Yesterdays lazy Sunday turned up a variety of treasures, included this beautiful fat chrysalis on a broken yarrow stem. While the wind was unrelenting  yesterday, I thought the place we tucked this one in the garden with slightly more shelter than were we found him would be fine. This morning I woke to the sound of rain and began to worry, what if it is too near the ground. Boots and slicker and after a bit of a search in the garden we are relocated to a spot near the well with more fern and yarrow tangles to protect from the elements. This process can take two weeks or more for some species to complete. I will be checking in and hoping for good outcomes.

The snails are waking up as well. This little one is working on healing his shell, they are rather amazing little beings and this is one of their recovery skills. Some time back I shared a photo of a tree with a scar and a spike and the bark grown around it in amazing swirls incorporating the wound, a redefinion of sorts. A friend shared, this is a grief tree. In her culture the idea we move past loss or trauma is absurd. We do not discard the experience but we grow around it, we carry it forward, but forward we go.

and sometimes, we simply hold space.

 We create space for those who follow, and for those in passing. It is an important task. There are moments when we are strong and what we do with that strength is the stuff that defines us.

This weekend I started prepping some sanded paper with gold leaf and a layer of pumice for pastel work. I think I am going to use the small squares for some snail sketches. The perfect little roundness of the curving shell feels compelling.  This may seem like a  separate blog, but there is a flow between experience and idea that is part of the process of creative expression. 

The chrysalis, the healing shell, the perfect curve, something of value offered to make welcome something new. A rainy Monday, strong dark coffee,

‘Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm
Come in, she said
I’ll give ya shelter from the storm “- bob dylan