To begin this renewed turn of my life, I sought some oxygen to give me strength. In that vein, the other day Cyrus and I went out to the Ankeny Wildlife Refuge near my home. It was a beautiful afternoon and although we could only view a few birds from the viewing areas, it was inspiring nonetheless. The wetlands are dry in many places right now, but still there were a few of my favorites out there - egrets and herons. I so love the birds. Love them so much that I decided to make my first return to woodblock about them. To me, birds are sacred creatures and getting to know them personally over the past few years has been an honor. I now have 6 in my family, and it's been a delight to come to understand them. The egrets and the herons though, they always take my breath away when I see them in the wild. Yesterday I even saw a great blue heron as I left Portland, car carrying another plastic case filled with paperwork I will soon leave behind. That bird was standing in a large patch of manicured grass at the junction of I-205 and I-5. It's such a hopeful sight to me when I see wildlife survive among the structures of human dominance. So just for pleasure and in the name of hope, I've begun work toward a new print:
All I can do is try.
I finished the Obstacles shawl! Cy loves it. I made it for me, actually, but he has taken a liking to it, especially to ward off the inevitable morning chill.
2 comments:
beautiful sketch, and so much hope and quiet joy in your words! and oh the Obstacles (what yarn/colour is it?) is gorgeous, and look so precious on your boy . . .
Thanks, Liz! Great to get such a kind comment. The Obstacles shawl is an Anne Hanson design, of Knitspot. I used the yarn, Briar Rose "Legend" but I don't remember the color name.
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