At the end of Day 3 on the South Fork fire station in Three Rivers, I left thinking “oh, them barren heels.”
Excuse me??
When I was a kid, a couple of Mom’s Alabama cousins stopped by to visit us on their first trip to California. One of them kept saying, “Them barren heels!” Translation: compared to the hills of Alabama, our hills looked bare to her.
On Day 4, I fixed them barren heels.
Let’s have a little review:
2009, when the mural was new.The yellow faded, leaving everything that used to be green now in varying shades of blue.Refreshed in 2020, this time using a yellow paint that is more lightfast.
Next, I’ll need to stop by in the afternoon light to take a better photo of the mural.
Thank you for following along as I turned the faded tank mural back into one that makes drivers on South Fork Road smile.
The weather continued to be cool, which allowed me to keep moving ahead on the water tank mural at the Tulare County fire station in Three Rivers.
On Day 1, I noticed goatheads because they came right through the bottom of my apparently worn-out Crocs.
On Day 2, I took a big sheet of cardboard to put beneath me on the ground. Good thing, because I sat and knelt to work on the flowers.
First, the right side before the sun got too intense.
You can see the tremendous degree of fading here, particularly in the poppies.Poppies first.I really like the color combination of poppies against the strong periwinkle blue, which has to be painted over with green.Lots of time on the cardboard, working green around lupine and poppies. Although the lupine are almost still a good color, they needed another layer of paint.Time to move to the left side, which was still shady.I was on a schedule, so I just slammed out some green. The details will have to wait until another time. You can see that the lupine are almost the right color in their faded state.
On Day 3, I hope to finish detailing the flowers and grasses on the left side, and then spend time adding detail to the ridges of hills. The lake might be just fine as is.
in 2009 I painted a mural on the water tank at the South Fork fire station. This is Tulare County Station 14 in Three Rivers.
I mixed the colors using red, yellow and blue, plus white. About 2 years ago, the mural company stopped recommending that particular yellow for outdoor use.
See why?
The yellow faded, turning everything that used to be green into varying shades of blue.Oops, I think this green is too dark.This is lighter, but I’ll have to try more areas first to know how things need to be.Couldn’t resist trying that brilliant spring green. It really emphasizes the fadedness. (I know that isn’t a word, but I can’t think of the right one.)I just started slapping various greens on in a somewhat random fashion so that I could compare the darknesses.Now there is more to work with, so I can start making adjustments.The blue ridge behind the farthest green needs to be a bit darker, but first I’ll finish the greens.
There – see the darker blue now? Colors are supposed to fade as they recede into the distance. That is part of what helps us know what we are seeing.
Now the sun is too high to continue.
When the sun shines directly on a mural, the paint dries too quickly on my palette and in my brushes and I can’t do my best work. So, this shall be continued. The grasses and flowers will take quite a bit of time, and the lake might need another coat. Then I’ll probably start drawing with my paintbrush, making up ridiculously detailed areas because that is the most fun part to me.
I was concentrating so intently on this side that I forgot to take photos until this stage.All that remains is studying it for awhile to see what needs to be refined.
While walking in my Three Rivers neighborhood one morning, I saw this bit of ugliness and got an idea. The neighbor, who has graciously allowed the water board to put this booster pump on his property, agreed with my idea.
What is this ugly thing in my neighborhood? Entirely unacceptable. However, it is fixable with the help of a very capable neighbor.The very capable neighbor built and delivered this.
Today I am going to overwhelm you with good things. It takes many postives to outweigh the negatives in Normal Times. Right now we are not in Normal Times. Duh.
I sat by the river with a friend in chairs spaced far apart. First time we’ve seen each other in 6 weeks, and she lives 1/4 mile away.The weeds that pass for a lawn in spring are still green.I love spring. Love green. Love being in Three Rivers in spring. Another friend stopped by with roses (in a BLUE bottle!) and strawberries.The Botmobile is back home, and Tucker is pleased with the return to normal.I found the tag for these! Osteospermum, “Zion copper amethyst”. (Thank you Joyce, for sharing yours with me too!)The bank behind the house has a fabulous variety of foothill wildflowers.Ithuriel’s Spear.Fiesta Flowers.TuckerJackson is a pest to Tucker.
A morning walk with yet another friend. . .. . . who marveled with me about the light. . .. . . and gave me some grapes. (We all seem to be feeding one another whenever we have the opportunity.)
That iris in the morning light!
Jackson is not a pest to me.The snowball bush (a spirea) with pink roses in front is a joy in the spring.
Because it is Sunday, here is the ultimate good thing.
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11
The degree of thankfulness Trail Guy and I have to live in a place where we are not trapped in an apartment in a city is almost overwhelming.
I’m not writing this to make you feel bad; I want you to be able to think of what is special about where you live and be just as grateful.
There are poppies on the distant hillsides, but the phone-camera can’t see that far. So, I focused on the Lady Banks rose.
Unintended good things about this lockdown:
Robocalls have stopped.
Neighbor is home so dogs aren’t barking.
More time at home.
Getting to know neighbors better because we are all home.
Living in less of a hurry.
Never mind about how often we have bought ice cream (The shut-down is just an excuse.)
Must be something else. . . how about if you add to the list?
Because it is Sunday, here is some additional encouragement:
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
These quail don’t require groceries, hand sanitizer or masks.
Thursday morning I left home at 5:45 in the dark, cold, and rain to go to Winco in Visalia. The last trip was in January, and it seemed prudent to stock up. (My Mom had a huge list too.)
This is a weird angle of Pippin, chosen to make you smile.
I managed to get both our lists at the same time into one very packed and heavy cart. It was disconcerting to see all the bulk bins empty, including most of the ones where you don’t actually have to touch the food with a scoop. I made substitutions, skipped some things, and only bought produce that came in plastic. Mom wanted things I didn’t know how to find, and just touching the bag of frozen okra almost triggered my gag reflex. (Really, Martha, are you that hungry??)
Pippin is a compulsive paw washer.
Winco isn’t banning people’s own bags yet but I didn’t know that. (I now have 17 plastic bags to use in sharing oranges with neighbors.) I had to put it into 2 carts once it was bagged, and then a stranger helped me pull one of them to my car in the rain. I should have taken the pick-em-up truck instead of Fernando (that’s my ’96 Honda Accord Coupe – have I ever disclosed that before?) Good thing I had no passengers.
I drove with the window open through Lemon Cove so I could smell the orange blossoms.
Time for a restorative cup of tea (I’m reading a novel based in England in WWII* – can you tell?), a bit of dark chocolate, and a reminder that spring is still happening and it is beautiful so stop whinging. (See? reading an English novel)
P.S. The neighbor’s dogs have stopped barking – there’s a bright spot in this mess.
How long will this “Shelter in Place” be in effect? What a terrible balancing act between economic health and physical health, with so many unknowns, and so much pressure to see into the future accurately. If you are a praying person, please pray for our leaders.
Meanwhile, let’s continue enjoying springtime.
I wonder which one is popcorn flower and what the other one is.
Penstemon already?I love this wildflower, and it will not grow in my yard.The light on a neighbor’s house just caught my eye.This is some sort of a mushroom, although it looks like a piece of styrofoam.What is that chick doing??
Let’s have a little review:
All that remains is studying it for awhile to see what needs to be refined.
