I've been reminded...     'Birds of a feather flock together'...  Yes they do  - YEAH! 
Great song, eh?   I know birds that flock together.. I see & hear them - chickens.
I'm making my chicken a tiny red canoe to sit in so they can pretend to go on tiny adventures... silly, simple chickens.

Show your beauty proudly as swallows crowd together & scurry & flutter among each other. 
Contnue to display your BOLD & beautiful feathers as tiny sparrows gasp at your magnificance while they chatter to themselves.  Continue to stand proud & flash your feathers - no one even notices sparrows when Peacocks are around.

I love painting birds almost as much as bud.
This peacock was just a warm up with  its beautiful & bold details with the gold gouache glittering int he sunlight!  Onto the next creation & observation.

Birds of a feather...    what kind of bird would you choose to be?
I'd rather fly solo than be any part of a flock of nasty birds - how about you?

With TLC & THC

My Totem Animal is The Wolf.


I know we share this land with wolves, we’ve seen & heard them… we share their land.

After the bear encounter last year, I did some educating and we never leave any food out. 
We are careful with what we toss in the trash too - bears have incredible smell.  I don’t want to attract bear with food (small dogs), because I don’t want to have to kill a problem bear - one in particular where a human has made the problem buy being careless.  We also clean up the dog pooh - as dog pooh is coyote & wolf bait/food.  
We never feed the dogs outdoors and  all creatures are locked in at night - in a fully enclosed pen.  Even the birds are only fed in the a.m. &  we slow down feeding  amount as spring & summer are here & the birds need to learn to fend for themselves.  We DO not feed deer near the house as deer carry ‘deer tick’ and we don’t want to encourage any deer ticks on the dogs. 

People ask - aren't you afraid of the wolves? Bears? Walking in the woods? 
No.  I am thrilled these creatures are here, there are not hear to hurt me & I am not here to hurt them.  I have wanted this for as long as I remember & am conscience of the living, beautiful creatures so I accept them.   When they hear me & my team in the woods - they run.

I walk with love, everywhere I go - especially in the forest.  That’s why we find so many amazing fungi, birds, creatures and more. We can’t change wild beasts - we can become aware & learn to accept the beast.  
The beast will decide it’s own destiny.        "All paths lead to him"  I love that quote.

I decided to put the 12 foot totem where it can be enjoyed, a perfect spot in the garden at the front of the house.  This wolf will grace the gate, welcoming all who enter with LOVE, as it should be   & NOW, I can tell people the eggs are being the wolf (on a hook)  YAY! 

Created to create - the more I create the more I desire to create!  
Inspired by LOVE - I will SUCCEED.  
​Inspiredby love - you will succeed.

This painting was inspired from a photo taken years ago in the ravenshoe forest...
I still remember the exact moment Storm turned to show me a mushroom he found, I believe we were looking for morel, we were laughing.. dogs exploring.  The sunshine was perfect.  It was a wonderful day & lovely memory.  Painting the photo was re-living our many foray adventures, they were always such great days, meeting fellow mycology lovers, I was there for exercise, terrific company & the  beauty of the mushrooms and would never consider myself an expert.  I love my son.    :)  

If you don't know what a mushroom IS - Do NOT eat it - that's the best advice I may offer.

I do know several edibles but I still check, with a text to Storm, he suggests I look it up, either way, encouraging me to learn.   We are anticipating many forest finds with our truffle sniffing dogs!  Hahaha  I wish.    
I will teach  the girls to find morel, if you can teach dogs to find drugs - why not? 

Painting, remembering and intentionally wishing good things for Storm & everyone he is surrounded by is how I enjoy spending time. Not stress.  There is enough to stress about - if you choose.  I choose to paint.   Things I enjoy, some times it's humans.  hee hee

Do what you love & love what you do.
Storm is doing what he loves and I can see & hear it when he talks/texts about work.
He is growing all the time,  all day every day.   'We' are.
​
That background was FUN!   ...more on the way.

Rise up through the mud & dirt & bloom where you are planted.
On to the next creation of love!
with THC & TLC 

Thinking about the moon I get excited to go to bed! 
I have the best view of the moon & the stars as they start to set.  There’s no better way to drift off… under the twinkling of stars with silhouettes of tall trees gently swaying it’s a wilderness lullaby.  

Ending the day  contemplating the universe & it’s beauty.
I’m just as excited to wake up - so I can watch the sunrise through the trees.  Yes, a  beach sunset is lovely as must a mountain sunrise be but until you see the sunrise as it dances thorough the branches of towering pines, maple & birch trees...  It’s magical! 

Magical or Miracle?  

Miracle.   Everyday.
My current  canvas below...

Happy March!  Spring happens - in March! LOL
​
Creation runs in the family!  ;)
Norm’s created for me a couple of gifts,  every occasion or holiday who needs bonbons my hubby made me an end table & coffee table... from trees in the backyard, family heirlooms.   He made our last coffee table - which fit nice when we had a house that was bigger, dogs need room to lay around - he made a much smaller  yet very functional coffee table. 
How cool is it to have your own furniture maker?  Very.  
I tell him what I want & he creates it - holy cow.  

We still have disagreements and some days & some are  draining, I can hear most every married couple saying the same thing- this covid is the 'test of time'. Norm has had some issues with covid  & not working - he’s worked every day  most his life & for his own mental health it's good to keep busy... it takes time to adjust.  I'm grateful it seems to all be settling down.  I guess we all have a new 'Norm -al. hee hee
 
Marriage & work relationships, friendships, family  - it's all work to some degree.
Part of the journey.  I think the new tables are perfect. 
In between wooden creations he's become quite the baker & cook  :) there have, without a doubt - been positive sides to covid lockdowns.

Have a creative day.

Basking in sunlight, Jesus stops to bless a bear.

I can't begin to express  the joy I was IN,  Inspired...  IN - spirit painting this.   I love sunlight and moonlight!  Did you see that moon Friday night?  Kowabunga! Shining through the trees.   
Spring will be here before we know it & I can hardly wait! 

It’s Sunday  - the Sabbath.. I am resting & relaxing as the bible insists - lol.  Really though - the number of times it’s mentioned about doing ‘no work on the sabbath’, including the goats..  I understand the importance in this crazy covid condition of doing nothing but resting.

It is important to our mind & body & to actually have a day to ponder, be grateful & aware for all we have is also a blessing, at times I’ve been so stressed in my own life - my last thought would be to stop and give thanks  and give myself rest…   Ah, if only we knew then what we know now.

Many right now, are scrambling, hustling.. not resting or thinking about God, Jesus or the sabbath.  I get it.   It’s a slippery slope and if we can’t take one day to rest our minds let alone our bodies… the results will be brutal. The results ARE brutal with increased mental health issues, domestic abuse, child abuse, mental stress & depressing increasing.   I wish I could say I’ve not been effected by covid but yes, even here in the forest the signs of stress are apparent on my body in particular. Tell me not to worry about Storm, family & friends…  it’s impossible not to. 

I’ve been quite ill the past 3 weeks, added stress had me literally vomiting & my TN escalating on both sides - that’s all I needed to SHUT down and REST.  A good SHOCK to the brain. Hello?  Are you paying attention? If not - I shall remind you. ZAP. 
Believe it or not - I am grateful for the new awareness, as fucking painful as it has been.

Rest, Relax, enjoy all that you do have - life.. breath in our lungs. 
It’s Sabbath Sunday - If it’s good enough for the goats & livestock - it’s good enough for me.  

For ALL those essential workers who must work today
 - THANK YOU!  God appreciates you!  Me too ;)​

This painting has a special GOLD paint  for Halos you can only see when standing in a certain light.  I love it, I forget & it catches me off guard sometmes. Always enlightening. 

How much wood would a wood chuck chuck…. 
I don’t know ask Norm - lol  - Look at our lovely wood cart!  Our house is a bungalow, heated with a lovely wood stove. The stuff we have learned about wood is amusing - and how much wood we need per day- our new cart lasts 2 days - unless it’a a -30  or more- then it might be 2 carts.

It took one year of thought.  It has wheels so we simply wheel it out to the porch when empty and back in when full - super light & easy to move. It holds our cooking tools - we heat most left overs on the wood stove, it also has the cleaning tools we use most - handy dandy.  The top was made from an old cedar door we had - as well as our outdoor coffee table! Reduce & reuse & recycle.  

One side holds kindling/fire starters the other  logs to last a couple of hours. 
On an average day no matter the temperature outside - I get the stove cranked!- Therefore we open the windows & bring in fresh air  - god for the mind & body.  It took a year of learning how we use our stove to create the most efficient cart - if only we had the luxury of time to 'research' all things...
Many of us do have more time, what are you creating? 

The next cart will be a bit fancier- it will have a top with a raw edge like my new coffee table & end table!  He’s so handy - what a creative team we be. Thank God.
It’s made our life easier & our home lovelier ;).   Inspired by love we will not fail.

This spring we start trails, Norm will stock more wood for the winters to come - living here, with a wood stove it needs to be a regular chore- CHOP wood & carry water. Thankful to do so - EVERY DAY!  Time to LOG off so I can LOG on’ and open the windows on this gorgeous day!

Goat Gate Create

For as long as I remember I’ve wanted a gate.. as a kid - I always wanted to live on a farm - what kid doesn’t? Probably those raised on a farm, hee hee.   Farms are work,  life is work so this is good. I absolutely LOVE our little farm and goats & chickens - Im very excited as we have a couple of new baby chicks in the spring coming!  Prissy, Petunia & Petal signs will be added to the farm name board.

     The other day I was looking at my gate & my goat idea arrived, it did not take much thought, just a measurement or two - Norm cut it out & I painted him - he instantly had us giggling - Norm carried it up and it fit the gate like a glove!   So now I have a goat on my gate to greet my guests with a smile - which he has succeeded in doing.    
Next I’m creating a gate bear & maybe a donkey.    Actually, we had a problem with the goat on the gate & have removed him until the spring.. our dogs thinks someone is standing at the gate & growl constantly ..lol  when the weather is better I will walk them up and remind them it’s just a goat on the gate.    

I laughed out loud when I actually saw it on the gate as the udders are perfectly placed.   This is my goal - to make others smile with my art - especially at this time, not many are smiling.  

A friend who lives in high-rise told me the super’ told someone to “wear a mask” & the woman told him to suck her..   holy cow.  I think everyone is sick - OF COVID-  not from it. 
There’s a new level of nasty, some can attribute it to covid  stress & some are just intentionally nasty  using covid as an excuse. 

This is human nature 

I’m creating a list of positives from Covid, I recognize in this chaos the order.
It’s a blizzard out right now, time to warm up the brushes & log on! 
Here is a updated photo of Nugget to make you smile!  She’s so sweet - her horns grow fast and are quite dangerous at the moment, Norm almost got a horn up the nostril the other day and is more aware. lol ​ Norm is getting the goats use to walking on a leash- they don't seem to mind - we might let them explore in the spring.

Have a creative day.

There is much snow on the ground..  this is how I keep warm sitting at my desk looking out the window imagining bears...  I listened to a CBC Ideas podcast on a book called 'BEAR', By a woman , Canadian & takes place in Ontario, I am yet to find another woman/friend who has read it... interesting for such controversy as being 'risky'.   I ordered it from Masters Bookstore in Haliburton,  Kathy knew which book I was refering to, I should have asked her if she read it, tee hee - this amuses me- such a sweet lovely little lady.

I'm pleased the USA transfer of President' wen't peacefully, I hope.  

This vaccine business is confusing and not at all re-assuring.  Key word, business.
I'm grateful to all who work for all who don't, can't.  All.  Thank you. God Bless.
For all who work at/in hospitals.. and struggle & then must watch others go around  maskless, thank you.  

Today, I will try to paint something to cheer others up.

With THC & TLC,  Georgia