Moss Whispers

Martha Julia Agnes Adele
Your adventure’s on hold, so sit for a spell.
This writer’s hands got busy and full.
With Life’s awesome moments of push and pull.

My focus has become quite kaleidoscopic….
It’s been very hard to stick to one topic.
With grandchildren nearby, it’s been time for playing
And …tweaking the studio where ‘Grandmom’s staying.’

Diapers for young and diapers for old…
Clothes to wash and clothes to fold.
Stuff to organize and people, too.
Suddenly there seems SO much to do!

I’m keeping a lookout for my ‘writer’s pen…’
Somewhere underneath this life that I tend.
The brushes and colors that give you your life
Are somewhere hidden ‘neath each joy and strife!

Martha Julia Agnes Adele…                                                                                Please wait my return as you sit for a spell.                                                            I’ll meet you someday & we’ll find your shoe!                                                 Right now I have this LIFE to do!

The unknowns and losses you’re pondering there                                                                                                           Are no different at all from the ones in my hair!
As I unravel these moments beyond all belief,
I know it’s the stuff of a writer’s relief.

For under it all we are learning to trust                                           When the time is just right, we’ll see through this dust.
The words will come clear, the brushes will show…
That the shoe that you lost is what’s helping you grow!

All that we need is what’s before us today
To guide us and glide us towards our path on our way.
Meanwhile …practice tying your other shoe! And I’ll practice the things that I need to do! Love, Mossy Me!

I love fall walks in the woods! The air is crisp and clear. The trees shed their spring and summer clothes and brave the impending winter in their barebacked birthday suits! Just as faces appear on their roots, so do many faces and images appear on their bark! This   image of a squirrel protecting his hole for home and winter scavenges particularly grabbed my attention. And a squirrel’s home tree is certainly where his heart is as the nature carving above his head suggests. Who needs to paint when nature does all the art we could possibly need!  Hopefully, the squirrel just ‘pops’ out and reveals himself to anyone who reads this! It’s up to the eye of the beholder! I invite you to ‘behold the squirrel!

Such precious feet fit into these little shoes! Oliver loves to put them on and off over and over again. He walks with his left hand held up in a tiny fist and his right arm swinging to his step. And when he gets excited he shoots both arms up in the air like he’s walking fast over a speed bump. If he stumbles, which is pretty rare, he picks himself up and brushes his hands together to ‘brush it all off.’ Every step is passionate and important and carries us all on new adventures. A time of so many ‘firsts’ in his life! And to top it all off, there’s a smile and from time to time, a serious/studying look that accompanies each step on his life of adventure! It’s been so fun to walk alongside him and his family this weekend!

This weekend I’m stepping away from painting what my eyes and mind see to spending time with our grandson, Oliver and his wonderful mom and dad. Such wonder, love, curiosity, and intense work on research and development, is the life of a little child.  There is no better way to BE in the PRESENT, and behold the whole display of LIFE! Thank you, Oliver for new eyes every moment! 

For some reason I need to see these characters where they live…who lives near who…who are neighbors…which ones live up high, which ones live underground or underwater…oh, the whole community of it all!  I have barely scratched the surface with this map! And who ‘sees it all’? From whose point of view? Impatience cannot be a virtue here! I don’t think it will get me anywhere faster! What a process! Who’s voice will tell this story? And how will they relate to all the other characters? Hmmm…something to sleep on a little more…perhaps tonight I will hear some whisper from somewhere?

Down at the bottom of the meadow past The Hillock at the edge of the treeline, is one of my favorite places to go! It’s my ‘wannabe moss farm’ where the moss whispers and where the moss tender listens with an eager ear. I love to be near it and listen as well. The light show that accompanies the whole symphony of sounds is equally as compelling to the eye. The palate of colors changes in an instant as the light dances on the cushy floor. And I get to marvel at it all! I love to close my eyes and feel the different textures! The Hillock is also covered with mosses, but somehow, this moss seems to speak the loudest to me! The best kept secret of the meadow! Shhh…listen! and enjoy!

Zena’s Marsh

There’s a place one goes…

to let the heart breathe.

A place with sky, water, teeming life and light.

No matter when one goes there, it’s waiting…

To breathe the heart back home.

This was a painting I made at the beach for a wonderful friend, Zena. She is so alive and teeming with light and life herself. She loved getting up at 5 in the morning and walking to her spot, to fish, but mostly to just BE. Thank you, Zena, for sharing your Zen Spot with us, just by being the wonderful bundle of energy and love that you ARE!

Today was just too beautiful to stay inside! Francklin, our three-legged dog, who is my forever patient and playful companion, has found his top dog mound on The Hillock where he surveys the scene, always ready to bound into action if there is a stick flying through the air or if he can get my attention with his ball! I’ve been fine tuning the paths and walls. For some reason I am getting The Hillock ready for SOMETHING, not sure what. I’ve always wanted to have a ‘tea’ or some gathering here in the spring. And new dwellings seem to be popping up in anticipation of something! There are so many stories emerging from the mysterious mounds! Maybe after I finish publishing “What Makes a Jingle Ring,” I’ll have space in my head to hear the MossWhispers! Ready for the next Adventures!