Sep22

autumn comes and autumn leaves.

Posted on September 22, 2026 by beth

“Autumn Leaves”, Carol Collette, Etching on Paper with Watercolor

autumn comes to us on this fine first day, september 22

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Carol Collette was born in 1945 in Toronto, Canada, and graduated with honors from the Ontario College of Art.

She is an etcher, printmaker and painter and some of her art has been inspired by the rural beauty of New England, where she lived for some years, as well as the beauty of Hawaii, where she now resides for part of her year.

You can see more of Carol’s work here https://www.carolcollette.com/

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‘the heart of autumn must have broken here and poured its treasure upon the leaves.’

-charlotte bates

Sep21

mizzle.

Posted on September 21, 2026 by beth

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Baby cheetah in Africa by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Greg Cortopassi.

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it’s been mizzling for a few days straight here

not everyone is amused by being in a mizzle

but the earth loves mizzling and is smiling.

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Mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, by National Wildlife Contest entrant Diana Rebman.

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Mizzle

Light rain; drizzle.

Origin: Dutch, 15th century

“Mizzle” is likely based on the Dutch “mieselen,” meaning “to rain gently.”

Mizzle is the lightest kind of rain, quiet and steady, keeps the grass green and the flowers bright.

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‘some people feel the rain, others just get wet. ‘

-bob marley

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source credit: word genius /photo credits: national wildlife foundation

Sep20

still life?

Posted on September 20, 2026 by beth

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lollipops, necklace, menu, glasses, application, hat, baby doll

all in one little corner

tiny bits of life

come and go

left behind

still waiting

still life?

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‘… life, by definition, is never still.’

-kurt vonnegut

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leo’s, ann arbor, mi, usa – late summer 2026

Sep19

‘the dance is a poem of which each movement is a word.’- mata hari

Posted on September 19, 2026 by beth

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baby ballerinas wait backstage for their moment in the sun 

emotions are mixed

at last

in the spotlight

shining bright

one tiny dancer goes rogue

decides to solo

sure sign

she is of my clan

love her even more for that.

(here’s to you, grandie B)

—

‘dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery.’

~ martha graham

Sep18

‘ wonder what it’s like to be able to put your hair in a low ponytail and not look like a founding father..’ author unknown

Posted on September 18, 2026 by beth

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founding fathers working on yet another rewrite

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relaxing into having my hair cut

on a busy, bright morning

sudden burst of excitement behind me

founding father hair!

a stylist and her client

up and laughing

looking in the mirrors

taking pictures

happy and excited

after having

her very full head of hair

put into

many many rollers

taking them all out

it had

morphed into

roll after roll of hair

an unusual style

i’ve seen

somewhere before

have to admit

her hair

reminded me of

some of our early countrymen

great way to start the day

happy nod to our forefathers

some of the original influencers.

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‘“i have heard, indeed, that my predecessor (President Adams)

sometimes decided things against his council by dashing and trampling his wig on the floor.”

-Thomas Jefferson, 3rd US President (in a letter to William Short, 1807)

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image credits: google images

Sep17

magic and illusion.

Posted on September 17, 2026 by beth

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2 paintings by the same artist, painted 11 years apart.

Top: The Sun Sets Sail, 2001

Bottom: Toward the Horizon, 2012

Artist: Rob Gonsalves, acrylic on canvas

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*Robert “Rob” Gonsalves (1959-2017), was a Canadian painter of magic realism. He produced original works, limited edition prints and illustrations for his own books. He gained international recognition after showing his work at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition and was later featured in a variety of galleries. Gonsalves wrote and illustrated children’s picture books like Imagine a World and Imagine a Day, winning the Governor General’s Award for English-language children’s illustration in 2005.

The Sun Sets Sail, 2001, depicts a moonlight modern roadway transforming seamlessly into a fleet of sailing ships on the sea.

Movement is created through the optical illusion present in the painting.

Toward the Horizon, 2012, revisits the earlier concept from The Sun Sets Sail, but shifts the setting from a daytime aqueduct and sunset to a cooler, modern, moonlit roadway.

From one perspective, the arches and pillars of a moonlit highway bridge carry a car forward. From the opposite visual interpretation, those exact architectural shapes become the hulls and white sails of ships cutting through the water.

Gonsalves stated that the wonder of life depends on one’s point of view. His paintings suggest that magic is an essential truth of our environment, hidden just beneath the surface of ordinary things.

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‘art is the perpetual motion of illusion. the highest purpose of art is to inspire.’

-bob dylan

Sep16

joy doesn’t have to wait.

Posted on September 16, 2026 by beth

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this is what this library did on sunday

brilliant

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Out of School Book Fair

for Adults

Are you still chasing the feeling of your school’s annual book fair? Nostalgic for bendy pencils, scented markers, and novelty erasers? Come feel like a kid again at our Out of School Adult Book Fair!

We’ll offer free trinkets and books that bring meld nostalgia with adult interests! We’ll have games and crafts set up for a fun time together!

For adults, 18 and over

Bob Lucas Memorial Library & Literacy Center

Our library serves an ethnically-diverse community of disaster survivors, most of whom lost everything. They are well worth supporting. – www.altadenalibrary.org

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‘joy doesn’t have to wait until the hard stuff is over.

it can exist in simple, ordinary moments alongside the mess.

joy isn’t a reward for overcoming pain;

it is the practice that helps us get through it.’

-lori deschene

Sep15

‘don’t let the pigeon drive the bus.’- mo willems

Posted on September 15, 2026 by beth

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bus-ku

great big yellow bus

new shoes bouncing kids drivers

joy tears school’s coming

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‘you can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what’s in your heart.’

-carol ann duffy

Sep14

totem.

Posted on September 14, 2026 by beth

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walking the neighborhood

totem stands

waiting to be discovered

neighbor’s yard

an artist

who often

has something

to say

with his work

the details here

lightning bolt at the top

red fish

dragonfly

compass rose

238 miles to manistee

in the upper peninsula

how do they connect

what is the message

art puzzle

feels to me like

an ode to our state

michigan.

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‘you must be absolutely honest and true in the depicting of a totem for meaning

is attached to every line. you must be most particular about detail and proportion.’

-emily carr

*Emily Carr (1871 –1945) was a Canadian artist who was inspired by the monumental art and villages of the First Nations and the landscapes of British Columbia. She was a vivid writer and chronicler of life in her surroundings, praised for her “complete candor” and “strong prose”. ‘Klee Wick’ her first book, published in 1941, won the Governor General’s Literary Award for non-fiction and this book and her other writings are still much in demand today.

Sep13

true north.

Posted on September 13, 2026 by beth

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stopping to ‘fuel up’

with my six-pack of grandies

on our road trip to the north.

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“never go on trips with anyone you do not love.”

-ernest hemingway

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a road food break above, posted ten years ago, 2016

chilling out at the pool, below

now all are in high school/college

to all the grandparents on grandparents’ day

it’s such a great adventure

I didn't have my glasses on….

A trip through life with fingers crossed and eternal optimism.

autumn comes and autumn leaves.

mizzle.

still life?

‘the dance is a poem of which each movement is a word.’- mata hari

‘ wonder what it’s like to be able to put your hair in a low ponytail and not look like a founding father..’ author unknown

magic and illusion.

joy doesn’t have to wait.

this is what this library did on sunday

brilliant

—

Out of School Book Fair

for Adults

‘don’t let the pigeon drive the bus.’- mo willems

totem.

true north.

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this is what this library did on sunday

brilliant

—

Out of School Book Fair

for Adults

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