A little play time does a girl wonders

Looking back I always remember being out side and working in the yard. From when I was very young there was some small job to do like pulling the dried buds off the Mock Roses my mom had in the front flower beds...to picking green beans and weeding the rows in the large garden. I then moved to tending to the grass, you see my dad worked at a few golf course maintaining the grounds and he grow up on Dunham Road in Downers Grove farming and building house with his father and brothers.  So that has trickled down.  My love of outdoors and doing the husbandry of the yard also came from years in Girl Scouts...which lead to some dabbling in Native American Studies, experience a Sweat lodge to making my own papers...Now why did I trail off this morning on all this?

 Good question, Play is the answer but play in a different sort of way. I have been really blessed with working at what I love, making papers, teaching how to and creating works for galleries and all the stuff that goes between each one of this tasks or jobs...you know the paper work or computer work and running and dropping off of things to answering emails.. Well I usually balance this all out with many hours by myself in the woods or walking my dogs.  But I know I needed something else...I could feel the attitude heading for the dumper..as of my thinking was really ready to be trashed...so I did have to do some morning stuff.  Like drop off a piece work and chat with a lovely artists...little networking too. Then stop into Blick Art supplies to pick up a few more gesso cradle panels and then to the food store only to come home to my great dane Hank and he eye problem...that seems to come back because our Terrier/pointer mix wants to be helpful and clean ears and eyes...seems when I see Carl doing that the next day Hanks got gooey eye syndrome.  OK there I go again...trying to be a storyteller. 

Well after all that I was able to go outside and start the clean up.. I cut back all my tall grasses and pulled my lemon balm and mums which was dry and brought it around back to get ready to burn.  Then started a fire in the pit.  Flash backs from being a fire tender in girl scouts all the time...I some how gravitated towards that job all the time...respecting it and keeping in a safe area.  I heard the sound and looked up to see again another low flock of Sand hill Cranes...I do love being out side and witnessing this seasonal change...just part of cycle the ebb and flows of nature and life.. Well before I know it 4 hours has passed and my stiff fingers were all scratched up and not as sore as they have been.. The four legged loves of mine were very happy we spent the day outside.  I feel new energy for myself mainly because I was outside and felt the past in the present of all the wonderful times and that I wasn't working on something I was actually playing a role of backyard tender... So the flower beds and the paper making hut area will be worked on little by little to get ready for the season and turning over of the dirt replenished new growth too. I got a start and it feels great..instead of thinking and doing business all the time..Now to tackle the fish tank today and put the house plants outside and bath them with the fish tank water...and maybe I'll be doing the Studio playing later..