Three Rivers sort of has four seasons; spring is my favorite, summer seems to dominate, fall stays hot and is sometimes smoky, and winter is sunny and green, so it feels like spring very soon. It is confusing, when you hear and see snow, rain, ice, freezing temps all over the country.
This is what I mean about it being confusing.
I took all of these photos on Christmas Adam, Christmas Eve, and maybe Christmas Day too.
Often in winter when it is cold and gray down the hill, it is sunny in Three Rivers. On a sunny day in mid December, Trail Guy and I took a walk in the foothills of Sequoia National Park.
First, we had to go through a gate.
The whole walk was on a dirt road.
That bump on the left is Moro Rock; next to the right is Alta Peak.
I was going to remember the names of these ridges/peaks, but I already forgot.
We turned around at Sycamore Creek. It was a short walk.
Those pokey rocks are Castle Rocks.
If you live down the hill and get tired of the cold and gray, come to Three Rivers in the winter. We don’t have much winter here. Tomorrow I will show you a few more photos of how confusing winter can be here.
We took a stroll on Christmas Day,
So many things along the way,
Blue sky was strong,
But slightly wrong,
I thought this was a winter day.
We took a stroll on Christmas Day,
The same familiar route, our way,
The temps were sweet,
The sun a treat,
For rain and snow we all must pray.
We took a stroll on Christmas Day,
We walked an old familiar way,
But down the hill,
A foggy chill,
Three Rivers is above the gray.
We took a stroll on Christmas Day
We didn’t walk far, a shortish stray,
The grass was green,
The air so clean,
Then we strolled home again to stay.
Happy Christmas, and if you are in the fog, please enjoy the Three Rivers sunshine vicariously.
These are the recently painted oil paintings of Mineral King and Three Rivers scenes, along with some poinsettias.
Honeymoon Cabin I, 6×18″, $165
Mineral King Alpenglow, 6×6″, $65
Mineral King Nature Trail, 6×6″, $65
Still River at Sunset, 8×10″, $135, SOLD
Summer Hill, 8×8″, $108
Alta & Moro After a Storm, 6×18″, $165
Poinsettia 1 and Poinsettia 2, 5×7″, BOTH SOLD
2023, Mineral King HIKES, still available here: Calendars
Gotta keep that back hidden from The Most Faithful Blog Commenter so you will need to click on the link to see it.
Trail Guy and I took a walk with some friends. It really was just a walk, but two of us carried lunch and water for the other two. It involved some trespassing, so the location will be kept quiet, other than Three Rivers. Of course, if you live here, you will probably recognize where we were. Shhhh. . . .
It started clear, and there were a few trees in bright fall colors. This is looking downstream from the Dinely bridge over the middle fork of the Kaweah River.
From our perch, spots of bright colored trees appeared. These are primarily Chinese pistache, a hardy tree that plants itself in random places, secret spots that no one notices until early November. 
But ick, what happened to the clear day??
The elephant was visible with the new snow on Alta Peak.
Baby rattler or gopher snake? Only its tongue was moving. Trail Guy relocated it a bit using a stick, and it was really stiff. One of our friends may have screamed a little bit. Trail Guy said it most likely was a gopher snake, because they are a bit shinier than rattlers.
One last look through the smog. Haze. Smoke. something.
Three Rivers is one of the best places to live in Tulare County. I’ve lived in the country outside of Ivanhoe, in Visalia, and in Lemon Cove (which is a close second to Three Rivers if you don’t mind being in a town of 190 people). It is the closest place to Mineral King where one can live year around, and it’s where my home is, complete with 3 cats.
That is Tucker, Jackson, and Little Bucky, who is not a cat. Pippin was probably sleeping in the house, where he is NOT allowed, but Trail Guy has a real soft spot for Mr. Orange Bob Square Pants.
2023, Mineral King HIKES, still available here: Calendars
I’d show you the back of the calendar, but out of respect for my Most Faithful Blog Commenter you will need to click on the link to see it. Sharon buys a calendar every year, and never allows herself to see what it is in it until the appropriate month arrives.
I will be bringing these items to sell:
By “odd jobs”, I mean unusual requests from people simply because I might be the only artist they know. I am also an artist who tells the truth (“Nope, can’t do that!”), doesn’t overcharge (“I’ll aim for 3 hours at $30/hour and if the job isn’t finished, I’ll call you for Plan B” —Reply: “Only $30 an hour??” — me in my head: “Phooey, the last time I quoted a job at that price, the person said I was too expensive!”), and returns phone calls (“Send me photos and I’ll let you know if I can do this”).
This was a request to paint a sign for the Baptist church on the backside of a church member’s own sign, a traveling sign to be used if the church sets up a booth or an exhibit at a community event, such as the upcoming bridge lighting.
The job required a great deal of measuring, sketching on paper, taping, guessing, writing with blue chalk, then erasing and rewriting, all before painting. I am not a sign painter, so this will best be viewed from the back of a fast horse when completed. I didn’t set up the final version to photograph for you because I did NOT want the paint to run. (Besides, I didn’t want anyone else to ask me to paint a sign.)
Ignacio brought me his small resin deer to paint. It was really hard to guess an accurate price, so we decided that I’d paint the front, and if I hadn’t used up his budget, then I’d paint the back. If the budget was used up, then the back would simply be a solid brown color.
I scooted the deer to the edge of the workshop, opened the doors for better light on a cold and overcast day (we went from summer to winter in about a 2 day time period this year), and started messing with colors. He isn’t pinkish in real life; thank you for your concern for Little Bucky’s masculinity.
I wasn’t sure of the colors – where it is light, where is it dark, etc., so I turned around to see.
Yo. Could you please rotate for me so I can see your tail?
After tossing a few acorns to get this doe to rotate, I was able to see the colors on the backside.
Thanks. You can go now.
Then I worked on Little Bucky until my hands got too cold, my nose ran, and I couldn’t rotate him without smearing paint. The face will have to wait, as will the odd pieces of resin at his feet, along with his ears, tail tip and antlers.
Do artists in other places get asked to do these odd jobs? It might just be the privilege of being an artist in the small rural foothill town of Three Rivers in Tulare County.
Many years ago a former neighbor gave me this juicer. This year it wouldn’t work, AFTER we picked a 5 gallon bucket of pomegranates. Someone told me about a repair shop in Goshen, so I navigated my way to Breck’s in a ferocious rainstorm, and they gave me hope. Now my hope is that it can be repaired quickly, because in spite of not paying for it initially, at $90/hour, I will be paying for it now.
In spite of November being my busiest month, I spent a day on my tookus, watching a live workshop of many demonstrations of art realism. During the boring ones (I KNOW how to draw!), I packaged notecards. During the other sessions, I took notes.
P.S. I might have knitted a little bit too. . . it wasn’t Zoom and no one could see.
P.P.S. (that means PS #2) I hit a skunk on my way home the other night. Didn’t know it until I got home. Felt something, but didn’t smell it until the car was in the garage. Well, yippee skippee. A skunk is easier on a car than a deer.
Did you think I forgot these paintings? Not a chance; I have a little bazaar coming on November 19 in Three Rivers and need some appropriate merchandise (besides just 2023 calendars and cards and coloring books.)
Did I think you forgot them? Not gonna let you forget—don’t worry your pretty little head about that.
(Please, do not sing about this.)
It is now finished, drying, and awaiting a scan so you can see the colors more accurately. The title is Alta Peak/Moro Rock View. (Yes, I know it is brilliant and clever and original.)
Just a bunch of yellow grass couldn’t possibly take that long, could it?
Yes, it could and it is. It isn’t titled yet. Perhaps “Yellow Grass and Live Oaks” would be appropriately creative and original. . .
Mixing colors for this one has been fun. My paintings tend to be all greens, grays, and browns, or nothing but orange (poppies and oranges, over and over).
How about calling it “Three Indian Grindholes on the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River in Three Rivers at Sunset”?
Nope. It is only an 8×10″ oil painting, so there isn’t enough room on the back of the canvas to write all that.
Part of the business of art is coming up with good titles. I’ve got some thinking to do.
P.S. Happy Birthday, Laurie!
After finishing three more 5×7″ oranges on easels, they sold within days. The director of the Mural Gallery asked for more, so I set up an assembly line to get the first layer on the panels.
That was sloppy business. I prefer to work with exact, tight, precision, so I moved back into this 8×10″ painting of a typical Three Rivers scene, and got serious about making it as accurate as possible. 
Then I got a call from a man for whom I had done an odd job this summer. He has a deer, which has faded from the sun, and wondered if I could freshen it up. He was able to provide a photo of it when it was new, which will help me get this done right. I said yes, and then we had to figure out how in the world I would charge him for this odd job. He told me what he paid for it initially, we figured out how much he was willing to spend, I told him how many hours that would cover, and then we made a plan. I will paint one side only, keeping track of my hours, and if there is enough time and money left in the budget, I’ll paint the backside. If not, I’ll just paint the backside plain brown, no detail.
The cats aren’t a fan of this guest in their safe room. I expect they will adjust soon.