Wildflowers
Today is the day of my grandpa’s funeral and memorial - and for a variety of reasons, I made the difficult decision not to go. Largely, in this moment, I am at peace with that choice. Feeling like I wasn’t able to help from here in Colorado during the past few months (and especially these past few weeks) has weighed heavily on me, though. At any other time in my life, I would have been able to contribute so much more.
Last week I was tasked with organizing some small bags of flower seeds to give to those who came to the service - finally, something I could do! My grandpa was in love with, and very proud of, a small meadow of wildflowers he’d planted. They meant a lot to him. Giving seeds felt like a beautiful way to honor his life.
I was able to order seeds, small burlap bags, and pretty labels that went straight to my mom in Wisconsin. At home, I made tags for said labels and printed off copies of planting instructions (written out by my dear brother!) - both of these I sent with my dad when he flew east. Since then, I’ve gotten a few pictures of how everything came together - and I hope small wildflower meadows will be springing up everywhere next year in memory of my grandpa.
As for me, on my way in from this morning’s dog walk I was surprised by a small patch of poppies blooming to the east of our house. I had sprinkled some seeds there in the early days of this year but hadn’t seen any signs of germination in the months since. I know there were no flowers yesterday, I couldn’t have missed them…but today. Today they were waiting for me.
I see you, Grandpa. Life is full of simple miracles.
The wild, chunky inlay ring I’ve been working away on is finally finished! She’s definitely not for the faint of heart - a little like living in the landscapes the stone so resembles. Consider this the smallest of previews until I can take some glamor shots of all three of these jasper inlay pieces.
I struggled mightily while working on this piece, despite how neat and tidy these pictures make the process seem. I think it was likely a combination of working in very small chunks of time (meaning it felt like the process took for ever and ever) and me needing to regain some of my fluency in metal when it comes to these more challenging construction projects. I made a lot of mistakes that caused me to have to backtrack repeatedly - but somehow it all came together in the end.
Yesterday I cleaned up the studio, vacuuming a few stray spiders that ignored my lavender essential oil memo, and began preparing for what’s next. I’m thinking a few “easy” projects - old designs that I don’t have to think quite so hard about and that are more convenient to pick up and put down. Definitely a few Pines. Maybe even a Laurels necklace. Pretty things to help me get back in the groove.
To extend my creative time during the days, I’ve also started knitting while Remi eats. Largely he’s been uninterested in the clicking of my needles and the yarn trailing across his back. The camera, though - that was cause for distraction.
I’m working on another Montana Mountain cowl, to give the other, beloved one I made a few years ago a break. The going is slow, with my arms more or less trapped, but I’m making progress. It’s nice to have something productive to do as opposed to just reading my phone or a book. I’ve done enough reading for awhile.
At long last summer seems to have arrived in earnest. Already the rainy days feel far behind and having sweat constantly dripping off the end of my nose feels normal. This week marks two years since we started renovating our house and the the steel siding has weathered well to a dark, earthy brown. There is so much here I’d still like to do, but it’s good to note how much has already been changed, fixed, and beautified. Again, the going is slow - but it’s also good.