Fleeting

The baby's warm foot,
dangling free: round, fragrant, soft-
next spring running hard.


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My prompt, fleeting, is this week's theme over at One Single Impression, a haiku writer's hang-out. It's interesting to see other people's interpretations of the theme. Why not join in the fun?

PUG KISSES
I remembered that my friend Eliza used to have a pug, and still has a fondness for the breed. So I called out to her when I saw the pugs from the window. Eliza hurried out of the house and in no time at all I was watching a spontaneous frenzy of pug love.

PUG BEACH
is what I started calling it in my mind after these two showed up in their ATV. You never saw a cuter pair of pooches, and well-behaved too. This is actually Fish Beach on Monhegan Island. I was painting a picture out a second floor window of the house we were renting when these two pugs and their people arrived to steal my attention away momentarily.

The Incredible Sunset
over Manana, was one of the highlights of my recent trip to Monhegan Island. My friend Alex and I had been painting deep in the interior of the island, in Cathedral Woods, and lost track of time. Gradually we realized it was getting too dark in there to paint, so being reasonably satisfied with our efforts, we packed up and made our way out. Only to realize that while we'd been painting shadowy gloom and chiaroscura in the woods, a fantastic spectacle of light was being mounted above us!

Despite knowing we were already late for dinner, we stashed our painting gear in a convenient shrub and then positively ran up the steep Lighthouse Hill (no small feat), eager to get the best vantage point. And how incredibly beautiful it was! There were a dozen other glow hunters up there with us, and all of us with beatific smiles on our faces, as we watched the sun gently roll into the sea.

FORTUNE

What chance threw these seeds
on this rockpile - roots gripping,
sharp leaves raised to fight?

A WEEK'S WORK

I came back just last night from a week of painting on Monhegan Island, Maine. My friend Mary W. who was part of the group of painter friends renting the island house with me, pointed out that it was really a business trip, and of course she is right! Lots of hard work: hiking around and painting like mad. I was out working from first light to last light most days (we did have a couple of foggy/rainy days thanks to the tail end of a hurricane or two but I painted inside then.) I did not keep track of how many pieces I was doing while I was there, but today I unpacked the pictures and set them all up on my studio easel to have a look and see that I have fifteen studies. Stalin was referring to Russian tank production during WWII when he said "Quantity has a quality all its own." but I think it applies equally well to plein air painting!

GOOD MORNING!
I started my day with this beautiful meal. My friend Ellie invited me over for breakfast and I thought we'd have a cup of coffee and share a toasted bagel or something. I never expected this gorgeous repast, which truly made me feel like an honored guest. I have to say I was happy for the rest of the day whenever I thought of it. The power of the place setting!

BLUE SKY WITH CLOUDS COUCHANT

white tigers striping
the turquoise dome of heaven-
stretching, yawning wide.

Somewhere an emperor
looks for his lost white tigers-
peering up anxiously

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First day of school for all three of my boys! Three different schools, so three different lots of papers to fill in and sign, and three different lists of necessities to procure. I also went to my own school today. I will be teaching two classes at the Main Line Art Center. So I had my own lot of papers to fill in and sign, and my own classroom tour to take, in preparation. My classes don't start till the 16th. But despite the jewel-like weather, summer is definitely over. Change is in the air!

GOING UP
Here is Henry gravely concerned about cable thickness regulation as we ascend Wildcat Mountain by gondola. We seem to have a bit of a history of pushing Henry into small box-like containers that then fly high into the air. It is amazing really how much Henry trusts us, allowing us to persuade him into these situations that don't look fun or safe. He always ends up enjoying them hugely (last year's ferris wheel experience) or at least tolerating them (last week's gondola ride.) But I am honored, and a little humbled, by his wary trust.