And I prefer this--Picasa has new tools!

 

How quickly they grow!

I have spent much of the day installing and trying to work with the new Adobe Lightroom 4. It's pretty complex and tonight I went back to Picasa on the laptop. I worked with one of the shots from several years ago. Plumas County has a ballet class; I've taken a lot of photos there. I've just cropped and enhanced this one. Perhaps photos are really my art, although today a new set of Coloursoft pencils came. I am going to try them on toned paper. Good night, dear neglected blog. I have been following Roz Stendhal on her blog. She is Johnny-on-the-spot, with at least one long post everyday. She also sketches and bike rides every day. And she seems to have a life, also. How???

My Uncle Merwin

ELBERT MERWIN BUTLER
This was just recovered by my cousin, Susan, from a family album. Merwin was
on Okinawa in World War II. He was the youngest of my mother's siblings. His wife,
the glamorous and kind Aunt Wilma, lived upstairs from us for some of the time he was away.

I love a DAY MOON!

And here is the one we saw when we went to Walgreen's to pick up the thyroid medicine for our little dog, who has probably been thyroid deficient for years, but vets just accused her of being fat! I think we have finally found a good vet here, after a few tries. I've been fighting with computers for an hour, trying to get this picture off the card and up. My fault with the Mac and the Java updater (I told it to take a hike!) with this one.
Tonight I am reading The Yellow House about the few weeks Van Gogh and Gaughin spent together in Arles. Very cool--I wish the book had colored pictures.

Love of trees

I splurged and got myself the Big Book of the new paintings of the Yorkshire Wold by David Hockney. It is called The Bigger Picture and I have just spent a very happy evening with it. BIG reproductions of lots of bright paintings and some examples of earlier work as it relates to his output as a whole. There are lots of trees in these paintings and I was reminded of the rhythm of these aspen trunks just west of our house in Michigan. I am getting lonesome for these woods, and hope we will manage to get back there this year. Did you know that when aspen grow in a clump like this they have the same DNA? They grow from root shoots of the one start. In this picture, autumn has begun with the yellowing of the bracken.
One of several essays is by Margaret Drabble, who grew up nearby, and whose mind is full of memories and poetry. It is an example of the kind of personal essay I have so enjoyed experimenting with--following the feww movement of the mind. I wa inspired to come here tonight.
I am having trouble getting started with my projects-- I have new art materials and notebooks started and sometimes I lie awake at night planning what I will do the next day. Which would be good if I actually did much/any of it the next day. I need to write letters, send presents, sketch and haiku. Whatever. . . I love this blog and am back, I hope. Kisses and goodnight.