Gentle Comfort

So many of our friends are in the midst of trials right now: the loss of loved ones or illness,  financial difficulties or broken relationships. These images and thoughts are especially for those who are hurting today. May God's love light shine on you and give you strength and comfort.

"Beautiful light is born of darkness, so the faith that springs from conflict is often the strongest and the best." -- R. Turnbull

It was a happy thought to bring 
To the dark season's frost and rime 
This painted memory of spring, 
This dream of summertime.

John Greenleaf Whitter -- From his poem "Flowers in the Winter"

As lilies fair from the foul mud grow, 
So oft it is with good men below;
In daily life they absorb the pure,
And the adverse elements endure;
And rise, through grace, to a higher sphere,
Their hearts in heaven, and their root down here.

Joseph Horatio Chant from his poem "Water Lily"
Watercolor by artist Dennis Reinke

Nancy

Thank you for visiting. Today I'm joining for the first time

There are some beautiful blogs linked there. Hope you can take the time to view some of them.

A Passion for Flowers

"He who is born with a silver spoon in his mouth is generally considered a fortunate person, but his good fortune is small compared to that of the happy mortal who enters this world with a passion for flowers in his soul." -- Celia Thaxter

Snow fell like confetti last night.  Quite a contrast to the fifty-ish temperatures we enjoyed earlier in the week. Those warm, sunny days were a welcome respite from the winter chill and reminded me that, in a few months, spring will show up on our doorstep with flowers in hand. In the meantime, the geraniums that surround Dennis's bronze sculpture next to my writing space will have to suffice. 

Quiet winter months do seem to bring a burst of creativity. Dennis has been working on watercolors. These are two of my favorites.

San Juan Capistrano

Silver Plume Antique Store

In keeping with the bloom theme, I thought it would be fun to share these flower photos from my archive. 

Pinewood Poppies

Taos Flower Wagon

Our Lilac Bush

Black-eyed Susan - Hidden Valley RMNP

I use any excuse I can to spend time in my friend Meka's garden. It's a joy to photograph. 

Hers is truly my dream garden. Even in the winter it's beautiful.

You can see more photos of Meka's magical garden here.

My beloved is mine and I am his; 

   he browses among the lilies. 

Song of Solomon 2:16

Nancy

It's All Good

Egg McReinke

My husband is a self-confessed "gnarly egg" maker. Gnarly as in knotty; not  the slang word gnarly, as in gnarly, dude. The fried eggs Dennis cooks are delicious, they're just not very pretty. Mind you, I'm not complaining. For me, yummy always trumps beauty.

We've had lots of activity at the Reinke Homestead this week. Dennis has almost finished revamping his website: dennisreinke.com. I like the way it's coming together, and feel a little inspired to spruce up my blog. On the other hand, I may just sit still until the feeling passes.

When he wasn't playing web guru, Dennis painted six watercolors for the Estes Park Cultural Arts Council Holiday Art Exhibition and Sale. The event will take place at the CAC Fine Art Gallery - 423 W. Elkhorn Ave., Estes Park, November 26 - December 31, 2011.

We entertained visitors this week. Early Tuesday morning, a doe stopped by. . .

A buck hid behind our barn and ogled the female . .

According to the Rocky Mountain National Park Service, the deer rut begins in November. I like to think of our homestead as a sort of date destination for these lovely creatures.

Yesterday, while working on my novel, I heard the high-pitched call of an elk calf. I gasped when I looked out the window and saw a large elk herd descend the mountain behind our homestead. . .

They came in a steady stream through our property and gathered in our neighbor's yard, across the street, before parading east, down the road. . .

I couldn't capture the totality of the herd with my camera, but there were probably close to 200 elk. The horses expressed interest in the elk show, too. . .

On Thursday we spotted two Bighorn Rams in Big Thompson Canyon. . .

I mentioned my novel earlier. Our homestead purchase and remodel kept me occupied most of this year, but now that we're past all that I've returned to full-time writing. This is my passion and what I feel created to do. Breakfast at the Aurora Borealis Cafe now has a word count of 24,500. Only about 60,000 more words to go. At times it's a daunting task, but I'm in it for the long haul. Besides, I've had some encouragement along the way. One of my devotionals is featured in Gary Chapman's new book: Love Is A Verb Devotional - 365 Inspirations to Bring Love Alive.

My devotional is on January 24.

Seven of my devotionals are also featured in the December 2011/January 2012 issue of Wesleyan Publishing's Light From the Word Daily Devotional. Seven more will be included in the Summer 2012 edition. 

I don't share this out of pride, but rather to show how good God has been to me since I left everything behind to pursue my dream. I have no idea what the future holds. Perhaps I'll finish my novel and no one will like it. Maybe I'll have to go back to a regular 9-5 job. Whatever the case, I'm so thankful that He has given me this opportunity. Even if it only lasts a brief time, I can say, "It is well with my soul." 

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." --- Jeremiah 29:11

To God be all the glory.

Nancy

Haste Ye Back

My brother and sister-in-law came for a visit this week. We showed them the local sites, starting with a morning drive to Allenspark. Along the way I got a nice shot of Longs Peak. . .

This close up of the aspen reflected in the pond reminds me of a Dennis Reinke painting. . .

After a yummy breakfast at Meadow Mountain Cafe, we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park for a drive up Old Fall River Road. We had driven less than a mile when we came across this bull elk out for a stroll -- just lolligagging on the side of the road. Lolligagging, I tell you.  We stopped to take a photo. The bull kept walking until he reached our car. Then he stopped and posed for us. . .

After we took our snapshots, he moved on. No doubt looking for another photo op. . .

Next stop Chasm Falls. I never tire of photographing this lovely place. .

Rugged beauty surrounds the Old Fall River Road. . .

At the top of Trail Ridge we stopped for lunch, then drove on to Grand Lake. Along the way we spotted another bull elk. . .

Farther down the highway, a crowd of parked cars alerted us to the possibility of another animal sighting. Sure enough, a bull moose had hunkered down in a meadow, about 1/4 mile from the road. The size of his head told us he must be a very large bull. . .

We drove on to Grand Lake for ice cream, then returned to find the moose standing. Indeed, he was quite large. . .

This is the first bull moose I've seen since moving here last year. I'm glad I got to share the experience with my loved ones. 


After seeing our family off this morning, Dennis participated in the Scottish Festival Paint Out competition. The artists had one hour to paint a portrait and frame it. I'm proud of my husband's work. . .

What makes this very special is that the painting went home with the model's family.


“May God bless you to live as long as you want to; and want to as long as you live!” -- Scottish Proverb

Nancy

Born-Again Barn

“If a farmer fills his barn with grain, he gets mice. If he leaves it empty, he gets actors.” Sir Walter Scott

Mention that you have an old barn on your property and immediately the listener's eyes light up. There's just something about barns -- especially old barns -- that appeal to most people. Interest really ramps up when you add that you're turning your barn into an artist's studio. 

When we left our downtown Estes Park apartment to move into a renovated 624 sf cabin, we also left behind Dennis' art studio in The Courtyard Shops. Our plan was to convert the 150 year-old log barn on our property to a studio, after we completed the cabin remodel. Now that the cabin is finished, the born-again barn project has begun. 

Last week the contractor removed the double barn doors and replaced them with a triple window. Dennis has salvaged the boards on the doors to use for siding over the Tyvek.

A beautiful view of Mt Olympus can be seen from inside the studio, through the new window. 

Wishing to retain as much of the barn's rustic character, as possible, the existing back door becomes the studio entrance.  

The exterior door (right rear in the photo) opens to a small foyer. Framing of a new wall, part of the storage room, is seen on the left. 

The storage room is ready for drywall.

Dennis will have a nice area to work in, once the storage room is finished and his art supplies are stowed away. 

The studio will be featured in the 5th Annual Estes Park Art Studio Tour on September 24, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m..  A self guided tour of Estes Valley artist studios, the free event is coordinated by the Cultural Arts Center, 453 W. Elkhorn Ave., Estes Park. For more information, call 970-586-9203. Email info@estesarts.com. Website: www.estesarts.com. 

Nancy

Make Time for the Hummingbirds

"And make us happy in the darting bird

That suddenly above the bees is heard,

The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,

And off a blossom in mid air stands still."

Robert Frost, A Prayer in Spring

Getting things done is fine, but sometimes you have to make time for the hummingbirds. After dinner Friday night at our friends' home, we sat on their deck watching the petite birds drink from the feeder. It took several tries, but I managed to get a descent photograph of one darting bird. 

Here in the mountains most people keep a feeder near their house to attract the tiny creatures. Unfortunately, the sugary liquid in these feeders attracts bears too, so conscientious residents, such as our friends, take the feeders in at night. 

Hummingbirds fly at approximately 25 mph and flap their wings 60-80 times per second. (Yes, you read that right. 60-80 times per second.) They've been clocked at speeds in excess of 50 mph during courtship dives. This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "falling in love."

Even with time out for the hummingbirds, we still completed several projects here at the Reinke Homestead this past week:

When we designed our kitchen, we made room for a wall mounted pot rack. The one I had my eye on retails for $60 -$90. I found the exact one I wanted on Craigslist for $20, hooks included. It was a gray color that didn't really work with our oil rubbed bronze hardware, so I spray painted it with RustOleum ORB. It looks great and saved us at least $40 (spray paint included). . .

The money I saved on the pot rack paid for the kitchen cabinet pulls and knobs Dennis installed. . .

Several months ago I ran across a very cool DIY project at the Serendipity Chic Design blog. Lisa had made nightstands from an antique vanity she found at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. They were tall and narrow, just what I needed for our tall bed and small bedroom. One day I wandered into Furniture Connections, our little used furniture store here in Estes Park, where I found a small 1940's vanity for $25. It looked similar to this one. . .

I bought the vanity, took it home and stored it in the barn. While we were moving things around in the barn a couple of weeks ago, we came across my find. I knew I had to do something with it, so I asked Dennis to help me take it apart. He graciously obliged and I went to work. First I lightly sanded the pieces. Then I mixed up some colors from the miscellaneous leftover paint we have, ending up with a pretty close match to the buttercream and pink in our bedspread. Several coats of paint later, my nightstands were ready for their new home. Since there's no room for a nightstand on Dennis's side of the bed, I placed both nightstands next to each other on my side. Each one is only 12" wide, so there was plenty of room. I think they turned out pretty cute, and I like the extra drawer space I have now. . .

The Plein Air Rockies 2011 event has begun and Dennis is once again participating. I can't wait to see what he paints this year.

"Let every skillful man among you come, and make all that the LORD has commanded" Ex 35:10

Nancy