Yesterday, I took advantage of the cool weather and assaulted the weeds in my yard, creating a massive pile of organic debris. Looks a bit like Cousin Itt or something that would show up in an episode of Scooby Doo. I used my trusty electric chainsaw to cut big branches off the rhododendron, and pulled thorny weeds up. I yanked up weedy growths that were taller than me, and even discovered a tiny little rose bush that managed to survive amidst the overwhelm. I did this at the beginning of summer, and amazingly it all grew back with the passion only reserved for wild things. I think my artistic brain takes in all the leafy forms, and appreciates the overlap and tangle of it all before I restore order to each area of the yard. The interplay of vines, stalks, and leaves, as well as the numerous tones of green, are visually delicious.
Secretly, I love doing this. It isn't physically too hard to do if the back feels ok, and I can see results. I do not like that it is dirty work, sweaty work. I hate to sweat. It also scares me a bit as the thorns can go through the gloves and leave almost invisible little puncture wounds that can turn into tenosynovitis, an infection in the tendon capsule of the finger, that happens when one is immunosurpressed. It has happened several times, requiring Urgent Care visits and gross antibiotics. Also, it does a number on the fingernails -- I really need a manicure/pedicure, but wan't to get most of the yard work done first. This morning The Back is not so great, so I know I overdid it yesterday, too. Today is a day of classes with kids, and more work on the poppies that will be part of the skull piece. And probably lots of ice packs. Boo.
The second poppy I am making has a funny yarn attached to the surface of the petals. I knew exactly what I was looking for -- I wanted a rich, fibrous surface under the beads, so visited the yarn department of A.C.Moore. Wouldn't you know, the perfect skein sat waiting by itself in the clearance area. Pretty much exactly what I saw in my mind in terms of its net-like structure and variegated tones. I love when that happens -- it is like a surprise, but in some ways it isn't. Sometimes it feels like the piece already exists and I'm just rediscovering it. I can see it ahead of time and then the pieces just fall into place when they are supposed to. Like magic.
What will you make today?