nature and more nature

We spent four days at the Upper Tangle lakes with some friends; a four hour road trip from Anchorage became a beautiful and non stop scenic view that seemed to go on interminably becoming breathtakingly unbelievable in scope. This morning, I was reviewing the video tape that I filmed of this region and couldn't believe the immensity of landscape. (The Tangle Lakes extends 160 miles of winding and convoluted lake terrain; is 120 miles south of Denali National Park and can be portaged between locations, the further area called the Lower Tangle Lakes is where it ends called Dickey Lake.) Once we arrived at the drop off, we headed out with our canoes for a two hour row and found a camp site that gave us a view that extended for miles. The next three days, we hiked and relaxed. The bugs could get bad at times so we put on our head nets. Otherwise, the weather cooperated and was cool and not unbearably hot. We didn't see too much wildlife except for some waterfowl and a beaver warning us with the slap of his tail to stay away from his abode. I found a caribou rack on one of our walks with some fresh skull still needing more attention from the maggots. Bleached wood attracted me and I managed to squeeze out a nice bundle for perhaps an anticipated art piece.

Below is our Himalayan Poppies that we harvest each year in our front garden. They have doubled in size and the color is unusually stunning because you are not so lucky to get this type of blue. I am fortunate because I live in nature. I don't live in Los Angeles anymore and miss the avid art scene. It is a trade off I guess where big city dwellers miss the purity of the outdoors and where I miss the ruckus of city life. These days however, I seem to make it a fit and have determined to make this place a home, for now, and will adjust it to my art and style, to my life and call it a grand existence.