Spring in the far Downeast

We have backed up a few months in terms of the seasonal bloom.  Our visit to Cincinatti started off being summery with dark green foliage, bugs, humidity and very hot and ended up the week cool and wet and it has been that way ever since!

Here in downeast Maine and the Canadian Maritimes by the Bay of Fundy the daffodils are out and the tulips are beginning to bloom.  Most of the leaves are beginning to come out.  Lilacs are several weeks from blooming at our house.

Even the horse chesnut candles have a ways to go.  The catkins were on the alders at the Eagle Hill bog today and the tamarack was just beginning to show some green.

Come for a plein air painting class with Michael Chesley Johnson and Paint Lubec, Maine and Campobello Island, NB or do an unstructured painting, music, or writing retreat at Artists Retreat Studios & Gallery in the summer of 2014.   My favorite quote for those of us who don't often indulge in what we actually want to do is "If not now when"?  Indeed...

And a special prayer for my friends who have been evacuated from scenic Oak Creek Canyon because of the Slide Fire.

Driving through the Dust Bowl on the Way to Spring in the Midwest

After a memorable week in Zion National Park with 5 painter friends and two of their spouses, we began the traverse east.  Our scheduled route was I-70 west of Denver, but they were expecting a blizzard with 15 inches of blowing snow and chains required for commercial vehicles so we scrapped all our reservations and decided to head to a tried and true route through New Mexico on I-40.  However, since we had to get to near Chicago we decided to cut up through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa on our route to Chicago.  Well, we went from the possibility of driving through a blizzard to driving through an amazing dust storm near Dalhart, TX. If you read the economy section of this entry you will see why it is probably in the state it is regarding dust!

We saw motorcyclists abandoning their bikes and tow behind RV's toppled on their sides. Our car felt like it was being sandblasted while we rode a bunking bronco with very little visibility as everything was dust colored--the sky, the road, the street, and the tumbleweeds were pouring over the road and the fences on the side of the road. After this 3 hour nightmare where we drove about 150 miles in these conditions, we emerged in Kansas into slightly better, but still tremendously windy conditions.

After several more stormy days, we finally are seeing blue skies again.  The daffodils and tulips are out here as are flowering magnolias, the peonies and hostas are inching upward, and there is lots of GREEN GRASS.

National Park versus National Forest Commercial Use Permissions

If you have been following how our plein air painting workshops have been blocked out of the Red Rock Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest  near Sedona, Arizona because of the 30 existing permit holders who have been allocated all the commercial uses of the forest for the forseeable future, you need to read this document from a very, very well managed National Park, Zion National Park.  The rules are clearly laid out in this document without favoring anyone:  Zion National Park Commercial Use Permit Process and Rules. Who would have thought that you could teach in a crowded National Park, but not in a National Forest?  Now I know why the National Forest around Sedona needs to be designated a National Scenic Area.  or a National Park. We are looking into the possibility of relocating our Paint Sedona program to Paint Zion in 2016 due to the policies of the Coconino National Forest, Red Rock Ranger District which will not allow us the possibility of a permit until after our planned retirement begins.

Below are some amazing photos of Zion which will become kaleidoscopes soon.  Tomorrow we begin our trip east, but we have cancelled all reservations since our preferred route is requiring tire chains and is getting hit with a mighty snowstorm through Vail, Colorado on I-70...

Public versus Private Land Management Sedona, AZ versus Kanab, UT

Near Tom's Canyon Trail in Kanab, UT

I have spent my entire life basing all my locational decisions on the availability of public lands near my home.  I made career choices so I could live in the Adirondack Mountains of New York which had a spectacular arrangement of public and private lands.  When I lived near Elizabethtown, NY, I had an amazing array of public lands to spend my free time on.  I moved to Campobello Island, NB because of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park which is funded by Canada and the United States and is truly an international park, one of the only international parks in the world.  I thought I had found nirvana when I discovered Sedona, AZ, a small town surrounded by the amazing red rocks on the Red Rock District of the Coconino National Forest.  Within two years, I had bought a house there and made it my primary home.

My attitude has totally changed in the past week, however.  First, I discovered that the National Forest has been "sold" to 30 permit holders near Sedona.  Individual use is tolerated, but they would rather you go out on a "guided" tour in groups by jeep, mountain bike or balloon.  In the past few days I spent in Sedona, I found a forest parking lot off Lower Red Rock completely filled with balloon chasers hanging out and smoking at 7AM when I was hoping for some solitude.  Groups of mountain bikers have several times nearly mowed me over in the past few months. In fact, they would have if I had not jumped off the trail. The jeeps are everywhere and seem to be multiplying.  If you read this document you will see that they are permitted for many thousands of tours per year: Reissuance of large permits for Red Rock Ranger District for 10 years Obviously, it will not be getting better for those seeking solitude.  Therefore, I decided to see how other areas are handling these issues. I picked Kanab, UT since it has very similar scenery and is also a small town.  It also has a very nice stock of historic homes since it has a history dating back to the 1800's.  Things are very different here...  Kanab has a series of hiking and equestrian trails with wonderful brochures created by http://trailskanab.com/http://trailskanab.com/.  The image at the top of the blog is from near the Tom's Canyon trailhead.  Many of the trailheads and most of the trails are on private land and are designated equestrian and hikers only! Who would have imagined that private land would be preferable to public land since they can institute any policies they wish.  I hope everyone treats this private land with care so it is not closed off to hikers and horses.

As a hiker, it is wonderful to not hear jeeps or ATV's grinding nearby and to not have to worry about a biker running you off the trail from either direction.  Horses are very compatible with hiking.  I would imagine most of the reason I have not seen horses in Sedona recently is that bikes and horses are not compatible uses on narrow trails.  I realized today that it was the first time I had relaxed while hiking in a long while.  I took hundreds of photos as the scenery matched and exceeded the views around Sedona.

Phyllis Lindberg Memorial Hike in West Fork and a Difficult Week with the Coconino National Forest Administration

We went to West Fork today and saw apple blossoms, vibrant spring green foliage, and many wildflowers. The entire time I was there I thought of my friend and fellow hiker and librarian Phyllis Lindberg who was killed by a tree falling last Fall on a sunny windless day. Phyllis always had time to educate you about many things and she had so much knowledge to share especially about the natural world. She was and is an inspiration to try and emulate. Wildflowers were a special topic for her and I saw so many beautiful flowers along the way, some I knew like white violets, columbine, and lupines and many I didn't, but she would have known the names of all of them and had interesting stories to tell.

It was so healing to the soul to be out in nature as we had an awful week which has put a large damper on our enjoyment of Sedona. Rather than rehash most of the issue, I will direct you to this blog post of Michael's which he wrote the last day of our Paint Sedona program:llocked out of the National Forest I just want to add that the students are the losers in this situation since alternative privately owned locations do not have the infrastructure that we have all PAID for with the Red Rock Pass Program: parking, pit toilets, a trail to discover the scenery of our grand public lands, and the right to be there all day if you want.

kaleidoscope of image above

kaleidoscope of unfurling fern and pine needles

This is my last blog before we set off for a retreat in Zion National Park and points east.  No instruction for Michael, just painting, bliss for him and hiking and photography for me!  Campobello Island here we come!  Home never seemed so alluring as the crowds are too large for us here starting in March  and April...  Winter is wonderful though.  My favorite month here is January!

    

Amazing Arizona Spring with Beaver Sculptures, Starpoints, Lilac, Swallowtails, and Columbine

The weather has been perfect here in Arizona for months.  The heat went off weeks ago and the coolers were started up today, but for now it requires no heating and cooling to be comfortable.  Dining outside is a delight on our screened in porch.  The first days of spring have brought temperatures that seem more like early summer!  There are many wildflowers in bloom and I continue to learn their common names--blackfoot daisy, indian paintbrush, manzanita shrubs and many other plants.

We have noxious weeds in AZ like the puncture vine or goathead:  http://plants.usda.gov/java/noxious?rptType=State&statefips=04, but most "weeds" have a pretty flower like filaree or cranesbill.  However, my HOA wants us to eliminate all "weeds" and plant growth which I do not agree with, especially since for many that means spraying large amounts of glyphosate.  I am experimenting with orange oil, vinegar, and a miniscule amount of detergent in my sprayer.  So far it is taking gallons, and the insects in hte soil don't care much for it, but my beautiful green yard is beginning to turn an ugly brown!  I am doing this under protest as I love my filaree, london rocket, locoweed, bunchgrasses, starpoint/silverpuffs and daisy fleabane.  Every day it is different in my yard this time of year, but now it will have to be eliminated.  However, I love the common land trails by Oak Creek and Spring Creek so I comply.

Columbine in my garden

Starpoint or Lindley's Silverpuff in my yard

Swallowtail on My Lilac Bush!

Sculpture Done by a Beaver by Oak Creek

They are unfortunately taking down a lot of trees...

Skunks, Indian Paintbrush, and Wonderful Spring Weather in Sedona, AZ

The calendar does not say Spring yet, but the furnace hasn't come on in weeks, we are sleeping with the window open, baby skunks are being born, and the flowering trees are in full bloom.  I even spotted an Indian Paintbrush in full bloom this week.  Of course, it could still snow, but this year has been exceptionally warm here although that is definitely not the case elsewhere.

The skunks kept us up the last few nights so we had to trap them.  The licensed trapper took the two we got last night at least 5 miles away as required by law.  Those particular skunks won't be back, but I am afraid we have an overabundance this year perhaps due to the warm winter.  Tonight we are having 5 traps set so we can sleep again!  Between the nocturnal noises and the smells it has not be easy to get a good night's rest recently!

Last night we attended on of the 3 openings that Michael had last night.  That was a record to have 3 shows opening on the same night that he had paintings in...  We chose the museum show since it was his first time to exhibit at the Phippin Art Museum.  It was a wonderful exhibit which is ongoing until July 13th in Prescott, AZ.  This gave me an opportunity to visit the Granite Dells once again with my camera in hand!

Indian Paintbrush

Sedona Colors

Sedona Skies and Clouds

Prickly Pears!!

Cornville, AZ Attractions Eliphante in Kaleidoscopes

According to Wikipedia, my Arizona winter home town has only one attraction. I tend to disagree and think the fish hatchery and Oak Creek are pretty spectacular, but here it is in black and white: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornville,_Arizona#Attractions. Interestingly, they call the attraction Eliphante: a kaleidoscopic, hand-built sculptural village in Cornville. The name sake Eliphante is one of the buildings which actually looks like an elephant's trunk on the exterior.  The green grass was beautiful against the wintery look of the large cottonwood trees.  Eliphante is still trying to get the last funds to own the land that the structures are on, please help if you can by donating:  http://www.eliphante.org/donate.html

Here are some links to eliphante for your reading pleasure:  

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g31202-Activities-Cornville_Arizona.html

http://curious-places.blogspot.com/2011/04/eliphante-cornville-arizona.html

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/eliphante

Here are a few pictures and kaleidoscopes I made:

Red Rock Country

Some things in AZ are too amazing to believe.  For example, in an arid land, look at how large the trees can grow!  Michael and I had an opportunity to spend 2 hours at Red Rock State Park this morning.  We saw amazing trees, beautiful red rock country, and beautiful water scenes.  I took 87 photos and had to be selective to ONLY take 87 pictures.  Michael has 5 more Paint Sedona workshops and 1 workshop through the Sedona Arts Center and then we are on to Kanab and Springdale, Utah where we are coordinating a retreat of advanced painters.  Then we will begin the month long trip East where we have many stops to make for professional and business reasons before we finally get back home to Campobello Island.

This became the kaleidoscope I call the Massive Cottonwood

House of Apache Fire

My Reflection Times Eight

Mr Sedona Red Pants

Two Beautiful Sycamores!

Spring? in Arizona Blog Post 100

It is only mid-January and the nightime temperatures go below freezing every night, but miraculously I have pansies and paperwhites blooming OUTSIDE now.  The paperwhites have adapted to the temperature by sporting a very short stem compared to the bulbs I forced and have in my mudroom.

I am celebrating the 100th blog post of Fab Fabrications to announce my new project called Requilt.  This year, I will be concentrating on  repurposing vintage quilt blocks and quilt tops which never quite got made into a well loved quilt into vests, jackets and other household items like table runners and placements.  It's a form of recycling which is important to me.  I am finding lots of treasures on EBay because sadly I did not have parents or grandparents who made quilts.  The project is still in the "thinking stage", but it is starting to gel and should be an interesting journey.

In the meantime enjoy some kaleidoscopes of my "spring" flowers".