Monthly Archives: May 2021

Brutus

Posted on May 30, 2021 | 4 comments

There’s always something to do here on the farm and spring seems to be the busiest. This past week my husband and I spent time trimming back the brush and overhanging branches on the lane. This doesn’t sound like much except that it’s a third of a mile long, with trees and bushes on one or both sides. The delivery vans have to run the gauntlet, often leaving with debris decorating their vehicles.

Usually I just walk along with my battery-powered hedge trimmers. When the battery runs down, so do I. And I can only reach just so far up. Getting to the overhead branches is more challenging. In this case, one person drives the truck and one person stands in back with clippers or a chainsaw. We got over nine truck loads so far and we’re still not done. The temps were in the 90s a couple of days ago, but they were in the 50s today.

Since I was the driver this time, I spent a lot of time in the truck.

Brutus is our farm truck. (My husband names every vehicle we have.) We ordered Brutus new back in 1985, a handsome but no frills Ford F250 4WD. Let’s see, that makes him 36 this year. Every farm has an old truck. Come meet ours.

After many years of hard use, Brutus is showing his age. Rust, holes, dents, and even lichen.

He’s very reliable but has never been coddled. Never spent a night under cover. And is used but not intentionally abused. He’s hauled rock and a whole lot of firewood over the years. He’s been able to get out during the worst of snowstorms. Both of the boys learned to drive in him, which in the country is way below the legal age (only on the farm).

Uh oh, you can see the ground through the floorboards. Oh, well, slap a car mat over it.

Unfortunately, Brutus is showing his age. The speedometer doesn’t go past 99,999 so he’s now clocking at over 117,000 miles. The radio still works (AM only) but the heater doesn’t. He has two gas tanks but I don’t think the gage works on either one. We don’t worry about anyone stealing him as he’s pretty touchy to get going, besides, he’s not a beauty either. And his top speed is about 45.

Outside mirrors. One is held together with electrical tape. The other one is barely attached to the truck, aimed at the sky, and severely cracked. BTW, there is no rearview mirror and hasn’t been for years.

Interior view. Cracked seat and detritus.

A hubcap that has seen some action. This one was knocked off today as we were trimming the lane.

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Posted in country living

Tagged 4WD, brutus, farm truck, ford 250, red truck

Spring follow-up

Posted on May 23, 2021 | Comments Off

One of many beautiful peonies. The scent is so lovely.

We have been so busy with spring activities here on the ninety acres. The temperatures have exploded from the frost predictions earlier this month to near 90s this week. No rain so we’re doing lots of watering. Everything I planted last weekend – the entire garden pretty much – is up and looking healthy. I’ll post photos later when there’s more to see.

The air is a flood of beautiful scents, roses and peonies, honeysuckle, too. The locusts are about done. The strong perfume seems to be the only redeeming value of the multiflora roses and the wild honeysuckle, both which are fighting it out in the scent category.

Top: Tame climbing roses vs wild multi-flora roses. Bottom: Tame honeysuckle bush vs wild honeysuckle vine.

The farmer who rents some of our fields has been working until way after dark these days. You can see by this monster disk how much time it takes to prepare the ground. Not counting that “other” natural odor that was spread on the fields. Well, that’s called soil improvement.

Disking the fields. That is some big piece of equipment.

And the cicadas have emerged in ever-increasing numbers. They don’t bite or sting, just climb out of the ground and then hang onto anything they can while they emerge from their shells. They can’t climb on vinyl or metal but they do like wood or just about anything else they can attach to. My husband uses the leaf blower to blow them off the porch. I use the broom. And now they’re starting to sing to attracts mates. Not as loud as it will be but it’s already beginning to sound like that weird alien noise in a sci-fi movie. The birds and frogs and toads seem sated but I watched two little lizards stalking the same bug today. I think they both missed.

The Reader, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 18, Kit Miracle

Of necessity due to the heat, studio time has been limited to afternoons. I did manage to finish the painting which I started as a demo a couple of weeks ago. The Reader is a lovely piece, not in any series of paintings but just because I like the subject. I’m already scouting around for the next topic.

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Posted in art, contemporary impressionism, country living, garden, portrait

Tagged cicadas, contemporary impressionism, honeysuckle, peonies, reader, roses

Cicadas and more, spring 2021

Posted on May 16, 2021 | Comments Off

I love perennials. Nothing much to do except enjoy their beauty year after year. Azalea and irises.

All is not art. Spring on the ninety acres has arrived and so has the work.

This beautiful red/pink rhododendron is right outside our kitchen breakfast nook.

The past several weeks have been devoted to getting my big show up and running. Framing and delivering, shipping, some marketing, some public events. Exciting but exhausting.

Now, to tackle my three page list of things to do this spring. Yes, I still make extensive lists for almost everything. It just relieves my brain from having to remember everything.

We’ve had beautiful, rain-free weather this past week. A little on the chilly side but make hay, etc. etc. Weeding the flowerbeds. Seems as if we are beset by bedstraw this year. Or as I like one of its other common names sticky willie. Grrrrrrrrrrr. I hate this stuff.

A few of several pots of plants on the patio. Full sun. My favorite Provence memory.

Flowers waiting to be transplanted to pots. A couple of perennials, too.

Bringing out all my pots, mixing large batches of soil – potting soil, manure, peat. Planting about thirty of them for sun, shade, large, small. Oh, my back but I just divide the job up to smaller pieces.

Then a big push on to get the main garden planted. It’s a serious garden of about 25 x 40 feet. The sweet corn was planted a few weeks ago and is making a good showing. The peas finally came up in the spring garden (a whole different garden area), and we have been eating fresh lettuce for several weeks. The asparagus patch is nearly done for the year.

Just a small part of the garden. I planted fifteen various tomato plants and about the same number of peppers. Many varieties. PLUS….we have more in the small spring garden. I remember one year planting 64 tomato plants! Last time I did that.

Yesterday meant planting tomatoes, peppers, beans, eggplant, herbs, more corn, and lots of flowers for cutting. It’s not very interesting at this point but in a few weeks, it should really start growing.

So, let’s talk about cicadas. It’s the widely touted seventeen year emergence. And they’re HERE! At least emerging. They do not have mouths or stingers so they’re harmless to handle. They feel kinda creepy as they crawl on you with their little claws.

A cicada emerging. I’m finding these in the grass, the flowerbeds, just about everywhere outside.

Slightly creepy feeling, this is what the cicadas look like when they first shed their brown shells. It will attach itself to something – twig, trees, side of house – while it pumps up it’s wings, then takes off to find a mate for a day. No mouths or stingers.

A cicada hanging on its discarded shell which it attached to a plant. After it pumps up its wings, it changes color and then flies off.

Holes in the ground from the emerging brood. I’ve actually observed a flicker listening and diving for the emerging beasties.

I remember the last time they were here, the air was a cacophony of a high pitched sound, like something you might hear on an old sci-fi movie. I guess we’ll deal with it or stay inside. And remember, the birds and especially our chickens love these things and go after them like candy.

I’ll pass.

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Posted in country living, garden, landscape

Tagged cicadas, flower pots, garden, spring flowers

Gallery opening….and more

Posted on May 9, 2021 | Comments Off

Wow, what a week!

My Intimate Spaces exhibit opened this week. It was so inspiring to see two and a half years of work on display, instead of being propped against my studio walls or in boxes. Due to the virus restrictions, there was no opening reception but other events did pop up.

On Friday, I held a brief discussion about my work with a group of high school students. They asked some very perceptive questions. They were also later allowed to choose a gallery among the three to spend some time sketching.

The students were very attentive and focused.

About 35 students attended my presentation. Great questions, too!

Two high school students sketching parts of my exhibit after my presentation.

On Saturday, I held a free public demonstration. I began a painting in my contemporary impressionist style. I got about half way through and will post photos of the completed painting at a later date. Several people I know stopped by to chat and see the show. I was happy to have a friend whom I haven’t seen since before COVID come over and visit, spend some time at the new cultural center with me, and share dinner with later. Miss my old friends terribly.

Set up in the gallery on Saturday to begin my demo. I’ve already applied the color outlines. The color doesn’t necessarily match the objects. The red-toned canvas works well as an underpainting for landscapes and greenery.

After laying in the outlines, I usually begin with the background and darker areas. Plenty of time to tweak later.

About half-way done on the painting that I started earlier. Lots of visitors so I was chatting and seeing old friends.

This was also the week for running around, buying plants for the garden and flower beds. They are still waiting for me and sending guilt vibes until they’re in the dirt.

Shipped a couple of paintings which I sold online. This always entails packing and paperwork, then actually posting them.

And I sorted and delivered some new work to one of the local shops. I feel so guilty for neglecting my friend but there’s only so much time. Somewhere in all this chaos I updated my website and did some posts. Whew!

So, today, Mother’s day, I’m going to take a break and do nothing. Well, that probably won’t happen as I always have something going on, but at least I have several bigger projects completed.

What’s next?! How was your week?

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Posted in contemporary impressionism, impressionism

Tagged contemporary impressionism, intimate spaces, painting demonstration

Cinco de Meowo

Posted on May 5, 2021 | Comments Off

Our cat Leo is now a year old now. We got him as a tiny kitten from our son. He was born a barn cat in the cellar window well. Now he is a big, slightly pampered feline. Would rather spend the night outdoors and sleep in his chair during the day. I worry but what mom doesn’t. He has plenty of places to hide, some very sharp claws, is a great climber, and a big scary dog who chases away other critters.

Funny how we become owned by our pets.

Leo at a few weeks old. Ready for adventure.

Leo begging to sit in my lap while I paint. Not happening. But look at those eyes!

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Posted in country living

Tagged cats, kittens

Delivering the Exhibit

Posted on May 2, 2021 | 2 comments

Visual Arts Coordinator, Emily Colucci Peak, helping to unwrap the paintings.

After a week of final framing, I packed my exhibit of thirty paintings into two vehicles and delivered them to the new Cultural Center in Jasper on Friday. It’s always a little more difficult than one would think it should be. How to layer the paintings without them scratching each other, damaging the frames, or poking through. Also, so they won’t shift while driving.

First car loaded. These are mostly the Breaking Bread series so they’re all the same size. The important thing is to not have any movement of the paintings while transporting.

Second car back. This is the Beach series. A greater variety of sizes, some framed and some gallery-wrapped. Again, prevent shifting during transport.

The Visual Arts Coordinator, Emily Colucci Peak, helped unload and move the work into the gallery. We unwrapped everything and sat the paintings around. Then moved them into position for hanging later this week.

Wow, so exciting to be in this new space. I still can’t believe that the whole building is the final culmination of ten years of work by many many people.

Third view of the gallery layout. It took a while to determine the order of the presentation.

Final wall of the layout. I can hardly wait to see the actual exhibit hung.

So, for those of you who are interested, the show opens on Thursday, May 6^th. Although there will be no reception due to COVID restrictions, the galleries are open to the public seven days a week. Free admission and plenty of free parking in the rear of the building.

I will also be doing a demonstration painting on Saturday, May 8^th from 10 to 2.

If you’re in the area and would like a private tour, let me know and I will meet you there. But the staff is very helpful and each painting will have an explanation next to it.

Thyen-Clark Cultural Center, 100 Third Avenue, Jasper IN 47546

812-482-3070

Hours: M-F 9-5, Sa 10-2, Sun noon -3