Each night for the past week, I've watched with horror, the images coming out of Japan......

I've been in touch with my dealer in Tokyo, and she assures me that she and her family are safe and alright.  But, she says, the damage to the coastal towns has been extensive; many lives were lost.  I posted this mask of Otafuku, the goddess of mirth and happiness, because that is how I think of Japan:  Soulful, peaceful, happy.  I would like that again for the country.  It is in this spirit that I would like to encourage people to give:  During rest of March and through the end of April, I will donate 10% of any sales through my blog or Etsy store to Architecture for Humanity to support the rebuilding efforts in Japan.  Please do what you can.

Here the days are getting longer and warmer.  I noticed in the garden this morning, that the blood red heads of the peonies are just attempting to push through the frost hardened ground. The moss on the rocks and ledges is brilliant crimson, chartreuse, and deep, inky green.  You can smell spring!

I posted a few of my favorite finds last night, from an afternoon spent picking, I will be posting more this morning in my Etsy store.  Here's a small sampling:

And finally, this is Franny who is ever-present when I'm trying to shoot things for the blog.......she will never be for sale!

My day job is wine buyer for a local gourmet food shop.......

though I would rather be out picking most days, I need to pay the rent!  So tonight, as a result of my wonderful friend and wine mentor, Jack Scully of Easterly Wine, I'm savoring a glass of Marr Petite Sirah.  I'm not well versed yet in all the appropriate adjectives to describe this wine, suffice it to say: it's delicious!

The snow is finally receding and the days, (thankfully), are getting longer.  The dogs are enthusiastic adventurers; today we finally were able to go through the woods for the first time since late fall.

These are pieces I picked up today.  I've been wearing the pendant since I found it......Unless someone buys it on Etsy, it may end up staying in my collection!  The small mid-century Chinese rug depicting a dog is soulful against a rich indigo ground.

I remembered this from this past summer.........

The dealer still had it......I took that as a sign and asked him to send it.  Sterling and an old sea urchin quill....beautiful.  I will wear it this summer.

I was supposed to be getting tabs for my car today, (they are overdue......long overdue!)

It just happens that the DMV has moved right down the street from one of my favorite "picking" places.  The acquisition of the tabs was necessary, if boring, and so justified my trip to town.  Happily, I accomplished a couple of other things and found these pieces too:

This is an old boats buoy, the kind they don't make anymore.  And as this is the coast of Maine, I suspect that it probably was the mooring for a Lobster dory.  It's taken on another life out of the water; the sculptural quality of the sphere and attached O-rings imbues it with character.  Today is threatening rain and solidly grey, I admit that the ochre color of this piece drew my attention immediately!

This may be the begining of mud season......

but the northwest is so deeply ingrained in my being, that days full of rain
on this coast, are met with a quiet feeling of solace and calm.  Sometimes it's hard to distinguish the edges of the islands, and it reminds me of looking out across the Straits on similar March days in the west.

These are a few things that have been posted lately in my Etsy shop.  The gouache is entitled "Winter Light" , done in 1966 by a painter in Tennessee.  The opaque quality of the blues, russets and touches of amber have a stark, but beautiful feeling to them........

                                            

Another light snow for several hours this morning......now it's clear and cold.

Last night I made farro with butter, shallots and shitake mushrooms.  Comfort food, with a good glass of carmenere.  But, I admit to thinking about spring.....and so this is my nod to longer days and warmer afternoons:  A french Bee Skep with old plaster daub over a handwoven rush base.  It will come down from the attic soon.......

I had a few extra minutes today when I went into town.....

It was grey and overcast; not a day I would expect some of the summer dealers to be open.  But low and behold, there was an old standby shop with its open flag waving.  I went in and found the most perfect thing to post when the weather has finally changed towards spring....somewhat uncharacteristic, but it had bugs, and spiders on it, so if you keep checking, I will post it soon!  In the mean time, here are two things I found this winter.  One is a piece of wood that washed up on a friend's beachfront, the other I found this past summer at a show....and the silver finial, I thought looked like a silver dipped sedum pod.