March Solitude Hike 

Icicles formed from the waters of Lake Michigan appear on the sandstone at Toft's Point in Bailey's Harbor, Door County, Wisconsin, USA.

St. Patrick's Day weekend, I drove up to Egg Harbor in Door County Wisconsin to drop off woodblock prints. The art pieces were coordinating, but not matching, mounted on wood board, and gilded in copper and/or painted with ivory chalk paint. The pieces were based off of my first visit to Rock Island, that is a story for another time. 

After my visit at the gallery, I was lucky enough to be able to stay with my mother for a couple days at her home on Kangaroo Lake. She moved in last June. It is the home her parents had built for their retirement. Several owners later, it came up for sale and, at 70 years of age, she purchased it and moved up north. It has been an adventure for her and a blessing for her family.

The ice had started to melt in the lake. The "big pond"—Lake Michigan—churned with panes of ice, chilled the clear waters, and created small ice shoves on the Green Bay side. Snow still blanketed the roadside and huge hills of snow sat at the end of each driveway. Despite this, the weather was warm for that time of year! The mid-to upper 40's!

Much of the time was spent driving around the peninsula taking in as many new sights as possible; however, Saturday evening I stole away a few hours for myself to walk Toft's Point near the Ridges Sanctuary in Bailey's Harbor. No one else was there.

It was good for my soul. The only sounds were of wind rushing gently through the cedars and the muffled crunch of the snow below my feet. Here and there I would hear a sandhill crane in the distance. I really needed this time of solitude: I could feel my bones relax. My mind could rest. It has been a long, long time since I last felt that way. 

That is when magic happens... more soon.

"Aurora Borealis"

"Aurora Borealis", originally uploaded by pejnolan.

Detail of the interference ink used to create the look of the Northern Lights.

Title: Aurora Borealis
Edition Size: 24
Print Dimensions: 3.125" w x 5.375" h
Paper Dimensions: 5" w x 7" h
Ink: Graphic Chemical Water Soluble & interference inks
Woodblock: Shina
Paper: Kozoshi
Artist: Erin K. Nolan
Dated: 02.2012

NASA has confidently predicted that this year (2012) the Aurora Borealis, or 'Northern Lights', will be the brightest and most intense in 50 years.

Go to the Alaskan Geological Society's site to see the Aurora Borealis forecast for your area!

www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

This print will be available soon at Plum Bottom Pottery, Egg Harbor, Wisconsin!

After Christmas Hike 2010

Evergreens and icicles, originally uploaded by pejnolan.

Winter is terrible and beautiful. Today I went for a walk at Afton Prairie Park. The sun was warm as it shone low in the sky. After all, it was 4:00 pm and almost time for the sun to set. A few other people were there, but luckily for me we were on opposite ends of the preserve.

Grace ran like a wild dog racing up and down the snow on paths made by snow skiers. She barked at the snow clumps then bit them and threw them high into the air, catching them as they came down. I noticed Gracie's fur was indirectly reflecting a golden hue onto the snow as she ran.

It was so good to get outside and walk on this gloriously bright day. The shadows were painted with beautiful blues and violets and the prairie grass was a brilliant ochre. While walking I found a single, tiny crimson feather and wondered if it belonged to a cardinal.



Amazing views and small details were all around me.

The ride home brought to the forefront the starkness of winter in Illinois. Flat fields become simmering diamonds reflecting the sun unchanging all the way to the horizon.

Now that we are back at home, all warm, Gracie is sleeping -kicking her legs as she dreams. Dinner was red pepper, green onion and flank steak stir fry in a marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar and garlic. I also made hummus with tahini for a snack later in the evening. Back to work tomorrow...

Enough Already!

Enough Already!, originally uploaded by pejnolan.

My neighbor only parks on our side of the street when there is a snowstorm. That way his side of the street is plowed clear while the snowplow dumps all the snow into our driveway where I have to shovel it out before being able to take my son to school and take myself to work. Normally it is a minor inconvenience, but with this year's snowfall - numerous and heavy - this last storm was the last straw. I had to shovel out a 4.5 foot tall by 6 feet wide by 4 foot deep snow heap... and I put it all in behind the neighbor's truck. He asked me if there was a problem and I said, why, yes, there was. Words were exchanged to put it politely. He will most likely do the same with any remaining snowstorms, but I am writing up a plan for the city to review showing why no one should park on one side of the street after a 2-inch snowfall. No one else parks on the street - just this guy. It would be easier for the plows to remove the snow and easier for people to navigate on the street. Hopefully NEXT year I won't have to go through this anymore. There are notes in the picture on my Flickr. UPDATE: It is the following day and all the muscles in my back, hammies and wrists are painfully knotted up. Geez, I can't wait to see how I feel tomorrow. OUCH!

Winter Wonderland

The gnomes went out this morning. I told them not to. They didn't even wear their mittens! We had about 10 inches of snow overnight, but they were determined to start planting their flowers. Eventually, inevitably, I went out to rescue them when they became stuck in the snow. Silly gnomes.