Gardner’s Farm Update

The girly kid is getting big. We named her Sadie. She is such an acrobat. I should get her into dubstep music because she has got her parkour moves down. She is always bouncing from tree to tree and jumping over the other goats. So amusing.

Since I found out that my neck is seriously messed up about a month and a half ago, I haven’t cleaned the pen. It’s pretty gross right now, but I haven’t been able to rally the troops to do it for me. But, I can’t do it right now. I think I messed it up in the mad rush to get it cleaned up after the thaw. I was working at a crazy pace whenever I had a chance to get everything ready for summer and now I’m having shooting pains in my arm. Not good. So,now, the spring cleaning is still not all done. I would have been able to get it all done if I were more of a tortoise and not a hare.

Our mornings are still freezing so the tomatoes, peppers, squash, and flower seeds are still tiny and on the kitchen table. The peas and carrots are going good though.

This is our new gigantic chicken castle. Well, actually it is the unfinished garage that was on our property repurposed as a chicken coop. It was a work in progress for about a month while we brooded some chicks and ducklings in our master bath. When they grew enough feathers to fly/jump out of the metal tub they were in, it was time to finish it up. I didn’t like the poo on the toilet seat cover. So today, we hung the door.

Inside the chicken castle: Our friend gave us three adult chickens and this lovely tractor coop. She had an urban chicken set up and had had her fill of chicky-poop on her picnic table. I can’t blame her. We were happy to give them a good home and get eggs right away. Yay!
These are the babies we’ve been brooding for the last month. The ducks are so big now and still have no outer feathers. Still just all fluff, poor naked ducks. Keeping them all in the house for so long has made them very friendly. I’m glad to have birdy friends.

Lots to do when the weather gets warm, but I’m glad to do it when I can. I hope my neck feels better soon so I can dig in full speed again. But not too frantically like last time!

Horrible bad poetry (I 'm still cleaning the garage)

Getting in touch with one's true feelings and emotions is hard work. Reporting the results to the world is harrowing.

With that said, here are some poems I wrote a few years ago and have resurrected for y'all to read. (Why?) Mostly they are about the emotions that were swirling around in the empty pot I call my mind. I was in a pretty strange place and trying to figure out what to do with myself. I had no art, no love, no family to keep me sane. So, I wrote what I knew.

I'm not saying it's good, and I'm not saying you should read it. But it's here if you really want to torture yourself by reading it like I did by writing it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wanting

With sultry perfume it intoxicates
but salty, it scours the mouth

wanton desire drips from the chin
stains the face with envy

it's venom pulses through the bleeding heart
burning away at the delicate interior
with juice as bitter as bile

being digested completely
this fruit sends hatred seeping
through pores, saturating the mind

causing the slow death
of reality

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Untitled

On the wall are dreams I've had
framed in wood and behind glass
some you'll find are lovely and bright
others are dark and cheerless
every one magnificent
like a gem polished
under light
look at these dreams
and they disappear
to think of them they become
vivid as noon day sun
but they are not for your eyes
they are here
for me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lazy Pigs

Afternoon, lazy pigs lounge
swooning over mud baths
soaking in opulence
purged of anxiety

Open snouts savor the foulness
of slop farmer-man serves up
in bone china troughs

Piggy led away in velvet collar
-an exemplary swine-
prepared for ultimate reward

cherry glazed and bacon fried
beautiful Sunday morning.

(on the insanity of luxury)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Basement

Footsteps pound ceiling-floor
authority paces heavily

Sleep comes slow
for homesick infants,
now adult,
still caged

Inside, silent screams
belated rebellion thwarted
by under-developed rage

through paper walls
game show canned sighs
garbled alcoholic rantings
listened to passively

lullaby for strangled minds

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Swarm

Swarms buzzing around the glow
fearing the solitude of darkness
Singing wings to secure a place
beside the light that means safety
Blinding themselves to their own selves
All they see are swarms

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Untitled

Sandwiched between
nowhere and somewhere
here and there
is now;
The place reserved for those
who are paying attention.

Found in a Box in the Garage

These are some REAAAALY old drawings I found in a box in the garage a couple of weeks ago. They were done before I moved to Missoula between 1999 and 2002. That seems like a lifetime ago. I had totally forgot about most of them. In fact, I've been doing so many abstract works, collages and other oddities, I almost forgot I could actually draw! Though I suppose that's still up for debate...

"Children are the Last Fairytale Creatures" & "Maestro"

"Barbie" & "My Beaufort Bedroom"


"Even Insects Get the Blues"


"My Beaufort Kitchen"