Went to another car show in August. This one was in Keremeos, about 3/4 hour drive. It's not a big show by any means, but there are always some good looking cars come, and family usually enter cars, so it's a good time to visit. I also like taking photos of old cars because there are some interesting angles, and usually some cool chrome styling.
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This is what they often start out looking like!
But with lots of work and some cash thrown in, they end up looking like these.
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I think this one was my favourite this time around.
This is a farming, winery and fruit producing area with some history to it, so there were other old things there too besides the cars. Old tractors, including a steam  tractor, and other pieces of equipment that have been used.

Not exactly certain what the thing is on the right, but I was curious enough to take a picture of It. The fellow showing it wasn't there to ask at the time. Any guesses? I thought maybe a sluice box (because there is gold in the river), but I could be totally wrong. It could be something for juicing apples, but I couldn't see where the juice would end up. At least, nowhere that I would want to drink it from!! No idea what the right answer is, but I would love to hear your guesses.
 
 

You would think from the pictures that I live in the wilderness - but I don't - I live in town. It's just that the deer do too. They don't seem to be bothered by cars, trucks, quads, snowmobiles, or people...... they just wander on to where ever they were heading.  This one and (presumably) her brother seem to have adopted my yard as part of their territory. They like it here.

It was 40 degrees Celsius, that is 104 Farenheit, and I stepped out onto my patio and beyond to see if it was cooling down under my trees yet. It's 6pm, it should be showing some change by now in the shade....... and as I rounded the corner she  raised her head and looked up at me with a question in her eyes as if to say "You're not really going to make me get up and go out in that heat are you?" So I backed up and left her there. She stayed for about another half hour, had a drink and left for the cover of the bushes with the saskatoons. No doubt it was time for dessert.

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She just wasn't going to get up out of the cool spot unless she was forced.... and I don't blame her.
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I don't know about her, but I would rather be at the lake cooling off!
 
Painting in Oils 07/25/2009
 

It was a stormy day recently. Too wet and windy to chance working outside with my laptop - too much lightning to be working on the computers at all actually. It was right over us and hanging in there for ages. So I sat at my work table and did some more work on an oil painting that I started a few weeks ago, and watched the lightning streaking across the clouds.

It has been many years since I have worked with oils. Mainly when painting I work with acrylics and inks, photos, drawings...... a real mixed bag of tools. But for some reason I had a hankering to get in to oils again.

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Oil Painting - the beginning
This was the first go-round when I started. Laying in the basic idea of what I wanted.
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Oil Painting - a little colour and light
I've put in some colour and light direction now, and will start building up the textures bit by bit.
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Studio work table
This is the table I work at whether painting, drawing or writing. It's a perfect spot for me as I can see the trees across the road, mountains in the distance and get lots of light. It gave me a great view of the storm.
If you are wondering what the box on the corner is, that is what I use for a light box. If you are thinking it looks like a drawer, well, that was how it started life - I drilled a hole in each side for air flow and electrical cord, have a heavy piece of glass that fits over top, and a fluorescent light that sits in the bottom. Works perfectly and didn't cost me a dime. It gives me a good sized working space - 16" x 21" which is much bigger than many light boxes that I have seen, and functions well for the sizes of paper I use.

But to get back to the painting - I am feeling very tentative about applying the colours - uncertain about which brush I should be using - how thick should the paint be.......... all of the questions of a beginner again because it has been so long. I am trying to let all that go and just play like I do when using other tools, but for some reason there is this nagging feeling in the back of my brain that I should do something realistic and precise. I find the oddest thoughts entering my brain that never occur to me using any other medium. Must be old teachings coming back to haunt me. There were several oil painters in my family, and when I first started painting, acrylics had not come into popular use yet, so my basic education was in oil and realistic work; drawing the intention on the canvas first and planning colours and direction of light.

Somehow, these things have really stuck with me..... and it is proving itself to be very difficult to move past them and get some emotional content on the canvas. I would love the paintings to be emotional....... bright and cheerful or dark and foreboding....... something!!!!  I don't want them to just be a depiction of beautiful scenes. I want more in there. So I keep playing and looking and thinking and it is taking me forever to get to the bottom of all these things that are holding me back from just letting loose like I do when working with acrylics.

I'm sure it will make an interesting future post if I ever get this accomplished!!
 
 

Was down by the river this morning, because it was a beautiful fresh morning and I thought it would be a good way to start the day - coffee in hand and camera nearby. Was just sitting minding my own business when movement in the saskatoon bush caught my attention. A little chipmunk was scurrying along the stems and branches, feasting on the fresh crop of ripe  saskatoon berries.

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When this little chipmunk noticed the marmot beneath the bush it scrambled up the tree next to the bush, but returned after a few minutes of checking the situation out. Guess he decided the marmot was not an enemy .... and he really wanted those berries!
I hadn't been watching long when I realized that there was a young marmot sneaking around underneath as well, scooping up berries that had fallen to the ground...... then an oriole landed on a branch and flew away with a berry in its mouth.
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The clean-up crew, picking up the berries that have fallen off the bush.
Then there was me of course..... can't let a fresh crop of saskatoons disappear without having a taste! For one small bush, there was much activity as everyone feasted.
 
 

We had several days of rainy, windy, cool weather, and I had my brain immersed in a book layout program but recently, just before dusk, I decided I should get outside for a walk before my muscles seize permanently into the sitting position!! Maybe take some photos.

As I walked along the path I realized just how much can change within a few days of my absence. The saskatoons are ripe enough to eat (which I did) and the doe is bringing her two spotted fawns down into town. Thankfully, the traffic on the highway stopped for her as she crossed them over.

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Ripening Saskatoon Berries
Goldenrod is in full bloom, the apples on the  wild apple tree are filling out, and the grasses are growing almost as tall as me with all the rain. It was breezy and difficult to get a clear photo of the goldenrod as they were in constant motion; the breeze drying the droplets of water, or causing them to dribble down to the ground with the movement of the stems.
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Goldenrod in Bloom
Life carries on with or without my presence. Noticing that, helps me to remember my place on this planet - remember that I am only one small part of it. Yet, like any other being on the planet, I can have an impact. I can offer beauty (like the goldenrod), sustenance (like the saskatoon), protection and shelter like the trees and tall grasses, or I can be destructive and only consume what is offered, leaving nothing good behind. It is my choice. Frankly, because I would like to know that there will be future generations enjoying the planet as I am, I want to keep my life on the positive side of the picture in any way I can.

One gets caught up in the 'living' of life, day to day, and society has led us along a path that can be extremely destructive if we pay no heed to what we do. That's why a walk in the woods paying attention to the planet is a good plan for me. It helps keep me focused and on track.
 
Working Outdoors 07/07/2009
 

Spending as much time as possible working outdoors these days. If there is a way I can work on my computer outside on the patio, that's where I am. It has allowed me to be enjoying the great weather - and even a couple of thunderstorms. It has also meant that I am right there when the baby birds come hopping through my yard, and to notice when new flowers are beginning to blossom.

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Cute little baby robin still covered with speckled feathers. There were four of them in the yard.
Four little baby robins were hopping around picking at bugs and cheeping for mother. Every once in a while she would come with food for them, but mostly they were finding their own. It was cute to watch them discovering the world around. Whenever the mother would sound an alarm, they were still as can be. Not moving a feather, until she sounded the all clear again. Then they went back to their picking and chirping.

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Iris
This is an iris that I planted last year. First time it has bloomed here, and I was really happy to see it is healthy and beautiful. I didn't realize how many different types of Iris there are until I went looking to see if I could find out the name of this particular one. I believe all of the ones I have are bearded iris, mostly about 2 - 3 feet tall (depending on how good the soil around them is!) and most of the ones I inherited at this house are a creamy yellow or golden yellow colour. But the one I brought with me from the last house is two-toned and rather pretty. I would like to mix in a few more colours next year.

I hear birds sing all day- chattering in my trees. I watch the orioles flitting back and forth to the nest.  I may not be walking around getting much exercise, but it certainly is good for the soul. I am happy out here and can work all day, well in to the evening without feeling stressed out or pressured by all the tasks I have on my list 'to do'. When it is raining or there's a thunderstorm (yes, it is a covered patio), I disconnect and work on battery power (just in case!) and it seems to re-charge my energy system. Being out here in the fresh damp air, breathing the moisture into my lungs has something cleansing about it. I feel good afterwards.

In winter, I have a spot by a picture window where I set up my laptop inside. But I can still see the landscape-still watch what is occurring outside. I see the snowflakes come down, the frosty edges on the plants, the mists move in and then dissipate. I watch the deer reaching up into the tree branches to find something to nibble on.  Somehow I can no longer imagine how I survived working in an office with no windows and a re-circulated air system. It's no wonder I was always exhausted at the end of the day.

 
Birds and Things 06/30/2009
 



It's a beautiful fresh morning - the last day of June. As I sit outside in the early sunshine at my table in the back yard, there is a tiny bird about 30 feet up in my fir trees singing his heart out. The stellar jays are hopping around nearby, flicking over leaves and cones - picking into the piles of fallen needles, on the hunt for tidbits of grub where ever they can find it. Amusingly, both of them found a peanut that had been stashed, at the same time. There was an open-beaked, indignant squawk from the one who was a fraction of a second too slow, but that was the extent of the confrontation, so they are obviously working together to feed young ones. There are two robins flapping around in the branches, chasing each other, and a finch having a quick drink at the bird bath. The orioles nesting on the light pole are busy swooping around catching breakfast and singing their thanks for it while sitting on the hydro lines. Beneath the cacophony of voices I hear the buzz of hummingbirds as they zip through my yard to a neighbour's feeder. I must find a plant that likes my yard so they will stop and feed. I only have one type of plant for them in my garden. It's an early bloomer and is all done now, but when it was blossoming, they would come and feed right beside me near my patio.

The singer from the top of my firs was just hopping around about 5 feet away, and I am no bird expert, but I believe he was a wren. I've been hearing him sing for days, but never seen him close enough to tell, before. There is also a woodpecker picking at a neighbour's clothesline pole to see if he can scare out any bugs hiding in the decaying wood. In the trees behind the next street over, I hear the squirrel complaining about something, and along with it a stellar jay, so I expect they are arguing over who the stash of peanuts belongs to. I don't know where they come from, but someone in the neighbourhood is putting out peanuts. I find the remnants in my birdbath thanks to the crow; broken shells beneath a tree branch courtesy of the squirrel; and stashed in the oddest places by the stellar jays.

Jays can be amusing little critters. Bold and sassy, they have very little fear of us humans. The ones I am most familiar with are the stellar jays and Clark's nutcracker, along with the magpie of course. They are all rather raucous in their calls and habits. A nutcracker (which I've always known as a whisky jack) will often come and take food from your hand if you coax it, and the stellars like shiny things. I had some glass pebbles set out on a table to use for a game. They were the kind you fill flower vases with, and were shiny. Every now and then I would find them in the oddest places in the garden and couldn't figure out how they got there until one day I saw a stellar jay pick one up in its beak and carry it to the back of my yard, where it promptly poked it into a hiding place, pushed some dry leaves over it, and flew off, no doubt proud of its accomplishment!


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This young buck was wandering through grazing for his breakfast too. And the daisies, like me, were soaking up the sunshine. If you ask me what my passion is, I will tell you it is a passion for life. No, I don't mean the kind where you run off cliffs with a hang glider, or go ice climbing on waterfalls although I am sure that the exhilaration would be awesome. My passion is not just for what I can do in life, but for life itself. All life. The bugs and birds and trees and plants and animals. Even the rocks and water. It is the fact that there is life at all that I find awesome, and the variety of forms it comes in is just totally awe inspiring.
 
 

Recently on facebook I noted that one of my friends had posted a song video, and because I like music I clicked to see what it was. Well, what it was, was excellent! Very moving. Not just the video, but the whole idea behind it. It was a version of the popular song "Stand By Me" sung by street musicians from around the world and mixed into one recording. I was so moved by it, I had to investigate.

The project is called "Playing for Change" - a play on words itself - and a fantastic idea. This first video explains the start of the project and how it is put together. The second video is one of the songs they have recorded. There are a few free videos you can access on their site or on YouTube, but you can also buy the album through Amazon.com or from Starbucks outlets. Well worth the listen, and well worth contributing to the cause. It's not often I come across anything created by humans that has moved me as much as this.

Please listen, and you will definitely enjoy.
 
 

Surfing the web looking for eco-friendly ideas and finding many out there. Some are good ideas, some are just smoke screens to make people think the products have changed when they have only moved the pressure from one ecologically damaging area to another. All of these things are good in many ways regardless, because they focus the public's attention on the fact that changes in our thinking must take place. As the saying goes, change your thinking, change your world.

It is the thinking that must change before the products for the lifestyle will. The mental attitude we have about how our lives should be lived. We tend to think that cutting back on our energy consumption to save the planet will put us back in the Dark Ages and we don't want to give up our cars, computers, microwaves and electric light - but it doesn't have to be that way.

There is an interesting article written by Clair Go-eun Chun, the Managing Editor of the Korea IT Times that I read recently. It's called 'Nothing Made of Gold Lasts Forever'. She has a vision that encompasses a green lifestyle and convenient, wireless technology that would allow people to connect no matter where they are. We do that to a great extent already, but her vision is to have a lifestyle where we could learn, work and play at home if we desired. In the process we would save the massive amounts of energy we now consume, running children to school every day; getting to work; shopping; heating and lighting massive buildings full of offices and such.

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Seagulls on Skaha Lake Shore
These are the spaces we need time to sit still and appreciate.
I like her idea. It doesn't mean we have to obliterate those activities - it just means we could cut down on the energy used if we could do them for the most part from home. The amount of space and energy consumed by an office building that houses 300 people on a daily basis would be immediately slashed if we alternated the days we worked at the office with days worked at home- or in situations where it possible, work entirely from our home. The same could be done with schooling. Some days could be at the school, some days at home. We would definitely save the gasoline it takes for school buses to transport the kids back and forth, or for our own transport to work and back, for a start. Then there would be savings on power to light and heat the space.

Much of this can be done today - but we don't - for several reasons -one of which is habit. Cultural expectations and the way the system is set up have us 'thinking' in terms of getting up and out the door at a specific time, and driving to where we are expected to be. Another is that the infrastructure for such a program is not completely in place. We can do it to a degree, but it is not set up so everyone can take part. Third, we tend to think that people will cheat on the time they spend actually working or studying. And fourth - some of the technology has not been perfected to the degree where it is easy to use and not without challenges to operate.
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Flower Centre
This is the beauty we need time to explore and  enjoy.
There is a vision, though, that includes wireless technology easily integrating text, photos, audio and video from all over the world; the free  sharing of files and information; the ability to join in a conferencing group from anywhere. Compatibility of systems is increasing, the size of the networks is increasing, new tools and toys are being created almost every day. If we add these advances to products and processes that allow us to power and heat our homes in an eco-friendly manner and build them with sustainable products, we could cut our consumption very swiftly. It's not an idea that is impossible. We are on the cusp of reaching that place and time right now. Many people are already living this way. What we need is the attitude change that pushes it over the edge and it becomes something easy for the masses to accept. A way of life.

 
More Walking 06/12/2009
 

This is the time of year when the weather is just perfect for walking (not too hot, not too cold) and everything is in full growth mode. If you miss a few days, you miss plants in bloom or babies out exploring, so here are a few more photos from my walking tours.

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Saskatoon blossoms.
The saskatoon bushes have blossomed and some are showing the beginnings of the berries. Small nubs of fruit waiting for the rains to expand them and the sun to ripen them ...... and then I can go harvesting again!!

The wild mustard is in bloom and always creates a beautiful spread of yellow on the hillsides at this time of year.

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Wild roses are in bloom still but they won't be much longer. Most of the blossoms have fallen off and the ones still left are becoming pale in colour. There are a few left that are slow bloomers, but not many. Next, of course will be the rose hips to nibble for Vitamin C!
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The marmots are out soaking up the warmth of the rocks. I have seen a few really young ones, but mother chased me away before I got photos. Will try again another day to see if I can capture some pictures of them before she gets upset with me. They were very small and extremely curious.

I love exploring in spring. I am always amazed by how much beauty and energy I find in small spaces. At first glance, our landscape can look dry and barren with not much besides scrub and pines. But on closer examination one finds all manner of change and activity. The plants grow, the flowers bloom, the bees and insects come for the nectar and spread the pollen, the berries appear as 'fruits of their labour' and as food for the birds, animals and humans. The seeds are spread and the cycle begins again. The leaves fall and the nutrients become food for next year's growth.

It may seem boring to some but it is what sustains us - the humans of this planet. Without it, we would not exist.