#381 • Maine Is Shut Down, But Not Our Neighborhoods

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Maine may be shut down, but it continues to slowly open up to spring. She's beautiful in her isolation - Maine that is. We may be glimpsing what she was like before she got herself marketed as "Vacationland." Flowers are coming up here and there. Farmers are tilling and planting their fields. Folks are digging up land in their backyards to plant gardens for the first time in a long time, or maybe for the first time ever. Animals are daring to come out of hiding, and so is the neighborhood.

We're learning to re-arrange our lives, to be creative and resourceful in order to accommodate the unknown. We're teaching ourselves how to deal with obstacles and bad news. We go for walks every morning with our neighbor, come back to work as best we can from home, and do chores around the house. Then we go for another walk after dinner.

We've tried to maintain a routine of walking to keep in touch with folks in the neighborhood. It's been fun. We're usually stopped along the way. I can't remember ever having walked through the neighborhood, stopping to chaw with folks on their front porches, in their garages or yards. It's been good for us.

Maine Is Shut Down, But Not Our Neighborhoods • 8" X 8" acrylic framed to 12" X 12" • $250

#380 • Spring Choir Practice

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Spring choir practice around the robinhood up here has been going strong this year. Screw the snow, they gleefully sing!

In celebration of Earth Day, it is my supreme honor to present a virtuoso solo by what could be a member of the Riverside Street Royal Red Breasted Robin Revelry Recital Choir.

Let it be a reminder that all of their wee little voices need to be counted in this global interspecies struggle to save the blessed Mother of all birdfeeders, Earth.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKMctAF6YMc 

Recording courtesy of  TheBackyardBirder - Corey Schmaltz

Spring Choir Practice • 8" x 8"acrylic framed to 12" X 12" • $300

#379 • Oh Mother, Let Summer In

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Like everything else going on right now, we have no idea what our planet is going to look like in the near future. Let's hope it's a lot better for a lot more people, and that damn, we don't forget how good the air looks right now.

Little white flecks are swirling all around me here in Kingfield. It's like someone shook my snow globe and put me back down where I was just a minute ago. The time has come to conjure up everything I'm made of, to beg and grovel on my knees, to cry lordy lordy great Mother almighty please let summer in.

Oh Mother, Let Summer In • 8" X 8" acrylic frame to 12" X 12" • $250

#378 • Keeping My Eye On The Ball

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Probably one of the hardest lessons I had to learn as a ballplayer growing up with three athletic younger brothers, was to keep my eye on the ball. It takes a lot of guts to hold your eyes wide open when you have a 60mph hardball coming at you from a brother you hope you didn't piss off. It's an act of courage to stand your ground, to stop the ball dead in it's trajectory to your head - even though he promised he didn't mean to bean you. But you have to do it if you want to play the game.

I'm using this memory to help me navigate the times. I'm going to keep my eye on the ball. Wash hands a lot. Don't touch face with hands. Practice social distancing. Wear a mask if it makes me feel better, but still practice the above. And don't forget to eat well, exercise and stretch.

I'm also using it to focus on that great white ball of light at the end of the tunnel. It's there. It reminds me I'll see my kids again in person. I'll be able watch my grandchildren play ball before they hit the majors. I'll be able to teach them to play tennis before I'm too old to lift the racket. I can hug my family, friends and neighbors before they forget what I feel like. And, God... I can start biting my nails again.

Keeping My Eyes On The Ball • 8" x 8" acrylic framed to 12" x 12" • $250

#377 • And So It Did

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The gulls didn't doubt

the sun would come up

that day

or any day.

So it did

like it always does

and it was beautiful

like it always is.

#376 • The Birdies Keep Tweeting

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It wasn't too long ago that we were all preoccupied with the coming of spring - was it going to come in like a lion or a lamb. We all know that our lives can change dramatically in an instant. But when you look around expecting Mother Nature to feel your pain or to at least sympathize, the sun continues to rise and set, dogs bark and cats howl, and the birdies keep tweeting. The joy and hilarity of the wild kingdom flirting with itself moves ahead on schedule - albeit a little early these days.

We do not get off the hook for what we've done to this defenseless planet. When the pandemic has run its course, maybe we will finally realize and remember what it is like to be vulnerable and helpless against the most powerful force.

The Birdies Keep Tweeting • 8" x 8" acrylic framed to 12" x 12" • $250

#375 • The Serenity In Just Looking

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One of the great things about surviving in Maine is, well, that you can survive in Maine. Serenity is an inside job, but unless you're a guru, we all need inspiration. Sometimes jump starting is simply taking time for a lookabout. There's a lot of serenity in just looking at big wide empty spaces.

What foresight our past leaders had to preserve vast empty areas in this country. These spaces are a gift, a slice in time outside of progress and a break from our busy bossy brains. They're an opportunity to reset, reboot and go blank so that we can better connect with ourselves, our bodies, and when we return to commerce, our fellow human beings.

 The Serenity In Just Looking • 8" X 8" acrylic framed to 12" X 12" • $250