Reality check..........

...I've just arrived home from an amazing experience in California......am listening to Andrea Bocelli.....while stitching 'magic feathers'.......anticpating a journey to the petroglyphs at 'Abo' in the morn......with friends.....

and it's........

SNOWING......

in the high desert of New Mexico........

And the results.......drumroll please!............

I am quite happy with this little first bit..........faint maple leaves.......even fainter oak leaves......a tiny bit of green........and to my surprise some tiny prints from a bity cherry tree that has taken buckets of water to keep alive in my front yard............alas no cherries......but I'm happy.......

always with the black of the rusty bits.....

always the printmaker.......

and don't try this at home if you have not read...

 these books............

or better yet.........

have the priviledge to study with their author............

And now after a hellacious day of last minute tax filing..........

I am off to the land of the Golden Gate where I hope to find 'hippie hill' and pray at the base of the 

giant reds............

I'll be back in about two weeks......ox

Eco Printing in New Mexico.......

Anxious to see what happens here......I tossed my bounty of Crimson Maple and Scrub Oak leaves into a stainless steel pot........leaving the walnuts to dry......

and and brought the brew to a bubble and stew.....

and then tossed in several.....

Bundles..... 

of leaves....

tightly wrapped......

 in silks of different sorts.....

around

sticks and stones and rusty bits......

and when they were 'done'....simmered more than a bit....

they were extracted from the brew.....

and left to cool.......

and unwrap...

more than overnight is best......

but who can wait that long????!!!!

most often......

not I.

Fall in New Mexico.........

Longing for nuts..........how lucky am I to find.................

Black Walnuts......

on a walk....on the 'ditch' in the 'North Valley' in Albuquerque....

and then

when I was even more 'longing' for leaves.......thinking this is impossible in the 'high desert'.....

we journeyed....

up highway 55 to Tajique

and we turned......

left......

into 'Fourth of July' canyon....

and on to the

Crimson Maple Trail.......

I prettty much should stop here........

as you know I sopped up buckets of leaves for a .......

well you know....

a 'boil up'.

What goes UP................

This morning as I journeyed home from Albuquerque I pondered the sky that seemed to be 

raining...........

Hot Air Balloons

The only thing more exciting than seeing over three hundred balloons launch en mass

 (above image from setness.com)

is seeing them come down.........!

Art Prize...........

While I was visiting Michigan......

my best friend and I rendezvoused in Grand Rapids.

And there.......

 we were able to get a sneak peak at some of the Art Prize entries at the GRAM........and from what I've heard......this was just a tiny tiny example of the fantastic artwork on view at this event now.

What caught my eye then...

was this.....

accompanied by this video...........

I wish I could have seen his performance....and having

not seen anything else.........Tony would have my vote!

my Abyss.......

dizzy here............sorry...........trying to remember back.......to............last...............last.........time I posted......about three, no more...is it 4 ? weeks ago

as my darling casita sprung a leak, or several in it's roof (surprising as to my last posts about the drought).........and as my most wonderful landlord decided to replace it (the roof)........ I took respite in Albuquerque..........for a few days........and connected with Lauren Tobey creator of Meltdown Studio there........and then was treated to a Labor Day weekend in Taos...........where for me, the highlight was a visit to the landmark......

Fechin House and Taos Art Museum

........among other things in Taos......not to be missed is the Common Thread and it's extrordinary collection of unusual fabrics......
and a wonderful stay at the Cottonwood Inn....

then a trip down...

"The High Road" from Taos to Santa Fe

........and after that.........I flew to Detroit......and spent a few days with the 'set of three' grand daughters and their parents........and it was Heaven.......and then I visited Grand Rapids to see the beginning of the Art Prize competition there, and then and then.............days deep in my storage unit......and a struggle with UPS........and the result was checking off all the boxes of pleasure and love....visits with friends and reconnecting with the 'things' that may make me feel more myself here............mostly relating to bedding.....and nesting...........

And I must say......

after all of that......arriving back here where I live now.........I feel a bit......

Disoriented!!!!!!

But happy to be back to blue skies and clouds.........

and to a touch of fall in the air!