Springtime in the Rockies

Today was, well, let the immortal words of Winnie the Pooh suffice; "Today was a blustery day!" Jenn decided to stay home today as she's been working long hours (and I see she has a post up!) and take a well deserved quiet day. Tiika and I headed up into the hills for a spring snow hike. It's been sunny and warm here so the wintry blast was a welcome change.Tiika is saying "Enough with the pictures! I thought we came out here to commune with Nature". Right she is and I put the camera away and we took off for some serious hiking (tramping as they say in Kiwi land!). As you can see by the untrampled snow on the trail, in spite of it being afternoon, no one has been up here.As we reached the lower elevations, I spied one of our beautiful Glacier Lilys sitting in the snow. I couldn't resist the picture as this is a classic description of "Springtime in the Rockies". In reference to an earlier entry, Old Man Winter is truly gone. Our dear Lady of the Spring is a bit of an Ice Maiden when she first arrives and can't resist a few cold, frosty ones!

ArtFest lovely

I thought I better put in an appearance so the rumors don't get too out of hand about blogville these days. Actually, I've really enjoyed having Rob posting here. It's fun to read what he writes about our lives. We are both getting so jazzed about this trip to New Zealand (swine flu outbreaks excepted!). Take off is just over two weeks away! How did that happen? Time always flies when I'm busy.

Another example of flying time is how long it's been since ArtFest. I've been so busy planning for this trip and working extra hours so I have enough vacation time that I can hardly believe it's only been three weeks since I got home from that adventure.

I finally got a good picture of the present I bought myself at vendor night. Isn't it great? The swirlies at the top are what sold me though the bird drew me in to start.

I bought it from Melissa Manley who my group actually met the first year we went to ArtFest. She and her partner, Robert, stayed in the same house as us. I always make sure to check out her goodies at vendor night. (Last year I purchased some pretty earrings from her.) When I saw this birdy necklace, I knew I wanted it. The only issue I had was it seemed too long. Melissa graciously obliged my request to shorten it (and put on a slightly more hardy clasp since I am prone to break them). Unfortunately that meant I had to wait for her to make the changes and mail it to me afterwards. There was no instant gratification but it certainly brightened my day when the package arrived in the mail!

Ok, one more ArtFest photo because it brings back the memory of a lovely day spent with my art buddies, Joanne and Sue. Sue has also been my roomie the last two years and she took this "action" shot of me and Joanne.

"Active" Rest Day

Today was our rest day and we decided to head out and play Frisbee. Tiika used to like catching a Frisbee but is now only interested in a ball or a stick and definitely in that order. I'm not sure she even notices the Frisbee in Jenn's hand, so focused is her gaze on the ball. We made it out in between storms and had a nice barbeque of chicken and lamb when we returned home.

Only Three Weeks To Get Ready! Yikes!!

With our departure for New Zealand only three weeks away, we're ramping up our training rides. Today we rode up Pattee Canyon, an area southeast of Missoula where we were able to get some good climbs in. As you can see, Jenn is pumped!












Tiika is all excited, too! Of course she doesn't know yet that she isn't making the trip with us. She'll be staying up on the Flathead Indian Nation at Mountain View Kennels where she'll have a great time with Lora Hughes, the owner. We came off the mountain tired, but glad we beat the storm. We have snow predicted for tonight!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

In honor of Earth Day, I'm putting up a collection of some of our personal favorite places in this area of our dear planet that we call home. Click on any photo to see the details.









































In Praise of the Earth (For Earth Day)
Let us bless
The imagination of the Earth.
That knew early the patience
To harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm,
Ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging
Among the stillness of land.

And how light knew to nurse
The growth until the face of the Earth
Brightened beneath a vision of color.

When the ages of ice came
And sealed the Earth inside
An endless coma of cold,
The heart of the Earth held hope,
Storing fragments of memory,
Ready for the return of the sun.

Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm
To walk in space open
To infinite galaxies.

Let us salute the silence
And certainty of mountains:
Their sublime stillness,
Their dream-filled hearts.

The wonder of a garden
Trusting the first warmth of spring
Until its black infinity of cells
Becomes charged with dream;
Then the silent, slow nurture
Of the seed's self, coaxing it
To trust the act of death.

The humility of the Earth
That transfigures all
That has fallen
Of outlived growth.

The kindness of the Earth,
Opening to receive
Our worn forms
Into the final stillness.

Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth
For all our sins against her:
For our violence and poisonings
Of her beauty.

Let us remember within us
The ancient clay,
Holding the memory of seasons,
The passion of the wind,
The fluency of water,
The warmth of fire,
The quiver-touch of the sun
And shadowed sureness of the moon.

That we may awaken,
To live to the full
The dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge
And incarnate its hidden night
In mind, spirit, and light.

John O'Donohue,
(from To Bless the Space Between Us)

May the blessings of Gaia be with all of you
Happy Earth Day!
Love,
Rob, Jenn & Tiika

Winter finally says "Farewell, till I return"

While there are many indicators of the return of spring, the first flower means it's truly time to say good bye to Old Man Winter. Usually, it's our brave little buttercup poking it's head out to say hi. Even if it means pushing aside a pine cone! Soon our meadows will be bloomimg with Indian Paintbrush, Lupine, etc.

The Training Continues...

We went for a nice ride on Sunday. Jenn & Tiika were all excited and chose the road less traveled. That bridge actually held for us in spite of its rickety appearance and we rode till we found a nice place by the river. We stopped and rested our weary bones.















There are several ways to "rest". Some choose a swim and a good stick while others are content with a cold one. We had a big hill to climb on the way back so calories don't count! We read, ate some jerky and nuts, lounged around and generally just enjoyed being there. Finally, the sun was fading into the western sky and it was time to go home. We mounted up and hit the trail and, yes, the bridge held again!

My Kind Of Traffic Jam

I had a little bit of a delay when I came home today.This herd of bighorn sheep was hanging out in our driveway and yard. I sat at the entrance to our yard for about 20 minutes watching them graze, not wanting to disturb them. I stayed perfectly still so that they forgot my presence and milled about the car munching contentedly on some new spring grass. When they moved enough so I could get out of the car without disturbing them, I went into the house to get the camera. By that time, they had crossed the street to the neighbor's.

I tried to get this one to come over and play with Tiika, but nothing doing. Good thing, as not all dogs are as friendly as our Tiika-girl. We left them to their grazing and headed into the hills, grateful to have shared a moment with the bighorns. Jenn will be sorry she missed them.

Friday Night Out

It was Friday and we had a classic Missoula afternoon/evening planned. After taking care of Tiika, we would head to Bayern Brewing, our favorite local watering hole, for a few German microbrews. Dinner would be across town at Sean Kelly's, a great Irish establishment, where they serve a mean Bangers and Mash to be washed down with Harp's on tap. Entertainment that evening would have a tropical flavor with the University Percussion Ensemble and Islanders Steel Drum band.

So what does all this have to do with the picture? Well, we have a grand trip planned to New Zealand where we will be sea-kayaking, hiking (or tramping as the Kiwi's say), biking, whale watching, glacier-trekking, etc. We're leaving in five weeks and that means we are in TRAINING. The only way to justify a couple of brewskis is to earn them with sweat (I mean perspiration, if my Mom is reading this :-) ). Spring is here so we broke out the bikes, drove to the edge of town, and did it all on two wheels. We had a great time. Unfortunately, we ate and drank more than we biked, so Tiika and I went off on a long hike today. Jenn, whose return from ArtFest has left her enthusiastic about more projects, spent the day rearranging her studio (easily equal to a long hike). Maybe if we work out hard for the next three weeks, we can justify going out again!

I'm baaack!

I'm back from ArtFest and nearly caught up on life at home. Rob reminded me tonight that I should post something soon. (Guess who's caught the blogging bug?)

ArtFest at Port Townsend was another great experience. This was the third year for my group to attend. We added a couple of newbies to the crowd, a few of whom I knew and had a super time catching up with in the evenings over glasses of wine and whiskey. I also got to spend extra time in North Bend on either end of the trip which was an added bonus.

How about some pictures of the art I created? I'm only going to post a few of them, the ones I like best, of course!

This one was created in two phases, day 1 - environmentally friendly paint making with Karen Michel*, and day 2 - an encaustic class with Judy Wise **. My friend, Elisabeth, had taken a similar encaustic class on day 1 and when she saw this piece, she highly recommended that I take it with me on day 2 for the beeswax treatment. I think it really finishes the piece. Now, where to hang it...

* I bought a couple of prints from her, too, at the vendor night. Delicious.
** You can see more pictures from her classes on her blog that I've linked to.

This collage was created in the day 1 class. I loved the rich red background and the flower seemed like a good compliment to it. I had then glued down the squares along the edge. From there I knew I wanted to attach the charm in the middle and asked Karen for her advice. She made a suggestion and I went with it. Nice, eh?

This was the first piece I started in the day 2 class. I ended up working on 3-4 pieces simultaneously in this class. In part this happened to allow the wax to harden a bit. I was also facing a bit of a creative block and switching among various layouts helps me get past them. I ended up liking this one quite a bit.

And this lovely item is from my day 3 class. I was a bit stressed about this day. Thankfully, I had two art buddies, Joanne and Sue, by my side. Their support got me through and I had a better day than I thought I would.

You may not be able to tell but this is an altered cigar box. Not just any cigar box but one procured for me by my delightful Gretchen. =) Thank you dear, it was just perfect. Can't wait to show you in person.

And this is the inside of the above box. The guts aren't quite complete. Come to think of it, neither is the outside. There's my project to putter on during the summer. In spite of my fears of this class, I am pleased with the outcome.

I've posted some other photos I took during the weekend if you're interested in seeing them, click here.

That about wraps it up for ArtFest 2009. It was certainly an event to remember. Can't wait to see what unfolds for next year...

Making Canine Snow Angels

Today we decided to spend the day at Lubrecht Forest. We arose early and the day promised to be sunny.



Just minutes on the trail and Tiika spots a deer! After an unsuccessful attempt to get the deer to play, it was time for the first of many snow angels.

Tiika thinks it's amazing how many sticks you can find in a forest!


And all the dens to visit, but still, no one wanted to play. Except me, who is always willing to throw some sticks.

Our favorite trail sign, it usually means you won't see too many people. Today, however, we had the entire forest to ourselves. After a long, hard climb, it was time for a lunch of sausage and goat cheese. The cheese is only for me despite Tiika's drooling. She does make an awesome living napkin!



Then it was time for more snow angels and games!


Even after a 9 hour hike, somebody was still sad that we had to return. No it wasn't Tiika, it was me. Tiika is a Qi Gong Master and is happy and content whatever her environment. She just looked me with her kind, wise eyes and I could feel her thoughts "Oh, Robhopper (I know, doesn't quite roll off the tongue like Grasshopper), someday you will learn."




Jenn returns tomorrow and this blog will go back to what you are used to. I'm sure she'll have many stories to share from ArtFest and maybe a picture or two of her projects.