Wild Geese

Not too long ago a friend of mine sent me a poem by Mary Oliver via e-mail, then a week or so later another friend posted the same poem on her facebook page. A week after that I opened the newsletter from our local food co-op and the poem was printed on the back page. I do not believe in coincidences and so I have read this poem a few times to see what it has to say to me. It is really a lovely poem and with out further adieu I am passing it on to you along with an image of the beautiful Wisconsin River, which is just a few blocks from my home.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to yo like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-

over and over announcing your place in the family of things.

--Mary Oliver

Fish

I have been thinking of making a fabric fish for sometime now and finally got around to doing it. I used a technique I learned from Susan Shie (Lucky) when I went to her Turtle Moon Art Camp quite a few years ago. It involves a lot of hand sewing but I love the texture. I live in an area where everyone seems to fish and I was inspired by the simple shape a fish can have. I embellished it with some shisha mirrors and beads as well as a very crude applique on the tail. I tend to use more subtle colors, so I was pleased that I broke out of my usual and tried some bright colors.

Lemon Tea

I found myself with an abundance of lemon verbena and lemon balm growing in my garden and an offer to borrow my brother's food dehydrator. I read in one of my herb books that those herbs are great in potpourri so I decided to dry them. Somewhere along the way I thought that mixing these two herbs might make a nice tea and then decided to make it really lemony I would dry some organic lemons to add to it. It has turned out to be delicious, expecially with a nice dab of honey. I am thinking that if any colds come along this winter this will be my go-to tea. It also would be nice with a slice of fresh ginger.

Memoriam

I like to keep my blog posts upbeat and positive, but today I am feeling a deep sadness. A man that I went to high school with died last Friday by his own hand. I hadn't seen him for about 25 years but my memory of him is as vivid as if it were yesterday. He was one of those people you can't forget because fun followed him where ever he went. In reading the memories of others on a memorial page on facebook, every person expressed the same memories. Tim was a fun, wild and crazy guy. Behind all of the laughter was clearly pain. He had recently experienced some personal setbacks and disappointments but there were so many people that loved him and would have moved heaven and earth to help him. If there is someone in your life having struggles, please, today, let them know you care and that there is professional help out there no matter what the circumstance.