bye bye bees

Well, yesterday has been accomplished – I painted and I went to lunch with my twins – both enterprises were very satisfying and enjoyable. Having 5 children is a bit complicated and I try to capture a few moments away from the group theme and yesterday was one of those times.

this is where Matt, Drew, and I had lunch

this is the painting from yesterday

About the bees; they are gone now. The bee keeper came Thursday and extracted more honey (and gave me a sample quart!) and told me they would be here Friday evening (last night) to move the hives to Arnaudville. It seems the sugarcane is not a good thing for them and they will burrow in the dirt if he leaves then here. They will return in the spring. I will miss them so. I spent a part of each day walking through the field to get to them and just watched them and listened to their onomatopoeia and was totally fascinated by their busyness, then I would sneak past them and come home through the woods – it was such a pleasant excursion and kept me so close to  nature. Anyway, til next spring…it is beyond any words I can transfer from this keyboard – eating honey from my yard and peeping into “the secret life of” beekeepers – simple pleasures are the best, hands down.

and these are the bee keepers

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today

painting today and a lunch adventure with my twins - I hope to post this evening because

I have "bee" news!

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p.s. love the d h lawrence quote today!!!!

attitude

Today was one of those days that filled me up with some sort of peacefulness. Maybe it is because it is June and life will slow down for me for the next few weeks or maybe it is because I just shifted my attitude slightly and made a  choice to see ONLY the good in my life. It is a theme that I have been following lately, an effort to devalue many many things and in doing so I have found contentedness that I have not felt since childhood when my world was so small and narcisstic. That is where I try to stuff myself, in a small world , one where the outside does not really matter – I am not meaning apathy about “the world”, the planet, humankind, but matters of human weakness kind of stuff – like, it doesn’t matter if the kitchen is not clean when I go to bed or if I spilled bleach on my pants or if the backdoor is really old and needs repair and paint (it does) or if I don’t get the grass cut today or tomorrow  or if my neighbor’s kid just got elected president or if I have a new wrinkle  - doesn’t really matter does it? Who cares? I am sorting through things and deciding what I should give time, minutes and hours of my very finite life, to. The answer is easy really – people and for me, my art – people I love and people who come into my life because they need something from me – that’s it – nothing else matters –  I’m not just referring to “things” – it’s situations also that rob me of time, situations that are really superficial and should not hold value. I look back and I can embarrass myself over some of the things in my youth that upset me or caused me concern. Oh well, this is true rambling – it’s late at night and I told myself, and you, that I would make a big effort to write this summer and I am. This entry is so loose and hard to follow; random is the word to use here, but I am celebrating being “chill” – embracing summer and the essence of its spirit. There will be time enough later to rush and scurry –

“So quick bright things come to confusion” Shakespeare from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

He reminds us how quick and fragile these happy moments can be. I will make it a point to find more of them; they are there if we don’t look to compare and if we push out the darkness by allowing the light to come in. It really is all about attitude…



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this says summer

Simple Scallop Squash Recipe


1. Ingredients:
   • 3 medium Squash, thinly sliced
   • 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
   • 1 teaspoon Salt
   • 1 dash Paprika
   • 1/4 teaspoon Minced Onion
   • 4 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
   • 1/4 cup Milk
   
   Steps:
   
   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (unless using microwave.)
   2. Spray 1 1/2 quart casserole with cooking spray.
   3. Cover bottom with squash.
   4. Dot squash with butter.
   5. Season with salt, paprika and onion.
   6. Cover squash with grated Parmesan cheese.
   7. Pour milk on top.
   8. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until squash is tender or microwave on High Power for 5-6 minutes; stirring occasionally.
   
   Serves 6

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possibilities

The house is full of summer – I can tell by the way the late afternoon sun filters in through the blinds and redesigns the keeping room and the kitchen counter is layered with squashes and cucumbers while a tomato ripens in the kitchen window. I can see the changes in the night sky and the June bugs fly around the porch light and the cicadas call in the middle of the day when the heat is deep and the trees are still. I know it’s summer when I see a scattering of unfinished books on sofas and chairs and window sills and the laundry room is harnessed and there is banana bread in the oven and fresh coffee three times a day and my studio smells like turps and oils and my head is filled with possibilities. I love June.

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