Racking and Burning

The hand today is good but got a blister where I was holding the rack handle.  My back yard is not very big and has big maple trees and with a 130 lb. Great Dane and a little senior fella running around I had some chores to do. I had wanted to spend the say in the studio...doing what I don't know...making more journal...preparing another substrate to continue a series.  But being outside was calling stronger.  So I listened and I'm so glad I did. Started a fire in the fire pit area and burn the discarded branches from the maples and then I started racking every inch of the yard and anything that was burnable was burned.

My mind and heart were thinking about the old and discarded parts of us that don't serve us any more and also about checking in on myself where am I, who am I and what is the direction I'm to be going in?  Most mornings it's about asking those three questions...laughing at myself. That's why I love the wind...I'm always going this way and that.  So to stop and check in and ask what am I doing is nothing out of sorts.

While I was out there my one daughter was home..Maddie and I had asked here to grab me glass of water because my shoes were really muddy. She came out and I said to here I saw some sandhill cranes going over.. about 4 or so in a bunches.  She said she hear them too from her bedroom.  I've got the whole family toned in on the sound.

The dogs were so comfortable with the sun Hank was sunning himself and Carl who's hearing and sight are failing him...(15 years now) had his nose going to stay alert to the happens.  Carl is a mix between an Australian Cattle dog and Beagle...My side kick...I don't want to think about it but it's inevitable his days are mostly sleeping.

The time to be with oneself doing yard chores or working in the studio brings upon a calming peace. I'm feeling very blessed to be alive...most days aren't like this usually I'm scrambling to get some thing I've half ass'ed wrote and get it out for something...class descriptions or workshops proposals.  And now and then submission to shows.

Rambling of thoughts.  My Second Oldest Daughter is flying out this morning for Minnesota to check out the College and to drop off an application at the Whole foods there.  She wants to be an art therapist and they have a program up there. but she' wouldn't be able to do till 2017...so I give her credit for keeping this alive and going forward.  She's 28 years old and being having a degree in Photography doesn't have give one a lot of opens.. so she's wanting to go back to school.

I'm going to head up starts to the studio and witness the weather move in...my storm bells are ringing in the back yard so something coming in...

Talk about burning...here is the husbands project...not much space in garage with our son muscle car in there...or what ever you call them now.  Any ways the anvil weighs a lot and he was about to get it up on the wood block he made and then yesterday get is new Forge started that runs on propane gas and bend a railroad tie....

This one was the first one....the other one he took to work to show the guys was much smoother in rotation of the twisting he did.  Why am I rambling on about this...because I think it's so cool when some decided to learn something and moves forward on that.  And I've heard him talk about learning blacksmithing since we first met...so on to more burning of metal and branches.... and being "Makers of Things"