Living in a small, rural town and going to your local watering hole for lunch is one of life’s greatest pleasures. You can’t tell me otherwise. Today’s lunch special is steak fingers, mashed potatoes and homemade white gravy. Come to Kansas and I promise you’ll eat well. […]
Category: The Earth Inspires
Goldenrod Blessings
Lovely goldenrod is a transition wildflower blooming late summer on the prairie but whose color I still enjoy in the pasture. I made a few solar-dyed silk scarves on the south porch with pasture goldenrod. On St. Brigid’s Day, I’ll place them outside for the saint to bless with good health and then affix the […]
One of summer’s last tasks
One of the last things that happens at summer end is the pasture outside my studio gets cut and baled for hay. Some lucky cows this winter are going to enjoy all the rich nutrients that grew in the stalks of grass. Right on cue, a cold front is now passing over the studio dropping […]
Fossils and Old Bones
About 80 million years ago western Kansas was hell’s aquarium because of the ferocious marine life prowling its warm inland sea. You wouldn’t expect it, but some of the world’s most amazing sea life fossils are found in the grasslands of Kansas. I picked up this great 1952 textbook on invertebrate fossils at Keystone Gallery, […]
Hedge Apples
Went and collected my hedge apples today. They are the fruit of the Osage orange tree. You can’t eat hedge apples, and animals will leave them alone too, but I think they are mighty fine to look at. […]
September at Fossil Lake
Days of glorious tall grass and blue skies inspires me to take paintings outside to soak it all up. […]
Gumweed now fades in the pasture
Gumweed (grindelia) is one of the last plants to bloom on the summer Prairie and I think it’s because the land requires the full growing season to perfect the scent of sunshine. Gumweed is like holding a bit of the sun in your hand. It is a glorious distillation of wild greening things, wind, and […]
It is nearly wild flower season
Wildflowers are a true prairie gift and symbolize individuality. I think of them as good souls born of the land. My favorite photograph ever taken by made dad was of my mother in a field of wild yarrow. Wildflowers are fleeting beauty in face of the warming land. My rendition has stone texture, paint, shimmering […]
Cottonwoods are Whisper Trees
My favorite tree is the Cottonwood. There are some who say she is a whisper tree. A sort of sage that grasps secrets from the ether and gifts wisdom on the wind to those who would listen, telegraphing fortunes on fluttering leaves. The waxy click clack on the summer warmth sounds like the ocean to […]
