Peace & Joy

Earlier this week a Chinook wind blew into Anchor-town, and along with it rain, both of which have started to melt the fresh fluffy snow that fell only days ago. Melting snow on Christmas somehow seems cruel, especially when you live in this part of Alaska.

However I know Christmas is not carried on the white snow. It does not magically appear just because the calendar reads December 25. I believe Christmas is something you create in your heart, and a little bit of holiday music helps too.

Joy is found on track 5 as the sweet familiar melody fills the house. It is a quiet house otherwise, just me. Me and the freshly baked sugar cookies. I hope I don't spoil my appetite, as Christmas prime rib supper with our dear friends is going to be amazing. 

Winter Solstice

The day passed fairly quickly if you mark the daylight hours as a day. Sunrise to sunset occurred today without much fanfare, the cloudy skies hid the sun from our view, and no stars shine tonight upon Anchor-town. Jupiter and Saturn put on their show for others but not us. 

Winter solstice marks the line in the snow where the last of the dark days lay only yards ahead, and our push towards spring is a doable reality. Soon I will take a deep breath. Soon I will feel relief.

The clock chimes the hour and the quarter hour, I am keeping track biding my time. 

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Merry Christmas

 

Greetings to our dear friends and family

Lord love a duck, it has been an extraordinary year. Bizarre, novel, and uniquely barbed. One filled with new balancing acts, transitions of Herculean effort, and gifts that came in irregular shaped boxes. There was a quietness that came into our world as we hunkered down, and learned to properly wash our hands as well as our groceries. The tick of the clock and the day of the week became irrelevant. We lost all interest in knowing where we were in the time space continuum. We became one with our homes, one with ourselves, and one with some strong truths. Truths that signaled change, what we once thought was inconceivable became our new daily normal.

This year for us marked a whopper of a landing at a dream job. We made it on board the aircraft just as they made the final boarding announcements and closed the cabin doors. It has been a slow ascent towards consolidation, and the time invested has earned Josh a solid seat in the Airbus 320. And as we continue our flight plan slow and steady up to 35,000 feet we count our blessings and good fortune to have made our connecting flight.

The year 2020 holds a different story for each of us, our wish for you is that your story carries more blessings than you ever thought possible. And that you find the gifts you received amid this chaotic year, worthy of making the list.

While we all zoom ourselves into the future may our hearts be filled with joy and all our deeds be for a good cause.

  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

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Snowy Day

It's a blustery morning. Snow flurries flitter between the branches of the spruce trees, and gray skies obscure the view out my window. Gusts of wind send sheets of snow off the roof. I imagine the snow is a troupe of dancing fairies setting off on an adventure. Farewell fairies, safe travels and all that.

I just got off the phone with my mother. She seems well however Texas this time of year, and under the current circumstances, is a bit lonely. There is no one nearby that she is related to, no friends close by to speak of, and her life in the small aging RV seems to be wearing her thin. She travels around a fifty mile radius, staying a few nights at a time in each of the state campgrounds that surround the local lakes. The park rangers know her by name, and are grateful that she fills her days walking the parks picking up trash, and cutting back the kudzu. She's bored. She's lost. She sounds unsure of what to do next, where to go, where to call home.

I worry about her well being. What daughter wouldn't? The crux of the situation is she doesn't want any help from me, from any of us. Is it an overactive sense of pride or stubbornness?

Recently I came across her paternal families coat of arms, a beautiful crest of gray and red, and perched on top, a goat. A horned and undoubtedly stubborn goat.

My brain is filled with the words exchanged during our conversation, and my heart is heavy with worry. Perhaps a walk in the crisp snowy air will settle my thoughts.

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Textures ~ Project 3 for the New Semester

 

It is finals week here at the University of Alaska Anchorage and I have just finished my last project for this semesters watercolor class. I titled this piece - A Walk in the Park. It is transparent watercolor 23 x 15 on Arches Cold Press 300 lb paper.

Did you find the egg? Heeheehee!  Happy day to everyone. All my best to you and yours and continued good health!

Updated 4/5/21

Artist statement:

A Walk in the Park

Walking through a park on a beautiful summer day we encounter many sights of wonder; tall trees, statues, birds or artwork that add to our enjoyment. When you view this watercolor piece do you see an owl about ready to take flight or a statue set in iron? As you walk in the park today I hope your eyes behold wonderment and delight.

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Winter's Light

Winter settles into your bones gripping your very essence with its icy claws. Ol' Man Winter knows just which strings to pull to bring you to your knees. 

The dark envelops every molecule of your soul. You read. You clean. You pace the floors. You attempt to write and concentrate, to enjoy your morning coffee, yet the only thing that saves you is the light that shines in the window during that brief moment of opportunity each day. 

Life giving light. 

Fleeting. 

Temporary. 

Precious. 

Acts of Calmness

 

Act only on the awareness of the situation. Do not jump to judgement or add to the narrative. Take in the facts. Take a deep breath, and calm your wandering mind.

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Being Strong

​Sometimes being strong means having the strength to know you need help.

And to stand up and ask.

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Perpetual Motion

All our lives we are moving. Here then there. One idea, and then the next. We learn the street names and the best restaurants. We calculate driving time to arrive on time. What really is the best choice? We think we know. 

And then...

It hits us like a fast-moving train, a rushing river over a slick and perilous waterfall. A speed ball we didn't see coming.

A new thought... what if?

What if I was as brave?
 

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After

 

After the dark parts there is always a little bit of light.

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Earthquake ~ 5.0 & 3.9

 

Yippy! Not. 

In truth I was already awake when I heard the earth rolling, felt the house shake, and was thankful it did not last very long. Then came the 3.9 - quick and short. 

Trying not to hold my breath in anticipation for the next time because there will be a next time.

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Reflections ~ Project Two for the New Semester

Project two for the new semester, reflections. What you see is the barn at Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge in Fairbanks Alaska, on a spring day.

The clouds and reflections sure gave me a paintbrush challenge and there were thoughts of becoming a quitter. But that is not me. Quitting was not an option so I struggled forward and completed the painting.

No rest for the weary - moving on to project three - textures.

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Space Between

 

Anchor-town woke to snow falling on Sunday morning with enough accumulation to encourage the neighborhood kids to head outside and play. This snow did not stick around very long but the temperatures have remained cool as a constant reminder that we are officially in-between. In-between seasons. In-between wardrobes. In-between the light and the dark.

So what do I do with the space between now and the joys that the holidays bring?

All suggestions welcome. In the mean time I will enjoy the reminders of our glorious summer, and our extended autumn. The year 2020 hasn't been all bad. 

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Quiet Evenings

 

The evenings have been quiet, and the sun sets a little bit earlier each evening. Perfect for journaling and keeping gratitude close at hand.   

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Autumn!

 

Our lovely summer has passed into a beautiful autumn. The changing of the seasons in the northern hemisphere can be abrupt, so when there is an unusually prolonged transition from summer to fall, we rejoice.

Saturday the clouds that loomed around Anchor-town were indigo in color and heavy with moisture, carrying with them whispers of winter. The upper Chugach Mountains are now covered in termination dust (a snow layer that signals the termination of summer) but here in the lower elevation of Anchor-town we are still watching and waiting for that first snow.

Until the snow flies enjoy the crisp air of the changing season. Write home. Register to vote. And hug those you love.

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Inkdigo ~ Project One for the New Semester

Inkdigo by Julia M. D'June

My next watercolor goal is to take Advanced Watercolor, however this course is only offered in the spring semester. I decided that I would take Beginning Watercolor again this fall semester, to stay practiced and actively engaged in a creative pursuit.  

Project one (I did not count the eggs & lines this time) is the indigo assignment, and the parameters included the use of only indigo paint, and the gradient is to be light to dark with no light next to light or dark next to dark of the same gray scale. 

Last fall semester's Dragon Flyer.

Ready. Set. Go. On to the next assignment, reflections and the use of masking to achieve clean lines. 

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When You Find a Good Read Worth Sharing

 

Life is filled with discoveries and more times than not when one person finds something worth sharing then the net has been cast and the universal gift of sharing begins.

While reading a few of the other blogs I follow I came across this gem published in The Guardian - Oliver Burkeman's last column: the eight secrets to a (fairly) fulfilled life

The below excerpt is the one that resonated the most with me today...

"The future will never provide the reassurance you seek from it. As the ancient Greek and Roman Stoics understood, much of our suffering arises from attempting to control what is not in our control. And the main thing we try but fail to control – the seasoned worriers among us, anyway – is the future. We want to know, from our vantage point in the present, that things will be OK later on. But we never can. (This is why it’s wrong to say we live in especially uncertain times. The future is always uncertain; it’s just that we’re currently very aware of it.)

It’s freeing to grasp that no amount of fretting will ever alter this truth. It’s still useful to make plans. But do that with the awareness that a plan is only ever a present-moment statement of intent, not a lasso thrown around the future to bring it under control. The spiritual teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti said his secret was simple: “I don’t mind what happens.” That needn’t mean not trying to make life better, for yourself or others. It just means not living each day anxiously braced to see if things work out as you hoped."

The article is well worth the time you will spend reading. Have an excellent day my friends, and continued good health to you and yours.

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Frayed at the Edges

 

Frayed at the edges seems to be the thought that rolls through my heart as I gaze out the window and see that the leaves have turned yellow seemingly overnight. All of a sudden the summer has been spent and here we are, sitting, working, watching. And wondering.

Wondering where in the world did summer go? What did we do with our time?

This past summer seems like an early morning dream, you know the ones where you are fast asleep enjoying the sweetness of slumber and a peaceful dream, only to wake, take a breath of morning air and the dream vanishes with your exhale.

Now that I have exhaled, and summers pleasant memories seem to be an apparition, I will take a deep breath of the crisp fall air, and just be present.

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Precious

 

When the time you spend together is precious.

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Casting Seeds

 

When we cast seeds of love, hope springs eternal.

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Land of Beige

 

When the sight of color catches your eye in the land of beige.

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Blooming

 

When the palo verde blooms.

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Illuminated Sky

 

When the clouds illuminate the sky, and the tears fall.

May the Lords grace fill your heart with peace.

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Not Enough

 

When the sweet blessed shade still is not enough to cover your sunburned heart.

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Answers

 

When we ask ourselves questions to which there are no answers.

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Embrace

 

When you take to the sky, and embrace your dreams.

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Day 74

 

Day 74 and I have had to make my own coffee. It is not too bad for being out of practice.

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Wiseman & Dalton Highway

Wiseman is located along the Middle Fork Koyukuk River in the Brooks Range with a population of maybe 20 people. It is a small mining community with an eclectic set of personalities, oh and they have plenty of mosquitoes to spare.  

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Balancing Act

When we have balance we have a greater chance of having peace in our lives.

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Galbraith Lake

Dirty-bottoms brother Hiya! Hee hee hee!

Rock Jasmine 

Jacobs Ladder and Atigun Pass in the background.

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Arctic Circle

The Arctic Circle in the summer always seems to have skies filled with mosquitoes, and taking photos near the sign you must be quick or you risk being drained of a few pints of blood.  

There are always treasures to be found when you look down. Moss Campion grow low on the ground and can cover an area a foot in diameter. Some say they smell like lilacs.

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Look Boys the Pipeline

It just would not be an Alaska road trip without a 'hey look boys the pipeline' comment or two along the way. 

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Road North ~ Dalton Highway

Finger Mountain a stop along the Dalton Highway, it is rumored to point to Fairbanks and was used by early aviators flying home to Fairbanks from the villages on what is now called the North Slope.

Yes the mosquitoes were this bad and even worse at the Arctic Circle - woof.

Beaver Slide! Double woof! Yes it was a bit scary for me the passenger but I knew my wheel-man is a skilled operator, and we made it to the bottom safe and sound. 

The Dalton Highway is known by several names, the Haul Road, the Ice Road or just the Road, and is a road worth exploring. Best advice I can offer is have extra petrol, two spare tires, and bug nets for you head. Trust me on the bug nets.

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Camp Life

Look who wandered into camp one sunny morning.

Look who we found making a home under the bridge between the rocks.

Wild Sweet Pea

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