personal – Page 15 – Muttering Retreats

The Heather

Portion of painting by my grandmother What better way to segue from my trip to see my father in Arizona, back to the vast world of famous and should-be-famous painters, than this one, found hanging on his living room wall — painted by my grandmother and given my name. My heart still skips a beat,ContinueContinue reading “The Heather”

Bye-Bye Cacti

Anthem, AZ Last desert pic for awhile. I promise to return to your regularly scheduled art programming after this. Although, I would argue that this, too, is art, if it speaks to you. Shot on Pixel 6 Pro.

Scaping the Dry Land

Anthem, AZ This is the sense of the desert hills, that there is room enough and time enough.Mary Hunter Austin Shot on Pixel 6 Pro.

What I Did For Love

I usually don’t cross-post from my social media account, but this memory is tickling me something hard today. March 8, 2020Child #3 calls from a bike ride with her friends, out of breath and sounding on the verge of tears.”Mom? Mom?!””Yes, are you okay? What happened?””Oh, yes, I’m great. Can I buy a mouse?””A mouse?””Yeah,ContinueContinue reading “What I Did For Love”

Arizona de novo

I promise I will eventually move forward from my memories of this fantastic voyage. That day is not today. Shot on Pixel 6 Pro.

The View From My Saturday

Never be cruel. Never be cowardly. Hate is always foolish. Love is always wise. Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind.The 12th Doctor, Doctor Who (Steven Moffat) Shot on Pixel 6 Pro, black and white filter.

The Cacti of Cthulhu

If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings; but it was the general outline of the whole which madeContinueContinue reading “The Cacti of Cthulhu”

The Picky and the Prickly

Anthem, AZ Here we go round the prickly pearPrickly pear prickly pearHere we go round the prickly pearAt five o’clock in the morning.Between the ideaAnd the realityBetween the motionAnd the actFalls the ShadowT.S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men” It’s my last day in the desert. I’m going to miss these weird garden delights, in all theirContinueContinue reading “The Picky and the Prickly”

Chasing Zen

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.Lao Tzu And so it goes, this lovely vacation of mine, nearly at its end. Shot on Pixel 6 Pro, black and white filter.

Oh Willow, Titwillow, Titwillow

Anthem Community Park – Anthem, AZ Life teaches us toBend like the willow during a stormGlide like an eagleUnder the sun mighty and warmBut to stand togetherNo matter the weatherUnity is all for the betterMarie Helen Abramyan There’s something about stumbling upon a willow, in the midst of the palms, that lends itself to aContinueContinue reading “Oh Willow, Titwillow, Titwillow”