In Praise of Idleness Drawings 3 and 4
October 30, 2016
Road Trip: Three Ocean Beaches in Olympic National Park
September 17, 2016
“That far-resounding roar is the Ocean’s voice of welcome. His salt breath brings a blessing along with it.”
— Nathaniel Hawthorne, from “Footprints on the Sea-shore”
Olympic National Park has several beach access points to the Pacific coast. On this road trip, we stopped at three beaches and walked barefoot in the sand.
Rialto Beach was the wildest shore with stretches of pebbly sand and sea stacks jutting up from the water.
Ruby Beach was glorious in the morning light. We descended a short trail down from the parking area to the beach. Old tree trunks littered the shore above the tide line. This beach, too, had sea stacks. But it also had tide pools to explore and fine sand to walk on.
Kalaloch Beach seemed tamer, with a wide expanse of soft sand down to the water’s edge.
“The heart can think of no devotion
Greater than being shore to the ocean —
Holding the curve of one position,
Counting an endless repetition.”
— Robert Frost, “Devotion”
What’s in Bloom in October? Anemones
October 17, 2013
I like the sprightly little balls of these anemones. They look like the antennae of insects or invading Martians. The delicate petals retain a faint pink blush.
All of my attempts at painting these flowers seem too heavy-handed. Sigh.
Autumn at Lakewold Gardens
October 7, 2011
The visual rewards of gardens may be less obvious in fall or winter, but they are still worthy of a visit. I returned to the Lakewold Gardens this past weekend to see what it had to offer on a gray, damp autumn day. Here are some photos: