You can fool the fans - but not the players.... John Cage

August and everything

Summer is flying by - again. The days don't particularly seem to speed past, but I turn around and a month has gone by. How does this happen? Is it inversely tied to age? Weird and a little scary.

My niece has been here with me for just over a week now. We've been having fun and getting to know one another. I suspect she thinks my life is just a little too quiet for words - no parties, no clubs, no Forever 21. But at the same time she is enjoying the horses and the riding and the visiting of a friend's new puppy. It is hard to be 15 years old - on the cusp of adulthood but not yet ready to let go of being the adored little girl.

 

She's a beautiful girl with porcelain skin, hazel eyes and a killer sense of humor. And a natural-born rider. She sits a horse with confidence, strength and balance. Yesterday I watched my mustang, notorious for walking away, stand still as a stone while she figured out first the fly mask and then the halter. He wanted her to catch him.

I imagine my life must seem kind of quiet and dull to a teenager, but for me it is all I want. I think of the title of a book of comics JC has - the Far Side or something - and I've been using it on my niece. "The days are just packed!" Inwardly she's rolling her eyes.

 

I could be a hermit and perhaps it is a good thing JC is not actively exploring that 20 acres I went to look at a few weeks ago. Give me a long dirt road and a comfortable home with a studio and I may never leave. Especially if my horses and dogs are there too. I have a hankering for a puppy - we went to visit a friend who has a 4-month old Queensland Heeler and my heart melted. Right now the house seems empty and quiet but that is only because the dogs are over at the resort - when they are home it is evident that two dogs are plenty! But a QH - saavy around horses, smart and fast.... could be a good trail companion. If I were to ever get back out on a trail.

 

I remember a time when I used to just hang out - at the beach, in my back yard, beside a pool. Now I have a hammock that hangs in the back yard empty, it takes months to read one book, and my time is filled to the brim with stuff. Anyone else experience this? How does trivia come to take over one's life? The days are just packed.

 

I think this is part of the reason I have horses. Unless there is a compelling reason to move quickly they spend a lot of time relaxing. And being relaxed. And still. With those amazing eyes that seem to know everything.

 

It brings me back to ground.

 

And reminds me that in the end the only things that matter are the relationships you have. With people, with animals, with life.

Slow down, take the time, and enjoy the ride.

No excuses now

I had this post almost finished when Firefox suddenly crashed. And I lost it all. So it might be better this time around or it might not... sometimes when you are in the groove and in the moment it is hard to recapture one's thoughts.

Here goes....

 

I have no excuses for not being in the studio now. After months of thinking, waffling, discussing, procrastinating.... I am down to half-time at my full-time job. Still teaching, but at least 20 hours a week just appeared. And the studio waits patiently.

 

Bezels already made, just waiting to be filled with collages and resin...

 

The small and mighty butane torch waiting to melt metal...

 

This beloved gift containing western and cowgirl elements to incorporate into new pieces...

 

Pearls, ribbons, bits of rusty metal, beads, chain, silver, brass and copper...

 

The possibilities are endless and I can't wait to get into it.

But first, I ride, because I also have a beautiful mare ready and waiting for attention and a steadfast gelding that patiently endured summer while I spun in circles around my computer. Priorities, please.

Time to straighten those priorities out and also motivation to make the jewelry work as a business - a new beginning to the making part.

Shiny, pointy, and how did they end up at the thrift store?

My niece and I had some fun at a local thrift store the other day.... someone had dropped off a truckload of leather, pleather, vinyl and platform shoes... change of heart, I guess. I've been known to sport a leather skirt - back in the day - but those days are long gone and these days it is rare to see me in anything but Wranglers and boots. OK, maybe some shorts since it is summer. And I bought a pair of leggings at Tonik in Mammoth the other day.

But I digress.

Up on the shoe rack were a line of platform boots and shoes - patent leather, black, white, super shiny, super tall, super pointy.

We pulled some down and I came home with part of my next Halloween costume:

 

Lady Gaga, anyone?

She's a spaz...what can we say?

The dogs were home together for a few day and and now they are on their way back over to the west side. I'd brought the old guy home for a vet check - we were certain he had a thyroid issue only just like the spring weight loss event with Feather it turns out ($235 later) that everything is normal. He needs more fat in his diet. Omega 3, flax seed oil, fish oil. Oh well, it was probably high time to get him checked out We are now 500 bucks into knowing our dogs are perfectly normal.

 

Then again, maybe not. The first day home from the resort the dogs just lay around and sleep. The next day they start to perk up again. Last evening, as JC and I are enjoying a cocktail on the patio, we see Feather playing tug-of-war with the swing.

 

She would pull and wrestle and tug, let it go, look at us, and then POW! the swing would hit her back and she'd be back at it - growling and pulling...

 

Having a blast in her own private Idaho.

 

Its great to have a self-entertaining dog and she manages to entertain us at the same time. Meanwhile, Chance just lays on the grass and looks slightly embarrassed.

 

"I don't know her. She just showed up here one day."

 

They've tented the house below us because it just sold and there are termites. I'm hoping that we don't have a sudden infestation of termites after this event. Do they scatter? What kind of chemical do they use to kill them? How long before it is safe to go back into that house?

 

This went on for a while - long enough for me to run for my camera. I miss this goofy dog when I'm here and she's gone... she is such a joyful, playful part of our lives.

 

She's perfect for the resort, though, cause she loves kids and she loves the lake. I started her on the flax meal and the fish oil regime too - if she doesn't need it now she'll need it later and it can't hurt with all the swimming she does.

 

Bonk!

 

You never hear the dreaded words "I'm bored" coming from a dog. They're either sleeping past it or figuring out a way around it. I can't imagine life without dogs - I'm sure it is cleaner, cheaper, and less complicated. But it can't be nearly as fun.

 

Love ya, Feather!

Horses and Horsetail Falls

I've been bad about blogging... I know. I've been busy with guests and now I have a 15 year old guest for another 3 weeks. Which is really no excuse since she's never up early - the problem has been that I stay up too late with her! Watching movies late into the night.

I signed up at our local video store (are they still called that?) yesterday and we came home with five movies - four Harry Potters and one Joan Jett - and I'm sure I'll be watching all of them.

We did the eastern Sierra tour over the weekend and it was beautiful. We've been in sort of a mooonson period here with plenty of afternoon clouding and rain, lightning and thunder. We ate ribs at the Village cook-off in the rain, we sat outside on our back patio in the rain, we drove through a downpour between Lee Vining and June Lake. It cleared the air, cooled the temperature, and brought out the wonderful smell of sage.

 

Horsetail Falls in the June Lake loop is amazing this year. It is always a beautiful sight, coming around the corner and catching the first view of the water coming down out of Gem Lake, but this year with all the snow and all the melt it is incredible.

 

The light breaking through the clouds was lighting up an edge of the water and the over-spray... just breath-taking. Even the teenager took a photo!

It is also fly season and the horses take on new personas with their fly masks.

 

Fly masks have been showing up in all kinds of styles - it is as if all the refinements have been made and now the styles have to change so that we continue to buy them. So your horse can have shades....

 

Or leopard spots and floppy ears.... And he or she has a whole new look!