Category: Going Places

Long Way There

This post will be entirely personal, so feel free to skip it if you only come for art or Mineral King.

Did you know that Israel is 236 miles from north to south?

Recently, Trail Guy and I drove the equivalent of that distance 11 times over, and we only saw parts of 5 of our 50 states.

We live in a HUGE country, people. HUGE.

The first day of the road trip took us up Interstate Five. The further north we went, the easier the traveling became, due to diminishing traffic. (We avoid 99 because it seems as if everyone on that road is trying to kill us.)

The most interesting thing we saw that day was just south of the weird town of Weed: a lot full of rainbow colored water trucks. It is so remarkable that I looked it up online. They don’t have a website, but I found that their name is Truck Village. You can see a photo here.

Weed is quaint. It was named after Abner Weed, not after pot. Mount Shasta dominates the town, but I don’t have photos because the sun was directly over it when I took my morning walk. Here are a few photos showing the quaintness:

Our second day driving took us to our first real destination of Salem, Oregon. That leg of the trip was the shortest driving day and the prettiest. We saw wind machines in a few orchards, something we only associate with citrus in the Central Valley. So, we went exploring to see what needed frost protection, and this was the surprising answer:

Then we detoured to a landmark that I have been enjoying for years as we burn up the petrol along I-5.

It is called “Grave Creek” because of something sad a very long time ago, not because people are serious here.

Salem was all about Golden Delicious apples and making fruit leather. Had to do something while it rained; we had a very enjoyable time with family and apples.

The day after tomorrow I will continue to show and tell about the very long way there, and where “there” is.

What Came Out of My Pencils

Sometimes I want to draw because I love to draw. I want to draw what I want to draw, and don’t want to think about what might sell.

I ignored my common sense, ignored my theme of Tulare County, and this is what came out of my pencils. (as if it just showed up on its own, no effort or decision on my part, I was just a tool, a vessel, and a victim!)

caesarea-arch

This is an arch that is part of the Roman aqueduct system along the Mediterranean at Cesarea ~~Philippi~~ Maritima in Israel. As you may recall, I love architecture, stone work, bridges and archways. We had about 3 minutes to view this and then BAM, back on the bus! It just grabbed me. . . the beauty, the antiquity, the Med Sea . . . I was gobsmacked.

So, I took a few photos, and now here it is as a drawing.

My sister, niece and I were all just thrilled to be at the Mediterranean. We were the first and the only people in our group to run to the water and get it without any discussion or delay. It was one of the highlights of the entire Israel adventure for me.

The sharp eyes of one of my fellow Israel travelers caught my mistake in the location of this drawing. I knew better and have no excuse. Thanks, Cog!

drawing pencil drawing

What’s Old?

Our guide in Israel told us of being on Highway One in California and seeing a sign that said “historic site”. They pulled off to see it, and laughed their heads off when they learned it was a 200 year old lighthouse. He said, “That’s like 15 minutes in our country!”

capernaum — The remains of the synagogue in Capernaum where Jesus taught – over 2000 years old.

This is what passes for historic in my world. It is a drawing for the upcoming adult coloring book of Exeter. This is not 2000 years old, or even 200 years old. But, it’s what we’ve got around here.

old Exeter

It needs the border and my signature, and I think I might have scanned it a little crooked. Lots more to draw – I was off work for 2 weeks, and there are coloring books to be created, quickly, before the fad’s 15 minutes of relevance wear off.

15 minutes, 200 years, 2000 years. . . what’s old?

A Central Calif. Artist Goes to Israel

My brother-in-law was the pastor of Neighborhood Church in Visalia and was planning to visit Israel this summer. After he died last September, the church offered his slot to his wife, my sister. When I told Trail Guy that she was going, along with our niece, Trail Guy said, “Don’t you want to go too?”

OF COURSE I WANTED TO GO!!

So I did.

We were a group of 34 with a fantastic tour guide. We saw 50 sites in 10 days. It was very hot. I took around 750 photos and have been editing them, labeling them before I forget which pile of golden tan ruins is which.

I’m not sure how this will figure into this blog. Does anyone care? Perhaps I’ll just show a little bit each day. Or, I could post one day a week about the trip. Or, I can just shut up and continue to show you the inner workings of an art business in Central California with a peek into Mineral King every Friday.

People on the tour asked if I would be drawing or painting from my Israel photos. Probably not, unless someone commissions me for a particular piece. People have asked if I will make a coloring book of Israel’s sites. No. Everything we saw is about the same color of a golden tan. I have an Exeter coloring book to finish and a Sequoia/Kings Canyon one to begin.

Today I’ll show you a few photos. These are images that interested me, and if they have something interesting to accompany the pictures, I’ll add some words.

Maybe I’ll even learn to read the stats on the blog, and if the number of readers plummets, I’ll know to stop with the Israel pics.

Yad Hashmona — Cool door at the kibbutz. The guide told us that if you are under 30 and haven’t worked at a kibbutz, you have no heart. If you are over 30 and are still at a kibbutz, you have no brain.

Azeka

Thank you, Trail Guy, for suggesting and supporting me in my desire to see wonderful places with my sister and my niece.

A Contrast in Landmarks

Over the last 2 weeks I’ve been talking to you about our little landmark post office, the Kaweah Post Office. It took a huge limb right through the roof, and it will cost money to restore the place. It is one of the few landmark buildings we have in Three Rivers, and we need to take care of it. Lots of people got involved, and my painting of it sold on eBay to raise money, a friend donated a large chunk of change, and another man hired me to paint it again and donated a pile of cash toward the project.

During the time of concentrating on our little landmark, Trail Guy and I took a weekend trip to Lake Tahoe. While there, we spent time at two different landmark buildings that just knocked my socks off.

Our cool little post office would disappear in the boat house to one of these summer mansions, and it is ALL WE HAVE!!

Welcome to Tulare County. Now go home and gloat.

Sigh. At least we don’t have to wait in line around here for parking, to buy gas, or at Starbuck’s (the closest one to me is about 32 miles away). So there.

Blue Moon Sign in Situ

(Happy Birthday, Ann!)

“In situ” means in position. Isn’t it fun to learn new expressions?

The question that nagged me during the entire process of designing and painting the Blue Moon Nursery sign was this: Would it be able to complete with all the signage along that stretch of the highway in Three Rivers?

See? A whole messa signs! But, I can spot ours. . . can you?

blue moon nursery

Here is the light blue with the darker green.

This is the darker blue with the light green.

Let’s go inside the nursery.

Blue Moon Nursery in Three Rivers is a charming place with a variety of plants, including natives and drought tolerants. Check out Seger’s blog and find the hours here: Blue Moon Nursery.

Spring on the Farm Photos For Inspiration

When we visited Cowboy Bert and Mrs. Cowboy Bert, the animals were all vying for my attention.

Remember this little Baby Cakes?

Look at her now:

Here: look at her where you can get a better sense of scale:

Still a bottle baby, along with the white one who is a bit younger and smaller.

There is also a short horse and a couple of tall dogs. Gets a person a bit confused about proportion and perspective. (short horse = pony?)

They wouldn’t pose for me so that I can show you the 2 over/undersized critters together.

New Hampshire Reds are beautiful chickens. This is a hen, not a rooster.

When the sheep all talk, they sound like people imitating sheep. There are bass, tenor, alto and soprano, and they make really funny sounds.

Scooter is my favorite of all 4 cats. Cats are my favorite of all the animals. The kind of farm I grew up on had trees, a dog or two, and always cats. No sheep talking like people, no short horses, and certainly no hens imitating roosters. Makes me feel like a city girl! I’ve often thought that growing up on the kind of farm I did only meant that everything was inconvenient, I got used to wide spaces without buildings, I learned to plan ahead for shopping trips (oh how I hated going to town unless it included a stop at the library), we were not dependent on neighbor kids for fun, we learned to drive young (ever driven a spray rig that has only a clutch and a brake, no accelerator?) and we ate as many oranges, olives, plums and walnuts as we wanted. Hmmm, maybe there was a pig on that farm who looked a lot like me.

P.S. I wrote this blog with my sweet kitty Perkins by my side. We weren’t allowed to have animals in the house growing up. Guess I’ve kicked over the traces of my raising in that aspect, but I still eat as many oranges as I want.

Road Tripping

In early March, Trail Guy and I took a road trip. Trips are not the same as vacations, in my personal dictionary*. A trip is when you keep moving. A vacation is when you choose a place, get there, and enjoy the area. Maybe you actually unpack your suitcase, and park your vehicle for the duration.

This trip included stops in Redding (California), Salem (Oregon), some small place near Mt. Hood (Oregon) and a night in Bend (Oregon).

Oregon is clean, green, and has no sales tax. Why don’t we all move there? It was sunny EVERY SINGLE DAY! The standard joke about Oregonians is that they don’t tan, they rust. Couldn’t prove it by the weather we enjoyed in early March.

Enough chatting. Let’s have some visual aids, shall we?

Ask me if you want to know any specifics about these photos. There were many many more, and I may post a few more with details. Or not. The empty canvases are nagging at me.

*Personal dictionary also includes the true definition of hike versus walk, along with some fairly original (to someone else – I stole them) words such as “porkadelia”.

Visiting Sequoia

When I was a kid and there were guests from out of the area, my folks would take them up to visit Sequoia National Park. I remember thinking, “Do we have to go to the mountains again?”

What a punk. A punk in the Park. A Park Punk?

Two very dear cousins of mine were here recently. We had family business to attend to, and then, we went to Sequoia! I wanted to go, and I really wanted to go with them. They had spent much of their childhood summers in Sequoia, and many of our memories were from times there together.

It had snowed several days before and the previous night. Our first stop was Beetle Rock, which involved some fun stories and binoculars for bird watching.

It was overcast and cold. Doesn’t matter. We were in the Park, and surrounded by Sequoia trees. I love this fence, even when there is no sun on it, even when the snow is tracked.

Cousin Joel seems tall to me, but not compared to a Sequoia tree. He has binoculars, because he sees a bird. Or maybe he hears a bird and is looking for it.

We walked up toward Tokopah Falls, stepping in the tracks of some previous hikers. Doesn’t this look cold? It was 34 degrees.

This is the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River. It flows through Lodgepole. Brrrrr.

It got so foggy we descended to enjoy the foothill part of Sequoia. This is the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River as seen from a suspension bridge out of the Potwisha campground.

Isn’t this a cool bridge? When I bounced on it, it was hard for my cousins to hold the binoculars still and identify their birds. I tried to not be a punk and mostly succeeded.

Isn’t this cool?

This is an old flume and provides water for hydroelectric power. Very clean energy, and nothing gets wasted. There were no birds in the flume, so the binoculars weren’t necessary.

For the record, this former punk really enjoys Sequoia Park. I am now a California artist who loves the special places of Tulare County, and that’s the truth! (Raspberry sound, but I can’t spell that)

Beautiful Images from the Pacific Northwest

These are not necessarily things indigenous to the Pacific Northwest, but they are beautiful things I encountered while there. Beautiful things, views, places, all here for you to enjoy.

Puget Sound (AKA “The Sound”) as seen from Mukilteo, Washington.

The Mukilteo light house in what passes for sunshine in February in Washington.

An old architectural detail salvaged from a torn-down building and reused in a sign in Mukilteo, Washington.

Carol loves sea glass. I like it, she LOVES it. We took a little trip together for that purpose a few years ago. You can click here to see it on another page.

It isn’t very uncommon to see people decorate with lights in the Pacific Northwest. Helps alleviate depression. That, and coffee of course.

pacific northwest sea glass Washington state