All Creatures Great and Small

Raison d’être. . .

Every once in a while we all pause and take stock of our existence.  Maybe in bits and pieces, maybe one specific piece and sometimes the whole of it. The older I get the more frequently I tend to look at the whole.  Please save your snide boomer comments for someone that might listen - which isn’t me. In fact, I probably won’t hear you anyway according to someone very close to me. . . PS: selective hearing is a heavenly gift when needed and applied with a modicum of restraint, discretion and an innocent, straight face.

A beautiful snowfall and arctic temperatures have been a good time to reflect the past few days. The world seems to slow down. We stand still at points and admire the beauty of it all from our windows.  We seem to turn off the hectic thoughts and frantic pace of normal life. Our thoughts flow freely through bucolic landscapes painted in the winter palette of creams, golden straw and a striking array of grays dance past our consciousness. Compassionate people, friends, acquaintances come to mind. Humorous, authentic, accomplished, and some in the midst of struggle remind us of ourselves, our blessings and our own shortcomings. What comes next?

Great question - the eternal question in fact. Life is so often consumed with to-do lists, responsibilities and the mundane, surprise and delightfully expensive, necessary repair - ugh! Life goes on. Pushing all of this aside and getting to my point (finally you gasp!) I am mentally sorting through options for the Blue Bike Bakery art project. Oh I know you thought it was a bakery regardless of how many times I have referred to it as an art project >CLAIM EVIDENCE HERE<. But the reality is this is a personal art project not a donut shop or Little Debbies and we have to decide how much of my precious remaining time can be devoted to this endeavor.  I’m thinking something less this coming market season. Another great granddaughter is only a few weeks away and the thought of sacrificing most of another garden season is very unappealing. Might I add baking and biking by their very nature often seek the same morning hours. . .

Cups and Bowl 20cm X 20cm Watercolor

We could sell direct from our little Mourning Dove Farm  where we live periodically which saves a considerable amount of setup and travel time. We could limit the item mix - which feels like sucking the wind out of the artistic sails. We could simply scale back Market attendance to 1 or 2 times a month. Enough for today.  Any input or brilliant ideas would be greatly appreciated but for now enjoy that gorgeous blue sky, crisp winter air and the beautiful remaining snow on the ground.

Mike

Yes I stole the title of this little ramble from a lovely story written by Alf Wight aka James Herriot. Season 4 of the newest television version is currently streaming on PBS Masterpiece Theater.  I highly recommend a watch for the curative nature of the lovely landscapes and the authentically kind and talented cast.