Hanging Around, Taking Walks

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

Out Into the Wild

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.

*Coming Home, Rosamunde Pilcher

Saturday Bonus

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??

Another Walk in Three Rivers

As this Thing continues, so many people are seeking respite from “shelter in place” by going to parks that most of those parks are now closed. I feel sorry for city folks during this weird time. They may have Trader Joe’s, lots of movie theaters, fancy stores, access to sporting events and plays and concerts, grocery delivery, big libraries, fast internet, mega-churches, and who knows what else, but they don’t have beautiful places to walk during this Thing. 

Those of us in rural places don’t have any of the cities’ advantages, but that is just fine. Life isn’t fair – I am not tall, blonde, thin, athletic, or young, and that’s not fair either. That’s okay – I have beautiful places to walk.

North Fork of the Kaweah
North Fork again, looking downstream with Blossom Peak just barely visible.
Can you see the Gateway Bridge in the distance?

And back home again.

Weird. Is it a calla lily? Where did it come from? I don’t remember planting this.

It is Sunday and I am breaking my rules about not posting on Sunday,. Now I will break another rule and post a Bible verse.

“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and power and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Fear not, friends! (But wash your hands a lot, okay?)

P.S. It came to pass; it didn’t come to stay.

It’s Still Spring and Still Beautiful

If you aren’t quarantined or under voluntary house arrest, I recommend taking a walk. You might have to be confined to your own neighborhood, but it is Spring, and much is in bloom.

Here are some photos for you to enjoy, without unnecessary chatter.

shooting star
Caterpillar phacelia (THANK YOU, LEAH!)

not bush lupine
California poppies

little bitty lupine
baby blue eyes
bush lupine
redbud
redmaid
bird’s eye gilia

Who knows?
owl’s clover

A friend sent me this:

One final thought to cheer you up: As soon as The Thing appeared in our lives, all robo-calls disappeared! Is there a correlation? Don’t know, just thankful and relieved.

8 Benefits to “Sheltering in Place” or Chin up, Readers

“Chin up” is a weird little saying, but it reminds me of my Very Wise Dad telling his “little ewe lambs” to be “brave little soldiers”. 

Please forgive me for interrupting you on Sunday. I hope to not do this again, but will if I think of something encouraging to share again.

There is lots of common sense to staying home, obsessive hand-washing, and “social distancing” for awhile. Here are eight potential benefits (besides the obvious one of slowing this Thing):

  1. Fewer colds and flu will be passed around.
  2. Time at home is always good.
  3. You will use less gas and not put many miles on your car.
  4. We will learn what everyone’s true hair color is.
  5. We are all thinking a bit more about people we care about and checking in with them more often. (Maybe not “all”, but more than normal.)
  6. We are getting the chance to be more resourceful and creative with our time and supplies. 
  7. We get to learn new technology in order to “attend” our regular meetings. 
  8. Take a walk, people, this is MARCH!! (I know, not everyone gets to live in Three Rivers, but Spring is beautiful everywhere.)

P.S. We bought ice cream.

A Day of Variety

Sometimes it is a little hard to work from home. There are many other things requesting attention, opportunities to be productive in other ways, chances to just lollygag around or find other occupations. Last week I had such a day.

It began with wandering outside while drinking coffee and seeing a bit of pruning, and then finding Tucker in my herb garden.

See why I want to be outside this time of year?

Notice that these flowers are in the primary colors.

Next, I made plans with a friend for a walk at the lake early in the afternoon, and that made me willing to dive back into work, knowing my time was limited to paint. Sometimes deadlines help me to focus.

This was dry enough to begin detailing until it was time to gather up my friend and head to Kaweah Lake. (Oh-oh, I can’t remember if it is Kaweah Lake or Lake Kaweah again; what’s with the mental block on this subject? This may be why we’ve always called it “The Lake”.) We just walked in the lake bottom, not close to the lake except where it covered the pretty bridge.

The lake level is rising slowly. We walked to beneath the Horse Creek Bridge, and the mustard was striking.

After our walk,  I was able to paint a bit longer on the Mineral King cabin oil painting commission. I think I can get even more detailed on this, but it needs to dry a bit more.

And thus we conclude a day of work combined with distractions.

Finished Oak Tree Mural

Here are the better photos of the finished Oak Tree Mural, which I am renaming in my mind as Three Birds.

Oak Tree Mural, Day Five

Day Five was a looking and thinking day, figuring out the final finessing of the Oak Tree Mural at St. Anthony’s Retreat in Three Rivers.

This is the chapel from the outside. It is one of the most visible buildings when one views St. Anthony’s from other places in Three Rivers.
It was a clear day out the window near the mural.
More outside views, because I am thinking, procrastinating, and letting ideas percolate.
Out the window there’s a woodpecker, probably an Acorn Woodpecker, which is the most common around here.

Get to work, Central California Artist because you have a mural to finish.

This is how it looked when I arrived in the morning. Finish the leaves, fix the awkward spots, add the fun things, a simple list.
Why do we humans always organize things, make things parallel, line things up? This clump of leaves needs to be messed up.
Better.

Hey, what is that up there in the corner of the sunshine?

Not what, but who?

That was so fun I’ll add another, this time a Scrub Jay.

All-righty-then, gotta have a California Quail.

And I hid something in this mural, but you might need to see it in person to find it.

And that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

Tomorrow I’ll take a photo of the completed project. It doesn’t photograph well in the afternoon light.

Oak Tree Mural, Day Four

Life’s full of surprises. I went to paint on Day Four and found the parking lot full of cars. Hmmm, I wonder if something is happening in my painting area.

Yeppers. Good thing I’m only one mile from St. Anthony’s Retreat Center in Three Rivers, because I went back home and did other things that day.

Day Four finally arrived, and here is a series of progressive shots of the oak tree mural.

Here is a list of thoughts and decisions throughout the day:

  1. That’s the wrong color of green on those first leaves – better fix that.
  2. Extension ladder? Nah, I can do this.
  3. Will I ever finish these twigs and does it matter of they’ll be covered with leaves? 
  4. Maybe I can finish in 5 days.
  5. A group of guys came into the chapel to set up for the weekend, and it took hours, nay, HOURS, to get their sound system working. They stopped and prayed for wisdom, and right after that a guy said, “This cable isn’t plugged in here!” 
  6. The sound system made a terrible surprising and deafening noise, as sound systems do; I yelled from around the corner, “You aren’t allowed to do that when I am on the top of a ladder!” 
  7. Maybe I can finish it on Day Five. Maybe it will be quiet in there. 
  8. Even if I finish on Day Five, I’ll have to return to photograph it in the morning because the afternoon light coming through that window erases the entire left edge. 
  9. Maybe I can time Day Six of photography to be there for lunch.
  10. I love lunch at St. Anthony’s.