Friday 30 March 2012

Changing seasons

Hanging in

The calendar says that winter's over, but when you live in a city like Calgary that can have all four seasons in one day, that's usually not the best way to figure out what the weather will be.

House-hunting

A better clue is the changing aural landscape: on the nice days, when it's a joy to sit outside or go for a long walk, I've been hearing more chickadees, and then they get drowned out by male robins staking out territory. Although I haven't seen one yet, I've heard several different peregrine falcon calls as well.

Mom and Dad Redpoll

And then there's this pair of house finches (which I earlier mistakenly identified as redpolls) that spent several days in the backyard, mostly around the window that's behind me where I'm usually working on the computer. With my computer/reading glasses on, I couldn't tell what was flitting behind me, but finally, after a few days of trying to get a picture of them, was successful.

Male Redpoll

The male, in particular, has been quite persistent, although I think they may have given up. I've not seen many house finches or redpolls in Calgary, so I'm hoping they've found a good home.

Not a plastic bag

Besides the days getting longer, the other sure sign of spring here is that the arctic hares are changing their coats. This one must have sat there a good twenty minutes or so, letting me take several pictures but not letting me get too close.

And yes, the last four weeks have been busy: summer rerun showed successfully in Nassau last weekend, my demo at Fish Creek Public Library on St. Patrick's Day was a hit, although it was a little strange entertaining the fifteen or twenty people who showed up after hearing my interview on CBC Radio One's Daybreak Alberta which aired that morning.

Work is progressing well on the commissioned installation piece I'm knitting, one of my other writing tasks in the next while is to develop the text for the new book (as well as applying for residencies and shows, which has taken a bit of a hiatus lately), and I'm hoping to nail down what's happening in June, July, and August sooner rather than later.

Thursday 1 March 2012

What happens next

Love is so short and forgetting is so long.
--Pablo Neruda

Alberta blue

When I packed up and headed south in December, I remember telling most of my friends that I wasn't sure what was going to happen, and that I thought I'd be pretty bored, both in the Bahamas and when I got back here to housesit for friends.

I'm glad to say that really didn't happen.

Feb2012 Calgary Flickrmeet #3

If anything, I've been busier than I could have possibly imagined, with getting accepted into a couple of shows, writing proposals, and getting things organized for the fall. It's helped, well, take my mind off the inevitable.

Where does the path lead?

So while I have a good grasp on my life until the end of May, and from August on, June and July are still a bit of a mystery.

Feb2012 Calgary Flickrmeet #2

There are now details up in the sidebar of where you can see some of my work: I'm also being interviewed (again) by Russell Bowers on CBC Radio One's Daybreak Alberta, coming soon to a radio or podcast near you. Airtime/date when I have it....

Books for Sale

The shop is currently empty.