the mystical world of nature...

eeeyikes! Didn't realize how much time has sped by lately. I've had my head buried in the next issue of art & life and basically been ignoring all else. I love any project that I can immerse myself completely...but I always have this underlying uneasiness about everything else I need to be attending to. so it's a double edged sword. The LA trip/show was great. I loved being back down there again, but for the first time I was really struck by the fact that there is really no "nature" down there. The palm trees seemed to stand out like homing beacons for me and the occasional dusty shrub on the sidewalk seemed to be a magical creature waiting there to delight me. To say that my eyes have been opened in the past year to seeing nature at such a deeper level is the understatement of the decade. I am thankful but completely mystified as to why I am reacting so strongly to every plant, flower and tree that I see...even water has taken on a different form for me. I'm baffling tracy and tiffany as I repeatedly plead to go swimming up at the lake (something I avoided in my 20's and 30's). The water surrounding me and the woods surrounding the lake almost brings me to tears by it's beauty and very alive energy. We are lucky to have relatives who own a house on a small but beautiful dark lake. It has always kind of creeped out my daughters because it is so black that you can't see further than a couple of inches under water. We joke nervously about all the lake creatures who live in the murky depths while floating around on our "noodles" (6' styrofoam tubes). and wonder if they ever think..."hmm...look, a nice lunch of noodles with human meatballs on top"...