Tuesday 21 February 2017

snowy midwinter update


It's been somewhat milder over the last week, but not without another snowstorm

which meant Wally came home to do more snowblowing.
Muji kept a watchful eye. "Make sure you get that bit in the corner."
(That's our bed in the reflection of Wally's snow trajectory. I forgot to turn out the light.)

A beautiful polar drift off the roof's eave began to form

quite sculptural yet ethereal

The next day it was business as usual. The sidewalk snowblower sends a shot of snow to the side.
Wally has been building up our snowbanks so that it is hard to see out as he leaves our driveway.

By Saturday it was quite mild- well, above freezing- as we headed off to our favourite health food store in Greenwood again. I got a decent shot of this huge quintet as we set off.

Trees are the name of the game out here. We have some nice hills out here,
the ancient beginnings of the Adirondacks that are simply called "the North and South Mountains" that define the Annapolis Valley.

It was a low light day which didn't bode well for picture taking with my little camera with the slow exposures, so I waited til we got into Kingston, sister town to Greenwood

There's not much that is picturesque so I'm showing you that same house I've shown before,
a sweet rambling structure.

On the road into Greenwood we pass a tractor with his snow plough at the ready.

Wally's back at it, this time with the snow scoop. Even though we don't use this door,
getting snow away from the house will help to redirect the spring run-off away from our basement.

He's a jolly Mr. Snow Removal when the temperatures are mild like this.

This morning I missed some fantastic shots of this crow who found some bread I'm guessing.
He flew over to our cabin roof to eat it.

Once done, he braced himself

to fly away. Oh, the shot I missed as he flew right towards me!

A view late this afternoon from upstairs looking down our street.

Babu with his usual Muji hair décor

I found this old shot of him as a baby yesterday. Such a pretty boy.

Here's an update on that dye ink and watercolour painting I started last week

I've added paint pen (the white), some lavender Prismacolor pencil, and fountain pen black outline.

I hope you've been well and finding peace in the small joys of life. Winter can take its toll.
I hear it is already Spring in England and of course Summer is continuing in the southern hemisphere.

I learned a small something this week that I thought I would share with you.
It seems we have only a certain amount of psychological energy in a day which explains why one can feel tired from emotions or too many distractions or being "detailed to death".  Making ourselves aware of these frustrating expenditures and narrowing in on what we'd prefer to be spending their time on can help us to circumvent the myriad of mundane activities that make up so much of our day, but  if you can't circumvent, the real trick is to automate the necessary little details. Even the time it takes to think about things like what to wear, cleaning routines, tidying habits, or for me, the amount of supplements we 4 of us take here (Wally, me and the 2 cats) can take away from the allotted energy we want for more important things. It reminds me of how efficiently a well thought out business runs. It needn't be so structured that you lose spontaneity, but if one equates freedom with time, it is worth it to free up our minds for the things that really matter.





2 comments:

Jeanne-Sylvie said...

The picture of the crow flying away!!!!!!!!!!! Crows fascinate me , for their intelligence and for their aesthetic too , they stand out so beautifully on a snowy landscape.
You did a beautiful job with the young lady's painting.I loved to look at all the details, in the foliage, in the caracter's dress, the cat's fur. There is so much work in this painting, and i know by experience that working in a small format makes the details more difficult to paint.i looked carefully at how you used the white paint pen. I never thought to use mine this way, the result is excellent.
I will have to give a try at the fountain pen too but i acknowledge it is still a bit daunting to me.
Muji baby makes me melt! It always feels so good to me to look at the photos of your cats, i miss mines so much.
Warmest thoughts to you my dear, be well.

Enchanted Blue Planet said...

Thank you for all your considerate observations, Jeanne-Sylvie. The fountain pen glides so smoothly compared to a dip drawing pen in the India ink I'd prefer as the fountain pen's water reactive ink is a challenge. My go-to is drawing, and a pencil sketch always helps a finished product in ink. I believe I started this piece with lavender Prismacolour pencil.

I couldn't go a year without rescuing our 2 cats after our last, Elmo, was gone. It brought a family energy into our home that was missing. I do miss my former pets however; such sweet personalities that were in my life so long.
How dear you've been to support me here. Thank you so much.

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