Here, the path has taken me to the Middle. The Middle of the Great States, this time Iowa and Illinois. I had to go back, you see: I was teaching beekeeping and cooking, and amidst all of those classes, I have again been the student, learning how to have a full heart. As I had mentioned in my sojourns to Iowa before---there is such a broad sense of community and self sufficiency there, that it should serve as a beacon for how America is, or should be. A fun and friendly spirit of the heart which is harkens back to a safe and inspired place we should all have.
There have been old friends, new friends, and all of them family in some way or another. This journey has been a feast for the soul, and I have left the table full to the brim.
Where to begin? There is too much in the telling, but this tale is too good to pass. Pull up a chair in the next week, I say, and listen to tales about bread baking, butter making, bee swarms, a world of old objects, and other baudy country tales.
For now, I will start at the point BEFORE I left, with this token of gratitude to Maggie and her mother Donna, the two women who began this insanely beautiful journey by reaching out to me last April, and hosting me at their amazing Prairieland Herbs business.
This is my "Thank You" Gift:
This was a long felled tree in Kansas, cut down for me when I went to visit the farm upon which it lay. For long moments, it lay with it's breathren in a box, waiting for me to get up the courage to paint on it.
For long moments, I convinced myself I was too busy or not clever enough to know how to paint on such a medium. But I had an idea, fueled by Donna's love of the Moon (and truly, who doesn't love the Moon?), and so a hot air Moon Balloon carrying my wild haired friend Maggie, and her Mama, sister, and their bevvy of friends carried them away. I hoped this magical little token would suffice to convey my gratitude to this magical group of people......
(A bit of production progress....)
...with more magic to come!
5 comments:
Beautiful Zan! I love the whimsy of it.Makes me really want to head to Prairie Land Herbs sometime for a road trip visit! Seem like super neat people.
Glad you had such a great time here in the Midwest, Maybe we will meet another time lol. Wish I would have known you were going to be at Tamara's, I would have had you stop over next door to visit :0( Maybe next time?
Brad said thank you and that your bee class was awesome and he learned so much! Thank you so much!
I'm so looking forward to reading all your posts about Iowa and Illinois! I really like the sign you painted, and I look forward to seeing in up close! I love the story of the painting you created, and of course Maggie's pink hair!
Thanks! Prairieland Herbs IS excellent and a beautiful place! Hope you do get to see it, seems like lots of great folks all around!
Ahhh, we didn't even know you lived next door to Tamara! We drove to here and thought--wow, that's a lot of animals over by her, and then later she let us know it was your farm! Good stuff!
Yes, I will be back in April for more classes in Iowa. I hope I can get to tour more of the MidWest, you are all super! :)
Happy October Zan!
what a most lovely painting from the heart! A beautiful and most magical gift.
I look forward to your future posts of your heartwarming journey :)
Hugs,
~Diane
Aww, thank you Diane! It was definitely a challenge, this log painting!
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