The Crow Hill Almanac

Buckskin Joe

2010-10-30T21:07:00.048-06:00

For Halloween, I want to show you a wonder of a place! Back in July, Cat and Sam spent two weeks with my parents, so Gil and I were able to go off alone anywhere we wanted, within two days' drive. My very first choice was the cemetery in the remains of Buckskin Joe, a mining camp near Alma, in Park County. At least two legends have haunted this cemetery.

There was a dance hall girl in Buckskin Joe, called Silverheels for the silver decorations on her dancing shoes. A smallpox epidemic hit the camp in the winter of 1861, and Silverheels was the only woman who stayed to care for the sick miners and families. She contracted smallpox herself, and the town took up a collection in gratitude of her dedication, nearly $5000. The next spring, when the miners delivered the reward, her cabin was deserted. She did not leave town by horse or stagecoach, so the nearby mountains and valleys were searched. Silverheels had disappeared into the hills, her beautiful and kind face scarred by the pox. A ghostly lady dressed in black with a heavy veil is sometimes seen placing flowers on graves around the cemetery, still tending the bedsides of the people of Buckskin Joe. Mount Silverheels is named for her.

J. Dawson Hidgepath was another spirit led by love. In hopes of finding a wife, he attempted to romance nearly every one of the few women in town, young or old, eligible or already married. In 1865, poor J. Dawson's body was found at the bottom of Mount Bross, where he had fallen while collecting wildflowers on the mountainside. He was buried in the Buckskin Joe cemetery, but his restless heart still yearned for love. A short time later, a dance hall girl in Alma found his bones stacked in her bed with his hat (with a distinctive crest) on top. He was reburied in the same cemetery, but again and again, his bones made their way into the bed or kitchen of a woman. Deeper graves with even heavier rocks on top could not contain his lovelorn skeleton. For fifteen years his bones roamed the county, whispering in ladies' ears and leaving love poems and bouquets of wildflowers at their door. Tales of J. Dawson's roamings grew taller and wider, until finally his bones were thrown down an outhouse in Leadville and he was never seen again. What a creepy story! :o

So, shall we go?

County Road 8, from Alma

There are few buildings left in this ghost town, some mines, stone ruins and rubble. There's lots more about the history of the camp here~ Legends of America!

Gold was found in the creek and collected in sluice boxes. Mined ore was crushed in burro-powered stone arrastras, water from the creek was washed through to separate rock from gold.

The cemetery is most of what remains of Buckskin Joe. Pale tombstones rise like mushrooms from the forest floor.

Columbines grow in the sunlit patchwork of an aspen grove. This place feels peaceful and warm. It's as inviting as a good new book, as thrilling as the creeeeak of an old iron gate.

A rough way to go! Marble stones tell many stories, some in languages of other homelands. Names and dates conjure up faces.

Some markers are more humble but have lasted just as long.

I cried when I saw these two tiny cradles. I sang a lullaby for them and felt another mother's love in the warm sunlight.

Who was this man? Did he read Tennyson? Did a grieving wife wish for his spirit to come back to her?

A shadow flits before me,
Not thou, but like to thee:
Ah, Christ! that it were possible
For one short hour to see
The souls we loved, that they might tell us
What and where they be!
~Tennyson

J. Dawson Hidgepath? :o

An existential reminder~
As ye are now, I once was
As I am now, ye soon shall be.

A feather was bound in this cross.

While history sleeps in overgrown beds, the all-seeing eyes of aspens watch the years go by.

Of course, it is all covered with snow by now. I wish I could have seen the white marble against autumn-yellow leaves! The songbirds of summer have gone, now crows and ravens darkly call from the trees, on branches white like bleached bones. How elegant the black iron fences must look in fresh snow! Timeless and quiet places like this make my imagination go wild! Their stories are whispered in the rushing of a creek or the rustle of leaves. Sometimes you have to listen carefully to hear them or look closely to find them, poke around and read up, but when you do, you'll want to learn even more. I've made a place on Flickr for pictures I've taken of abandoned places, ghost towns and cemeteries. I can't wait to find more and hope that they are interesting and inspiring to you, too!

(enter here!)

Wishing you happy hauntings and a happy Halloween~

Poker Alice

2010-10-25T14:49:00.012-06:00

Poker Alice Ivers Tubbs sometimes embellished her own legend, but Alice Ivers was either born in Devonshire, England, in 1851, or in Virginia to Irish immigrants. Her father was a schoolmaster and Alice was eastern-educated and refined. Her family followed the silver rush to Leadville, Colorado. Alice married Frank Duffield, a mining engineer, and together, the couple frequented gambling halls of Leadville.

Alice studied Frank's plays and learned the games. She began to play herself, and found she was clever at counting cards and figuring odds. After only a few years together, Frank was killed in a mining accident. There were very few respectable jobs available for women in mining camps, so Alice supported herself with her talent at the tables.

Alice was a finely-dressed beauty, and refused to gamble on Sundays. She played poker and faro, travelled and worked as a dealer in camps around Colorado. Her reputation and success earned her the nickname "Poker Alice". She proudly boasted that she "broke the bank" in Silver City, New Mexico, winning over $6000 in one night. She may have just saved her winnings over time, but she took a grand trip to New York City, and returned to Colorado dressed in the latest fashions. She then worked for a while in Creede, as a dealer in a tent saloon owned by Robert Ford, the man who killed Jesse James.

Alice moved on to Deadwood, South Dakota, to deal cards in another saloon. One night , a drunken miner puller a knife on the dealer at the next table, W.G. Tubbs. Alice pulled out her revolver and shot the miner in the arm. W.G. and Alice fell in love, married and had seven children together. The family moved from rough Deadwood to a quiet homestead near Sturgis.

After many happy years together, W.G. died of pneumonia, and again Alice supported herself at the card tables. She married the caretaker of her homestead, mostly for the sake of convenience, but soon she was widowed for a third time.

During Prohibition years, Alice opened a saloon and brothel called "Poker's Palace". It remained closed on Sundays. Alice once shot into a group drunken soldiers that became violent, killing one. She dressed in men's clothes and smoked cigars. For years, she was arrested time and again for drunkenness and for keeping a bawdy house. She was finally sentenced to prison for repeat convictions, but 75 year-old Alice was pardoned by the governor of South Dakota. Alice claimed to have won over $250,000 during her colorful career. Boastful, but never a cheat, she earned her living and her legend with her skill and spirit.

You may read more about Poker Alice here~ legendsofamerica.com. A gold mine of everything old west~ huzzah!

2010-10-25T11:42:00.004-06:00

It's a cold and rainy morning. No snow here yet this year, but I can see it in the hills. We had our ninth annual Halloween party last weekend. It was a small event this year, but lots of fun!

I've lately been remiss in sharing paintings, pictures, travels and tales, but there is much to come this week. :) Love, Kristina

2010-09-23T22:51:00.006-06:00

The first morning of autumn~

As the sun rose, a full harvest moon set in the west.

The sun and moon roll across the open sky like wagon wheels, bringing a new day and a new season.

The sun sets, the moon rises again. Autumn is in the air~

2010-09-16T10:44:00.006-06:00

What a dry summer it has been! Last week there was an awful wildfire in Foumile Canyon, in west Boulder County. Strong winds spread the fire quickly and the rough terrain made it harder to fight. Over 160 homes were lost, the worst fire in the state history. This area is right in between two of the places I love best, Nederland and Jamestown. I'm auctioning a new painting on my Facebook page to raise donations towards relief efforts, HERE , or at the top of the sidebar on the right. I understand that it's tough times for everyone to give everywhere, but if you're interested in owning this piece anyway, please do place a bid!

One of the first wildflowers to bloom after a fire, Fireweed grows in bright sunlight. Though patched and barefoot, she holds hope that the forest will grow again.

2010-09-09T18:07:00.011-06:00

Another golden summer has almost passed. The boy, the dog and I went on a walk on Labor Day, the unofficial end to summer.

The field is sunbaked, the grasses toasted golden brown. Seed pods rattle in a dry wind and grasshoppers bound away from every step we take. They whisper This way, this way. Hidden here are wonders delicate and strong.

We've been hearing owls at night lately. Sure enough, feathers and fur were tangled in the grass, wispy ghosts of a hunt.

This feather was pointing southwest, so we went that way.

And there was another one! It pointed to...

feathery grass

and squawbush sumac.

We walked to the petrified log. It's my favorite place in the woods, a good spot to Sit and Think or play tea party. Sam and I rested in the shade and marked our way.

Snoot all a-twitch, Gretel followed an invisible trail and led us down a ravine.

I don't remember ever going this way before. We found a fascinating tree!

Oh, can't you imagine Arthur Rackham goblins living under there! A little path went right through the roots.

We saw one more owl feather. It was pointing west, but we headed north for home.

This has been a summer of following and blazing new trails, seeing where this road goes, where the wind blows us. In July, Cat and Sam visited my parents (flying by themselves!) for a couple of weeks in Georgia and North Carolina. Gil and I ran off on our own. :) For the past month, Gil has been off on quite an adventure, working in Kolkata, India! He sends pictures, we email all the time and talk on the phone some, but the kids and I miss him so much. I can't wait to hear his stories from the other side of the world. I've kept myself busy by painting the living room, downstairs and upstairs hallways, and the guest/computer room. Golden yellow~ my very favorite color! Naturally, I then had to refeather the nest, rearranging and sprucing up my old things. I've done two little paintings, too!

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
~Walt Whitman

2010-07-03T00:05:00.044-06:00

Wildflower days~

The first blooms of summer are shy, dewy-faced maidens. They dance over the hills in ruffled gowns the colors of a sunrise

into a crazy-quilt garden that hums heavy with bumblebees.

A few weeks later, and the field has grown~

The maidens' colors are duskier, like an afternoon rain. Milkvetch blooms are cloudy white

or the shades of sweet, new grass

or as dark as ripe berries.

Pink milkweed is an otherworldly beauty. Her pink-veined leaves are velvet like a lamb's ear, her blooms are from faeryland.

Bindweed, a morning glory, winds and twirls her creamy skirts through the field

and copper mallow leaves a dainty trail.

A few weeks more have passed~

The field is drier now, and rustles like a grasshopper's wings.
These ladies wear a weathered calico, sun-colored and
sun-faded, a spray of blooms across the prairie-gold grass.

trailing daisy

fairy trumpet

wild rose

penstemon

prickly poppy

prickly pear

thistle and Richardson's geranium

miner's candle

mariposa lily

prairie coneflower

yellow salsify, look at that big puff! Make a big wish...

Wishing you a beautiful summer~

2010-07-02T11:51:00.034-06:00

In early June, we all went to a music festival near Nederland, Camp Womp'em, affectionately remembered as Camp Swamp'em. Never mind the weather... it's summertime!

Three days of music in the mountains, some good-hearted people put this festival together to benefit Hike for Cancer. Friday afternoon, the sun tried its best to shine

through afternoon showers.

Chez Layton

Some friends built the stage in one guy's yard~ shows all summer long!

As the sun went down, heavy rain settled in the valley. The music went on~

Dr. Phil Good, the thrower of this shindig

Adam and Max of Jet Edison

Me (on the right) with some best girls. It was pouring buckets! The rain was so loud on the tarps, but it was like a fun little fort inside. :)

Pete Kartsounes on electric guitar. Every summer, Pete hikes the Colorado Trail, nearly 5oo miles, playing shows along the way to help support children with critical illnesses and their families. Read more about it here~ what a great guy!

The sound bunker~ a big thank you to these guys, Phil and the rest, for a great party in wet, windy and wild weather. They literally built a roof right over our heads, and the music never stopped. They turned the sound off when a lightning storm blew through, but Gil and Max just brought out accoustic guitars, a big upright bass rumbled with the thunder. The kids were cozy inside the main house with video games and warm sleeping bags, and I went to bed in the camper at some wee hour. Gil climbed in a few hours later, but the wild rumpus went on until dawn. :D

A cold, grey morning. I wish we could have stayed the rest of the weekend, but we had to get back that day. Anyway, the forecast that night was for snow. Time to go home! :)

We went back through misty mountains and meadows

and festival and friends faded into the clouds. We'll be back next week! :)

2010-06-30T16:13:00.023-06:00

One day in early May, Sam and I went for a walk in Castle Rock, only 15 minutes from home. Here, rocky buttes rise out of the flatland like fortresses, this one so imposing that the town was named after it. The star on top is lit for Christmas.

The lower trail goes through a grove of scrub oak, not much taller than me~ a miniature forest! The tiny oak leaves were just budding, but early summer bloomed in sunny patches.

Long-plumed Avens

Chiming Bells

and Locoweed

Up and up we climbed, almost as high as a circling raven,

high above the town.

southwest to Pikes Peak

north to Longs Peak, high prairie meets the mountains

We didn't climb to the tip-top of the rock, but the trail circles around the base.

King of the Hill

Thank you for walking with us! Happy adventuring~

2010-06-29T11:48:00.007-06:00

A most amazing thing happened last week! On June 24, my little journal here was a featured Blog of Note. Quite a surprise! I'm sincerely grateful, and am so happy to meet and hear from so many folks. Thank you all, and welcome, new friends!

My postings here have been slim the past few months, I know. It's been a big year for kids, Sam's last one of elementary school, and Cat will be a high school senior this fall. I just slowed down a bit to take it all in. I really admire the mamas that can do it all. Now that summer's here, there's so much to share!

These girls just competed at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. I'm going to see them July 4th in Nederland~ yeeahaw!

Again, thank you all for the kind comments. I look forward to learning about your little corner of the world.
Love, Kristina

2010-04-23T10:16:00.014-06:00

Thunderstorms yesterday with hail and a tornado warning, this morning the rain turned to sloppy snow, maybe two inches so far. There has been .83 inches of rain since yesterday. I gave Gil a home weather station for Christmas and we've had such dorky fun with it, getting excited over the winter for high wind speeds and low wind chills. The rain gauge doesn't work well for snow, it sits on top instead of going down the drain thing, but sticking a ruler in it works best anyway. Bring on the spring storms!

Last weekend, the earliest wildflowers were blooming.
Pasque flower~

Sometimes it's called wind flower or prairie smoke, downy hairs on the leaves and stem make it glow like mist.

Hello, handsome! He had little antler sprouts and sat on the very top of the hill.

woodpecker nest

bumblebee on yellow banner

Does rest in beds of tall dry grass, tender new grass to eat in the field nearby. This is springtime, gentle and sweet.

I thought it was high time that I painted the state flower of Colorado, Aquilegia caerulea, Colorado Blue Columbine.
Posing on a rocky hillside, she gathered a bouquet of tiny alpine forget-me-not on top of the mountain.

Have a beautiful weekend~

2010-04-22T11:49:00.014-06:00

Snows have come and gone, melting into puddles and afternoon thunderstorms. This spring has been hopping busy with good times. One weekend, we hitched up the (volks)wagen, the kids and dog, bedrolls and guitars in back, and went to Nederland for a friend's birthday. Up the canyon~

to Phil and Susan's house, where a cold stream flows and a wild rose grows right outside their front door.

Good times with good friends, thank you! XO! Back home the next morning with Cowboy Neal at the wheel. :D

Crumbly old cabins, shacks, lean-tos were built next to Boulder Creek, now alongside the road down the canyon.

Guess what? I have a new camera! :) I can't wait for all the good times that the good weather will bring! It seems I haven't had much to write about here lately, although Cat went on a school trip to Dublin, London and Paris last month, and prom was last week. I've been driving carpools, reading books during tae kwon do and guitar lessons, and have been doing some spring cleaning~ not a lot to talk about, but I've been quietly loving it all. :) Oh, I finished this!

It's been wonderful working with Bevin and Julie. They are so talented and kind, and the future holds a lot for them. Wide open skies and fields of sunshine~

2010-03-11T10:34:00.011-07:00

Lately, I've been working on some drawings for some amazing gals, The Mile Markers. My goodness, you have to hear just how good they are. If my paintings could make music, it might sound a little like this. We agreed that we were a good match for each other. :)

Winter is far from gone yet. Patches of snow hide in the shade, but in the afternoon sun, you can almost pretend that it's springtime. Thin little shoots of green grass are just poking through the dry brown of the field. It won't be much longer now~

Fruited Plain

2010-02-22T12:48:00.011-07:00

I finished this painting a few weeks ago. I started drawing her last October, but got distracted for a few months. I am mad crazy lately for Alphonse Mucha and Art Nouveau posters. A tribute to Automne, a harvest angel gathers mountain ash berries, huckleberries and wild rose hips in the golden grass.

The original piece is for sale in
the mercantile.

Dreaming of summer-warm sunshine~

2010-02-22T11:04:00.005-07:00

Hello friends, I've been a long time gone. It's been a good winter, mild but pretty, and just enough going on to keep us all busy. We've been up to Nederland a couple of times, I'm the troop cookie mom this year, and Cat is getting all ready for a trip to Dublin, London and Paris next month. C'est magnifique! I painted a poster for a festival at Mishawaka in May~ Waterfront Music Festival and Campout. Thank you, Travis, for keeping me busy! :)

Also, I'm so excited to share~

My mama designs websites (Wildwood Forest Studios) and really outdid herself with this, it's so beautiful! I wanted a calico-looking background, so she matched just the right colors, found the perfect flowers, stamped a pattern and made all other kinds of computerbox magic, and did a wonderful job with it all. Thank you, Mom. XO

A new trail to follow, leave now in late winter, before the river ice breaks. Slow and steady, wheels rolling, seasons turning. Not all those who wander are lost~

2009-12-24T08:28:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas, peace on earth~

Love, Kristina

2009-12-23T11:01:00.013-07:00

The shopping is all finished, gifts are all wrapped, cards and packages have been mailed, orchestra concerts and class parties have been attended, and (round three of) cookie dough is in the icebox, to be rolled out, baked and decorated today. It's snowing now, and the little house feels exciting and peaceful at the same time.

Earlier this month, Cat's band played a show in a beautiful little one-room chapel, the first church in Parker. Before it was built in 1913, services were held in the schoolhouse and led by circuit riders, including the Reverend John Dyer. A lovely venue, the Christmas lights, and rows and rows of good friends made this such a special night for Cat and Kaitlyn. They even got to ring the big church bell before the show. :) That's my girl with the guitar~

Here are some videos, I'll replace them with complete songs when the girls get them up~

Oh, to think of the music, friendships and love that have filled this building over the last hundred years! I'm proud of you, Kitten. XO

2009-12-04T11:43:00.021-07:00

It's been cold this week, single digits yesterday. A sugar dusting of new snow, take a big breath outside and the cold air feels like peppermint. It was the perfect weather for listening to The Nutcracker Suite and decorating for Christmas. We'll get a tree this weekend, but there was plenty of greenery to deck just about everything, new ornaments to make, and many other old treasures to see again.

The little mug was a gift to Gil's grandfather when he was a baby.

Frosty-sparkly

Vintage shaving mug and figurines~ I think Gretel has a favorite. :)

Several years ago, I made a whole platoon of these little soldiers out of clothespins.

Can one have too many Christmas trees in the kitchen? I don't think so! :)

Cat, Sam and I made the beaded candy canes.

This was from Target~ so cool!

Elves with candy canes. Do you like the little guy hanging from the bow? He and many others are available in my new Etsy shop! :)

Sugarplum wishes, candy cane kisses, sweetness and love to you and yours this season~

2009-11-20T10:57:00.013-07:00

Beautiful sunrise last week~

Oh, I wish I could paint like that! It snowed maybe 8 inches last Sunday, and there's still a lot left in shady places. I had lunch with Sam yesterday at school, a Thanksgiving feast in the cafeteria. :) I love Thanksgiving~ it's the best holiday for cooking! ;) Here's a peek at what I'm working on, sort of a harvest angel~ Fruited Plain.

I'm blocking in color now, there will be corn, wheat and berries in the basket and tall grass in the front, beading on her gown and in the background, very Alphonse Mucha. How in the world did he draw hair like that? Workshop elves have taken over the kitchen~ sanding, staining, hammering and drilling, cooking up a tableful of pretties for the holidays.

Have a wonderful weekend, all. Autumn's blessings to you~

2009-11-10T13:00:00.016-07:00

Halloween Eve~

Papa Bear had shows in Vail, so Mama and the cubs were alone for the weekend.

We carved pumpkins on Friday night.

They both made owls~ co.ol!

Halloween, sunset showdown

Don't fear the reaper.

Cat was a fancy person or something? She looked pretty!

I've started to get ready for Christmas this week! I am determined to have lovelies for my Etsy shop in time and finished a holiday drawing. She's sort of a harvest angel, very Mucha-inspired. She's on a few different layers of tracing paper now, but I'll share her soon. Warm love to you all~

Cabin Fever

2009-11-10T11:01:00.027-07:00

Hellooo all! The old design in here felt too stuffy, so I hope you like the new look. Please let me know if something's not working! The past few weeks have been a flurry of weather, activities and projects. We had our Halloween party (the ninth!) the weekend before Halloween. Cat and Sam were home for fall break, so we all decorated and baked and put together costumes. We were a family of hillbilly ghosts. :) The party was wonderful, good times with good friends. XO! I had great pictures of everybody, but lost them when the computer crashed the next day. :( They're on Facebook, though! :) We didn't have internet for about a week, and then came the snow~

rabbits join in the ghosties' circle, weave paths through the dancers and stir up mischief

Tuesday night, the snow started to blow.

School was cancelled on Wednesday, but poor Gil was able to make it into work.

Rabbit came out from under the porch.

Cat, Sam and I brewed tea all afternoon with dried chamomile and mint leaves

and stayed warm inside.

We had a hot cup ready for Dad when he came home. The little pumpkin pies were left over from the party.

It had snowed all day long and kept up through the night.

Gnome slept in the next morning under a snowy blanket.

It was so deep that I had to dig a path and pit for Gretel. She was not amused.

The kids sledded for a while, but the snow was coming down hard. It was a better day to be inside.

A mourning dove found a toasty spot~ where the dryer vent blows out on the porch.

I sat here all day long, and nearly all week, working on a drawing.

The snow blew for a full second day, rattling the windows and rocking empty chairs.

The storm was gone by Friday morning. School was out again, the roads were bad that morning. It was good to see the sun!

We dug ourselves out like bears coming out of a winter's den. It was a sparkly beautiful day outside, and the day before Halloween~

2009-10-09T09:30:00.011-06:00

Just a little bit of snow this morning, barely enough to bend the grass.

Early frosts last month browned most of the leaves in our yard before they were at their brightest. Even so, the colors are still really pretty right now! So, here's this~

Golden Road

He was a inspired by this little guy I found in a thrift shop last summer. <3

Winds are changing, wheels are turning. Something exciting is coming soon~

2009-10-05T09:31:00.041-06:00

Last Friday night, the band took the show on the road~

Pranksters in Breckenridge, Three20 South

Jeff, Monette and Gil

It was only a two hour drive there, and we got a place for the night with the Hawkins family. The kids all had fun together, we had a good time with good friends, and the view was sweeeeeet. :)

Clear and crisp, it was a beautiful day to drive home. Over Hoosier Pass

and into Alma. Just within Fairplay is...

a historic reconstruction of an 1880s mining town! Thirty-four buildings (seven on their original sites) and over 60,000 artifacts were moved from abandoned camps and ghost towns around the South Park basin. So to me, it was pretty much the Most Fabulous Place Ever, but we couldn't go inside this time since we had to be back in time to get Gretel from the kennel. This is South Park, Colorado! This place had a sort of official-looking sign by the door. Mr. Hankey welcomes you~ Howdy ho!

There is a monument to a burro named Prunes.

A prospector named Rupe Sherwood and Prunes worked "all mines in this district" together for nearly fifty years. No ordinary pack mule, Prunes could be sent from a camp with a written order, find his way down the trail to town and to the general store, wait to be loaded up with the goods and carry them back to camp. In his very old age, Rupe had to spent winters in Denver, but the town of Fairplay took good care of Prunes and fed him when Rupe was away. All winter, Prunes walked up and down the streets, stopping at each house for a generous handout. Rupe returned in the summers, and the two old friends spent the few warm months together in the hills. Prunes died at age 63, and Rupe the next year, at age 81. The town of Fairplay built this memorial~ Rupe's mining tools and Prunes' shoes, their graves together, companions forever.

This little town was so weird and wonderful. I can't wait to go back! I could have spent all day looking at the old buildings.

Taking US 285, this is Mount Silverheels~

named after a dance hall girl from the mining camp of Buckskin Joe, called Silverheels for the silver decorations on her dancing shoes. A smallpox epidemic hit the camp in 1861, and Silverheels was the only woman who stayed to care for the miners. She nursed and tended to the sick men until she caught the pox, too. The town took up a collection in gratitude, nearly $5000, but when the miners brought it to her, her cabin was deserted. Silverheels either died alone or left town, her beautiful and kind face scarred by the pox. A ghostly black-veiled woman is sometimes seen placing flowers on graves around the cemetery in Buckskin Joe.

Into the South Park basin, over 900 square miles of grassland at 10,000 feet~

Then over and down Kenosha Pass

through the aspens and towards home.

2009-09-21T10:33:00.002-06:00

First snow, last day of summer~

Huzzah!

2009-09-21T08:22:00.003-06:00

Hey-o! It's the end of summer, and we're under an autumn spell~ dark, rainy and chilly, highs in the 50s, lows in the 30s for the next couple of days, and snow in the foothills. It's a fleece, socks and hot tea kind of day. :)

For the past few months, I've felt a creative wandering and restlessness that was leaving me a little down on my paintings, and because of that, myself. Mostly, I wasn't painting much at all, and I missed it. I feel settled in again~ this is Pinedrop

Pterospora is a saprophytic and parasitic wildflower, growing from and feeding on fungi on the roots of pine trees. They can grow to three feet tall!

Warm last-of-summer wishes to you all~

2009-09-05T22:18:00.009-06:00

Back to work! I tend to freak out some when I'm under a deadline, and will not allow myself near the computer. I'll check email and the necessary things, but if I start reading and talking, I'll spend too much time there. :( Anyway, here's what I've been doing~

It was funny working on this in late summer, but it's for a festival in January in Nederland. Now I have some time to paint for myself. It's been months since I've seen furry animals and my little flower girls. So many things I want to do! I've a big stack of wooden bits of all sizes stained and ready to go. Fall is almost here, Halloween just around the corner, Christmas~ ornaments and cards! This is a month for new possibilities. Like the first day of school, my pencil is sharpened and my thinking cap is on. :)

September full moon~ We've been hearing the coyotes at night, Cat has seen one and Sam two, walking up the path behind the house around sunrise. Last night four bucks were feeding on the hill, a real stag party!

I'm so looking forward to catching up with you all~ XOXO

2009-08-17T07:18:00.026-06:00

The Matchless was just our first stop on The Route of the Silver Kings, a mapped driving tour (you can pick up a free map all over town) of the 20 square-mile historic mining district around Leadville. In 1879, thousands rushed to these hills below the Mosquito Range and now they are covered with abandoned mines, camps and ghost towns.

Little mine, big dreams

This operation was bigger. Mine dumps scar the hills. Back then, they were clear cut.

Trees were planted and have spread. Now old timbers fall to the growing forest.

Long-plumed Avens, Old Man's Whiskers

This was Stumptown. Molly Brown lived here as a new bride. A creek flooded the valley, and Gil stopped to cast the fly rod for a while.

boarded-up shaft and a ladder

a bucket of whitewash, the brush dried inside

a shoe

I think this is Adelaide City. It had a population of over 2,500, lawyers, a doctor and a school.

Mt. Elbert, highest peak in Colorado. These buildings have been buried by 150 winters of snow, a century and a half of mountaintop winds have blown through their boards. What a hard and desolate life it must have been! An adventure for some, searching for glittering fortune in the hills.

2009-08-15T22:43:00.040-06:00

Last month, we took a trip to Leadville. It's only a couple of hours away, the elevation is over 10,000 feet, and is right below Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive, both over 14,00 feet tall.

Follow the old stagecoach tracks (along US 24) to the most wild and wicked mining town in the west~ Leadville, Cloud City, two miles high.

In 1860, gold was discovered in California Gulch. Withing five years, the gold had played out and a silver boom followed. In 1880, Leadville had over 40,000 residents, an opera house, over a hundred saloons, dance halls and places of more ill repute. Claims and fortunes could be gambled away or stolen in a night. Doc Holliday stayed in Leadville, Margaret Tobin (Molly Brown of the Titanic) worked as a seamstress and married JJ Brown, owner of the Little Jonny mine. The silver mines made millionaires, and the most fortunate was Horace A. W. Tabor. He established newspapers, a bank and the opera house, and became the mayor of Leadville. His mine, the Matchless, dug up a million dollars in silver each year.

In 1882, Oscar Wilde lectured here on the subject of Aestheticism, and was well-received by the Victorian society of the opera house and the working men in the saloons. A vein of the Matchless was named The Oscar, and Wilde once dined and drank with Tabor and his men at the bottom of the mine.

Fifty year-old Tabor lived the life of a silver king in Denver and his wife, Augusta, disapproved. In Leadville, he found company with Elizabeth "Baby" Doe.

Elizabeth McCourt, Lizzie, was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and married an affluent local boy, Harvey Doe. In 1877, Harvey's father sent the newlyweds to make their fortune in the Fourth of July mine in Central City, Colorado. Unexperienced Harvey had a hard time making any profit with the mine, and Lizzie put on pants and boots and worked along with him. Lizzie was very pretty and her spirited behavior raised eyebrows around town. The men of Central City called her "Baby" Doe, the miner's sweetheart.

The Does and their mine soon fell into debt. Lizzie found Harvey to be lazy and a poor provider. He lost jobs and drifted around camps, leaving Lizzie alone for weeks. In 1880, Lizzie divorced Harvey and moved to Leadville with a man named Jake Sands, but soon set her charms upon the most important man in town, Horace Tabor.

Horace divorced Augusta, and he and Lizzie married in 1883, and the Silver King had a queen. The divorce and wedding were terrible scandals. In spite of their difference of age, Lizzie and Horace honestly were in love. They lived extravagantly, handing out silver coins engraved to announce the birth of their daughter, Lillie. Their younger daughter was named Rose Mary Echo Silver Dollar Tabor, called Silver Dollar. Tabor's mines, including the Matchless, brought in millions of dollars of silver and provided for a lavishly grand life, until 1893 when the county moved to a gold standard. Horace lost his fortune and was reduced to working menial jobs at mines that he used to own. Lizzie stayed supportive and faithful to Horace until he died in 1899.

Lizzie was only 38 and still beautiful, and could have easily remarried. Instead, she resourcefully found ways to "hold on to the Matchless", seeking investors and selling silverware and jewelry she had hidden away, to try to keep working the mine.

Lizzie returned to Leadville with Lillie and Silver Dollar and moved into a one-room shed right on top of the spent silver mine.

Fifteen year-old Lillie heard stories about her mother's past in Leadville, and so resented her new home that she borrowed train fare from an uncle and went to live with her grandmother, Lizzie's mother, in Wisconsin. Silver Dollar heard stories of her father, the self-made silver king, and revelled in the legends. She was adventurous, independent, and enjoyed working at the mine. She acquired a burro, and transporation into Leadville, a mile and a half away (like a teenager with a car!). She wrote poetry, and Lizzie helped her to get a song published. "President Roosevelt's Colorado Hunt" was well-received around the state and in 1910, Silver Dollar met the president.

Silver went to parties around town and became involved in scandals of her own. Lizzie now heard stories about her daughter and sent Silver to Denver. There, she worked for a newspaper and wrote a western novel, but then her life spiraled downward. Lizzie and Silver agreed that Silver would join a convent, she moved to Chicago and joined a burlesque show. She lived wildly and sadly, met a tragic fate. Lizzie forever defended that "her" Silver was not the girl in Chicago, that her daughter was safe in a convent.

Lizzie lived alone in the cabin for 35 more years. She dressed in rags, wrapped in burlap, and was too proud to accept charity left at her door. The town was kind, and shopkeepers let her pay for her meager groceries with "valuable ore", rocks picked up around the property. She kept journals on scraps of paper, recording her communications with spirit voices, her delirious thoughts, dreams and visions~ a crazy crone and mountaintop mystic. During a week-long blizzard in 1935, 81 year-old Baby Doe froze to death in her cabin.

A celebrity of sorts, Baby Doe's cabin was picked over by souvenir hunters so few belongings were left there, but the most special thing to her was the shrine now over her bed. She hung pine boughs around it then.

I adored this! She decoupaged Horace's cigar bands to a vase.

Baby Doe's story is so sad and terribly (fabulously) tragic, with the adventure and imagery of legend. Hidden treasure, rags to riches, the highest peaks and tunnels deep under the earth~

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

2009-08-13T22:22:00.008-06:00

It's been a good summer~ hot, lazy days and booming afternoon thunderstorms. It's been a time to live slowly for a little while and refill the soul. It's a time to get far away from work and home, to go to the top of the mountain. It's a season to nurture and grow and prepare to harvest your blessings.

Honestly, I haven't been doing much of anything at all. :) I've cleaned out and organized closets and cabinets and other projects around the house, painted a tiny bit, and just enjoyed being with Cat and Sam. Cat got her driver's license just last week (eek!), so we've been on lots of practice drives. We seem to usually end up at thrift stores or garage sales~ fun girl times! Our little garden is doing pretty well. We've been using the herbs for over a month now, and drying chamomile for tea. We've had some zucchini and strawberries, and I can hardly wait for the tomatoes! I've spent entirely too much time reading and napping in the hammock, nearly making my way through the Colorado history shelves of the library. Mining camps, ghost towns and local ghost stories have been my summertime obsession. We took a trip to Leadville for a few days~ SO much more about that coming soon! :)

Back to school, back to work. I am ready for it all with new ideas and energy, and am so grateful for this sweet summer~

2009-06-22T10:23:00.017-06:00

It's funny how you can go about your life for years and not see what's just on the other side of the fence. We almost never go to this side of the woods because there's just a empty field of tall grass and cactus and it backs up to a very busy road. While driving past there a few weeks ago, I thought I spied some clothesline poles, so yesterday, Gil and I went for a closer look

and found the foundation of an old house.

Was this the fireplace?

This was nearby. It conveniently identified itself~ I wouldn't have known what it was. ;) It's made of thick plastic and the bottom is broken, but I took it home anyway. I'll find a use for it! :)

A blouse~ man-made fiber, 40s or 50s?

I suppose it once hung here. Obviously, none of this is very old, but it is another chapter in the story of this hill. This family must have known the same landmarks, crooked trees and ravines that mine knows so well. Did a woman once walk through the field where my house is now and wonder about the future, just as I stood here and wondered about the past?

2009-06-22T09:57:00.011-06:00

Summer solstice~ what was blooming yesterday?

Plains cactus, yucca, prickly poppy and thistle~ so many scratchy and prickly things! The tall grass was itchy and full of whirrrring grasshoppers, but Gretel was as happy as pie. :)

wild rose

goldenaster and a honeybee

spiderwort~ I would have thought this would have a prettier name!

copper mallow

Happy summer! XO~

2009-06-19T09:27:00.033-06:00

It's been a couple of weeks, but I would love to share some pictures from our trip to the mountains. Red Cliff is a tiny town (population ~270), but with inspirations around every corner. I think I planned a dozen paintings that weekend! There are lots of pictures here, but the tour bus is packed and ready to roll. Let's go!

Red Cliff is about 20 miles from Vail, off Highway 24~ the Top of the Rockies Scenic Highway. Don't look down! *shiver*

We got there mid-afternoon, the guys set up for that night's show.

Gil, Monette & Jeff. The crowd was so much fun and we made great friends. :) There was a bonfire outside the restaurant afterwards. We got to bed around 4am, but got up bright and early to go exploring.

Cute house, giant dandelions, cool bridge, sweet church

Behind the old town hall is the old jail. I wonder what you had to do to get locked up in here!

Three green buildings~

We followed some old tracks by the river

to the Green Bridge~ the highway is up there. Up the mountain, in the middle of the woods, is a beautiful old cemetery.

Crumbly stones, gothic iron gates, and tangles of brush and wild roses. I wish I could see it in winter!

Some markers were just wood. They must have been decorated for Memorial Day.

So many people died young, just in their 30s. Childbirth, sickness, accidents~ life was hard.

This marker was so neat! There were orange columbines growing inside the gate.

Back down the hill into town. Imagine the processions that came up this trail from the church~ bells ringing, horses and carts, ladies in full, black mourning gowns, rough mountain men cleaned up in stiff, solemn suits.

On the other side of town, is this~

an old mine shaft!

After the late night before, the elevation, hiking around and drinking beer in the sun all day, I passed on Saturday night's show. Sunday's show in Glenwood Springs was cancelled, but that was all right since it was an outdoor BBQ and it was chilly and rainy. We already had a hotel room, so we went anyway and swam and sat around in the hot springs, then went home the next day.

It was a wonderful little family trip, leaving my mind full of miners and dancing saloon girls, outlaws and lace petticoats swishing down wooden sidewalks, tommyknockers deep under the mountain and ghosts on top. Oh, the stories hidden in those hills!

2009-06-17T10:33:00.008-06:00

Yesterday afternoon, Cat and I went up to the woods to look for wildflowers. The more delicate ones were pretty beat down from last week's storm, but all of the rain and warmer weather have brought new ones. We saw a doe all by herself, but she walked away and seemed to go on about her business. Cat and I sat down for a few minutes, just talking and poking a big decaying mushroom with a stick, and then we saw this under a bush~

Just about the most precious thing I have ever seen! Cat and I both had tears in our eyes~ the pretty spots like sunlight and those dainty little hooves! I just had to get a picture (wish it was better), but I hope we didn't frighten him/her or the mama too much. It was such a wonderful moment together for my little fawn and me. Oh, we saw some blooming cactus, too.

It seems lazy summer has set in this week. Cottonwood fluff is in the breeze, and thunderstorm clouds build up in the afternoons. I want to take a couple of weeks off from painting to catch up on projects around the house and just have some fun with the kids. I picked up the dulcimer last weekend and oh man, I need to practice. Anyway, I did finish this~

It sounds like an awesome festival~ not too big, really nice campgrounds and lots of great CO bands! We can't be there since Gil's playing in Denver then, but if anyone's interested~ www.sawatchfestival.com

Summertime, time, time. Child, the living's easy...

2009-06-12T07:10:00.005-06:00

What the hail happened here?

A storm came through yesterday afternoon, that's what. It lasted less than 15 minutes, but it flooded the streets (that's the sidewalk up there) and left over an inch of pea- and marble-sized hail. All of the trees and bushes look really raggety, and there are little branches and leaves all over the yard. There are holes in some of the window screens and in the slats of the shutters. The insurance inspector is coming today to look at the roof. :(

My poor sandbox garden. We may have lost one of the tomato plants and the green beans, but I think everything else will pop back up. The strawberries and some herbs are in pots on the back patio, so they were sheltered some by the house. I feel blessed that the damage isn't so bad~ no tornado! Our street was on the news last night!

I'll hopefully finish up a commission piece today. Then, happy weekend to everyone~

2009-06-04T22:56:00.013-06:00

It's the prettiest time of year~ wildflower season!

Patches of the hill are just covered with locoweed.

Lilac penstemon~ they're so pale that when the light catches them right, they seem to glow.

The tall pink one is called fairy trumpet.

Indian paintbrush~ I think it's my very favorite.

blue flax

Richardson's geranium

Pussytoes~ they look and feel like tiny kitten paws. ^_^

What in the world are these? They might be young ground cherries, but they really don't look like any pictures I've found. I'll just watch and see what happens to them. This will be our tenth summer here, but I don't think I could ever run out of new things to discover.

Here's a little peek of what I've been working on this week~

There's some color on it now, but it will be a poster for the Sawatch Mountains Campout & Music Festival (in August, in Buena Vista, CO). We're going up to the mountains this weekend! Gil's band is playing tomorrow and Saturday night in Red Cliff (near Vail), and Sunday in Glenwood Springs. I'm at home down on the plains, but part of my heart is in the high country. Summer love to you all~

2009-05-27T19:14:00.017-06:00

Whoa mama! This month has been all about deadlines. I finished two pieces and have a few days before I need to start on another. I'm just grateful to have some work!

Of course, Gil and I went to the show. :)

This was like four feet tall! LOL Eye-catching, for sure.

Phil and Curly, pickin and fiddlin

MST was a lot of fun, but the real treat of the evening was Benny Galloway (on the right) and a guy called Blackdog. Phil got to play with them! :) Benny/Burle has written songs for Yonder Mountain String Band, and is a real-life mountain man storyteller. I introduced myself afterwards and told him that the guy in the poster was supposed to be like a representation of him. Ohhh, I'm such a dork! I don't think I weirded him out too much, but at least maybe I made an impression? ;) Next up was~

Look for a while at the China Cat sunflower
proud-walking jingle in the midnight sun
copper-dome bodhi drip a silver kimono
like a crazy-quilt stargown
through a dream night wind

~Robert Hunter/Grateful Dead

I used this for a Pranksters poster~ they're playing June 5&6 near Vail and the 7th in Glenwood Springs. It's going to be a band family vacation! :) Cat finished school today, but Sam has a few more weeks left. They're both sparring in a Tae Kwon Do tournament on Saturday. It's kind of funny to watch them practice-fight each other. >:) Last weekend, we turned the kids' old sandbox into a vegetable and herb garden (I'll take pictures later, it looks a little puny now)~ it's finally time to plant! Hummingbirds are humming. Indian paintbrush, false lupine, and some purple flowers(?) are blooming on the hill, waving and nodding "yesssss, come on up here..." It's summertime! :)

2009-05-04T08:01:00.026-06:00

Paint paint paint~ all last week. I should finish him by tomorrow?

Sunday afternoon, Gil and I went on a little adventure, exploring a couple of those places that you drive past all of the time and wonder "ooohh what's in there?". The first stop was an abandoned farmhouse between Parker and Franktown. It's on open space land, so we could walk around. I wish I could move right in!

I call this the House of Three Gables. It's been painted all over, a whitewashed ghost. There is a horseshoe hanging over the door. :) Too bad it was boarded up so we couldn't poke around inside.

There was a chicken coop around back, guarded by a big cottontail. We got past him to find...

a thing(roost?) for chicken nests. What a surprise! ;)

The back porch~ imagine the ma that stood on that porch to call her family to supper and the kids that ran up those steps, a screen door slamming behind them. The ma and pa that sat out there later, talking and making plans together...

as the laundry floated on the evening breeze and the sun set over the hills~

Just a few more miles down the road, the land changes dramatically~ rolling hills turn to rocky mesas and canyons. We checked out Gateway Mesa Open Space between Franktown and Castle Rock.

Rainwater had pooled in the rocks and turned the moss bright, springy green.

kinnikinnick

I want to go back when the all scrub oaks are green. I probably won't go by myself as this is prime territory for lions, rattlers and bears (oh my!). It was much more fun exploring with a sweetheart, anyway. :) Love and light this week to you all~

2009-04-28T06:49:00.007-06:00

I dropped everything this past weekend to work on a poster for Mountain Standard Time, they're headlining at the Fox Theatre in Boulder on May 21! Old Timer~

I've used a pocketwatch theme for them before (in the piece/link over on the right), and the old mountain man is a nice change of pace for me~ no flowers at all! ;) I swear though, beards are way more frustrating to draw than hair. His hair and beard will be white, his buckskin jacket will have fringe and beads (maybe beading on his hatband too), the watch will say MST and show the time the show starts, and I'll try to make him look more like he's smiling and winking. I want the text to be turquoise blue, so what color should I make the little bit of background that shows? Sunset red and orange? A night sky with the lighting as if by fire or candlelight would be really dramatic? I need to loosen up my style some~ I tend to spend too much time on pieces and I think they sometimes look overworked and stiff (or maybe I just get tired of them). I need to finish this like yesterday, and I think it's *good* if he looks rough and wild. I'll be a hermit in my cabin this week, but have a wonderful one, friends~

2009-04-23T09:10:00.013-06:00

An interesting sight early yesterday morning~ Venus was eclipsed by the moon.

The boy, the dog and I went down to the creek again. Almost all of the snow had melted, and the water was rushing fast.

Gretel had never seen the creek this high, or maybe she was feeling adventurous, but she ran right into the water. She couldn't touch the bottom there, the current was strong and the bank rather steep~ it carried her a few feet before she could climb out. Good thing she can doggie paddle! :) The brave girl shook herself dry and we went on our way.

The creek bottoms were so flooded! Ducks paddled through the willows and cottonwood trunks, and red-winged blackbirds chirped out and swooped down between the brances above. A grey snake, maybe 2 feet long, slithered across the path in front of us, and I started to feel a little sick thinking of how many were probably swimming around in the water and hanging from the trees. Snakes are the reason I don't go to the creek much. I know only the rattlers are poisonous and we've never seen any there, but Gil has seen some others around 6 feet long. I get woozy at the thought!

Northern Flicker nest

A Happy Day. :) Yikes, I should rename this the Crow's Feet Almanac.

Sanding and staining this week~ I'm making new goodies for my Etsy shop. Enjoy the sunshine! :)

2009-04-20T10:36:00.014-06:00

*sigh* April showers bring May flowers~

It was a big one! It started snowing late Thursday night (school let out early on Friday), and it kept up until Saturday evening. The power flickered on and off several times Friday night and was out for 2 1/2 hours on Saturday morning. I was a little bummed that it came back on so quickly, but I'm sure it was for the best. ;) The kids built an igloo.

They were ambitious~ it was really big, but they wanted it big enough for both of them. :) They finished that layer that Cat is leaning on there, but got tired and came in. Gil and I went snowshoeing.

The woods were so quiet, except for snow falling off branches. There were a lot of limbs down after such a heavy, wet storm. Sunday was sunny and warm, so we went down to Cherry Creek.

Here, the creek is hardly ever this high and fast! We all threw snowballs in the water to watch them float away, and Gil and Sam threw big chunks of snow off a bridge to see them splash. LOL

We saw a great blue heron nest (it was so big that I could have sat in it), meadowlarks, a bluebird, and ducks and geese.

The creek had flooded in many places, but the cottonwoods don't mind at all.

No green leaves yet~ spring is taking its own sweet time. It's supposed to get to the upper 70s this week (huzzah!), so I think I'll take Gretel down to the creek one day. Have a beautiful week, my friends. XOXO

2009-04-16T23:38:00.006-06:00

The pasque flower are blooming! They haven't opened all the way yet, but they're the first sign of spring on the plains, and bloom around Easter. They are sometimes called wild crocus, wind flower, or prairie smoke.

PASQUE FLOWER
4x6 inches, acrylic & ink on illustration board

To celebrate spring and life renewed, I have reopened my Etsy shop~ www.crowhill.etsy.com. I have some original paintings for sale and a few other goodies right now. I can't wait to make some more! Springtime blessings to you all~

2009-04-16T22:11:00.010-06:00

Last Friday, Sam's class participated in a Revolutionary War reenactment. The boy watches so much History Channel (especially shows about ancient warriors and stuff) and one of his most favorite things to do is run around the woods with a sword, so this was just about the best field trip ever. They're studying the Revolutionary War now, but this company came to their class to teach them about the Battle of Camden (which they would reenact) and some basic military training. They provided uniforms and weapons. The kids made little paper packets of flour that they had in their ammo bags. To "fire" the musket, they tore open the packets (mostly with their teeth) and poured it down the barrel (like gunpowder?), then blew through a straw thing so a puff of flour came out like smoke (LOL). Sam served in the North Carolina militia.

The costumes were so cool! The Scottish regiment wore kilts, and some of the American soldiers didn't have uniforms, just a farmer's regular clothes. Some had coonskin caps and buckskin jackets.

Redcoats

The cannons shot flour, too. :D They also had some smoke bombs.

Give me liberty or give me death.

Blessedly, brave Sam lived to fight another day. This was such an awesome experience for him! I'm so happy that I got to come along, too. :)

Easter was quiet and rainy, but really nice. We all colored eggs the night before and dyed the tip of Gretel's tail. We also blew up Peeps in the microwave. Yeah, a typical Layton holiday. ;) I worked some on a painting~ I wanted so badly to have it done before Easter, but I'll show it to you in a moment...

2009-03-30T09:04:00.020-06:00

Friday morning, a nine-or-so-inch blanket of snow twinkled under a big blue Colorado sky. Wind blew at the tips of tall grasses and jingled icicles in the pines.

I climbed to the top of the hill for a look around, then dug out the driveway and sidewalk. Then it was time to play!

I made a couple of runs, but Cat and Sam stayed out almost all day. I did a little housework inside, dispensing hot cocoa as necessary. Cat made a tiny snowman and Gretel chased snowballs.

It was just one of those sweet golden days that you want to remember forever. That evening, a perfect crescent moon hung over the Little Town like a cup full of blessings.

It warmed up over the weekend, melting most of it all. And then today...

It looks like a wet week ahead. At least it will make for a beautiful spring! Today I plan on curling up in my chair by the fire to start an Easter drawing. This March came in like a lamb and out like a lion~

2009-03-26T13:20:00.009-06:00

The most exciting prairie word of all~ blizzard!

Will Pa make it home from town in time? Yes, he left work early and took the (station) wagon with four-wheel drive today. Will the children have to tie themselves together to find their way home from the schoolhouse? No, school was cancelled this morning. Will Ma have to tie a rope around her waist to make it back from the stable? Oh no, THIS Ma is not going anywhere today. :)

After nearly no snow since December and almost two months of spring weather, we're under a blizzard warning until tomorrow morning. Northerners and high country folk may laugh, but I've lived here almost ten years and the very word blizzard still gives me butterflies. It's not just the amount of snow, but the wind that makes a blizzard. It howls around the sides of the house, piling snow against the windows and doors, and blows until you can hardly see the egde of the yard, making you feel like the only cabin around for miles. If the forecast keeps up, Gil and the kids might be home tomorrow and we'll finally have a cozy snowed-in, playing-outside day. I feel like winter passed over us this year, and it just didn't feel right. Besides, spring will still be here soon~

FAIRY SLIPPER~ a wild mountain orchid

Oh! I'm so poor at posting here in a timely manner, but last week, I was the subject of an interview at Audrey Eclectic (http://www.reverieart.blogspot.com/). Heather is a very sweet and cool girl, a wonderful artist (vintage and folksy~ *sigh*) and her blog is so inspiring! Please check her out, and I know you'll love her work as much as I do. Have a beautiful day, friends, and enjoy whatever season you are having today!

2009-03-17T09:41:00.014-06:00

Eeek! We found this in the bathtub a little over a week ago. There have been a few mice in the basement for years, but Japhy always kept them under control and would never have let one get upstairs. We would only see one or two (tokens from Japhy) every few months, and otherwise they were a little charming in a Hunca Munca or Samuel Whiskers way. Anyhow, now the cat is away and the mice are playing! Two days later, we found another one in the bathtub.

(LOL~ I paintshopped out where they pooped) They must have been running along the edge and slipped in. Then that evening, I was feeding Gretel, scooped some dog food out of the bag and a mouse JUMPED OUT OF THE MEASURING CUP AND RAN UP MY HAND, jumped down and ran away (naturally, I screamed and the other way). Poor little guy was in mouse paradise on top of a mountain of dog food, he probably curled up in the measuring cup, rubbed his belly and went to sleep, and the next thing he knows he's cowering under a piano with two kids banging on the keys to "scare him out". But that was IT! The exterminator patched where he thought they were coming in, and set out some sticky traps. We've caught a few, but haven't seen any more upstairs. Huzzah! The battle is won.

To clear your mind of those creepies, here are Cat and Sam last Friday trying a new recipe we found for St. Patrick's Day~

It's cream cheese, coconut, and confectioner's sugar and vanilla, mixed and rolled into little potato shapes, then rolled in cinnamon. At one point, I wasn't so sure this was going to work, but

blimey! if they didn't look just like little potatoes! They were nearly too rich to eat though (like a big bite of cream cheese icing), but we also made mint brownies and ginger snaps. Saturday, we went to our friends, Jeff & Monette's, house for corned beef and cabbage. And we all went to the parade in Denver~

:D Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Sláinte!

2009-03-03T09:45:00.004-07:00

Good morning, sunshines! In spite of the weather the east coast is having right now, we're still setting record highs here~ in the 70s today! It's so dry (and a little scary), but we had a similar weather pattern set-up in 2003. It was really warm and dry in the beginning of March, then we had a blizzard with four feet of snow. *whisper voice* I wish that would happen again.

Anyway, I finished this little springtime beauty yesterday~

She's a Rocky Mountain Iris, 4x6 inches. I've never seen these in the wild, but I sure would love to! I hope you have a beautiful day~

2009-02-23T09:46:00.009-07:00

Happy Monday! :)
It's been unusually warm here for the past few weeks. I'm not quite ready for spring, but it's hard to complain about nice weather! It's been incredibly windy, too.

Big, blustery winds that SWOOOSH through the pines and send tumbleweeds rolling down the street. Winds that make you feel a little crazy~ Gretel runs mad laps around the back yard in it. It sets your nerves on edge and when it blows in your face, you can't see straight. Bah! On a calmer day, Gil and I went for a walk. Everything is so brown, but there's still so much to see.

This time of year, you can hardly look all around the sky without seeing a flock of canada geese. I understand that they can be pesky, but that's not their fault! It's so exciting to see a hundred or so birds all take off at the same time. I love their honks and their black and white markings look so smart. :) I made this last week~

MOTHER GOOSE
4x6 inches
Finely dressed in a lace fichu and straw poke bonnet (the cameo had belonged to her grandmother), she takes the little ones for a morning walk.

*sigh* Maybe I AM ready for spring, after all. Have a lovely week, everyone! XO

2009-02-12T13:35:00.016-07:00

I have a new toy! Isn't she beautiful?

She's a mountain (or appalachian) dulcimer, three feet long, solid cherry with shiny gold tuners. <3 I've wanted one for years and have been having so much fun with it. I'm ridiculously bad right now but I'm learning. :) It's a cool and weird little instrument. It has two melody strings tuned the same that gives it a droning kind of sound, like a sitar, but it sounds so pretty and sweet. It's both old-timey mountain folksy and olde english-ballad folksy at the same time.

The most well-known dulcimer player is probably Jean Ritchie.

You can use a little stick-thing called a noter to hold down the melody strings, instead of your fingers. I don't know WHAT she is using for a pick~ it looks like an arrow? This kid is playing the same song, but totally shreds it! He's brilliant~

This one is more like what I will ever be humanly capable of playing, and the close-up shows how one can play just the melody strings, instead of chords.

This guy, Bing Futch, has a video podcast called Dulcimerica(LOL). I could watch this forever! Here are some good ones~

*sigh* That last song is beautiful. I have so very much to learn, and honestly, I'm not very musically-inclined, but I'm just having fun playing songs I like, howEVER I like. ;) Maybe someday I'll quit my artist day job and become a musician. Haha!

Oh yeah, I have been painting this month, too!

Fiddler's Field 6.5 x 10 inches, acrylic & ink on illustration board

Gig poster, anyone? ;) Dreaming of golden summer sunshine, warm winter wishes to all~

2009-01-13T11:36:00.016-07:00

Hellooooooo... here I am! I can't believe it's been nearly two months since I've written here. :o That was so long ago~ Thanksgiving, holiday happenings, the kids' and Gil's vacations, Christmas EVERYTHING, company, parties, and even some paintings! It was all very lovely, but it's good to be able to play here again. :) The one sad thing that happened last month was that it was time for Japhy Ryder, our dear friend and little dharma bum, to cross the rainbow bridge. He had a good, long, loved life.

9x12 inch oval, acrylic on wood

Such a handsome puss! I so enjoyed painting this, and Nimh's portrait a few months ago, that I hope to take commissions~ pet fantasy-style? I may make up flyers to put in the vet's offices, groomers' and kennels around town. Hehee, could be fun! :)

Last month I painted two elf girls with berries for Christmas (I'll put them up on the sidebar to the right) and a cd cover(!) for Mountain Standard Time (link over on the right). These guys have worked so hard to set themselves up for an awesome year, and I'm really excited to create something for and with them. I can't wait to see (and hear) it all done! :)

It's been a beautiful winter with a few (to several) inches of snow every week or two, just enough. Four inches yesterday! Deer have been helping themselves to whatever they can find in the yard.

That buck ate all the seed in both of the bird feeders~ piggie! I don't want to purposely feed them, but I want the birds to eat there, too. What to do?

One last thing, we saw this rainbow corona around the moon last weekend.

Amazing! Wishing you all a blessed new year full of rainbows, day and night~

Back Door Friends

2008-11-20T15:07:00.021-07:00

Welcome into my little home in the most casual way possible~ through the mudroom door. It's also the laundry room, so you'll only get a view from one direction. ;) I am like a magpie, decorating my nest with other people's cast-offs or interesting things I find on the ground. I can't pass a garage sale without at least slowing down the car. Thrift stores give me butterflies in my stomach. Flea markets make me positively drunk with excitement. I love that so many things in my home had its own story before I found it, or were passed down to us from family members, or the kids or I made them. Gil found the old horse bridle (top left in the picture) in a field and brought it home for me~ he knows what makes me happy. :) I love the needlepoint pictures on the right because they look like the landscape here.

I want to paint this little cabinet someday, maybe with flowers and bundles of wheat? The needlepoint easel was my grandma's, the silver baby cup was Gil's, and I got the little doll at the Laura Ingalls Wilder home and museum in Mansfield, Missouri when I was eight.

If I were more of a minimalist, my kitchen would look like this. Instead, it looks like this~

Hello Japhy! I do have a desk and a place to keep my art supplies in the basement, but I really don't like to work down there, so I'm usually at the kitchen table. The light in here is great, and there's a sink, a TV, tea kettle and snacks.

There's this desk too, but it's mostly for storage. Garage sale chair, painted and recovered. Vintage souvenir plate with scenes of Colorado!

Gilner pixie planter~ vintage 50s? It holds keys.

My main weaknesses are miniature things, pottery and forest animal-themed salt & pepper shakers. The cookie tin holds dog treats, but we don't actually use the coffee grinder.

A tiny eggshell, a wild rose hip, and owl salt & peppers. I remember choosing the fawn at a flea market with my mom when I was little.

This funky planter is so ugly that it's beautiful. I'm trying to grow moss in it.

The view out back is the best thing about this house. I hung Scandinavian straw ornaments in the window.

More souvenir plates and a thermometer/barometer thingie. One year, through the kids' school, you could order their artwork printed onto things. Both of their classes made collage mountains. This is Sam's tile...

and Cat's tile. The little blue plates are Royal Copenhagen, and picture Hans Christian Andersen and the statue of the Little Mermaid. My grandma's parents were from Denmark, but I found these at the thrift store in our church basement.

A shelf above the sink~ vintage tin Colorado-themed trays, and more S&P shakers. I did buy the pinecone ones new, but the orange ones were Gil's grandma's. I adore the plastic hillbilly~ his jugs are shakers too.

Gilner cookie jar, McCoy planter~ I paid maybe $10 for each one? A treat, for me!

McCoy owl~ he holds tea bags. The little red rolling pin was Cat's.

A big red rolling pin. The squirrels were from Target. In Dutch, the tile says something like "Beer, beer, I will drink you if (or until?) must I on hands and feet crawl". Ha! And appropriate. ;)

This print of a wagon train crossing a river was in a tube of old classroom posters my mom gave me, and I decoupaged it to a piece of wood. The Dala horse is Swedish (I bought it in a Scandinavian shop at the Sons of Norway(?) lodge in Denver), but the Danish sign wasn't the right color. ;)

A calendar and aprons. I made the red one from vintage curtains, but the owl one is from Anthropologie. Ohhh how I love that store. A Johnny Appleseed pot holder!

This little wall separates the kitchen and den and is a handy spot for field guides.

I don't remember what these plants are. We haven't taken the top off this greenhouse in years, and Gil just waters it by pouring water in the tray. Cat painted the fairy

and Sam painted the gnome at a pottery-painting place.

This is full of things we found on walks in the woods (except the mushrooms are candles and the eggs aren't real)~ feathers, bird nests (the little one is from a hummingbird), a snake skin, a snake skeleton(!), a wasp nest, and a squirrel's tail. Yeah... I know. Ick. ;)

And wonderful! The things in here are some of my most favorite things in the world~ they're life and death and learning and teaching, and holding little hands, and hands that open up to show me the treasures they found. Those are the most wonderful finds of all.

2008-11-20T08:46:00.005-07:00

I finished this little darling this week~

NIMH'S GARDEN
8x11.5 inches, acrylic & ink on illustration board

Nimh lives in the storybook land of Cornwall, the home of Arthurian legends. Her mum is a wonderful artist and dear friend, Julia Guthrie. Please check out her blog, East of the Sun... (the link is over on my sidebar)! We have traded portraits of each other's furry-girls. Here is Gretel~

*sigh* Isn't it stunning? In Julia's words...
"Gretel, the English Pointer is out playing with her hunting companion the Hawk. Racing along the heathery cliffs of Cornwall. Suddenly there, just past the old ruins of a tin mine engine house she spies an enchanted forest. Creeping closer, and closer Gretel sniffs the air & stops in suprise as all the magical creatures come out to greet her...."
Historical reference: In ancient Medieval Britain, Pointers were traditionally used in Falconry, to hunt alongside the Hawks & Falcons, so I decided to include a Hawk here, as a nod to Gretel's heritage.

The hawk was such a thoughtful and perfect touch, and I'm so grateful to Julia for this treasure. XOXO!

It's foggy today with a little freezing drizzle and snow. Usually this is my favorite kind of day, but I have a lunch date today with Sam~ a Thanksgiving feast at school. Turkey, mashers and gravy, cranberry sauce, a carton of milk, the whole works from the school cafeteria. Yummy! ;) Then tonight is Cat's orchestra concert. They're playing pieces from The Nutcracker, so it should be really good. Let the holiday craziness begin!

2008-11-14T09:34:00.008-07:00

Good morning! I finished this back on Monday, a final hurrah to autumn~

SCARECROW
4x6 inches, acrylic & ink on illustration board

I do love this guy~ my very favorite colors. Oh! We woke today to the first snow (not flurries) of the season!

Heehee~ rabbit tracks. There's less than two inches and it's already slowing down. I've been working this week on Nimh's portrait (that I started back in August!) and should have it done by the end of the weekend. It was so good to just jump into the fun parts of a painting, with the drawing and background already done, and I admit, she's looking pretty adorable. ;) Time to get back to work~ this is the best kind of day for it. Have a wonderful weekend! XOXO

2008-11-07T08:39:00.005-07:00

I saw some mamas and babies early yesterday morning. The fawns are probably 5 or 6 months old, but I hadn't seen any yet this year. They're so shy! I took pictures through the window, but they still saw me and bounded back up under the trees. All the leaves have blown off the trees in the yard and everything is starting to look bare and brown. V-shaped flocks of Canada geese fly overhead, honking "winter is coming!".

2008-11-03T09:59:00.016-07:00

I hope you all had a fun Halloween! Trick or treat!

Cat was Mother Nature~ so pretty! Does anyone know who Sam is?

*spooky wolf howl*

Boo milk is a family Halloween tradition. Secretly drop a few drops of food coloring down a straw in a glass of milk, serve it to a little one, recite an incantation, and tell them to blow bubbles. Double double, toil and trouble! Cat went to a party at a friend's house, and Gil took Sam out trick-or-treating while I handed out candy. Then we had a party Saturday night~

Come into the parlor. >:[

Do you see the ghost cat? Naughty boy!

It's time to party! :D

I feel a big celebration in the air~ winds of change are blowing in hope, optimism, and a sense that good times are finally ahead. Please vote tomorrow~ power to the people!

2008-10-31T11:54:00.008-06:00

Wishing an enchanted evening to all~

2008-10-22T08:05:00.004-06:00

I saw snowflakes last night! It wasn't much, but the sleet turned into snow around midnight, just as I finished this drawing~

I'm still playing around with the crows and there will be wheat in the rest of the field, too. I'm not totally sure about that mouth, but a big jack-o-lantern smile looked a little insane. It might be a while before I can paint him since we have costumes to make! The kids are both out for fall break, so they're helping. We're having a party on November 1~ we have a lot to do (mostly all fun) and it's so good having them home! The costumes are a surprise, but I will say that they're going to ROCK. ;)

Speaking of crafty things, the wind is really doing a number on my poor dancing ghosts. I thought the dowels were thick enough, but they keep snapping off at the ground. Now they're lying in a sad pile around the base of the tree, and I'll stand them back up on days that aren't so windy. Cold today, leaves blowing off the trees. Mmmmm fall goodness.

2008-10-18T08:18:00.006-06:00

CREEPY CRAWLY
4x6 inches, acrylic & ink on illustration board

I finished this little guy a couple of days ago. The snake came out better than I thought it would, and I'm really trying to break the habit of outlining everything, so I left the mushrooms alone. The threads of the web could have been thinner~ maybe I could have used a gel pen? I also made these spookies for the back yard~

Their bodies are cheesecloth and they're on dowels, so they blow and look like they're dancing in the wind. The spirits must have been feeling mischievous, because everything that could have gone wrong with this project, did. Guess how much head-size white styrofoam balls cost? Go ahead, guess... $15 each at Hobby Lobby! And I needed five! So I used plastic trick-or-treat pumpkins and painted them white. Then I used cheesecloth instead of sheets, so I had to sew the strips together so they were wide enough, then the dowels I glued to the heads were too thin, so I taped thicker ones to those. Anyway, they look so cool now and it was worth it all to see them last night dancing in the moonlight. Have a great weekend!

2008-10-14T08:50:00.005-06:00

Frost this morning, a heavy full moon glowed orange as it set behind the mountains. I saw this handsome boy yesterday afternoon~

LOL~ he looks fed up with me in the second one (I wanted him to move into the sunlight), but I think it's just his markings. Painting today~ hope to finish it tomorrow.

2008-10-13T09:23:00.006-06:00

Nice weekend! Friday night Gil and I went up to Boulder to see Hot Buttered Rum. Our friends Mountain Standard Time opened~ great GREAT show! These guys (and girl!) are all so very talented and just good folks. Please check out their link on my sidebar to the right~ I promise you, they are The Next Big Thing. :)

The rest of the weekend was cold, rainy and foggy. Sam had a school project~ to make a model of a flowering plant. He chose yucca, so he found a yucca stalk with seed pods still attached to use as a base. He cut the leaves out with the paper cutter, glued beans in the pods for seeds, we made paper flowers, and he labeled all the parts. It turned out pretty awesome~

Foggy woods

Scary rabbit >:[

Speaking of projects and spooky things, it's time to decorate the porch for Halloween! This year I'm also going to make a ring of ghosties around a tree in the back yard. I think I'll wait until later in the week for all that, as it's supposed to be warmer then. Sweater and socks weather today, and the mountains were all white this morning. Warmappleciderwishes to you all! XO

2008-10-09T12:50:00.038-06:00

Gretel and I went for a long walk this morning along Cherry Creek. There's lots of open space and a trailhead just at the bottom of the hill. We drive to get there because you have to cross a really busy road, but the trails are great~ Gil rides his bike there a lot. I took tons of pictures today. :)

I used to take the kids down here when they were little to play in the creek. For a while in our spot, there was a giant crawfish like in On the Banks of Plum Creek~ if you put a stick near his claws, he would grab it.

cattails

sunflowers

The creek runs along the eastern side of the trail. The western side is higher and grassy but the underbrush is really thick along the creek bed. There are marshy little ponds in there. I saw and heard ducks and canada geese.

This was pretty~ the white things were cottony.

It was around 9:30.

Let's go!

The wind in the willows played Tea for Two
The trees were yellow and the sky was blue.

The western side~ there was a group of magpies flying around there.

Indian Blanket

Duck

Pretty girl

This little tunnel was just elven size, but is more likely a mule deer path. There were tracks and a big bed of sand.

Time to head home.

Almost there~ the top row of trees is the woods by the house.

Wild roses

It was a golden morning. Before pioneers came, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Kiowa and Ute tribes spent winters sheltered here along the creek beds. Later when they were forced to move, one old man was allowed to stay because he wasn't strong enough to make the journey. He lived alone along this part of Cherry Creek for a few more years, but I like to think he is still there. I hope you enjoyed our walk~ thanks for coming along! :)

2008-10-07T14:10:00.003-06:00

This morning was the first frost of the season. Now it's clear, windy and pretty warm, but it's supposed to be cold and rainy this weekend. I've been drinking hot apple cider instead of tea this week and have almost finished Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables. Next up is Dracula~ it's October all around! New drawing~

His helmet and pants look like a stag beetle. Maybe he needs a pair of beetle legs that come out of the sides of his pants? Creepy crawly!

Ghost Flower

2008-10-02T09:47:00.003-06:00

Also called Indian Pipe, this tiny flower makes no chlorophyll, but grows from decaying leaves on the forest floor. This girl came to me dressed as a 17th century New England Puritan, but so far has kept her story a secret. What is her name? Was she hung for witchcraft? Did she accidentally gather poisonous mushrooms? Did she die of a broken heart? Why does she haunt her woods?

If YOU write her story and post it in the comment section here, I will send you a FREE 5x7 print of her! Please include your email or a way I can contact you for your mailing address. No matter how short or long, silly or sad, just make sure her story is spooky! Happy haunting!

2008-10-02T08:39:00.009-06:00

Well, hello friends! And helloooo computer~ I hated you for treating me badly, but I missed you so when you were gone. A month or so ago, there were weird lines across my screen, like a line of text would appear in a different place on the screen. Annoying, but whatever. Then a few weeks ago, when I would scroll down, two giant staticky-looking lines went all the way down the screen and then the whole thing would shut down. Time to go to the computer doctor, and it took a week for them to get a replacement part. Urggh. It came home, worked just fine for one evening and the next morning it was all jiggered up again. Back to the shop, now home again and so far, purring like a kitten. *gentle pats*

So during my down time, I did some sample illustrations for a friend's book manuscript. I did three drawings and turned one into a painting~

The pancake one is my favorite. We'll see what happens~ I put everything I had into it and even had fun with it, but I just feel my work isn't at its best when it's someone else's vision. I worry about it all looking just right and know that someone else could do a much better job. Even so, I'm very grateful for the opportunity, enjoyed trying some new things, and after researching them, I reeeally want a vintage stove. :)

The leaves are changing now and it's chilly in the mornings. To kick off October, here are some creepy-crawlies we've found recently~

Just a little garter snake and a pretty garden spider~ the stripes on her legs made her look straight from a Tim Burton movie or James & the Giant Peach. Perfect inspiration with Halloween creeping up quickly! Love to you all~

2008-08-29T08:56:00.003-06:00

A peek at the lovely Nimh in progess~ I still need to finish the flowers (the poppies will be much brighter, yellow flowers in the foreground, maybe some viney ones to soften the gravel) and then I can move on to the exciting parts! :)

I'm off to the post office in a moment~ I sold a painting this week! Huzzah! Zach & Brandi, y'all are really wonderful and all my gratitute to you both. :) Have a great holiday weekend, everyone! :)

2008-08-25T08:19:00.019-06:00

Ohh man. Late yesterday afternoon, Gil and I were just hanging out in the kitchen and on the back patio, having some beers, getting ready to light the grill, Sunday afternoon things. A warning came across the tv that a tornado had been seen near Parker, so we ran out front, wondering if we could see it. Ohhh yes.

Cat saw it out of her bedroom window and ran downstairs. Sam was in the playroom (in the basement) so we called him up to see it. It was about three miles away, supposedly heading northeast (towards us), but it didn't seem to really be getting any closer. After comforting Sam (poor guy was so scared at first), we got the animals down in the basement, with pillows and couch cushions and a couple of special oil paintings. It still didn't seem any closer, so we went back out to watch~ what else were we going to do? It was on the ground for at least 10 to 15 minutes. It bounced up and down a few times and zigzagged around a bit

and then it faded away.

I fell down on to the grass, shaking and laughing and thanking God that we were safe and that we had seen something so amazingly wild and powerful. And then a little later...

Now, I'm no stranger to tornado country. I grew up in the southeast and we lived for four years in Missouri and north Texas. We've had some close calls, but I've never seen one before. There wasn't much wind, no hail, no green-looking sky, but I heard there were in other parts of town. I was in a hurricane once, but that hit at night and we couldn't see what was happening or see the damage until morning. Tornadoes are pretty rare along the front range, but a lot more common not far east of us. Three(!) tornadoes touched down around town from this same storm, but fortunately, there was no major damage. I've had dreams of seeing one in that exact same spot, and it didn't even seem real. I'm sure I would have been a lot more scared if it had been closer. I'm a little surprised that the first words out of my mouth were~ Kids! Tornado! Where's the camera?!

It sure was exciting and made us all hug each other harder last night. There's no place like home... there's no place like home.

2008-08-24T13:11:00.002-06:00

Friday evening, Sam, Gretel and I went to the top of the hill to watch the sunset. We were distracted by something huge that took off from a nearby tree and flew into the woods. We thought it was an owl, so we went in to follow it. Twice, we found it and it took off again. We finally caught up to it and it was a red-tailed hawk. He called out keeHAAAA, another one far away answered with a keeehaaaa, he called back and then flew off, swooping down right over our heads. Cool.

Yesterday I worked for a while on the background of Nimh's portrait and last night I watched a documentary on PBS about Kit Carson. I've been painting for a few hours already today, but I think the hammock is calling me now. Sounds good. :)

2008-08-20T14:38:00.007-06:00

Hey, I'm sorry for being such a sad sack yesterday. I know everyone has days like that and life is not always sunshine and daisies~ I just wish it were! Anyway, this little dear cheered me right up:

This is Nimh and she will be a trade with a friend and a wonderful artist, Julia Guthrie~ http://www.juliaguthrie.co.uk/index.htm
I can't wait to paint her! Well, got to run~ it's time for after-school activities!

2008-08-19T08:21:00.009-06:00

If I want to make this place a real journal, a record of my journey, I'm going to have to dirty it up a bit in here. I don't mean to bum anyone out, but behind some pretty pictures, a big smile and a generally cheerful outlook are some very real negative feelings lately, and I hope that by mucking through them and owning up to them, I will learn something from them. Most of it probably comes from me not sleeping anymore. Every little sound wakes me up and every little worry keeps me awake all night. There's a constant feeling of Not Being Useful or Good Enough and then being down makes me feel like I'm not grateful for the wonderful blessings I do have and then I feel even worse. Sometimes I just want to run so far and fast that my shoes fall right off, to somewhere in the mountains farther and stranger and more wild than I've ever been before. I would find the deepest, darkest cave there and sleep for months. My hair would get all tangled and matted and I could wrap it around myself like a bear's fur to stay warm. When I finally couldn't sleep or dream anymore, I would paint all the things I had dreamt on the walls of the cave, using mud, animal blood and my own shit, and it would be more beautiful and meaningful than anything I had ever painted before. Then I would go home knowing I was a stronger, better person, a better mother, a better artist, and we would all be so happy to see each other again. It would be springtime, we would have a new president and new beginnings and optimism and maybe the economy would be getting better, and everyone would not always be so worried and depressed.

I'm going to go work on a drawing now~ something wonderfully sweet that will make me feel much happier. I promise, I will have something better to share tomorrow.

2008-08-16T13:12:00.011-06:00

New painting~

SEEGER'S HAMMER
4x6 inches

In the 1940s, Woody Guthrie labeled his guitars with "This machine kills fascists". Inspired by this, in the 1960s, Pete Seeger wrote "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender". To me, this statement and Pete's songs (and all folk songs) are a testament to the power of music and every bit as relevant to day as they were forty or sixty years ago. When I was little, my mom played guitar some. I remember her sitting in the back of our VW camper with her long blonde hair, playing "Puff the Magic Dragon" for me and "This Land is Your Land" and other songs for our Brownie troop. In high school, I took her Peter, Paul & Mary and Judy Collins records and loved them all over again. I found Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Simon & Garfunkel and spent part of a summer trying to teach myself songs on that old guitar. A friend and I even asked our moms to take us to see the Kingston Trio. We were the youngest people there by far and didn't get any of the stories and corny jokes they told in between songs, but we still thought it was (and we were~ haha!) the coolest. Cat has become quite a little folkie now and it was really sweet to see her this summer playing songs in the back of our camper. Turn Turn Turn!

We've had thunderstorms and heavy, solid rain for the past two days and in the low 50s. I'm loving this taste of fall! They're calling for snow down to 10,000 feet~ Gil's at a party in the mountains this weekend at 9000+. He's going to be sooo cold camping tonight! Ha! I've got the fire on, a pot of tea and a new book to start~ heavenly! Have a great weekend, friends!

2008-08-08T10:20:00.007-06:00

Who who whooo finally finished a new painting? I did! :)

SCOUT
8x10 inches, acrylic & ink
She is Artemis, Diana, and every wild-willed woman of the woods.

I used this for reference:

but I got carried away with the grass and lost the wonderful roots. The dead limbs on the ground are left from when the town did some fire mitigation and never picked them up. Sam and some other boys are always moving them around and building lean-tos and forts with them. They've made a whole town, called Treeside. It's always getting blown or knocked down, but they keep building it back. They mine for rocks that they use as money and keep it buried in a bank. They've cleared an arena for sword fighting and use another tree as a lookout tower. There are piles of yucca pods and seeds up there, but I'm not really sure what they're for. I wish I could play, too!

It's been a busy and exciting month, though. A couple weekends ago, Gil and I went to see New Riders of the Purple Sage. I was asked to display some pieces at Castle Rock Music, a music store in a town just southwest of mine. I've made some wonderful new friends through this, and last Saturday, my new friend Karen, Monette, Cat and I went to see the Potcheen Folk Band (I'm trying to figure out how to link here...), a Celtic-folk-rock-punk-pirate band~ much fun and dancing! Oh and Cat got her learner's permit and is now on the road! Ack!!!

It's hard to believe that the kids will both be back in school in a couple of weeks, and soon after that, we'll start having cooler weather. Enjoy the last of these lazy summer days~

2008-07-24T09:17:00.001-06:00

Tuesday evening, a baby rabbit fell down the basement window well! Cat was in the playroom and heard it jumping against the window. I climbed down to help him.

The poor thing was so scared that he was squealing and running in circles, up around the sides of the well and the window screen, maybe three feet off the ground. I was so worried he would hurt himself or that I would grab him too hard, but I finally cornered him and took a few pictures~ somebunny needs to be painted! :) He was very still when I picked him up. He was so soft! Cat and Sam gave him a quick pet.

Then he got excited and wiggly when he saw the grass.

He hid along the fence, but a few minutes later hopped home under the juniper bushes.

2008-07-20T12:58:00.000-06:00

We went back up to Ned for July 4th. Some friends had a great party~ beer, burgers & a bluegrass band on the roof! Dogs everywhere! :D That night, from the roof we had a perfect view of the fireworks over the resoviour. Thank you for an awesome time, Betsy & Jim!

Then Saturday night we went to Jamestown.

The Mercantile is my very favorite place for the guys to play. The staff and everyone there are all so kind and fun, and inside it's so cozy~ like a crazy grandma's kitchen. :) We've been there in the winter with six feet of snow on the ground, and it's still toasty inside and everyone's dancing.

This is Jamestown. Really, it's nearly the whole town. :) It was once a booming gold mining camp with saloons, hotels and dance halls, but now it's a perfectly wonderful, free-spirited little mountain hamlet.

Across the street from that is a pretty park with flower beds, a playground and Jim Creek.

The hills above the town burned a few years ago. I want to know what the inside of the church looks like!

I wonder who lives in this crooked little treehouse.

Time for the show!

Monette & Jeff

Rich's new fu manchu

Raging! :D

When we got home that night, this was by the front door.

It looked like a leaf-bat! It was huge~ well, its wings were maybe two inches long. I looked it up the next morning and it was a blinded sphinx, not a bat with leaf wings, after all. ;) Too bad, but what a wonderful weekend!

2008-07-18T09:17:00.000-06:00

Hellooo! It's been a busy past few weeks with a few trips out of town, but really, really good times! I'll catch up with a summer scrapbook:

Three weeks ago, we went up to Nederland for a birthday party and some music (MST!), and spent the night there. We drove to Estes Park the next day to camp one more night.

Rocky Mountain National Park is just west, and Estes Park is home to the Stanley Hotel. It was built as a resort in 1909 and is wonderfully haunted (as proven by Ghost Hunters!). Stephen King was inspired by a stay there to write The Shining.

We had lunch in town, then hung out for a while by a lake~ the water was way too cold to swim, but it still felt so nice.

Pointy pointer:

Time for a drink! We went to the Stanley.

The back entrance and courtyard:

We didn't stay for long since Gretel was in the camper. The hotel brews its own beer~ Redrum Ale. Redrum! REDRUM!

The campsite was okay. We got dinner in town, so we didn't need to cook. The kids played guitar for a while.

We were all pretty tired, so we turned in early. Sam is playing with playdough here, but don't the curtains look fabulous? :)

We drove back home the next morning, then Gil took the whole following week off. It was good to have everybody home, to enjoy being together and relax for a few days before the next big weekend...

2008-06-27T08:59:00.000-06:00

Summertime~ by mid-afternoon, the air is warm and heavy as thunderstorms roll in. The wind blows through the tall, drying grasses, carrying cottonwood fluff and the whirrr of grasshoppers and hummingbirds. Flocks of grackles(?) and blackbirds have been visiting lately, though. They're cool to see, but they're really loud and make such a mess at the feeders, bullying away the songbirds. When they're in the yard, I let Gretel chase them away.

The kids are both home now and I finished TWO paintings this week:

INDIAN BLANKET
ACEO, acrylic & ink on illustration board

Her blanket, hairstyle and jewelry are Navajo. I so love to paint these girls~ they're not much of a technical challenge, and I hope no one is getting tired of seeing them all the time, but they're just comforting to do and it's tons of fun to research the costumes.

This piece is for Cat's band! Check them out~
www.myspace.com/fallingtoflyband

Vocals by Kaitlyn and Cat on guitar~ they're totally amazing! They recorded some songs down in the playroom last Thursday, made CDs, and they already have a gig scheduled next month. They're writing some songs now, too. They both are incredibly talented, dedicated and motivated, and I can't wait to see where they go! I'm so proud of these girls!

We're heading to Nederland for the weekend. Gil took next week off, so we may not come home. Estes Park? We'll see where the wind blows the old bus! Mountain friends, see you soon! XOXO

2008-06-19T13:53:00.000-06:00

Sam had to write a report on an animal and make a diorama of the biome in which it lives:

The pack hunts down a moose

while two deer stay safely out of sight.

2008-06-17T10:41:00.000-06:00

I have a new girl to share~ her name is LUPINE.
ACEO, acrylic & ink on illustration board

A baby rabbit is living under the bushes on the side of the front porch! He's definitely a young one, but I don't think there was a whole nest of babies in there because we've only seen one~ maybe he has just left home to see the world. :) He sits in the front yard in the mornings and afternoons.

Last Friday, we went to hear one of my most favorite bands, Railroad Earth. There, I met a friend I had met on Myspace and her family, and it was just like seeing a dear old friend again. A wonderful night! This is Sam's last week of school and the rest of the weekend we worked on a diorama project that's due tomorrow. Does anyone have ideas of how to make snow? Clear glitter? Borax flakes? I can't find spray snow anywhere this time of year!

2008-06-10T10:58:00.000-06:00

Field trip! Two weeks ago, I went with Sam's class to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings in Manitou Springs, at the base of Pikes Peak. I was really excited when I first heard about the trip, because I didn't think that Anasazi had lived this far northeast. Well... I was bummed to learn that actually they never did and the walls of these cliff dwellings were brought from Mesa Verde and rebuilt into cliffs in Manitou, but it was really cool anyway!

the kiva

Sammy crack corn and he don't care

an oven, a papoose and a lion

This cloak of turkey feathers was my favorite thing there. Beautiful! Anyway, for some self-searching/self-absorbed reason, I painted a self portrait last month.

It looks a bit crazy, but pretty realistic. ;) I have so many ideas for things to paint this summer. The hill is full of wildflowers now~ with a very special summer flower-inspired show coming up soon! Have a beautiful day, friends!

2008-06-10T09:26:00.000-06:00

Oh poor little journal, I haven't meant to neglect you like this. Where were we about a month ago?

The crabapples were blooming and the deer became friendly.

Naughties! One time, one was in the sandbox. Hee!

Then a few weeks a go, the band played down in Pueblo at a vintage car race. The kids and I went too, and we camped overnight. Pueblo is only two hours away, but it is in the desert!

There is a lake made along the Arkansas River, but the rest is totally cactus, rattlesnake and scorpion desert. I saw three snakes just along the side of the road (probably king snakes, though)! Ack! It wasn't hot at all, but the wind was blowing like crazy.

It was a fun show, with a Sam Jam during the set break. Jeff's (lead guitar) family~ my good friend, Monette, and their kids~ came down too. Monette sang, the kids all played, Gil got to ride in a racecar~ it was a good time. The campsite was close by. Did I mention we were in the desert?

There are the new curtains I made for the camper. Really, they're just new fabric lined with the old curtains with all the snaps and hardware. We already have two weekends of camping planned up in Nederland this month and next. We'll have a summer full of adventures in the old bus!

another catch-up post coming soon...

2008-05-06T13:12:00.000-06:00

Today the sun is warm and the crabapples are buzzing with honeybees

and one fat bumblebee. Ha! Sweet springtime~

2008-05-05T13:26:00.000-06:00

Spring is finally here! The crabapple trees are blooming and I've even seen a few pasqueflower. Winter didn't leave without one last (I hope!) little fit last Thursday~ May Day!

I finished two new paintings last month. The first is for some friends~ please check them out, because they're so awesome! http://www.myspace.com/mstband

And the other is for my favorite boys :)

Posters and merch with each! What else... Sam has been on break for the last three weeks (his school is year-round, nine weeks on then three off), so we've been organizing and redecorating his room. We painted the walls and have been refinishing a bookcase. I still have a small mural to paint, so I'll post pics later. He chose the colors and has done a good bit of the work himself (for a little guy), and we've had a lot fun together with it all. Next, I'm making curtains and blankets for the camper. Gil is playing in Pueblo in two weeks and we're all going with him, so I want to have it all done by then. I want it to be warm and cozy for trips, and maybe even use it as a little shop at festivals this summer. Love to you all~

2008-04-03T09:00:00.001-06:00

There was a herd of fourteen(!) behind the house last evening. They're not bothered at all by Gretel, but she never barks at them~ she just runs around the yard and sometimes puts her paws up on the fence like she wants to play with them.

More rain/snow today, so I'm sitting by the fire and working on a drawing for a friend's band. A perfect day, but I DO wish spring would get here soon!

Welcome to my new journal~ Let It Grow

2008-03-31T09:56:00.000-06:00

Hello there! I'm Kristina~ introductions like this feel silly, so you may read about me and my past adventures here: http://kristinalayton.livejournal.com/

Water bright as the sky from which it came
And the name is on the earth that takes it in
We will not speak but stand inside the rain
And listen to the thunder shout
"I am, I am, I am, I am"

I finished this painting on Saturday~ the first of my illustrations for Let It Grow. The corn woman is found in legends of many native american tribes, the thunderbird and stylized clouds and rain, and beadwork are based on plains tribe imagery. This piece was a new direction for me, and aside from a few elements (the corn, the way the "flat" parts were supposed to work with the rest), I'm happy with it.

There was a little snow on the ground this morning. It wasn't quite foggy, but the air just seemed heavy and gray. Three mule deer were up on the hill, feeding on the thinnest new shoots of grass. Robins have came back, there are tiny, baby leaf buds on the trees~ spring is getting closer every day!

Well, thank you for visiting my new little place! I look forward to making this a real journal, where I can share all my inspirations~ happenings, memories, things I collect, things I see in the woods, books, music... and some artwork, too. :) Please be patient while I figure out how to make it all pretty in here and add links and things. Have a beautiful day, new friends! :)