Creative Play

2010 is almost ended. The pace in which it past is breathtaking! Bruce is off from school and we are taking this holiday time to stay home and enjoy Spirit Hill. The non-stop storms that have washed over us this  past week, and continue as I write, are making our Oaks and other plant life very happy. The wild life manages to find ways to protect themselves. A Scrub Jay, and an Acorn Woodpecker, jumped in our pond and took a full on bath, while it was raining, to my great surprise. I put out seed and it is gone in short order. The birds need a lot more food to stay warm these days. They are all so fluffed up, sometimes I cannot identify them. A Northern Flicker, the Scrub Jay and the California Quail are eating the berries off the bushes and leaving the limbs bare. Robins were here last week gobbling up the berries, too. On January 1st we will host our regular 1st Saturday. We expect fewer guests because it is a holiday, but some said they plan to use that day as a chance to visit...

This is Pat's latest Tow Truck, the one he was using when he retired. Pat went up north to buy the truck and was told it was his to take, but the man wouldn't take his money. People in Three Rivers had already paid for the truck, surprising Pat with this gift of thanks for all his generosity over his many years of service to the town and visitors who have passed through Three Rivers. This could be the tow truck Pat used to pick up my nephew and his cousin in the story written early this morning.

The car broke down at Stoney Point Campground. My nephew was told my the Ranger that the closest Tow Truck was Pat O'Connell of Three Rivers. So they called him. Pat arrived, attached the vehicle and it was decided my nephew and his cousin would accompany the vehicle. The rest of the family would continue the vacation and return in the other vehicles. It was obvious that this group of people were Muslim. The women dressed covered head to foot, the men bearded, and most looked like they came from Pakistan or India. Pat must have been interested because he asked questions about who they were and where they came from. These two were students, working themselves through college. When they arrived at Three Rivers Pat suggested he take them to Visalia. He told them the auto shops, restaurents, motels if they end up needing one, would all be cheaper and they'd have easier access. So the young men told him they would pay for  the extra mileage. Pat shrugged and drove on to Visalia,...

I read an interview of Alice Walker in this months Writer's Digest. Then I went to her blog. I loved her writing. I responded in her comment section to thoughts she kicked up. As usual I write too much, so I had to edit, edit and edit some more to get it down to the number of words they insist upon. She'll never read it so I am not sure why I spent so much time. I guess it has to do with knowing the writing is really for the writer. I love reading others. And then I love responding. That's enough. As I read I could hear my Uncle Joe spouting his opinion of Alice Walker. He was angry at her Color Purple, the book and movie. Being a black man he felt she dishonored black men in the movie. They were the enemy. He called her a Lesbian, as if it was a bad word. I had no idea whether she was or wasn't at the time. I said, "Uncle Joe, what difference does that make? It's a book. A movie. A point of view. And so few people of color get the attention she is getting, e...

Today is the Sunday before 1st Saturday. I am spending it clearing the clutter in my studio in preparation. I've done the bulletin board already, with photos that have a golden color to go with the theme of "Golden Hills." Jeri Burzin, Photographer, will share space in our living room to display her wonderful work. We just spent 3 days in Yosemite, with a third friend, Deby Cook. We lucked out at the peak of flowering season in the meadows. Oh my, was it glorious. I'll post some of the pictures. And we hiked to the Chilualna Falls, a little known wonder, as beautiful as any of the water falls in Yosemite. The trail starts at a village called Redwood Village.

Photo by Shirley A. Blair Keller ©2009 From the Circle Line Tour Boat Photo by Shirley A. Blair Keller ©2009 A breathtaking sight, a first for me: Ms. Statue of Liberty. I do not know if my grandparents were greeted by her when they came from Russia before the turn of the century. Some went to Canada so may have skipped this step. But I felt as if I'd been here before. Maybe its all the movies I have watched, books I have read, about the immigrant story. Such bravery to cross an ocean in the way they had to, steerage, to suffer all they did for hope of a better life for their children. From every corner of our globe people have come. Such bravery. I cannot imagine being able to do the same. I was born here have had the kind of life those ancestor's had hoped for their children. And I thank them in my heart daily. Setting up the bulletin board in my studio to celebrate Independence weekend, starting with 1st Saturday Three Rivers, has kicked off all this above the line think...

Steve and Kathy Diamant accepted my invitation to show their stained glass art here on Spirit Hill 1st Saturday, July 3rd, 10-5. They will set up in our living room/dining room area. I will show my stuff in the studio and carport. As you walk into our house the first thing you see is Bruce's bike hanging on the wall, a centerpiece to his life on Spirit Hill. Steve is bringing the bicycle stained glass piece that he designed and made at Bruce's request a couple of years ago. They will install it in its permanent spot, above Bruce's bicycle. The bicycle stained glass piece has been traveling from one art show to the next over the last couple of months so we have been looking forward to seeing it placed in its permanent spot. The theme for July 1st Saturday is Independence. For me the word LIBERTY keeps cropping up so I have designed the bulletin board with the word at the center. Various images of the Statue of Liberty that I took on my New York adventure are added. I rep...

Would love to entice another artist or two to display their wares here on Spirit Hill with me. Bruce has enhanced our garden with river rock, our path to the garden has been improved beautifully by Isaul, who laid old bricks in a design and width that makes entering the pond/deck area safe and comfortable. The chimes lull everyone who comes here, the bubbling pond, too. I would be in my studio and they could set up on deck or in the living room, depending on the weather. So I put this thought out into the universe and see where it goes. Lavendar is our theme for June. We picked it because Barbara Lahmann, grower of lavendar, harvests first week in June every year, and she will join 1st Saturday this time. She makes lavendar drinks, food, and bouquets, I hear. So the rest of us will come up with ways to use the color, too. I've put up a bulletin board with the color lavendar, purple flowers, like Iris' and Lupins, and more. Lavendar with sunflower

Tomorrow the tour begins. This is the first time we open on Friday so it is a mystery how many people will come out. I know some friends who said they might start the tour on Friday, continue Saturday. Delia arrives Friday night to be a helpful spirit for the weekend. Almost ready. A few details to do in the morning and then may the crowds come!!!

If you are a writer and/or illustrator of children's books, live in or around Tulare County, you are invited to join a critique group on 3/6/10, 10 a.m. - noon, 43641 Skyline Drive, Three Rivers. 559-561-3463 to RSVP. Refreshments will be served. Background: Members of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) began a critique group in December for people in and around Tulare County. They met at Border's Books, Visalia and began a process of sharing writings, critiquing and meeting once a month in various homes. The group is large enough that we think it is time for a second group to form, thus the meeting on Spirit Hill. If you are curious about SCBWI, or have that manuscript sitting in a drawer, come and see what we are about. After the meeting you will have plenty of time to take part in Three Rivers 1st Saturday event. My studio will be open Noon-2 p.m. for public viewing. Artists and vendors are out in force. See www.1stsaturdayTR.com for where t...

Last night someone took Tiki from his home on the rock. Last time someone did this he was gone for three days. He was okay with a little vacation away from me. But lucky for the people who took him, they returned him before he missed me and became angry. Tiki's anger is huge. What he will do when angry I do not know but it won't be pretty. I only hope for the sake of the people who have him that they put him back on his rock, and soon.