Garden of the Gods

Pikes Peak

I live in a beautiful part of the country, close to these two well-known wonders. The climate here "suits my clothes" and seems good for my health as well. I wish I had some real friends here but that's starting to change. I'm getting accustomed to the solitude which is leading to feeling more at ease with myself. More artwork is coming from this, slowly but steadily. I'm doing a lot of thinking about, planning new images, getting and working with ideas, making changes to recent works. Finding my way. 

2016 has been a hard year, with mostly external challenges, with one exception: the moving away of my son's family, including my two grandsons whom I've spent almost every Friday with for 3 years. I moved here to be near them, and now that they've gone, it's been a major adjustment. Like pulling a plant out by the roots. I understand why they moved, but still, it's been hard for me. I had feelings of being betrayed, abandoned, deceived. I was angry, hurt, fearful for awhile. 

There might still be some of that, but I've been working with those feelings and lately feel like I'm growing through them, putting new roots down, roots of my own, and am starting to feel more connected to this place as a result: my cozy house, my neighbors, the groups doing work that I care about. It helps to focus on actions that improve conditions for others. I send postcards to my grandboys, gave them an annual pass to their local science museum, so they can get out of the house and learn more about their world. I donate to my local public radio station, art museum, and nonprofits that support public lands. 

That last one is a little selfish, since I value having access to hiking trails where I can get away from the city and be among wild beings (plants and animals). To me that's like food, medicine, energy. To paraphrase John Muir, going out there is like going inside, like getting recharged, refreshed. I need to go to the woods, the rivers, the mountains.