What's the moor, Mom? Well, it's like the prairie.

I am reading The Secret Garden

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

to my daughters at bedtime.

It's my first time reading it too.

It takes place in England in an endlessly large manor

on the moor.

The story refers to the moor often.

We are at about the halfway point in the story.

So naturally, my curious youngest asks me,

What's the moor, Mom? I don't get it.

And I tell her,

Well it is like the prairie.  We live on land that is called the prairie.

They live on the moor.

She still doesn't "get it",

but she says,

Tomorrow morning, wake me up early and we'll look it up on the internet.

So that's what we did this morning.

Ohhhhh, that's pretty.  All those flowers...

I tell her that the flowers are in the spring, but its gray and brown in the winter

like it is here on the prairie.

In the story, Mary did not like the moor at first.

But then, as she meets Dickon, the boy who plays on the moor

all

day

and

charms the animals

of the moor,

and sees the green points poking up in the spring,

she falls in love with the moor.

I get that.

I understand that bit of perspective.

I love this prairie for much of the same reasons:
the boy with sky blue eyes and red cheeks
from being out on it all day long
and the green that starts to peek through
and the robins and birds
and animals.

And I love what reading to my girls does.

That it inspires imagination and curiosity.

How much more fascinating is it to discover a "moor"

when you've read about it in a story

than to just learn it as a vocabulary word in geography?

So I take my walk

on the prairie

and let the fresh air rush into my lungs

and allow it to give me health

as does the garden for Mary and Dickon and Colin.

In the story, Mary asks Mr. Craven a question filled with longing,

"Might I have a bit of earth?"

And his answer is beautiful . . . 

"When you see a bit of earth you want, take it, child, and make it come alive."

I think about how this hay field

down alongside the creek

is a bit of my "secret garden"

with its air 

and robins 

and nests

 and overgrown trees

and unkempt paths

and about how what is now brown and gray

will gradually turn green.

It's not really mine

but it is enjoyed by me

and spending time there makes me come alive.

The prairie

is

our moor

holding

our

secret

garden.

Summer Location for Mixed Media Art Classes!

Let me take you on a little virtual tour

of the Hoffman's Rifle Ranch

and the scenery around their guest house

which is the location of my summer mixed media art classes!

The Hoffman's ranch is located south of White Owl, SD, on Corral Road.

Locals know it as the old Two Rivers Ranch,

named because the Belle Fourche River runs into the Cheyenne River.

The scenery is rich with wildlife and prairie grasses and wildflowers.

It is a beautiful mix of prairie grassland dotted with pristine dams and ponds

where mallard ducks lazily and happily swim along 

and cedar filled river breaks hide 

mule deer, antelope, and perhaps occasional bobcats or mountain lions.

Surprisingly some of the breaks are so filled with pines and rock

that you would think you were hiking in the Black Hills.

Appropriately this spot below has been named

"Little Black Hills" by Gina Hoffman.

It may take a significant drive along SD Highway 34 to get to your destination,

but you will be so glad that you adventured here!

It is so beautiful that it is hard for me to believe that Brent and Gina are

sharing the secret of what they have down in these breaks.,

but they get such joy from sharing.

The Hoffman's will be hosting my art classes

and serving lunch or dinner

in their recently built guest house.

Brent and Gina believe in warm hospitality and good food.

They are so excited to share their little corner of the world with us.

This summer, I am leading three mixed media classes

on four days in July.

You can read about them and register here:

PRAIRIE ART ADVENTURES

Bring your camera!

Being here will be as much of a treat as your art time!

~ * ~

Saturated in Purple Cone Flowers

One of the ways

that

I

fall in love

with the prairie

is with focus.

I love these

purple cone flower

babies

almost as much

as

I love sunflowers.

Just saturating

myself in their beauty

brings fascination

to

what is simply along the roadside.

And that makes me

have

affection

for the road --

for seasons --

for

home.

How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways . . . 

How many angles,

how many views,

how many perspectives,

how many stages,

how many ways

can I photograph a purple cone flower

so that each view is unique?

so that each view takes the breath?

so that each view increases the love for here and now?

*

If you would like to spend some time

getting more comfortable with your camera

and learning some creative ways to "focus and fall in love with here and now"

check out my "Painted Prairie Song" retreat-style class here 

at Shaw Ranch, White Owl, SD

on July 27 from 1:00-8:00 p.m.

Registration is here:  White Owl Wings Classes

To be notified of upcoming classes for adults and also for kids,

sign up for my newsletter at the top of the right hand column of this blog.

To see photos of my recent classes with kids, "Sunshine On My Shoulders",

 check out my previous posts here:

This Sunshine-y Moment Matters

and

Sunshine On My Shoulders {and in my heart}

Walk The Line

So, I love fence lines.

I love wooden posts.

Not new steel posts that my husband prefers.

I especially love mangled, old, lichen-covered cedar posts.

They are so much more interesting, yes?

So much more character.

I don't see what needs to be fixed.

I see textures and colors and light.

But I am seeing a bit more with my husband's eye

and trying to think like him before I post pictures.

So, this one is pretty good, yes?  

Straight lines, no missing staples.

Bit by bit, I have started walking the fence lines on the ranch.

Shhhhhh . . . don't tell my husband.

He'll make me carry a backpack 

with a can of staples and a wire stretcher.

But a crazy thing I realized

gathering pairs in the small pasture behind our house, one day,

was that I had never seen the northeast corner of that pasture.

And it is right behind my house!

So, I decided to start

walking the fence lines

of the ranch here at home.

It is surprising

how much newness is right around the corner

or right over a hill.

Hatched eggs

or

buds ready to bravely bloom.

As I walk,

I find that I discover my favorite places

that I return to again and again.

And I also have new country to walk

when I get bored

or when the seasons change

and the walk in the creek that I love in the fall and early spring

is overgrown with tall grasses

that hide snakes and ticks.

My paths of walking change with the seasons.

So do the treasures I discover along the way.

When I walk the fence line,

I hum along to Johnny Cash who sings in my mind,

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine

I keep my eyes wide open all the time

I keep the ends out for the tie that binds

Because you're mine

I walk the line.

Reminds me of one of my favorite verses from Proverbs:

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is a wellspring of life.

Walking the line ~ the fence line ~ and lines of following God

are ways that I guard my heart.

A walk on the prairie brings me quiet time where I can hear God's whispers.

Where I see beauty that heals and that renews hope.

I see God's ways and His lessons everywhere when I walk the fence line.

I have posted this excerpt on my facebook page several times

from Johnny Cash's autobiography and I'll share it here as well because I love his heart here:

"I want to write a song that has something to SAY. A song that will have a lot of meaning not only for me, but for everybody who hears it--that says I'm going to be true not only to those who believe in me and depend on me, but to myself and to God-- a song that might give courage to others as well as myself . . . " 

~ Johnny Cash about "I Walk The Line"

I am a fan of Johnny Cash.

More so since I have read his autobiography

and even watching the movie Walk The Line.

He really was a walking miracle.

He should have died so many times.

He could have remained in the pit of addiction for the rest of his days.

But his story of redemption and living a new life

is one of my all time favorites.

Whenever I have doubts,

I think about his story,

his journey and struggle and walk with God,

falling down, back in the pit, but getting up and getting out.

His battles, his losses and his victories.

Sometimes, I find it helpful to hang onto my faith in God, and what He can do with a life

because of Johnny Cash's life story.

Imperfect, stained, scarred,

but filled with hope and new starts and redemption.

Broken and beautiful.

Raw and true.

*

*

Below is my last bunch of wildflowers that I photographed this morning.

While I was crouched down on the gravel road, 

I could hear noise 

and I glanced up.

Our neighbor's horses

were looking at me with unashamed curiosity.

Coming closer and closer

to see what that crazy lady is doing on the ground.

It was like I could hear their conversation,

even though they never uttered a word.

 

So slowly like they thought they were sneaking.

And then my beagle, Toby, caught scent of a rabbit,

and started his beagle bray.

This distracted them for a moment.

{See there is one of those steel posts . . . not as interesting is it?  It's even leaning!}

And then they remembered that they were

trying to figure out what I was and what I was doing.

Precious.

Childlike curiosity.

Little treasures

from walking the line today.

*

If you'd like to walk some fence lines with me this summer,

have your eyes opened to see treasures on the prairie,

get a bit more creative and comfortable with your camera,

and be brave with learning some new ways to express yourself with art,

even if you are a complete rookie with a camera and art supplies,

check out my art and photography retreat-style summer classes here:

White Owl Wings Summer Art and Photography Classes with Jodene Shaw

Little Adventures on the Prairie

The pasque flowers must be blooming in the Black Hills.

I'm seeing photos of them on facebook.

So they are probably blooming on the north side of Mom & Dad's hill.

I've never seen them on the prairie,

but then, I've never looked before.

The pasque flower is South Dakota's state flower.

I have memories of home picking fists full on that north slope.

Erin and I went out hunting on the prairie.

We didn't find any pasque flowers but this is what we did find.

One hour on the prairie.

Horned larks.

Canada Geese.

Last year's grass and weeds and wildflowers.

Erin whined most of the drive.

That she was bored and hungry and tired.

But then we got out of the car.

And she discovered a great place

for

adventure.

The exploring began.

Little treasures in the ground.

Trails for the taking.

Geese and ducks and red-winged blackbirds to spy on.

Coyote tracks?

Or has one of the dogs been here?

A deep breath, before saying,

"Mom, I've never seen geese so close!"

Roots.

Discovering a wonderful place

for hide-and-seek.

"Mom, you count.  I'll hide."

Popping out of the cliffs

like a little prairie dog.

And thinking she is quite

sneaky . . .

My whiner did not want to go home.

In fact, she decided,

"This is a great place for an Easter egg hunt."

"I'm so creative.  I thought of that idea all by myself."

No pasque flowers.

But loads of fun.

Reminding myself not to miss the treasure that is there

when what you hope to find is not there.

One hour of abundance.

"I had a great time with you, Mom."

"Me too, Erin.  That was fun."

*

All photos copyright 2012 Jodene (Jodi) Shaw.