Apprentice of Wonder

Happy First Birthday!

The 3 kittens/now cats who entered our lives 11 months ago turned 1 year old today.  I have no words to express how much these three furballs of endless energy and hilarious antics have come to mean to us.  The wonders and laughter they add to our lives each day are boundless, and I am so in love with these not-so-little cats it seems ridiculous at times.

It's nearly impossible to get a clear shot of all 3 of them together, but here's Smokey (left) and Brewster celebrating their first year together.

And so, Happy Birthday to Smokey, Java and Brewster, and I so hope there are many more years to come. You can be sure I will share their antics and adventures here as they happen.

Here is Java (right), my very loving but aloof boy, resting in the cool breeze of the swamp cooler. None of these cats are heat-lovers. They take after their mom that way.

Here is Smokey playing with the newest catnip mouse, one of several birthday presents.  Naturally they all found this one the very best of all.

And last, but not least, tonight appears to be Java's night to curl up with his old step-brother, Rajah, who continues to hang in there at 19.6 years old.  It is so touching the way the young cats take turns curling up with Rajah.

Baaba Mal: First Summer Concert

Denver is famous for the abundance of outdoor summer concerts.  There's one almost daily from June through August, and many of them are free.  The summer concerts at the Denver Botanic Gardens are NOT free, but are always sold out and always wonderful.  The Botanic Gardens is such a perfect place for a concert, as you can bring in your own wine, and people set up lovely gourmet picnics on the grass and everyone is drinking good wine and eating fabulous, colorful food and, because it's generally an older crowd, it's very mellow and "civilized."  We brought two of the last four bottles of wine we brought back from Chile 2.5 years ago to share with our dear friends Debby and Bob, who took us to Chile. 

There are plenty of famous musicians who play, as well as some I've never heard of.  We love world music of all types and always buy tickets for any African  musicians.  Tonight was the first concert of the season, and a young Senegalese singer named Baaba Mal was the musician, and he was superb.  Debby and Bob were able to get in line early and we had nearly front-row seating on the grassy hill that rises up from the stage.  I always take my camera because there are so many fun people to photograph, and this year I was able to take some great photos of Baaba Mal and his band. 

He began the concert with several mellow, acoustical songs that showed us what a great voice he has.  But the concert didn't really begin until the rest of the band came out.  Baaba's voice was only enhanced by the added saxophones, flute, and percussion, and by the unexpected surprise of the famous banjo player Bela Fleck and the Flecktones showing up to play as his backup band.

It was non-stop music, laughter, singing and dancing for the entire hour and a half.  It was especially amazing to watch the sax player play BOTH his alto and tenor saxophones at the same time.  By this time it was getting dark, and the band was really pumped, so all of my photos of the sax player are blurry, but you can see here that he really is playing two saxes at the same time.  I did some digital manipulation to one of the blurry photos that I think is pretty cool.

Everyone at the concert was having a good time.  But I think Bob expressed it for everyone during the final encore song that had the entire crowd on its feet.

Digitally Composed ATCs

One of the things that my love for making and trading ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) has done is to push my limits into exploring art in ways I might not do otherwise.  There is a monthly "digital swap" on the biggest of the ATC lists I'm on The rules are few except that all ATCs must be digitally created.  I have Photoshop Elements, but have never really learned how to use it.  Most of the time I play with various filters and that's about as far as I've gone.  One of the things I especially enjoy doing is creating photo-collages.  They are not digital per se, that is not digitally manipulated, but are what I've been calling "digitally composed."  Here are a few I've created recently:  a series of penguin images for a Penguin Swap and reggae images for a "Jammin' Jamaica" swap.  I especially love the way this photo of Dave and Phenix turned out, using the cut-out filter in Photoshop. I created this one for a swap called "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" and it's a perfect card for that title. 

This photo of Brewster and Smokey is wonderful, but it didn't fit the theme quite as well as the photo of Dave and Phenix did.

I also love the way these two photos turned out.  The iris is over a background that is a large fern patch in a redwood forest. 

One of my goals for 2006 is to learn more about digital manipulation.

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June 12:  While we were away on a road trip to Nebraska this weekend (I have a LOT to write about that trip!) I think the baby finches doubled in size.  I predict they will be out of the nest by the end of the week.

 

P.S. - the finches flew out of the nest later on today.  So far as I know they all survived their first flight, and now the little nest basket is empty.

Daddy Finch with Babies

The baby finches are growing faster by the hour, it seems.  Just 2 days ago they barely had feathers and no voices, and already they are starting to look like finches and their cheep, cheeping is LOUD when the food arrives.  This is the view into my backyard from the dining room table, where I spend much of my days, recently, making ATCs and art-playing.  You can see the basket where the nest is in the upper right corner of the patio eaves.

With patience and my camera glued to my hand all day, I was rewarded with these two amazing photos below, of Papa Finch feeding his babies.  These are better than any photos I got last year.  I wish they were more clear, but they are taken through 2 panes of glass with the full telephoto, so I'm happy.  This is one proud papa.  He sings sweetly all day long.

I've always called birds my "little messengers of joy", and I am thrilled the finches have come this far with three cats running in and out all day.  I am amazed that the cats pay so little attention to the birds.  They are, fortunately, far more interested in chasing bugs and pawing earthworms.   Lovely little wonders these finches are.

First Roses

While the finches keep me happily amused in the backyard, the first roses of summer opened up today in the front yard, and it looks like it will be a bumper crop.  I was a little uncertain in May because I cut them down to almost nothing last winter, but they are back fuller and greener than ever, AND, I'm pleased to say, aphid-free (knock on wood).    I know almost nothing about roses.  These were all here when we bought our house 7 years ago, and I've done my best not to kill them.  I'm told the above rose is a Peace Rose.  When it first opens it is yellow, but with each passing day it becomes more pink or peachy until it is a wondrous combination of yellow, pink and all colors in between.  Their fragrance makes me swoon.

The little pink tea roses are hidden beneath the larger bush and are usually forgotten.  This year they have demanded to be noticed as five of them bloomed together from one stem.  It's been hard not to cut them, but so far I've resisted.

The 3 red rose bushes have suffered from something for years - either aphids, or rust, or lack of care.  They would bloom and wilt the same day and nothing I did seemed to help.  This year they are finally blooming beautifully and prolifically.  Perhaps they took a lesson from their peony neighbors, who were the prettiest in 5 years.  I love the way the inside of this rose on the right looks like a tiny flame is burning within.

 

Meanwhile, Brewster and Smokey sleep on.

New Finch Babies, Year 2

Despite the constant running in-and-out of 3 lively cats and I, doing bits of gardening throughout each day, a young finch couple managed to lay some eggs in the little basket in the eves of our patio when we were out of town a month ago.  After what seemed like forever, yesterday I finally saw the first finch baby heads, all beak and no fur, pop up over the top of the nest.  Click on the photo for a closer view of 2 of the 3 or 4 babies.

The cats are well aware there is a lively finch flying in and out of the nest all day, but they seem content to simply watch them from afar.  Last year we had 2 sets of finch families.  The first one had 5 babies, all of whom flew from the next one morning and were gone.  The second family lost all of their babies when they fell from the nest one afternoon while I was gone. 

I will try everything possible to keep the cats otherwise occupied, and to see these finch babies remain in their nests.  If any of them fall out this year, the cats will most likely know before I do.  Here's hoping for a successful rearing of the 3, and quite possibly 4, newly-hatched finches in our basket-nest.

My World of Color

No matter how dismal I may see things on a given day, my world is always full to brimming with bright, vivid colors.  My dining room wall is a brick red; the hallway a sponged concoction of gold/orange/peachy/coppery colors; and the kitchen a rich peach that changes constantly with the light.  The still-to-be-painted walls which remain a dingy white are covered with vibrant artwork in rich colors. 

One of the few things that did not fall by the wayside during my recent hiatus is my continued love of creating Artist Trading Cards.  If anything, I created more of them than ever, as I've found that once I settle a theme, creating each one is like a little meditation on color and form.  Recently I sent 9 ATCs off for a trade called "Brilliant Blue."  This was, perhaps one of the hardest groups I've ever sent off, as blue is my favorite color and I loved how these ATCs - made with a variety of blue Japanese Yushi papers collaged over original watercolor backgrounds - turned out.

Shortly before these, I made a group for a "Red/Green/Yellow" swap that I was also pleased with.  All of the ATC swaps I do with my internet groups have themes, and I've come to love the ones that call for various, but limited, color palettes.

Color is one thing that always fills me with joy, which is why I love visiting the Denver Botanic Gardens this time of year.  I try to at least walk through it quickly once a week, though that doesn't always happen.  I rarely leave with fewer than 30-50 photos.  Here a few from a visit two weeks ago that I particularly love.

This beautiful turquoise fountain and pool was buried beneath dirt for decades, until unearthed and refurbished a few years ago.  It's a gleaming jewel in the center of the

gardens.

And last, but not least, who can resist the delicate California poppy?  Not me.

Beginning Again

It's been awhile!  In fact, it's been so long since I last posted that my computer wouldn't get me directly into Typepad, and I could remember neither my log-on name NOR my password!  There have been so many times I've wanted to post my thoughts or my too-rare (of late) indulgences in moments of wonder, but the more time that went by, the harder it seemed to get myself to pick one thing to write about, and to begin again.  Meanwhile spring has come and gone, and along with it the tulips and pear blossoms Brewster loves, and all the lovely photos I took at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

When my dear friend Fran, from Sacred Ordinary wrote on April 9th:  "You've had too much attitude adjustment, Paula. I hope you'll return soon to Apprentice," I swore I'd do it that week.  And then 2 more months passed, during which things turned very dismal at my office, where we learned that the CFO of the company wants to eliminate my department, and every single minute of our time has been closely monitored.  The word has been that some sort of a decision will be made in June.  As you might imagine morale is low and the anxiety level is as high as I've ever experienced in 12 years at this job.  One minute I'm optimistic that things won't change much, and the next I'm certain that the four of us will lose our jobs.  The daily uncertainty and changing of the rules has wreaked havoc on our morale.

So now it's June 1st, which has always marked the beginning of summer to me.  It's a new month, a new season, and I promise to try very very hard to begin blogging here again at least a few times weekly.  I have hundreds, if not thousands, of photos I've taken during the last 4 months of my absence, and I'll start posting those again as well.

To those of you who've sent me encouraging messages asking me to please come back and post again, I thank you for your patience and indulgence.  It's not been a completely difficult four months, though the constant job stresses have added a tinge of darkness to even the best days and have been a test to my daily quest of seeking out small wonders. 

I may go back and post photos from the last 4 months.  If I do this, I'll let people know.  But now, I begin again.

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The 3 "kittens" will be one year old on June 20th, and have grown into gorgeous, shiny, hilariously loveable beasts, who made Phenix's death in Feb. much easier to bear.  Rajah, the 19.5 year old barely moves, but he still eats, drinks, purrs, and pees (though not always where he should).  He's completely deaf but clings to life and for now we let him be.  We can't imagine he will make it to his 20th birthay, but his will is strong.

At nearly 13 pounds, Brewster is the largest, the most loveable, obedient and funniest of them all.  He's the biggest baby, and is more like a dog than any cat I've ever seen.  He LOVES to play fetch with a wine cork, and will chase it over and over, dropping it at our feet each time.

At nearly 12 pounds, Java is the most independent and loner of them all.  He's the only one who jumps the fence and leaves the yard and doesn't always come when he's called.  In some ways he is the sweetest and the one who likes to be held the most, but he sleeps in his own bed and not in ours.

At just under 8 pounds, Smokey (on the right) is the tiniest, but also the fiercest.  She gives both of her brothers a run for their money, and is always the first one outside each morning, and the last one in at night.  She is also the most vocal, and has about a 3-octave range of coos and songs and sweet noises she makes all day long.  She is quite the talker. 

No matter how the day is going, the three things I am always able to find joy and wonder in are the antics of these three cats.