There’s that annoying word, “busy”. Full calendar, perhaps, might be a better thing to say. No, that isn’t really true, because I scheduled three days of doing just about nothing. Mineral King has been busy because with the closure of Yosemite, visitors are coming hard and fast into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. It has taken them a bit longer to discover Mineral King, but the back country trails have been filling up.
The Mineral King Preservation Society has an annual event that used to be called “The Hoedown”. Someone finally pointed out that no one knows what that word actually means, and the MKPS had the good sense to change it to the classier “Music in the Mountains”.
Trail Guy was the organizer, and he did a great job! Excellent evening together in Mineral King for anyone who had the good fortune to be there.
Keith Hamm and Esther Zurcher call themselves “Mankin Creek” and are a folk-type music husband/wife duo from Three Rivers. It is always a treat to hear them.Music in the Mountains took place on this old cement slab above the parking lot at the end of the road.Free picnic-style dinner was provided to all 93 folks who attended (except one who wouldn’t even eat the veggie sandwiches because they have mayo – hunh?)This is one of our favorite grandpas, enjoying seeing his granddaughter dance.And this is the granddaughter with her mom.Others danced too – this one was for Louise Jackson, the originator of the event who could not attend this year. Her favorite song is “Don’t Fence Me In”, so Keith and Esther played it for her. I had to go do something busy so I wouldn’t cry during this one.These really aren’t grumpy old men (and no, Jake, I’m not calling you “old”). They are quite genial fellows who are listening intently and enjoying the music. Maybe they are trying not to cry here.Trail Guy is ‘splaining how things work.Jim Ingram provided the sound system and a few cowboy favorites.Rich and Nikki came from Three Rivers for the evening and showed us all how to dance.Nikki’s cousin Stefni was a surprise singing guest with a truly beautiful voice.
I’ve spent more time in Mineral King than home working in August so the subject needs Friday as well as Monday next week.
Mineral King’s wildflowers peak in July, but there are still beautiful sights in August.
This dude is too busy to notice the stellar jay feather. He is a Lodgepole chipmunk.Trail Guy on the Franklin/Farewell trail.Yo, Bucky.The flowers at the Franklin/Farewell trail junction are fading, but Bigelow Sneezeweed is still going strong.We accompanied our good friend on the first four miles of her week-long backpack trip.
This girl can step out, even wearing a backpack that probably tops 45 lbs. I had to focus to stay on her 6, carrying my 4 lb. day pack. How embarrassing. When we got to the Trail Junction (affectionately known as the “Wildflower Cafe”), we had a snack, and then I announced that I had gone as far as I wanted to go.
I came to see some Explorer’s Gentian, and they did not disappoint.
They make the Sierra Gentian look boring by contrast. (Or perhaps my photos do that.)
Crystal Creek is slow and low.
Eight was enough miles for the day. We got back to the cabin before the sky opened up, and I got more knitting done. (Our friend probably was at her destination, hunkered down in her tent.)
My four little messes from last week have become paintings. This 4×6″ size is tricky to paint. I hold them in my left hand, often ending up wearing paint in addition to applying it, and always wishing for smaller and smaller brushes. They retail for $50 (plus 8% tax, welcome to California) each, and the place that sells them takes a bite out of the $50, so I have to be careful to not pour too many hours into them.
In other words, I have to “settle”. Two passes over the canvas is all they get, and rather than focus on precision, I focus on pleasing colors and contrast. That’s not natural to this Central California artist whose specialty is detail in pencil.
But, I bravely soldier on. . .
For the 2nd pass, I mix the colors more carefully and try to get them all mixed before beginning.I hope these dry quickly; they should outside in the heat and the wind.
It might be hotter on this rock.More on the rock was a good idea except for those troublesome grasses.Maybe the wood stack is better because the sun is over there for a longer time.4 little Mineral King oil paintings, drying on the wood stack. Farewell Gap, Vandever with the stream, Honeymoon Cabin, Juniper.
But wait! There’s more!
That juniper needs to be painted on an 8×8″ square canvas. I’ll enjoy painting it more when there is space to capture more detail.
It has been a few weeks since I oil painted. Little paintings are selling steadily at the Silver City Resort/Store 4 miles below Mineral King, and in this final push of summer before the season shuts down after Labor Day, it seems wise to load up their shelves.
How in the world do people complete a painting in only one pass over the canvas? I’ve done it, but right now it seems like a foreign language that I have never heard before.
It was easy to choose the subjects to paint, and goodness knows, I have hundreds of photos of the same scenes in Mineral King, all in different lights.
Here are four little messes. By “little”, I mean 4×6″. By “messes”, I mean OH NO HAVE I FORGOTTEN HOW TO PAINT??
Stick a fork in it, it’s done. (Better not – the tines will bend.)
I gave this another good look. A few more branches on the left, another tree straightening, and my signature were all that it needed.
Tucker, please don’t drink the paintbrush water.Wow, I have missed the kitties.This was tricky to photograph. I tried several versions and decided it will be the most impressive when it is installed in its home.
Trail Guy and I wrapped it in 2 pieces of cardboard using duct tape around the edges and loaded it in the Botmobile for the next trip up the hill.
Sawtooth on a saw blade is finished! It is a relief to have accomplished an odd job and be pleased with the results.
One last photo; this is where it was and how it looked before it came my way:
This is Maxine the Marmot. She is waiting for me to stop looking at her so she can continue to prepare to fatten up for winter.
At this time of year, I am living in two places. One is Up and the other is Down.
This has its ups and downs. . . the biggest Up is that no one is looking at his phone while up the hill, unless scrolling through to show you a photo. Nothing is beeping, pinging, ringing, or dinging. People are present. Things are slower, less urgent, minus the frantic pace of down-the-hill living that now passes for normal.
The Down side is that while I am down the hill, I am scrambling to answer emails, respond to comments, write and schedule blog posts, send out invoices and orders, plan for new paintings, do the regular errands and the chores, and all the rest of normal life. (I also miss my kitties and my yard and my walking buddy while I am up the hill.)
While I’m having an extended stay up the hill, I make a long list of things to attend to when I get back down the hill. This way I can do up-the-hill things without wondering if I am neglecting down-the-hill things. I AM neglecting down-the-hill things, but they can wait.
Have you noticed this? These days people seem to have forgotten how to wait. There is a frantic aggressiveness in many drivers, there is a need for instant messaging and texting no matter where one is, and people must fill every second with something to do while waiting so that the time won’t be wasted. Who just stands in line, looking around or chatting with strangers any more?
Life up the hill reminds us how to wait in many ways. We pull to the side of the road in a wide spot to wait for oncoming traffic to pass, we wait for the phone to ring because there is no answering machine to grab an expected call, we wait for the fire in the wood stove to get hot enough to boil water for coffee, we wait to see various animals, we wait for friends and neighbors to arrive, and we wait until we get home to answer emails and phone messages and regular mail.
So, I hope you all are able to wait well and enjoy life in the present. (You may have to wait for a blog post that shows you my latest work in progress.)
Clearly I was under the influence of my beach time when I began knitting this sweater. Knitting is a great thing to do while waiting.
Because I went coastal last week, I don’t have any new stories to tell about my crazy life in Mineral King. (not truly crazy, just me exaggerating. . .)
Instead, here are 10 photos of Mineral King wildflowers for you to enjoy.
Swamp onionPenstemonCrimson columbineIndian paintbrushGiant blazing starKelley’s leopard lilyConeflowerSwamp onion againMountain Pride (or Pride of the Mountains, depending on which book you read.)Pennyroyal
Do you have a favorite? Do you know any of these by different names?
A wise man in my youth taught that one should have principles (which I call “policies”) in life that help you make decisions. One of my personal life policies is Never Turn Down A Chance To Go To The Beach.
You may recall that I have a friend who is waiting for new lungs. With our heat and smoke, she has been suffering greatly for the past 2 months in Three Rivers. To help you understand how much, get this: she hasn’t been upstairs in her own home for 2 months because the stairs are too much of an obstacle.
A friend of hers offered her use of a house on the Central Coast for the month of August. She needed a driver, an equipment schlepper, and a general caretaker, and yea, she asked me!! After some juggling, cancelling, rearranging, etc., I called her back. When she answered the phone, I simply said, “Yes”. She may have screamed, which took too much oxygen. But, we made it. Here is a peek into our time together. Out of respect for the privacy of the homeowner and my friend, I’ll keep specifics off the World Wide Web.
We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the location and the beauty of the house. She sat outside and breathed the cool clean air while I got all the stuff situatedWhen I got down to the beach, I saw a whole jellyfish on the sand. Usually there are only squishy parts of these creatures.This creature kept looking at me. I walked it multiple times a day, and any time we were in the house, I said to it, “Stop looking at me!”What?? More jellyfish on the sand?Really strange stuff.Previous occupants have found seaglass and shells.Stop looking at me!A big victory was getting my friend to the sand. Actually the bigger victory was getting her back up the steps. This trek will be a daily goal, with the hope that she will get strong enough to actually make it down to the water;s edge.Really??This walk, these colors, scent, feel – it is why never turning down a visit to the beach is one of my life policies.What is going on around here??Finally. Something other than a dying jellyblobfish.I love my friend and she loves me. What a pleasure and a privilege to spend time together! (I’m trying to hide the O2 tank in the picture.)
Sawtooth Peak is figuring large in my work life lately. Sometime last week I spent a few days in the studio listening to the reassuring hum of the air conditioner and listening to my own thoughts, and finally, listening to podcasts. This was all to keep me from falling asleep while working on a new pencil drawing of Sawtooth.
While listening to podcasts, I jot notes, and when I take breaks from staring at teensy details through a magnifying glass, I look up things. Gretchen Rubin’s podcast “Happier” mentioned a dish pattern, and something called a “corkicle”. . . had to see those things. She mentioned a writer named May Sarton who has a memoir called Plant Dreaming Deep; of course I had to click on the link to Amazon, then read about it on GoodReads, and finally, look for it in my library’s online catalog system.
Victor Davis Hanson uses big words to convey large ideas, and occasionally I write notes or look up words online when I hear him speak. Usually I just replay his interviews a few times to see if I understand his concepts.
All this listening helps me get through the seemingly endless miniature details of the current drawing.
And in spite of all this listening, learning, and thinking, I still haven’t decided if it is a good thing or a bad thing to put links within my own blog. Perhaps you will be so kind as to let me know if that is helpful or annoying. . .
Saw/Saw, a mini mural of Sawtooth Peak on a round saw blade, was almost finished.
I fixed the camera setting, stood on the ladder to photograph it, and then realized that the trees on the bottom were crooked. Of course I only noticed this after putting the photo in an email to the customers, but immediately after sending it, I straightened them up. This is tricky business on a circle – how do I know vertical is vertical without straight edges of the canvas or wall to guide me?
That’s why I get paid the Big Bucks. (Fall down laughing.)
Here are four little messes. By “little”, I mean 4×6″. By “messes”, I mean OH NO HAVE I FORGOTTEN HOW TO PAINT??
