HerbnArts

    ...A little bit of winter has settled in Ohio as we are getting blasted with a winter storm.  The snow is stacking up, so much so that I may have to postpone going cross-country skiing until the roads are cleared!      Recently I attended a small gathering of former classmates and others from my hometown.  Most probably due to our ages, the conversation drifted into the recollections of holidays past from our hometown.  Each person shared a memory of various stores and restaurants in the town with assorted remembered events connected with each place.  As the tales were spun the stories drifted into shared traditions and how they celebrated the holidays in the Magic City.  As the stories poured out of everyone's dusty memories, the subject and locale shifted to a local mall that was now a ghost town, virtually abandoned in the declining economy. Oddly enough, I had memories to share about the location that the others did not have.     Many years ago, before the now defunct mal

     ...It finally happened.  It snowed on the Winter Solstice!  How appropriate, considering the fact that the symbol for Winter Solstice is a snowflake.      This has been a lean year for most, so by mutual agreement my friends and I decided to not exchange gifts this year.  With no gifts wrapped to place under the Christmas tree it forces one to look to the truer meanings of the season.  As I look around I find myself appreciating the brilliant red cardinals that visit the feeding stations in my winter garden.  The holiday light displays cheer my soul and remind me of Christmases past. Walking in the parks on both warmer days and snowy days invigorates me.  Like a little kid I eagerly look for new discoveries along the trails.  Remembering that my friend's son-in-law was in Iraq, but is now home safe to spend this Christmas with all his family warms my heart.     Thinking about the families of the Sandy Hook tragedy, I send the gift of my prayers of comfort to their lives.  I

     The chilly breeze stirred the windchimes in the night.  Overdue for packing them away for the winter, I just had not been ready to give up hearing the gentle sounds for the next several months.  But tonight the lonely sound left me feeling as if the ghost of Christmas Past  was about to visit.  Actually, Christmas Past wasn't so scary.  It was the thought of the other two ghosts that made me a bit nervous.       This afternoon I went walking at the Seiberling Nature Realm. The sun was shining, though it was a little chilly.  Still no snow on the ground.  I needed reinvigorated and a walk in the cool air and sunlight was just what I needed.  Finally I had managed to catch the art showing at the nature realm  All of the art pieces were made from recycled materials.  I was impressed at the offering.  Wonderful little explanitory cards next to each piece told about the materials used and from what source they came.  There were we

    The twelve days of Christmas are taking on a little different mindset this year at Johnson House as I attempt to get a bit of holiday decorating done around the house.  This year I have two feline companions who have never seen a Christmas tree.  My hyperactive badboy, Squirt, is known for getting into everything.  The world is one big wonderful play toy.  It seems nothing escapes his attention.  A few days ago I placed a silvery wreath on the livingroom wall for starters.  Squirt noticed it immediately and sat pondering how to scramble up the wall to reach it.  Okay, so much for that.  When he attempted to knock over the floor lamp next to the wall area where the wreath was hanging, I knew that I had to move the wreath.  Yesterday I placed a wooden primitive angel on the wall spot where the wreath had been.  Again, Squirt sat pondering the angel.  He kept looking at it, then at me, and then he meowed profusely as if to say, "What is it?  How did it get there?"  After a w

...He limped over to me reaching out to press a small silk poppy into my hand.  The man was wearing a hat that showed the world he was a veteran that who had served in the U.S. Army.  I was delighted to be given that small flower.  It had been many years since I had seen the veterans handing out the gentle reminder of those who made the sacrifice for our freedom.        Throughout my childhood I can remember seeing the poppies everywhere. People gladly accepted the flowers and proudly displayed them in support of our veterans.  Back then, in the 50's and early 60's, the poppies were made of paper.  I can remember thinking about how each poppy had to be assembled by hand.  Visions of entire factories of people creating thousands of paper lowers filled my mind. I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but after many years I noticed that there seemed to be no poppies around on Veteran's Day.  What happened to the poppies?  Had somebody missed the day, or had the shipments o

      Cold and wet, the day is brutally different from a few days ago when we were experiencing balmy, sunny days here in Ohio.  The effects of hurricane Sandy can be felt in the Akron area.  Spread like a wet, golden carpet on the soggy ground the leaves make their last display of the season.  In a sense, the party is over. Had it not been for the hurricane effects we might have had a week or two left of the autunmal Mardi Gras of color.  But the trees are being brutally denuded as I watch from my windows.  Even Halloween may have to be posponed due to terrible weather.  Oh well, it's not like cancelling Christmas, so we'll deal with it.  Even my sacred spot has been violated.  The leafy cocoon that housed my bistro table and chair looks cold and wet and exposed to the world.  I doubt that I will sit there again this season to enjoy a Zen moment. I knew that the season for the sacred spot would be brief, just not so brief.  Time to consider a sacred spot location indoors.  I&#

HerbnArts: Clancey's Gift... :     ...The air was warm and inviting.  Colors of gold and orange blazoned everywhere.  Loading up all the essential equip...

    ...The air was warm and inviting.  Colors of gold and orange blazoned everywhere.  Loading up all the essential equipment to help me to immerse myself into the hiking experience, I set out for Silver Creek Park.  It was a trail I had not walked in many years.  Too many of my hiking friends now no longer could make the trek, but I was determined to experience that trail  more time.  For the first time in years I dug out my walking staff to help me along the way.  Strapping my fanny pack around my middle I now had some inspirational music to listen to as I walked along taking in all the sensory experiences of the trail.  The sun was bright, the air was clear.  It was peak weekend for the fall foliage and there were many families taking advantage of this season of leaf peeping.      Armed with my trusty camera I walked with a slower pace than others around me as I stopped frequently to capture the various sights along the way.  Wild asters were still b