Around our rural property life is full of beginnings. Across the gravel drive on the grandfather’s house, by the front door a small shelf houses a robin’s nest where three tiny heads peek over the brim. They are heartbreakingly fragile tucked into this shaded space high from intruders reach they seem to have only one parent bird, but appear to be doing just fine.

The osprey continue to build up the walls of the nest as their babies are growing rapidly but not yet ready for flight. Their calls are a constant background noise the absence of  which I acquaint with the true end of summer.

I watched this little chickadee find seeds and drop seeds, work to crack them open drop them again, open his mouth in the feed me posture and try again. He will of course figure it out. New to our nesters this year are gold finch, bright flashes of yellow, muted yellow with warm brown on the babes, beautiful to see, not much for singers!

The lovely thing about working at home is you discover how life flows. There is a balance and our presence is not required.  I started prepping three large canvas for work this week. Texturing gesso, working on the first layers of what becomes the white underpainting. Working in the shade behind me I hear the sound of a deer walking through the dry woods I recall working outdoors with Eliza, a large beauty of a yellow bellied marmot who liked to munch clover feet from where I painted. Another summer day  a few years past while I painted with headphones I turned to see a yearling black bear eating huckleberries about two car lengths behind me. I had become a part of the landscape of only passing interest.  I feel honored to be a small part of the present whole.  I am beginning three abstract pieces this week. I hope to work outdoors, as my studio space needs  a major clearing this  has a practical side.  From a personal perspective I know it affords me the headspace that feels an ease and connection to the flow.

I like the way work reflects life, there is an excitement in beginnings, a fragile time where gentleness and protective nurture is required. A place for exploration, tries and fails are expected, and ultimately a natural balance finds us.

Here is to beginnings, and the joy they bring.