Farewell dear Friend

a few days after Christmas 2003 Hello old friend a few days after Christmas 2008 Goodbye old friend

Rosie and Lucky

Morgan and Lucky

having a cowboy cookout in the driveway Roscoe and Rosie

It is 2 days past the parting of our dear old friend "Lucky" - the biggest, fattest, most noble, gruntable, kissable, huggable , protector of our little farm. Lucky came to us on a cold winter's day with bleeding legs and a shrunken belly a few days after Christmas. We had seen him before, digging in the trash, catching him just before dawn running away like a wild animal. He was a handsome pure bred, had a nice blue collar on him. surely he belonged to someone!

Then one day, just after an upsetting family Christmas, he appeared at our house in the early am as usual, looking for food. This time he was closer to the house and didn't run away when i talked to him. I could see his legs were raw and bleeding and as i talked sweetly to him he dropped his big boy ways and came to me. i invited him in for a bowl of food and a warm up by the fire...the rest is history. The top photo was taken then...he literally bee lined to Rosie like a long lost lover, parked it infront of the fire and stayed for 5 years.

After a long search and neighbor interrogation we learned he'd been dumped. No one wanted him and in fact he was scheduled to be executed that day by the evangelical ranch down the way. nice. anyways..don't get me started...he became our boy, thyroid problem and all...his tag actually read "LUCKY" .

That summer i lost my first born ...a blue heeler named Schnooey Hutz (don't ask) and experienced my first euthanasia. to make a long story not so long...i lost it. the tears came and wouldn't stop...all the events that had passed through me in those years, the dreams i had bundled up in his ranchy little form..the farm, the babies, the husband, the committment to growing up and staying put, growing a family, losing my grandmother, my best friend, and others....it all came out...and who was there to hold me up and soak my sadness...LUCKY.

He was a soaker ...he let the babies crawl on him, pull his eyelashes, let new puppies and kitties jump on his face...and never let an iota of bad ass outa him...and yet, when the other neighbor's pit bulls (2 of em!) attacked he took em! had 2 very expensive surgeries to repair his mangled ear...and still let my son pretend to be a dog and eat from his bowl. (i know...cooties)

Besides all the above..the deep sadness that fill me has a question: "Who was inside that big furry body anyways??" I knew Lucky with every fiber in my body...and boy did he know Rosie.

I am inviting a comment discussion on what everyone thinks about animals and spirits . He feels just as important as anyone i have loved and been loved by. A few days after Christmas this year we all sat with him, laid our hand on him, petting and weeping as he slipped off to sleep in front of the fire, the same exact spot he had claimed years before. A long lost wayfarer who spent his whole life just trying to get here...where he will stay ....forever.

xo milady

Merry Blessings to You & Yours!

Hey, i just saw that kid in the red hat ripping in the skate park last week!

A corner of my kitchen

My crafty boy Morgan

The Colona Christmas Paegant ... seriously, could it be any more Ingalls-ey? ! :)

Christmas is Colorado folks...not ski town Colorado but bum-#!(*k ranchy neighborly Colorado where i actually live. Out here we still put Christmas trees in classrooms and don't think we may offfend by wishing a stranger a Merry one...its all about mangers and baby Jesus and town tree lightings, free cider and children fat as ticks in layers of handmedowns. I made my family go to this paegant at which my teen protested its "stupid" ity. Well, i'm no super Christian or anything but that was just plain WRONG. How can you deny the homemade costumes, the little lamby and goat, the pinky lavender dusk lit cottonwoods and poorly recited Christmas story by an old lady in a scratchy microphone? Exactly, so i made her freeze and walked away from her to get these PICS

Its weird to admit to another revolution of the earth and see my baby is pulling away. everyone was right...it does go fast. At least she crafts with me and still wants to be suprised by Santa. Its the magic we all love and hang on to ...unseen joy can indeed appear out of nowhere as long as we believe it can.

Enjoy your loved ones and even plain ol strangers...Blessings friends.

xo milady

Worship the Light

I am gravely behind in my elf duties...though my kitchen appears as though it has belched a belly full of crafting items, glitter, wooden balls and beads. Its the process im in love with. Trying hard to not get all grinchy and join the Today show panic of postal deadlines and proper giftgiving...the garbage man? seriously? a tip?
Pop in Ray Charles and plug in the glue gun...bring it back down to earth...
The snow is really piling up now and it looks like Narnia out my window. we rallied 3 of our white horses and did the 3 minute parade. This is a pic of Roasabel on her horse wearing a variety of tree skirts and battery operated lights at the town bonfire. small town magic.
blessings to all!

xo milady

Uplifted from Down Under

meet my dear friend and mentor
Rikki Stubbs an email from her this depressing sunday morning is just what i needed...news of colour and decor and my favorite place: sydney australia. i've got my ear buds stuffed in my ears piping endless moody tunes into my head as i pour over rikki's impressive portfolio...all accomplished since i worked for her back in the days of freedom and wonder. my mind is scheming. i'm aching for worldly encounters, things i'm not so used to but know so well & feed this impossible heart of mine. yes i can is muffled by the 't as i strain to hear its promise of an adventurous and glamorous future. meanwhile i 'll go feed the chickens and scrub yet another round of pots n pans. how i wish to be with my dear friends again!



xo milady

Wings & Pixies

richard doyle

Amelia Jane Murray " Lady Oswald"

Ok...it's true. I have an elf problem. I'm working on Christmas designs centering around elf portraits and feeling like i need a little inspiration. Lo and Behold...i ran across these little elf illustrations and immediately felt that tummy flip of familiarity that lets me know i'm on to something. Its true, i can admit that now...fairies and ladybugs are a few of my favorite things! :) Along with my Sicilian potter soul and Pioneer bits there is some Victorian fairy stuff in there too. I'm sure of it.

xo milady

Date Farmers

Im finding I have have a passion for politics all of the sudden...Obama feels like a friend to underdogs, the artists, the regular good folk, the kind hearted believers in goodness...this folksy propaganda art flips my skirt. I've always loved the crusty ol'Mexican retablos ...so this is IT for me!I found this via Anahata's ever inspiring blog - the perfect start to a new week.

Yes We DID!

Obama by Shepard Fairey YES WE CAN AND DID AND WILL.....

Its the morning after election night and it feels a bit like Christmas when for a while it seemed that Santa had forgotten about all of us Americans on the island of misfits and then it happened...through the worst storm ever Rudolph kept his promise and came for us and and made us believe that miracles do indeed happen if you just hold out. Check out this site about the artist Shepard Fairey and his art's role in Obama's campaign. My heart is swooning with hope and for the first time in my life i truly feel proud of my country.

xo milady

Pea Green and Stump Henge

meet my dear friend and sister of junk shari. she is my partner in misplaced farm girl crimes : collecting tin buckets, stuffing storage spaces with treasures and choosing a margarita on a stump over any fancy get together. yep...i recently went on (another) field trip to her farm and helped her at the Olde Market at Pea Green - an annual tag sale in the middle of nowhere . Check out my flickr - such a farm filled fun day .

xo milady

I'm Dreaming of a ....

Halloween...check. October...check. I'm a little groggy from being a Goth Hannah Montana ( husband was Goth Billy Rae complete with saggy wide legger pants with tons of chains on them) lastnight but am finding comfort in surfing etsy for cute weird little things like this to get me in the Christmas spirit. Anyone who knows me knows it don't take much. I think this little pinecone elf ornament is a possibility for myself and the chittles. Mom, don't look!

have a lovely Sunday.

Milady

Slippery Slope

the road to my house When the leaves turn and it still feels warm and wonderful there is a underlying tone of panic rising from the valley and in to my very soul. The calves have been separated from their mamas and cry all night haunting my sleep. The squirrels and I are competing for the adorable little acorns my scrub oaks eject each year. Surely there is something wonderful we can make with them for ornaments?! Toys, chairs, baseball bats and wayward shoes all need to be picked up and soon. Animals need to be ready for icy cold temps and our own shelter could use a little energy efficiency too.
Winter is coming, looming and creeping, threatening to catch me off guard , ill prepared to survive the months to come. No seriously. it just feels that way! The pioneer in me has some kind of residual memory of human hibernation...keeping the chitlin alive in subzero temps in a house made out of logs. In this age of spoiled life my instincts are focused more on preparing my gourmet canned goods, organizing my craft plan for the hoildays, unearthing the "winter stuff" and before you know it , we're buried in snow . Yep...a slippery slope indeed.

Morgan's "Franken-einstein" pumpkin that imploded and grew blue hair.

Benoit Debuisser

My angel i'm making Christmas cards with this year.

XO milady

Go ahead...make yoour own damn award!

This is a great way to boost sagging confidence . Get your own here courtesy of Keri Smith and her ingenious Artists Survival Kit. Go ahead...make your day!

stay positive!

xo milady

Milady and The Farm Chicks

Today I am happy to announce that The ART FARM has been added to the the Farm Chicks new blog ! I am a die hard fan of
Country Living magazine so this makes me feel like i just won the lottery.
Its part of my recycled grandma Morgan Bones...that homey secret admirer of Martha Stewart, and all things prim and proper, domestic and motherly.

check it out!

xo milady

milady's dream summer camp

I so want to go here for summer camp.

Field Trip

Last sunday was the end of our farmer's market. I can't quite wrap my head around that so i invited myself to my favorite grower's farm in nearby sunny Paonia. I want to know about growing fruit trees, farmify this mountainous terrain...apparently it will require incredibly hardy breeds and a fence worthy of China. Its ok...i'm already dreaming up "decorative" deer protection.
Oh, to grow a peach!

xo milady

Kindness Counts

A while back i noticed a pic of a cute family on Etsy calling all crafters to help a lovely artist and her husband who had been in a plane crash. Just one peek at Stephanie "Nie Nie"'s blog moved me to give something. I dug around in my studio and found a nice finished piece "Bella" which reminded me of this family's sweetness. It sold today at auction and i am so pleased.
THANK YOU TO THE LUCKY BUYER! Between you and me...we just helped someone who needs it.

blessings xo milady

News

Wanna a break from the political mayhem in the news? Read article in the Watch titled "from Haute Couture to Folk Artiste" (I tried to hyperlink this but can't. help!!)
this about yours truly I forgot to tell her about my schooling in Italy and European lives.
Ps I hyperlinked!!!! sounds like something one should say "excuse me" after.
I'm doing the i did it dance. happy me.

xo milady

Squirrel

its the tail end of hay season, the last of the big rolls are ready for stacking and storing. my box elders are turning yellow and telling all of us squirrels its time to collect and prep.
i'm off to the farmer's market to p/up my heirloom tomatoes i can't grow at this altitude and make my annual batch of salsa and sauces. how the hell i know how to do this is beyond me. must be in my Morgan Bones.

xo milady

Mantra

"i am an illustrator, i am an illustrator, i am a illustrator...." this is my mantra today. 3 kids in school fulltime now...i have time to myself for the first time in 12 years! i am feeling the need to get back into freelance illustrating through a rep. Any suggestions out there?
Torrefazione Coffee was so fun. i love working collaboratively and in sync with the city from the ranch.

Brothers

upstairs, in the sloped ceiling attic, was where the boys slept. Knowing how bitter cold it gets here in the winter i can't believe that people survived the night in their beds given the fact that a few tree trunks and mortar and a few sheets of newspaper were the only thing between you and the wild outdoors. The boys room, pin ups of pirates, hunting and indians still decorate the victorian wallpaper. I found out today i got permission to go in one more time...i am slightly obsessed with this "project"!
Beautifully eery.

xo milady

Contact

When i first moved to this valley in hopes of uncovering my own Morgan Bones, my familiar family history told in Grandma Morgan's leather tooled photo albums, i noticed a home cradled by the bough of one grand cottonwood and got an idea: what if i just sat with that old wooden lady and let her tell me her story....well, it all came together yesterday as i actually got invited in to help a friend memorialize her great, great grandparents home...the old wooden lady under the tree. As i took the photos the stories unfolded...stories of how grandma would wash on tuesday, bake bread on monday, turn up the radio and tell the grandkids to hush every hour on the hour when there was a news update.
I know now that i am to pursue the skin prickles, follow my senses, gather the images, note the words...the story must be told. This is all i know today.

The Princess

Told ya...this last week of summer is always about our county fair and rodeo. I always start the first day of school off with a fuzzy head from canned beer ie liquid gluten. Rosie was a real pro all bling-ed out on her white horse as princess. Tate won the bed roll race and my cauliflower was thrown out because of aphid infestation.
The funniest thing i saw was a single petunia in a jar with a first place ribbon on it. And i thought my watermelon hued sweet peas were so special!!!
i love every corney red neck inch of it!

The Sea

i'm still pining for the wild open ocean. Nehalem State Park Oregon. Reality is...Ranch Ranch Ranch....and the Rodeo this weekend.

From Ranch to Shining Sea

There's my girl...Pearl the wonder dog. She had so much fun chasing seagulls and playing tag with a wave skipping swallow. The swallow would coax her out to see and this little ranch dog would run straight into the surf in pursuit. I loved being there. The ginormous open space, the salty misty air. The night before we left my little son bulldozed his head across the cool soft sand then just laid there looking pensive..."i don't want to leave this place" he said as he lovingly smoothed the sand out with his fat little hands.
Its in his soul...afterall Morgan (my maiden name and his name) is Welsh for "Dweller by the Sea".