Already autumn.

 

Summer.

A fleeting season if ever there was one.

It was full of art and medical crises that kept me too busy to blog.

Whew.

Hurrah for a fresh breath of air! 

 

Change of seasons in weather and life are so welcome.

There has even been a sliver of time here and there to paint with friends.

Here I was sketching with Maria Coryell-Martin of Expeditionary Art, whose travel palettes are the legendary. They're truly amazing... sliver-thin so they fit into a small pocket.

Jane Blundell, the well known Australian watercolor artist was here to teach color mixing, and what fun we had!

Our little valley is so lovely in autumn.

Away.

I have been away.

The Sierra Nevada was calling; we packed up and followed the siren song.

We went away to listen to the silence,

the music of brooks and aspen leaves and the crash of an afternoon thunderstorm.

 

We went to hike into the back country of the Ansel Adams Wilderness.

To look for beaver habitat, watch the dragonfly and keep our eyes peeled for the silver flash of brook trout. 

 

To sit and sketch for a long hour in the dappled sun and sit, lazy as a turtle, basking in the warmth.

 

"Going to the mountains," said John Muir, "is coming home."

Ahhhh.

An hour-long vacation

Sometimes the nicest vacations are as simple as an ice cream cone licked with the one you love,

listening to the trickle of water and the chirping of birds overhead

or sneaking away for an hour's hike to the waterfall at the park just down the road...

The Wanderer

 The perfect way to spend a summer evening is aboard a restored 1928 yacht.

This I know because I did just that on our friends' gem of a restored classic wooden boat.

What is it about varnished wood, polished brass, and all those beautiful tiny details?

This boat reminded me of a magical gypsy caravan, something that could take you anywhere. 

It feels like a place where anything could happen.

We didn't even move from the slip and I felt I'd been away on vacation!

Everything was perfectly fit into a charming arrangement of little vignettes...