The old adage about good intentions has been at work here – the monthly blogs I began last September stopped after Christmas and now I have the winter to catch up on, and that’s just not easy. In early February I went to Guanajuato and that was the big event of the winter. I wrote the January blog the night before leaving but never got it out. So what follows is highlights for the first 5 months of 2015.
January 2015
January has been a quiet month for adventures, but full of good, everyday things. Today is the 30th and tomorrow I start off on another adventure, a 10 day visit to Guanajuato, Mexico with two artist friends. To paint, bird, eat our fill of delectables and take a respite from the challenging Oregon winter. Altho admittedly it has not been at all bad. Not like past Januaries. Painting has taken on larger role, even in a cold studio. I’m getting ever bolder thanks to Jane. She insists we not give up on a painting that’s not going well; it can be wetted down and reworked, scrubbed with Mr. Clean, and/or made into an abstract. If none of these tricks works, THEN it’s time to think of trashing it. I now have some nifty abstracts where there were bad paintings!
Last night was a standout. I went to an event honoring the birth date of William Stafford, Oregon’s most beloved poet. Six local poets read a favorite poem of his, then one of their own. Then a dozen more got to read their favorite Stafford poem. The auditorium was jammed – only in Ashland for a poetry event! Stafford wrote 20,000 poems all in the pre-computer era. I can’t even imagine keeping track of such a body of work under present day storage and cataloging conditions. When I return I am going to buy a few of his volumes, read them and pass them on. He is really wonderful.
Then I came home and watched a new film on David Hockney which I have been waiting for since I saw his show at the de Young last year. It’s about his current stay in Yorkshire, where he retreated over a year ago to recharge his batteries after years in Hollywood. He is now doing huge multi-panel watercolors, mostly plein air, and they are wonderful. We saw one in the SF show but the one featured in the film is even larger and he has donated it to the Tate. Worth a trip to London, I think. There is a unique quality to his painting, it’s always fresh, usually in brilliant color and unmistakably his. I wasn’t much charmed by his persona, but his art – that’s undeniably fine. I went to bed with a head reeling between these two disparate but equally fine arts. The best of mankind.
February 2015
With Jane Hardgrove and Elizabeth Aitken, fellow watercolorists, I went to Ashland’s sister city Guanajuato for 10 days. We LOVED the city, even tho the birding was dismal. Rock Doves flourished, but the only native birds were Western Kingbirds (everywhere) and an occasional hummingbird (probably immature Broad-billed)) at the flowers in our roof garden. I tried twice to find natural desert-scrub along the hilltops, as there was access by funicular up to the monumental statue of Pipilo (a local Indian hero) high on one side of the valley, above all the houses. It was terribly parched up there, as it was the middle of the dry season (and maybe drought) and not an attractive landscape for birds or people. I did see several migratory species that breed in Oregon, but no indigenous birds. So I gave up and concentrated on painting. And what subject matter! the colors, ornamental wrought-iron work, narrow walking streets, plazas, and people were so exciting and different from Ashland in winter, just what I had hoped for. Interest in watercolor wanes in the Ashland winters, and I have frequently turned to ink because drab greens and grays do not provide stimulation. W walked miles every day, stopping for coffee when tired, sketching and taking photos. The colors were endlessly delightful, the narrow crowded streets alive with people, and new vistas were around every corner. Since return I have done some very satisfying paintings, a few of which are posted on the website. also I got in touch with our Amigo Club, particularly with Senora Chela, as she insists on being called, a retired Spanish Prof from SOU who founded the sister-city program 40 years ago. She is a character and deserves a chapter of her own! But anyway, I expect to be involved here with whatever the club does, and the next event which they are exploring is a Guanajuato Nights weekend in November.
March 2015
The OSF season opened soon after our return and I have already seen 3 productions, all splendid. First ‘Guys and Dolls’, our favorite musical along with ‘Kiss Me Kate’. It was excellent and I’ve been humming the songs ever since. Eric and I knew all the lyrics and we bought the record and used to sing along with it. Luck be a Lady Tonight, Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat, Sue Me, If I were a Bell, Oldest Established Crap Game, etc. Then Heath came for a visit and we saw ‘Fingersmith’ together. It was a world premiere and seems to be the big season hit so far. Very intriguing, and excellently produced and acted. And then ‘Pericles’, about which Gwyneth and I heard so much from friends we decided to go. And it was also marvelously done. There are at least 4 more plays I want to see that have not opened yet. OSF gets better every year, like the Britt and the Rogue Valley Symphony.
April 2015
A warm and rainy month. Actually it was already spring in March and the bulbs were up and blooming really early. Birding became fun again with Dippers and Tree Swallows brightening the scene. There are 6 nest boxes in North Mountain Park which I check out weekly every spring and they are mostly used by Tree Swallows altho one, alas, has become a favorite for starlings. My other birding activities these days are a monthly trip to the Klamath Basin and a weekly check on the Calliope Hummingbird on territory about 3 miles up Tolman Creek Rod. This year I added a weekend at the coast and encountered a brand new bird for my life list (if I had such a thing). It was a Yellow-billed Loon in Charleston Harbor near Coos Bay, directly below us on a pier. It was a special experience to see a new bird here. Also spent a night with Ruth and John Forrester in Coos Bay – they have hosted Jenny for 4 years when she plays the little coast festival and have become good friends.
May 2015
The month started with a redo of the backyard, beginning with the tearing out of the deck, long overdue. Rod Johnson, a good friend of Terence and all-around-the-house expert, did the demolition of the deck. I had planned to install a new deck but he found shocking rot in all the joists and piers and persuaded me to go for stone instead. Heath drew up a plan and now I am checking out landscapers, as Rod’s back won’t allow him to work with stone. Right now the back yard is unusual, even hazardous, with sawed-off 4×4 posts embedded in cement at regular intervals. I just had a landscaper in and she suggested a concrete slab in an unusual shape to accommodate the oval table and chairs I have, and matching the porch slab. And flagstone walks to match the walks already in place. All on a level with the existing porch. The 3 steps in the old design would be eliminated, a good idea for their old user.
I’ve just returned from a long weekend in Irvine with Lolly and family that was hugely glorious. It included Sam’s 15th birthday; a day at the Getty with Lol looking at Turner landscapes; a fabulous concert by the LA Phil. with Gustavo Dudamel conducting and a Venezuelan flamenco company interpreting de Falla’s ‘El Amor Brujo’; and a big Topper family party at Il Fornaio celebrating Lexie’s college graduation. Lexie is Georgina’s niece and has been raised by her and Kevin Topper and is a great family favorite. Keith’s mom, aunt a various friends were all in attendance and it was a very loud, jovial occasion. I was doing some serious people-watching along with eating a very good meal and musing about the wonderful matinee we had just attended. I came home dazed, happy and exhausted. But after one quiet day I am back in swing.
Now there is only a week left in May and Pat Flanagan arrives Thursday for a week’s visit. Most of it will be at Malheur, as she planned it to coincide with our annual trip there. A drought has been declared for all of eastern Oregon, bad news but it may allow for early entrance to Steens Mountain, where snow usually keeps the road closed til August. I will definitely write about it sooner than December!
Summer promises lots of lovely things including a visit from the Trumbull/Schenker clan and a fascinating sounding Britt classical season. Plus a new backyard!