.......
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Over the past few days i have been updating and reworking my official artist website. One of the difficulties of having an online presence is the need to stay up to date which takes away from time to create and of course time is a very valuable commodity and has to be used to the best effect. So consequently this workover was more than due. Please have a look and leave a message in my guestbook so i know you have passed through.
Thank you all for your time ..... i know it is indeed valuable.
Bright moments.
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