Absorbing Culture and Climate

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“Attending there let us absorb all the culture of nations and dissolve into our judgment all their codes.” ~ William Empson 

About 20 years ago, my interest in Native American history and lore began. As I read book after book of all things Indian to our young son, I became as absorbed in the culture as he did. I learned right along with him.  Never did I dream this East coast native, would get the opportunity to fulfill her dreams by climbing up the ladders and into the caves of the cliff dwellings at Bandolier National Monument. This weekend, I saw it all for myself first hand, along with our son who has gone from toddler to filmmaker, in what seems like a blink of the eye! 

While in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, we stopped and saw the site of the New Mexico International Film Festival. The venue will be as unique as the mission of the film fest itself.  Come February 2011, the  town of Jemez Springs, will be filled to the brim with like-minded artists, whose films have been selected for excellence in independent filmmaking. The community is inhabited with residents who are fulfilling their lives with their passion for the arts. Writers, potters, musicians, jewelers, photographers  and other independent minded people draw inspiration from their surroundings in this town,  removed from city living. For more information on this film festival, and to get a peak on video at it’s awe inspiring surroundings, http://bit.ly/abaSuQ.

Thanks to our host, Marc Leonard, Associate Director of the New Mexico Film Festival for taking this weekend to show us the sights of the area. I even came away with a little pocket change from my 15 minute winning streak at the Sandia Casino. Our quick trip, unfortunately, left no time to visit the galleries in nearby Santa Fe, but it gives me one more reason to return!

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Georgia, On My Mind!

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Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into.”         ~Henry Ward Beecher 

Georgia O’Keeffe, on my mind,  that is! All of my friends and family know by the gardens that surrounded my home in Vermont that flowers are my passion. Working in my gardens fulfilled my soul for many hours every spring, summer and fall. It wasn’t until the last pretty perennial was killed off by frost that I would then spend my idle hours reading about flowers from my library of gardening books. The square footage of our gardens exceeded the size of my home. 

In this dry climate of Steamboat Springs, CO I rarely see homes with flower gardens on the same scale that mine were in Vermont. I miss that! Vermonters sure can and do grow flowers, unlike any I have seen elsewhere. The cool, dewy nights give the perennials just what they need to thrive – a nice drink of water. 

Now residing in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, a new opportunity with regards to flowers has arisen. We are that much closer to an art museum that I look forward to visiting sometime very soon. Our travels to visit our son in New Mexico will bring me close to the area of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. 

I may not be able to pick a posy at the Museum, but, I know my eyes will pop when I set foot inside the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe. Once again I will be surrounded by flowers and my art education will continue too!

P.S. Don’t you just love this O’Keeffee poppy? Thanks to my friend, Vesna from Macedonia, this image hangs on my wall, where I can view it all year long.

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