The Start of Gentle Foliage Colors in the Barrens

It was Saturday morning, and I took my bike up to the Scotia Barrens, left it behind a tree, and walked from there. Conditions were damp and sticky, the fungi were plentiful (as were the mosquitoes), and there are some lovely yellows starting in the trees and gold in the ferns. It's a very gentle start to autumn, and it's so soothing. Like an Impressionist painting: the autumn world is made of light, and color, and peace.

There are two things I wanted to tell you. One is about that mixed media work I posted the other day, Red Flower Rain. It really impressed me, and I suddenly got the idea that I wanted to see if I could find the artist, Hung Liu, on Instagram. I wanted to follow her and say something appreciative. I wondered if she'd notice that I'd posted a photo of her work.

Well, I did find her Instagram page, and there were some nice pictures of her. In one she was giving a gallery talk. In another, she had a great big smile and her head seemed to be surrounded by a halo. As I read the postings, I learned she had passed away in August. As it turns out, I won't get to tell her how much I loved her work. *shouts into the Heavens*: What you made was beautiful!!!! It was beautiful!!!!

The second thing is a silly thing, as it should be, to balance out the serious. The big news from the Stormstown Neighbors Facebook page on this day was in regard to escaped livestock: "Loose pig chasing cars along route 550 in the Village. Drive with caution."

The posting, of course, began to collect amusing comments. People agreed that this sort of thing is one of the reasons we love living here. "That's some pig," somebody said. Another added: "I’ll take 'things I never thought I’d read as an adult' for 500, Alex."

Another posted a photo of a policeman roping the pig. A lady added a description of the pig: "Golden pink with grey accents, mid-sized as pigs go, bristles blown back from high-speed running." We had amusement all around, and it was good. Our community bonded over an escaped pig - and no, this was not that pig's first rodeo, as it's been on the lam before. :-)

So there you go. For today's Blip, you get something pretty, something sad, and something silly. That's not bad, I think! My soundtrack song is this one, to go with the gentle colors. It's a very quiet and lovely Leonard Cohen tune called Come Healing. The part I liked best is "And none of us deserving of the cruelty or the grace." Isn't that life?