Like many folks, we are having family come for Thanksgiving. I am thankful for so many things. At the moment I appreciate the squash from my garden, the eggs from my hens and the milk from my goats to make this pie. Also, there is endive and lettuce from the garden for salad - and the nasturtiums will go in the salad, too!

The church where I fellowship, Belmont Church in Nashville, is open to expressions of spiritual things. Sunday I took my pastels and easel and painted during worship. This is not the first time I have done it. When I do it, people come up to me and tell me what it means to them to see me paint. I am happy and encouraged about that. Here is "To Dance With the Lord", done in about 20 minutes, although I worked on it a little once I brought it home.

When you bottle-feed a lamb, they instantly recognize you as the source of "Mommy" things. They do get a bit confused because you aren't there all the time. But it really is a precious thing to have a lamb be friendly. I am, however, reminded of who I am daily. Every time I go out the door, I hear Maaaaa. Maaaa, Maaaa, Maaaa.

Today I was in the yard blowing leaves and my lamb, Meadow, thought that was fun. She kept running up to me and then away. She was 0bviously enjoying herself. One of the most expressive things a sheep can do is leap up and kick out. It is such an expression of pure joy!

Moonlight Madness at Radnor Lake

Wednesday night, as a part of the plein air painting Chestnut Group, I took part in a painting party at Radnor Lake. Radnor Lake is 1200 acres set aside as a natural area right in the middle of Nashville, TN. We had special permission to be there after dark to paint as the moon came up. As we waited, with our headlamps and little book lights so we could see our paint, the excitement built. Honestly, it felt like a birthing. And then the moon peeked over the hills. At that moment some coyotes set up a howling and a banter that lasted just a couple of minutes. Then we all went to work. Painting fast and furiously, I managed to do five different paintings. They range in size from 5"x7" to 8"x10". You may notice that the hills look a little different in each one. Chalk that up to artistic license.

Beautiful colors here and there

Just a note: I started this blog Oct 30th and wrote the next post Nov 1st, even though it is all dated Nov 3rd. I had a misspelling in the URL, so I had to redo. This is the view from the porch on a fine day, yesterday. I spent several hours there making my own pastels from pigment, chalk, and other ingredients. It's kind of like making fancy cookies that I put in a form to dry.




Today, they were dry enough to come out of the form. I am very pleased with the lovely rainbow of hues that I have created. In a few days when they are thoroughly dry, I can use them to make a beautiful painting. Of course, most pastelists do not make their own pastels, they buy them, but I am enjoying this and learning a lot about color mixing.

I was feeling a little better, yesterday, so I decided to can applesauce and pickled hot peppers. It took a few hours in the kitchen, but I so enjoy the homemade stuff. I cook the apples with the peels and then put it through the food mill. It is so tasty that way.
Now I am going outside on this beautiful day to watch my daughter, Kelda, work with her horse, Ansonia. She has been training and starting to ride her and it is going very well; but today is the day she gets the bit for the first time. It is interesting to watch things like this because I can always relate to it. Sometimes God puts a bit in my mouth to take me to another level.


Getting the bit for the first time.


"I don't like this at all!"

"Please rescue me."

Fall is Just Fine

I really wanted to get out and paint. I don't feel very well today, though. I made a couple quarts of herbal tea from lemon balm (which is antiviral), clover, red raspberry leaf, and gotu kola. It felt good to drink it. I did end up trying to do some art, though. I walked out to the pasture with Buddy, my dog and sat down with my pastels. The leaves are just beautiful and will be gone soon. I didn't push myself, just laid down some colors and sat there feeling very sleepy. I ended up on the ground with my hat over my face and Buddy sticking his nose under my hand. He took advantage of my proximity and laid with me, asking for a belly rub.