Monday, January 27, 2020

Yesterday I led the horses over my property en route to a neighbor’s pasture a quarter-mile away. As we stepped onto the street, my across-the-road neighbor, paused the car while leaving his driveway and talked with me. His property has a pasture, and he has invited my horses to graze there!

Lovely! His kindness reduces my worries. Days I must leave for work would have ample time to get the horses over to pasture. If the weather gets awful and animals shouldn’t be without shelter, I’d dash across the street and bring them home. And best, in bad weather we’d not be walking south into heavy-driving winds, rain, and/or snow.

These past months have taught my horses and me to stroll together. We walk four abreast in the middle of the street, and will shift to roadside at an approaching vehicle. In this relatively quiet neighborhood drivers usually make space and wave to us. Our walks to and from the more-distant pasture are enjoyable and the owner likes hosting my horses. So, they’ll take turns in both pastures!

Early, after moving to Central Oregon and becoming a beginning rider, I found that horses make it easy to meet other riders and make friends. It never occurred to me that later on, when I ride only a little, the horses would facilitate meeting others, making friends. Folks tell me about seeing others stopping where the horses graze to take pictures and/or feed carrots. When I’m outside passerbys say hello, and local drivers pause to say they enjoy seeing the horses and offer help if needed.

Caring for equines requires constant work, and the animals are very worthwhile. They’re kind, tolerant, forgiving, and fun. Daily, I thank my horses (and Pimmy, our extra-attention getter), for facilitating the great pleasure of meeting and often getting to know nice folks.

Dear Friends: Imagine–just across the street! Oh, kindness, and often easier. Diana

Sunday, January 26, 2020

My friend, Janet, and I shared several creative, fun hours practicing our drawing skills. I’ll briefly describe my art skills as in an “early-learning stage”. Janet is a trained artist, talented and generous, willing to share her knowledge and art supplies.

We began by working inside after searching our computers for images that attracted us. After making selections, we began with pencils transferring to paper what we saw. Janet kept mumbling that she doesn’t draw well, and for sure I don’t. Before long, we decided to expand our drawing options by traveling outside in search of plein aire opportunities.

We went to an old barn I’d thought about, a dilapidated structure that didn’t suit our needs. So, we drove on, and Janet spotted another barn, bigger, redder, in decent condition. Standing nearby were mature trees, and under them grazed a mix of sheep and goats. We emerged from the car with pencils and papers and began drawing.

The attractive scene turned out too complex for me to conquer. I focused on drawing the barn, a straightforward-appearing structure. But this artist couldn’t render it in three dimensions. I did lots of erasing, starting over, and turning my paper onto its clear side for another stab at drawing that barn.

We worked there for maybe fifteen minutes before I gave up and ambled over to see Janet’s work. Her page captured everything–clearly, logically, finely. She’d drawn the barn, trees, grasses and animals, and sky with clouds. Janet’s work belies her words. She can draw!

I realized my fortune in knowing a person of talent, willing to share ideas and efforts. Janet seemed pleased to again be drawing. We’ll arrange future outings for plein aire.

This encourages me to keep practicing, to capture on paper objects and scenes. To draw images as attractive and compelling as in photos or reality.

Dear Friends: It helps to know my efforts have been assessed as off to a good start. Diana

Saturday, January 25, 2020

The above photo, and my word-notebook describing “midnight rain”, have inspired this stanza:

You pause peering steadily into heavy mist

That mutes all colors, obscures most objects

Except for weeds highlighting a smooth bark. This light rain

Denies any glimpse of sparkling prism.

Diana

I’ve struggled to create drawings and words, probably to release some internal mishegoss. My ability to draw with pen and pencil has over the years regressed to a beginner’s level. But I’ve been trying to draw and feel encouraged by those efforts.

My word skills don’t lend themselves naturally to writing poetry. I’ve little grasp on what’s to be understood before one may create good poems. I’m again trying, however. One night during rain, I created a “ragged outline” of words, they represented moods and senses associated to dampness. Finally tired and unable to do more, I set the notes aside.

This morning, on letting the dogs outside and seeing another light rain, I decided to revisit the challenge of referring to my notebook to create a poem. Above is a first draft, well, really not the first, because organizing the words, and making sense of them (to me, at least), has consumed many early hours.

Dear Friends: Just want to say that my sleeves are rolled-up as my brain works. Diana

Friday, January 24, 2020

Forgive me for writing about an impeachment process, even while respecting individual points of view. I avoid sounding political, but over the past few days, and especially, in last night’s closing argument, the litigator knocked my socks off. Typically, Adam Schiff’s style and performance show he’s very bright, organized, and contained. Recently, in a stepped-up role, Schiff demonstrated that he can argue very powerfully. He summarized, clearly and logically, while tapping deeply-held ideas and emotions. He commanded attention to key points and desired outcomes.

I love witnessing high skills with words! Not those thrown out but words with real meanings. Schiff tied his ideas to public emotions, by evoking Colonel Vinman’s phrase, “Right matters”. He repeatedly employing that phrase throughout his closing argument–the second time those words have been impactful. The first was when Vinman himself spoke them.

Maybe that’s what woke me around midnight, thinking about words and wanting to write a poem. A meaningful topic eluded me, but my head began designing how to identify and funnel ideas. I took pencil and pad and focused on describing the soft sounds of falling rain. My working title became, “Midnight Rain”.

I didn’t start by trying to write in a poetic style. Instead, I created word groupings related to my senses. For example, under the topic “Touch”, are bark, bannister, stump, rock, sand. Under the topic “Scent”, are junipers, grass, soil, air. And similar, I associated words to the other senses. My idea was to build a poem around senses newly reawakened by soft rain. My draft pad would supply most words.

Creating the lists required lots of thought, and before I could draft a poem my eyelids began feeling heavy. Setting aside my list, I crawled into bed, and with a now-empty brain, fell asleep.

Dear Friends: With preliminary poems and sketches, some creativity should evolve. Diana

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Several days ago on an extra-clear morning, I was surprised to see through a camera Mt. Washington, from my property! I was standing in an unusual spot, scanning the Cascades, when my high-zoom viewer caught Washington’s “German helmet”.

Through my years living here, taking photos of these mountains, I’ve seen, sometimes north beyond the “Three Sisters”, another mountain, appearing fuzzy. I’ve assumed it’s Mt. Jefferson. Here it’s shown in a past-photo.

My neighbor has pointed out that the mountain doesn’t appear to be Jefferson, which is topped with a “very prominent hat”. My photo lacks that identifier, but it shows which peak?

The other day, I moved into a northernmost position and took a new photo of the “mystery mountain”. The very clear atmosphere again revealed Mt. Washington’s distinctive peak!

Now, I’m confused. If these are photos of Washington, what is that previous peak that seems a different mountain? It’s surely not “Three-Finger Jack” (tallest peak between Washington and Jefferson). I kept changing my position and peering through the lens to double-check, feeling certain of looking at two different mountains. But both turned out to look exactly like Mt. Washington!

I’m wondering, reconsidering, and planning. Soon, I’ll be outside with the camera, to identify exactly the peaks visible from my property. We’re headed toward new clear days. Our rising temps rise are about to climb into the 50s.

Dear Friends: Despite years living near & seeing those peaks, they’re always mysterious. Diana

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

After a daylong, paralyzing dose of arguing among United States Senators, I drifted off to bed dead-tired and brain-dead. Again this morning and with struggles to remain alert, I’ll follow the Senate’s mishigas about “evidence or no witnesses”. Whether anyone enjoys this spectacle or not, its process and outcome will impact significantly the progress and manner of national politics.

All afternoon while watching television, I tried to maintain some of alertness by participating simultaneously in an online drawing course. Yesterday, as much as tolerable, I practiced how to draw human eyes. My assignment was to create eye shapes and add the elements. I drew circles to represent eyeballs, and created lids, lashes, eyebrow hairs, and shadowings.

Television made me sleepy and eye-drawing became paralyzing. I believe wholeheartedly in continuous learning, and understand the difficulties of hanging-in throughout slow teachable processes. I’ll learn from the Senate show more familiarity with key players, better ability to assess their capabilities to think and present, and whether they can be on-target spontaneously.

Meanwhile, as usual and especially this time of year, I follow the local weather. Today’s temperature should climb into the 40s, with rain arriving early this afternoon. Much as I don’t want to keep the horses at home, it’s likely where they’ll stay all day.

Tonight the local driving club will meet. There’s excitement about the revival of this club and what activities it might create. I hope eventually to drive in new areas along with other drivers. More to come!

Dear Friends: Optimal physical health and brain health is a combo-maintenance. Diana

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

We’ve had a bit of heat from temperatures in the 40s. Yesterday, predicted as a no-rain, no-snow day. I was scheduled to work. I asked my managers to text in advance my hours. If they’re short enough, the horses could be left on pasture, and later, I’d get home with still enough light to get home with them safely.

My scheduled hours would be short, and so, I scrambled early to go outside and onto the street leading all three the quarter-mile to a kind neighbor’s pasture. While Weather Channel predictions tend to be accurate, I worry about leaving the horses without shelter on winter days, when I can’t periodically check their welfare.

The streets were damp but not slippery. We’re rarely bothered by traffic, but while nearing a corner, I felt Rosie’s head turning toward the left. She was correct, a vehicle was coming toward us. The driver slowed and waved, gave us lots of berth, and passed. It’s essential to move the horses home while the light is adequate for drivers to see us on the streets. After leaving for work yesterday, my daylong focus was getting home and early enough to stay safe.

As promised my hours were short and I left for home with yet another hour of daylight. Immediately after parking my car, I hurried to the pasture still wearing my at-work shoes, lacking appropriate treads for the little snowy back path that returns us to my property.

While still quite a distance away, I saw Rosie’s blaze held high as she stared in my direction. “Good girl!” I muttered aloud, “Yes, I’m coming for you.” They were at the far end of the pasture and I wondered about their long hours there. They answered, as I approached the main gate, by all three leaping into action and full-out galloping from far away to where I stood. Rosie stopped at the fence and I reached toward her blaze. “Girl, I believe you’re tired.”

I was correct, as while we traveled home Rosie lagged behind. Typically, she walks faster than me and slips slightly ahead. I often pause to ask Rosie to realign her shoulder to mine. Yesterday, all three animals were tested when a big FedEx truck roared up behind. I moved us away from the street’s center and we waited as the big truck passed. Not a single ear so much as flicked!

The little snowy back path toward my property was slippery and challenged my workplace footwear, but we walked slowly and arrived home safely. Best, adequate light remained to handle the necessary evening-care for all my animals.

My managers, willing to text in advance my scheduled working hours, offer a step forward in the care for my equines. Now, in good weather, the horses may be left on grass while I work. It’s terrific that they needn’t await my returns simply hanging around in dry lot.

Best of all, is a tired-out Rosie who lags as we walk home.

Dear Friends: New rain is beginning, exactly as yesterday’s Weather Channel predicted. Diana

Monday, January 20, 2020

I finally have managed to touch a pencil to paper and attempt a drawing. The inspiration to go ahead and get into action came from my artist-friend, Janet. She said that, in starting, don’t try to draw people and animals, they’re the hardest. I described some of my photos that seemed appropriate for my first drawing. One on my mind was the photo above showing the Middle and North Sisters. Janet thought that drawing mountains would be a reasonable exercise.

She explained how I could avoid feeling too intimidated by the photo. By transitioning the image into a black and white and eliminating colors, I’d make the lights and darks stand out, and thus, simplify the act of drawing.

After removing the coloration, I easily and quickly could spot the complexities that might prove overwhelming. I trimmed the image and made my chore seem friendlier. Here’s the version that I sketched.

Janet’s advice to work with black and white was right on. I used a medium-hard lead and first tackled the darkest parts. I’d never tried drawing trees, but by cross-hatching managed to simulate juniper branches. There are tree trunks (invisible in this photo) that suggest distances. After capturing trees, I outlined the center area, medium-dark and easily defined by a fringe. After having first created the darkest parts, I could estimate my drawing enough for a sense of how well its components were balanced. Happily, the widths, heights, and distances worked!

My printer won’t cooperate for a scan-in of the freehand drawing. I’ll work to resolve this and later provide an image. What’s shown might be primitive but surely will represent a happy new beginning.

Dear Friends: It’s amazing to confront a fear of failing and achieve a degree of success. Diana

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Writing frequent blogs is a challenge that forces me to think harder and learn more. To cobble writings that are interesting enough to hold readers is easier said than done. Through experience, I’m learning that it’s essential for a frequent writer to seek ways to stay ahead of the game, or in other words, keep creativity alive and make it flow.

It’s helping me to think more seriously about art and photography. I’ve always had a good eye for balance in a photo and could sense if it would satisfy viewers. Beyond that, I didn’t look closely into what more might maximize an image’s potential.

As an example, I initially overlooked the above photo. It’s a casual shot that struck me as uninteresting. Now, my more intent focus on the elements of perspective and distance, as well as on balance, has transformed this little throwaway into an interesting mini-essay.

I stumbled into this process of self-education in art and photography. It began shortly after my elder sister passed away, and I felt a yearning to capture her essence somehow. My first thoughts were to write a poem or draw her image, neither of which I knew how to do. So, I decided to learn and began reading books on the art of creating art. Those taught of light and shadow, contour and line, form and perspective.

Some sort of camera usually is with me for capturing ideas, subjects, and visuals for my blogs. Gradually, I began seeing differently through the lens, and found myself studying objects and scenes for lights, shadows, contours, and alignments for perspective.

Here’s another throwaway, that suddenly feels appealing.

I still want to begin drawing with colored pencils. I’m timid about trying that, but becoming encouraged through a better understanding of what makes images work.

Dear Friends: It’s on to new photos, more learning, and surely on to drawing. Diana

Saturday, January 18, 2020

In the aftermath of a sudden heavy snowstorm the previous evening, I trekked the horses yesterday through slushy streets to the pasture where they spend daylight hours. On my shoe bottoms were lightweight cleats, but the road felt less slippery than it appeared, so before leaving to walk home I unstrapped and stuffed the cleats into a jacket pocket.

Also before leaving, I checked the water level in their trough and found myself facing a massive ice layer. It needed chopping through and my usual “tool”, a three-foot block of wood for slamming against and into ice, proved inadequate. To avoid having to go home and return with an iron mallet, I wandered to my neighbor’s barn and discovered half-buried in snow a drain shovel. That’s a shovel long and skinny, with a round and somewhat sharp nose. Holding the shovel high with its nose pointed to the ice, I used all my strength to pound repeatedly into the ice layer and finally managed to create a crack. That began the breaking-up toward a drinkable supply.

The ice layer was about 4″ thick and I should have captured it in a photo, but forgot. Anyway, here’s one from those moments of cute Pimmy. She’s nearby and like her buddies looking for grass.

After leaving the horses and coming home, a tree captured my attention by appearing different from usual with new snow creating highlights. This photo of that tree serendipitously reveals our slushy walkway.

The tree’s appeal knocked into action my right brain and made me start seeing artistically. It seemed a good idea to capture portions of the trunk, to add perspectives in images of the surroundings. I began by taking a low shot under the canopy that shows the terrain’s upward nature.

The next photo achieves more what I hoped to capture. The nearby tree lends the perspective of distance against a far group of naked aspens. Those trees, about 100 yards away, mark an entranceway to the pasture where my horses grazed.

The horses remained in that pasture several hours, and most likely without finding adequate edible grass. On arriving home they hurried to some left-over “filler hay”, with Rosie not even waiting for her reward (an orange for behaving well on our walk home). After handing Sunni and Pimmy their treats, I carried Rosie’s to her and watched the bright color disappearing in a mouthful of hay.

Dear Friends: This morning, again with new snow, will offer more right-brain treats. Diana