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Memories of War

Here are a few pieces from a series I just finished on War Memories. I made the original images at Fort Casey, on Whidbey Island. It is part of a circle of forts around the entrance to Puget Sound, originally built for defensive purposes but mainly used for housing and training soldiers in preparation for war and during wartimes. Most of these forts are now Washington State Parks and open for viewing.

I used the images to create photo encaustics, printing the photos on tissue paper and embedding them in a mixture of beeswax and damar resin, a tree sap. They are mounted on cradled boards and have many layers of wax giving them a three-dimensional feel. These pieces will be for sale at the Winthrop Gallery and the Confluence Gallery during the holiday shows.

Puppy Play Date

Molly came up to play with Sky and Luna today! Mostly with Sky it seems. We haven’t seen her in a couple of weeks and she has really grown! She is nearly four months old and weighs about 25 pounds. Oh these little ones – they grow so fast.

Hi. My name is Molly and I am cute.
Oh, it’s you again.
Molly likes Luna a lot.
Molly wants to be like Sky.
Can I chew your nose?
Doesn’t that hurt?
What’s wrong with Sky?
I’ll help you carry that.
This is MY stick.
Now what’s Luna doing over there?

Winter is Coming

Yesterday before any election tallies were out, we went to the mountains to play in the snow. Ken was getting ready for a long trip and it seemed like a good time to have some fun and maybe get a holiday card photo too.

At Washington Pass there was at least a foot of snow and some groomed ski tracks too! We hadn’t thought to bring skis. Darn! The dogs were ecstatic to play on a snowy surface again. The mountains were fogged in when we arrived but gradually they emerged giving us breathtaking views of the craggy peaks. It was worth the wait.

As we returned to the car we saw families with small and big kids, some who had NEVER played in snow before! That was fun! They didn’t all have appropriate footwear but it didn’t stop them from enjoying themselves.

Luna’s expression!
Sometimes we just need someone to lean on.
This makes me laugh.
What is the name of this mountain?
They love to play rough in the snow.
Liberty Bell
What is the name of this mountain?
I’ll get it!
We are lucky to live here.

Around the Ranch

Betty and I and Dixie and Sky had a nice walk around the ranch. It was good to see that everything was intact after 2015’s fires and this spring’s flooding. Like so many of my closest friends, Betty and her husband and animals had to evacuate their home in the face of the dangerous fires. I think all of us carry around some PTSD because of it.

They grow hay on the ranch and have been working hard to rehabilitate some of their fields. In the past horses were used to run the equipment but now they rely on a tractor. Two of the old horses are still there living out their retirement. Sky gave them a wide berth. Horses are big scary animals for her.

You can see where the fire burned on the cliffs above the house
A simple piece of wood? It has been chewed by beavers and it is charred from the fire. It is in the pasture that flooded last spring. It was washed down from the mountains in the flood and landed high and dry in a new place.
Dixie can’t catch Sky.
Peregrine Falcons and Canyon Wrens nest in these cliffs
Retirement
A nest box for a Canada Goose
Ranch art
Dixie
One lone apple

Betty’s Chickens

Sky and visited friends who live near Republic. I love visiting their ranch but it seems like I seldom get over that way. The weather was already into that November mode – gray and kind of dreary – like it is here today. But it didn’t rain. I got a chance to visit with Betty’s chickens. They are a colorful bunch of different breeds, some with amazing plumage. And their eggs are not only different colors but different shapes too!