Sauntering at Carver Roehl

John Muir didn't like the word "hike," and instead preferred the word "saunter."  I suppose sauntering sounds more pleasant than hiking, less like exercise and more like an easy appreciation of nature.  My husband and I sauntered through a local county park this afternoon, and while the colors so far are not brilliant, there is a real feeling of autumn in the air, as there should be on the first day of October.  I took several photos, but I think this one captures the feeling of the place best.  The landscape at Carver Roehl park is varied, some flat, some hilly, and there is a little creek that has carved out limestone outcroppings that are scattered with ferns. 

We didn't realize it, but a local friends group was sponsoring a fall gala, with speakers, picnicking, a petting zoo, and horse-drawn hayrides.  It was charming sauntering the trails, and hearing the sound of the horses' hooves on the road.

Sometimes the only cure for brain fog is a walk in the woods.  I'm glad we went.

October
by Robert Frost

O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being begiled.
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes' sake, if they were all.
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost ---
For the grapes' sake along the wall.

Embracing the Seasons

After a wet summer, it looks like autumn will be dry.  We enjoy taking the convertible out on fall road trips.  These photos were from our overnight to Wausau.  The colors are a bit ahead that far north, but certainly not peak yet.  Still, the journey is the pleasure, not just the destination. We had a nice meal at a supper club, and did a bit of hiking, and took in the Birds in Art show at the Woodson.

No Time Like the Present

24x24 inches, oil and cold wax on canvas

I used to laugh at people who claimed to be blocked.  No more.  The past year has seen me change from a person who drew or painted almost every day to a person who often sits in the stdio staring at sketchbook and canvases and big sheets of paper and thinking.  But not doing.

I have reasons/excuses.  I attended a couple different workshops with people whose abstract work I admire, and came away feeling like a zero.  A person incapable of taking any sort of risk.  Then this year I was diagnosed with cancer, had extensive surgery, and am in the middle of chemotherapy.  For a while I was too stunned, too sore, too scared to think about painting, and in fact my hands were too shaky.  

But then I thought, if not now, when?  What have I got to lose?  I took an old canvas that I rescued from the Goodwill, gessoed over it, and got out my old oil paints and new jar of Gamblin Cold Wax medium, and just played.  Since I don't really know how to clean my brushes with this wax medium, I used palette knives and my fingers - something totally new to me.  And guess what. I sort of like the results, even though my only goal was to see how the cold wax and oil paint behaves.  I layered, and sqeegeed and scraped.  I even added some collage papers in the first layer.  I mixed up too much paint and then gave myself permission to waste it by throwing it away.

So, whether this ever sees the light of day or not, I am pleased that I finally took some action.  I'd hate to never have tried.