1798. against all odds

 

old decrepit tree

still standing against the wind

still beating the odds 🦊❤️

I could not help but stop my car and take a picture of a totally rotted hulk of a tree, leaning precariously yet standing none the less.  You have to admire this kind of holding on. 🦊❤️

1797. parting of the water

 

hokusai’s “great wave”

parted just like the red sea

for lovers of tea 🦊❤️

I love the Japanese artist Hokusai’s wood block print “The Great Wave”. I thought it was great that it was used as a curtain for tea lovers to enter the tea room in Vermont to escape the busyness of the day for a great cup of tea. 🦊❤️

1796. above it all

 

tommy’s up there now

and he’s looking down on us

a tear in his eye 🦊❤️

***

tommy’s up there now

and he’s looking down on us

with tears in our eyes 🦊❤️

This is my latest, and possibly last painting of Tommy. He is perched on the porch roof of the Environmental Center in the park. He would often climb the nearby tree (cut down now) and watch the world go by from his private lookout tower. The painting captures his daring, seriousness and smarts. It is titled “Above It All”. It is a 24”x18” acrylic. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to paint Tommy in his many moods over the years. He was the best. 🦊❤️

1795. the mourning sun

in the morning sun

his golden underside shone

by the mourning sun 🦊❤️

 Even the sun mourns sometimes… Life… 🦊❤️

1794. tea house

 

cakes and cakes of tea

so many new thing to see

tea cups gently ching 🦊❤️

We visited a tea house while in Vermont.  I was fascinated by the “tea cakes” imported from across the world that were for sale.  So many different sizes and shapes. People sitting sipping expertly brewed tea. The sound of  clinging and clanging of tea cups. Watching two young women brewing individual pots of tea and commenting on their taste as they did their work. A new experience for me. 🦊❤️

1793. a puzzling tree

 

a picture puzzle

with oh so many pieces

the sycamore tree 🦊❤️

I love Sycamore trees. Their shedding bark, like pieces of a picture puzzle fall to the ground and go crunch under my feet. And when this year’s puzzle pieces are finally all shed, next year’s puzzle has already begun to be created. 🦊❤️

1792. water’s sounds

 

in a split second

the silent, silky smooth stream

screamed thunderously 🦊❤️

We sat for quite awhile on the side of a hill in Middlebury Vermont gazing at and listening to water pounding its way over the edge and then returning to its sounds of silence as it moved past us. A metaphor for life and living. 🦊❤️