Summer and keeping cool

Living in the country has its advantages. You don't have close-by neighbors, and we get to see nature, like deer, raccoons, chipmunks. weasels, and so forth, do their thing. Right now the mother deer have dropped their babies, and they are loping after the mother when she darts across the yard, or park or field.

Each week something new comes to pass. The catalpas finally blossomed, nearly a month late, but boy are they fragrant!

The flowers are quite pretty, and very large. When they fall, it looks like snow on the ground. We have 4 trees, and the smallest one has been flowering for 5 years, I think.

This morning we discovered tiny toads hopping through the grass, or on gravel etc. They're smaller than a thumbnail, so they hatched over night. Not sure how they come about, but when you see them you may think the grass is alive.


And the disadvantages of living in the country is bugs. This is the season when your cologne is spelled "OFF", because you'll be eaten alive by deer flies, mosquitoes and other things that want to take a chunk out of you.

Every summer we hope to have cooler weather, but looks like we aren't going to get our wish. We've had 90's already and are expecting more this weekend. No cooking out. My husband, who works out doors all day doesn't relish the thought of standing in the heat swatting annoying flies. So, it will be the indoor sort of things you can eat.

I'm about to have some ice cream with strawberries on top. Anyone with me??

Art uses a different part of the brain

Hi, everyone. I hope that those of you who follow me are enjoying my posts about my painting journey. I find that it is a very different type of expression than writing. I feel that art--any sort, no matter if it's a craft or serious art work--uses a different part of the brain. And it's relaaaaaxing!

As I've mentioned, I'm taking a break from writing. It might last a year. I don't know. I'm really into learning watercolor techniques. Watercolor isn't like any other medium (oil, acrylics), but it has it's own limitations, but you can do so much with it, or techniques you can use to make your water color more interesting. 

For instance, using salt in the painting, I'm finding different ways of working with that.

Below is an experiment using salt water as my base. I found that salt water sits on the paper longer, thus I had plenty of time to add my colors to the paper before the wetness dried. 

You may not see the effect salt has on the watercolor ion this sample, but it makes colors feather or seep into the closest colors in fantastic ways I just can't do with regular water. (check out the sky and then below where the yellow seeped into the turquoise.)

Below is another study I did really quickly, you might be able to see more of the odd blending that salt water does with the colors.

There are lots of other things water colorists use, like rubbing alcohol, or adding salt onto the painting itself (I've an example, below at the end, but I don't think it came out as well as I wanted)

Using a sponge to add some sort of texture is also a way to make your painting more interesting. For this painting below I used a Q Tip for the inside (brown/black, gray etc) of the flower and for the sky, I used a sponge. I sort of had problems making the clouds, and had to cheat and use white paint. For some water colorists, using white is a big no-no. But, if you don't know me, I tend to break rules. Who cares if I use white? They make white watercolor, so what the heck is it for? (:

Original watercolor by Lorelei: "Glorious Sun" 9"x12"

In fact they also tell you there's no such thing as black in watercolor.

Well, same applies. I use it in my silhouettes paintings. 

And below, this painting would not come out so stark and interesting if I'd used a blend of greens and reds and such. Don't you agree?

Original watercolor by Lorelei "Phantom" 9"x12"

actual photograph: close up shot of
an orchid taken from Pinterest.

As you can see I didn't make the above painting up. Orchids tend to have interesting parts. This particular orchid caught my eye, the way photographer put a black background behind the flower, then took a super close-up. I find most of these sort of pictures on Pinterest, and don't claim any ownership of them. But the paintings I do!

Hope you enjoyed this. Today, I'm not sure what I'll work on, but I'll find something to paint!

Strange Orchids

Hey, I've been busy, and I'm going to show you what's been keeping me sane.
I've been working on my art. Watercolors, to be exact. Watercolor is a difficult medium to master, and I'm here to tell you, I've been dabbling in it for months. I've finally found on-line artists that I watch, and one is more of an instructor, and it has helped me to listen to what he says about working with the medium.

Anyway, my current dabblings are below. First I'll show you my paintings, and then the photos (which I've gotten all from Pinterest), to use for the picture.

My paintings usually take me a couple of hours in two afternoons, during the week. On the weekends, I might get one done in a day, depending upon its difficulty.

Below is a close-up of a strange looking flower.

It took me an hour to find something similar on line to figure out what it was exactly.

Do you know what this flower is?

Give up? Well, it's a water lily. Below is a picture of one. 

Beautiful flower, and I had no idea water lilies came in different colors!

Below is a picture of the next offering as I was getting the colors in. There's a strategy to paintings. You need to know how to go about something as complicated as this one.

The finished painting came out really well, I think, considering the difficulty.

What is it? No. Not a spaceship, or something captured from a weird dream. . .

It's actually an orchid. I didn't exactly find out what sort it was, but if you ever see one in your local florist, you'll probably remember it.

Below is a photo of the orchid and the close up of the waterlily.

Hope you enjoyed these.

Attention to Detail

I've always been a person who needed to put in detail. While an art student, I drew with ink and pen and did the most detailed drawings. Then my eyes began getting bad in my late 40's and drawing was a bit difficult.

But today isn't about drawing at all. Today is about gardening. Look at picture below and tell me if you think this isn't a natural-looking setting.

I worked on this yesterday, hauling in rocks, moving dirt, digging up the snow-on-the-mountain plants you see draped across the wood. One is a very large grape vine, below it is actually a piece of split-rail post (which I sawed by hand!). The rocks I've moved from an area I no longer use and this took a few loads because rocks are heavy.

I love when blossoms come on and I'd like to share a few with you today.

These are bluebells

This is a black variety of hollyhocks, which I've been enjoying for a few years.

Hollyhock are biannual

above are the pink and white hollyhock, and in front are the daylily "Stella de Oro"

Foreground is the brick which I put in myself a few years back. The white flowers along the edges are candytuft and alyssum. In background are the daylillies, and to the very right is wormwood, has a nice silvery-blue color which I love. 

And here is a garden visitor you absolutely want--a dragonfly.  We have a larger one with a white body that looks menacing (to mosquitoes), that comes through once in a while. 

I'll have more blossoms coming up soon. My Shasta daisies, and other things next time.

Spring Blossoms Late

But better late than never, right?

Here is a beautiful Columbine, which I'd transplanted last year and it took off--and I guarded jealously from the deer! The second pic shows the hosta that came in beautifully too.

This small garden was developed last year, after my husband and I cut out a lot of debris/dead or unwanted trees and growth. I worked hard on this planting. I have several different plants, which will each have their own blooming season. The Iris popped out, and they were showing as well, but didn't take a picture of them.

However, the lupine did well in it's new spot.

This is under that water tower I mentioned in a previous blog, where I worked (again very hard to eradicate unwanted plants, soil, etc.) in order to put in plants I had waiting for the rain to stop and soil to dry out at least some.

Below, this doesn't look like much, but this is from a rose bush. I harvest 90% of my plants either from parent plants, seeds or division. This one went in next to one I transplanted last year. When it finally blossoms, I'll get a picture of it.

I'm a collector of many things, rocks, plants, and even moss. Above, you can see that moss does really well under a tree, and it's even coated a rock next to the little bowl where the birds drink, or take a bath. Taking up moss is easy, since it basically grows across the ground. It's so thick in places, and I love the different kinds I find either on our property or in the woods in the park.

And speaking of rocks... I have been working on this section, which is blasted by the sun, and I've worked hard on, but once the heat came in, I had to quit. However, I have been working on it and will have more pictures to show at a later date.

As we live smack dab in the middle of the forest preserve/wetlands we not only get deer, but other unusual birds or animals. Both Dennis and I have seen the turkey, and some other people have seen it too. Well, here is a picture of it in our backyard. Later on, we learned that people (birdwatchers) who had spotted it--the birdwatchers who come out here--were looking for it, and some woman who spoke to my husband who was ready to leave on his mower asked him whether he'd seen the turkey. Of course he didn't tell her that we had, or we'd have the bird-watching paprazzi pouncing on this place.

This is a female. I've never seen any male, so she's a bit lonely. But she definitely is camera shy, since she came up from the prairie behind the barn, and made her way casually across our lawn. I knew exactly where she was heading.

She's heading into my secret woods (Lorelei's Enchanted Forest), which we've had to protect from the other forest preserve workers who seem to be demented about chopping out trees and vegetation. My husband has had to warn them on several occasions that this area is off limits, they are not to touch it. The deer and, as you can see, large fowl, seek it for their piece of mind. No one can come barging in, as the tangle of grapevine, sticky berry bushes and a few well-placed gates prevent anyone from just wandering in from the park.

More later on in the season as things progress. I'm waiting on my blanket flowers and Shasta daisies to open up. I hope to prevent deer from taking interest in them as well. We've got a new brood of fawns--my husband saw 3 crossing the road from the field into our woods, which is their favorite place to rest and hide from people, only just this morning.

Because I Can

Hi, all. Well, I've begun my second week off from work for the summer. Feels like longer, somehow. Maybe because I've gotten a lot done. I worked on the garden, and hard to believe it was 80's last week and we put in the window air conditioner, but had to take it out again as it got cold. We had highs in 40's last 2 days!

Since the weather turned bad, I turned to my novel(s), and got the sixth one in Sabrina Strong series finished! (Yay), and because this one has such a cliff-hanger, every time I finish it, I have to read on to the next one, and I do believe others who are fans of the series will HAVE to have the next one. So, I'm going to try and get the 7th one done this year as well, because I think it will be a one-two punch in sales. I don't see any reason I shouldn't get it ready for my publisher now, rather than waiting. Wait for what?

I've got so many interests, gardening and writing are just two. The garden is an extension of my need to be with nature. Maybe because I'm a Virgo? That's an Earth sign. But my writing is that creative side where my fantasies and intellect are both explored and allowed to become something I can visualize--if only on paper.

I'm not one of those people who sits at their computer or I-phone and go on-line to try and drum up sales at facebook sites. I find that to be a waste of time. I don't know how those people [who do] get anything done in a day. I mean is this gadget in their hands all the time? I've got a house to clean a husband to feed, and a dozen other little things that need my attentions throughout the day. [I had to stop here and take care of laundry, breakfast and dishes] Not only that I find the use of gadgets somewhat annoying. People aren't communicating with their mouths any more. They expect you to text them. I told Dennis, when we heard that his sister's children won't call her and expected her to text them, instead, I'd never put up with that. They don't want to speak to me, then fine (a good thing I have no children). I see it on the NIU campus all day long. When someone makes that phone so important to them that they can't look up and see a 12 ton bus coming at them, and I have to step on the breaks, that's really ridiculous.

So. No. I refuse to be part of this technology era. I'm not bending and if my sales suffer, so be it. I'd rather enjoy life to the fullest on this planet filled with animals and birds, flowers and such.

One of many toads that live in my gardens, eating bugs

You never know what you might find if you just open your eyes!

Deer that come grazing through our yard. If you aren't looking out the window while they're here, you'll miss them!

Well, that's all for now. Hope you remember to look out at the birds or flowers today. Just sit outside and enjoy nature in a park or if you have a nice backyard. Try to just not be on your devices for five minutes you might be surprised what you hear or see!

Quiet Weekend

After last weekend, this weekend is a keeper.
Why? Because last weekend we caught the culprits who have been terrorizing the park. If you recall, my husband is park manager of Afton, a county park, out here in the country. It's over 300 acres of replanted wildflowers and wetlands--all of it planted by hand either by seed, or plants.

Anyway, we've had a constant attack from young people who think no one cares that they drive out into the main grassy area (there are No Off Road Vehicles signs posted, but I guess people don't read), making deep ruts there and into the wildflowers. Yes. We've planted all that just so you can take a joy ride!

Well, last Sunday morning, my husband went to do his morning park checks. He saw new damage, and noted two vehicles parked in one of the lots. Upon further inspection, he could see that there was evidence of their driving into the flowers (prairie flowers on the back of the pickup truck and mud on the tires would indicate this). My husband had them red handed. They weren't around, and so he called the Sheriff's police. Three people were arrested. One was a young lady and said she did all the driving. Which I told Dennis she'd change her tune once they locked her up at the jailhouse. I don't know what happened afterward, only that the girl called her mother (probably in tears), and the mother didn't think it was that terrible a deed she should have to be locked up. Oh? Yeah, lady, you come out here and see what they did and convert that to your own yard--if you have one--and see how you'd like that happening. Dennis can't even mow out there the ruts are so extensive and deep. He told me he thought the tire tracks went in about a 2-3 acre area. He put out flags, which may have taken 30 flags, and 30-45 min. to do so.

We so want to have these young people put to work out here to fix what they did. That's our wish. Don't know if that will happen.

Other than this, my sales have been constant all month, whether or not any book was on sale. At present, there have been 116 ebooks sold just this month, and like I said, not all were on sale. I've never had even half that many sold in a month. But in May, and June, my ebook sales were 77 in each of those months.

I have to report I've never seen this even when I had my first publisher. I'd make a sale, and then the ranks would drop. I was watching the hills and valleys--mostly valleys--back then. And at times there were no sales throughout the month. Especially when I went indie. I'd wait a year before I saw a check. It was the same when I went Indie. I didn't like being indie. Some writers prefer it, but I don't.

When I began writing my dream was to get a big-name publisher. That didn't happen. Then, learning I needed an agent, I tried getting me one of those. It's a crap shoot, folks. I've known writers--excellent writers--who had landed an agent and still didn't get a publisher. I just don't want to do that any more. Whenever I got a rejection it hit below the belt. I can't do that any more. And now I don't have to.

Well, anyway, in my case, Creativia has been working out for me. It's not dramatic, but slowly I've seen results. I've seen where my books have been advertised in certain places when on sale. I think by next year there will be good stuff happening. Right now my books are getting established, and out to actual readers. I don't do much promotions. I simply don't have time to, and haven't found that any amount of "promoting" on facebook or anywhere has netted me/my books any sales.

Oh, and here is Ascensions book page at their site. If you feel the need you can poke around there and explore who they are, all the authors, and there's a contact page, if you're so inclined.

Purging the Unwanted Thoughts-The Meditative Process

This view is from the observation deck in Afton Forest Preserve, where we live, and Dennis works.

I suppose I need to back up and tell you, a number of job openings came when a couple of people left (retired) the DeKalb County Forest Preserve. There was one full time position that was open, which my husband applied for. It had certain education requirements which he did not have. Long story short, he didn't get the position--we just had news yesterday of the decision. He's handling it in his own way. Has said all along that he wouldn't become angry--just disappointed--and that it only meant there's still something "out there meant for me".

I took it harder than he did. Maybe. I'm sure he struggles with it, today. We're both dealing with the disappointment today in our own ways. It was a good paying job with benefits, but also there was a lot involved in the job. Things that someone with injuries, like Dennis has, probably wouldn't be up to. Thus, in a way, it was a blessing he didn't get it. But it would be nice if they'd just give him full time and better pay. But, whatever.

Maybe some of you know I've been working out with yoga. Maybe "working-out" is a wrong term. This is something you learn gradually when your body isn't very limber. Only this morning I was able to do "the stork"--that's simply standing on one foot, lift the other, bend the knee, and lifting your arms straight up over your head, spine straight, and hold--I did this for the first time without falling this morning. Go ahead and try that, I'll wait...

How did that work out for you? Not good, I'll bet. I could only do this on my left leg. I'm still having trouble standing on the right foot with left leg bent, and balancing. Not easy. For some reason, you are better at balancing on one foot than the other. My husband told me that, and I found it true enough.

Anyway, I'm trying to adopt a new way of thinking. Trying to Know Oneself through Yoga. It involves breath control "pranayama" and build up pranic energy to stir the subconscious in order to attain a higher level of thinking. I'll never attain real meditation--which is best left for serious yogis--but today I did find peace of mind, after letting this whole episode stir me up emotionally. I knew I had to get out to the park, find a spot and just sit and let the peacefulness imbue me with serenity.

It happened. For the first time in many years, it happened!

I found a quiet spot in the park. My husband and his devoted worker/partner were out weed-eating, so no mowers were going. I walked down to the bridge, and looked down into the Little Rock Creek, able to look down to the bottom--this water is clear--and watched the barn swallows and other birds either resting or flying around. Two barn swallows were perched nearby over the water and seemingly my presence hadn't bothered them. They stayed where they were nearly the entire time I was there.

There is a bench near the creek, and I sat down, removed my shoes and tried to get into a lotus--that's going to take some time for me. I haven't been able to cross my legs comfortably like that in a decade. Anyway, I sat with my knees bent, and my arms around them looking at the creek, watching and listening to birds, quieting my inner self. My soul. I worked on the breathing technique, but not too diligently. My goal was to simply be.

I sat there for a long time. Maybe 10 min. I don't know as I didn't have a watch on me. The point of my outing today wasn't to so much as to get in a walk, but to find a peaceful place to "meditate" for a while on things. And by that I don't mean "think". I mean the lack of thought. That's truly what meditation is. You'll find it difficult to do that, to still all the endless rumbling thoughts. But I've always been able to find peaceful settings the best place for me to strive for non-thought. Just observe nature.

It happened as I sat there on the bench, not thinking. I listened to birdsong, looked out at distant things, and close by at insects. I tried to act as though I were just an object, like a rock, or one of the flowers sitting there. Not even the mosquitoes molested me and not one pesky deer fly had found me. My feathered friends, the peewee and swallows were doing a bang up job eating said bugs. Only a couple of sweat bees found my fingers, and they are harmless, and with a twitch of a finger, they left me alone.

After a while, I continued up the path to the observation deck to check on the progress of the opening of the flowers here on the hill. I found that the flowers were opening nicely, finally. All the flowers are late because of constant rain/clouds, and cool temps.

It wasn't until after my outing that I realized I had always wanted to find just such a place, all my life and I have it right Here! Where no one comes along, I'm alone with nature. Only sounds are the birds, the distant rumblings of a semi, or a Harley are merely the world going by about a mile or so away. This was my own private little harmony.

This is what yoga does for you. It helps you understand yourself and the world around you. You learn, eventually to free yourself from the tyranny of the mind and senses, and also from adverse circumstances. It takes time, but I've always had this inside me. Have always striven for an inner peace since I was a teenager.

I now find that I have allowed things like this--all the disappointments in my life--to eventually seep into my subconscious and make me sad or angry. It's hard to stop doing something that you've done for so long. I'm still working at it. But now that I've recognized it, I'm working to eradicate it, like a weed in my garden. I want to be like the sun, shining and all that goes on around me--the planets that circle me--don't interfere with my day-to-day thoughts, or my emotional well being. I'm striving to let the world do its thing, wait for inspiration, and if good things are yet in the wings, they will come. At least that's my hope.

I will still have to work at my current job, but Dennis refuses to go back to Huskie, he simply can't handle it any more. Not that I can, and that was the plan that I'd eventually be able to quit if he got that job. See what I mean? It's all connected. But like all things, as harsh as a winter is, the blooms do come in the summer, no matter what.

It's quite possible something else is out there. Something that is somewhere we'd rather be. Like out west.

COFFEE KLATCH MONDAY - New Cat

Getting Dirt Under the Fingernails

There is always something relaxing for me to go out and plant flowers in black dirt. My whiskey barrels were looking rather forlorn and weedy. Plus, I had some re-seeded marigolds in one that needed to be redistributed.

So, yesterday we went and bought me some flowers. I didn't need many because the marigolds would help fill it out. My passion is the color violet to orchid, and petunias are one of my all time favorites. Along with the gold of marigolds, it would be eye-catching.

I was able to take the day off, called a woman who was more than happy to take my run, so that was no problem. Somehow the knowledge you don't have to get up for work relaxes you and you can concentrate on other things. Getting outside in the sunshine helps too.

I've been working on my WIP, of course. There's a certain excitement for a writer when a minor character rears his ugly head and lets you know he can fill the order of villain. I usually have a couple of bad people in my books--as some of you may know. I usually save revealing the real nasty villain toward the end, at the climax (which is what some writers do when you don't reveal them in the beginning). I like people to wonder who is going to turn out to be the deadliest person. So, I'm working on this today.

What are you doing today?