Nelson Hares.

kate. — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:54:25 +0000

This is Nelson Hares. I have known Nelson for about ten years now. He is my best friend, Amber’s father. Nelson is happiest when he is fishing or hunting and when you wake up in the morning he has usually already left the bungalow to head out to the lake or the woods.

Nelson loves calling people ‘dingbats’ and his favorite saying is “whatcha gonna do? ..hot pockets!”

Collecting some moss for his wife, Barb who makes beautiful terrariums.

green moss!

This day was especially beautiful. It was the day after Thanksgiving and the air was crisp but warm enough to go out with a light jacket on. We saw a pheasant and Nelson tried to drive it towards me so I could get a picture but it didn’t work out — I wasn’t quick enough.

On occasion Amber and I head into the woods with Nelson to bait for deer. He usually takes apples and a sack of corn. We take turns throwing the apples against the trees so that they split open and the deer are able to catch the sweet scent.

nice golden corn kernels for the deer…

When Nelson isn’t in in the woods he is usually either fishing or getting his rods and lures ready for fishing. He is in Bass tournaments every Saturday until the weather gets too cold.

Nelson is taking a bit of the weight off of his lures with a knife. He told me they’re supposed to float on the surface if they are weighted properly.

Here he is in super concentration mode testing out the flotation on his lures..

This one is floating perfectly after a lot of careful scraping.

fish outta water..

This is Molly. She loves hanging around Nelson while he works.

Getting all of his fishing gear ready for Saturday’s tournament.

some antlers hanging in the shed. Nelson makes the best venison steaks and venison jerky!

Stirring his venison stew for Friday’s family soup night, the day after Thanksgiving. I had two bowls full. Whenever I visit, Nelson has some beer ready for me. We both get excited over having a beer together. He also makes his own specialty which is a grapefruit schnapps cocktail. Sometimes he puts gingerale in it, too.

Nelson is a great cook. When he gets home in the morning from hunting or fishing he is always hungry. If nobody has started breakfast, he makes pancakes for everybody from scratch in the cast iron pan. Nelson loves to put Karo syrup on his pancakes.

playing with his granddaughter, Iris for a few minutes while she is getting changed.

Nelson and Barb met each other when they were kids and have been married for 30 years. Here they are playing with their first grandchild, sweet little Iris.

Nelson and Barb’s eldest daughter, Callie and her husband, Martin just had their first baby. They’ve named him Nelson, which makes just about everybody happy.

lost noggins.

kate. — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:09:07 +0000

happy halloween! keep your head on if you can.

junebug.

kate. — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 01:55:24 +0000

made a jaunt down to the bungalow this past weekend. I hadn’t been since january so I was happy as a clam. amber made the most delicious lavender cream cupcakes known to mankind— I think I ate at least 6 before the weekend ended. jim came over saturday afternoon. we had a delicious lunch and some corona-lemonades and then we took a paddle down the creek which dumped into union lake and left us racing against the thunder. as long as we could control our hysterical laughter, the oars continued to slowly paddle our way to the other side. i love dawdling in the garden in my bare feet. i love waking up and going out to the greenhouse in my pajamas to poke around and shovel some dirt into a pot. there is no better way to spend the summer than at the bungalow.

planter.

kate. — Fri, 27 May 2011 04:02:53 +0000

This morning I woke to a balmy 75 degrees and a light breeze. I had the option of changing into thin, cotton pants or remaining in my sweats. I stayed in the sweats. I walked down the street with my pal, Jes, ice cubes slowly dissolving as they clanked around in our plastic bottles. We were going to yoga. I had never tried yoga before and was always a tad of a skeptic when it came to considering it “exercise”. I wasn’t sure I would have the patience for it (always seemed to me that people who practiced yoga had to stay still for long periods of time). We walked to Anna’s house. She has been dying to teach yoga more regularly and asked if we would be interested….bingo! We arrived 15 minutes late, but Anna was at the door with a wide smile nonetheless! When we stepped inside I noticed Anna’s plants. She has a window box and is growing a plant that climbs up and around the string she has carefully attached to the top of the window. I admired her succulents. We got to work soon after….I wasn’t really prepared for what a work out it would be. It was fantastic! I have never felt so relaxed after such a strenuous workout. Towards the end, Anna read us a passage out of a book as we lay on our mats facing the cieling, eyes closed. It was so peaceful. The book she read from described deer in the snow (i think). It seemed that one of the deer was going to run back to lay in someone’s arms and the other ran off into the forest of blue trees. I loved it. We will go back again next thursday for round two. I will wear the lighter cotton pants, and when she asks us to reach our arms up! up, I will make note of how tall her climber plant has stretched to the sky. I came home this evening and decided to take a few cuttings from my succulents and begin growing new plants in the small jars in the sandy soil. I am most happy when I am tending to my plants.

anchors aweigh.

kate. — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:20:24 +0000

i have been working on a set of little ship drawings. this one is ready to set sail…

wonders of science.

kate. — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 19:40:22 +0000

I received two books last week that came bundled with white, cotton string from my brilliant photographer friend, billy phelps. The modest cover couldn’t have prepared me for what lay inside—page after page of beautifully illustrated scientific drawings. The drawings explain the mechanics of nature, science and life in such fantastic detail and with skillful perspective. Here are a few of my favorite pages. Inscribed on the inside cover is the address of Ada, San Antonio, Texas. 1944.

fine weather above the raincloud.

the wonderful way the brain works.

the story of the ship from dug-out to liner.

how plants go to sleep at night-time….an x-ray photograph of the little sea-horse.

what happens when we taste things…what happens when we smell a rose.

inside our ear and inside a telephone.

work table.

kate. — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:51:02 +0000

got this new worktable off of craigslist on friday. has a few paint splotches which I actually like. i always wanted a table with saw horse supports. you can never have enough surface space.

blocks.

kate. — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 00:28:21 +0000

january crackers.

kate. — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 22:17:53 +0000

I headed down to the bungalow in early january to meet up with my pal, amber and her mom, barbara. We set aside this particular weekend to start refurbishing a mini portion of barb’s nutcracker collection. This past winter she restored darling Wendell into a vision of sheer beauty. Amber and I arrived on a Friday evening…the Christmas decorations were still up and a bevy of gifts awaited me much to my delight.

For the next two days straight, we didn’t really leave the table except to take one trip to A Company of Angels thrift store in Millville where I found these treasures which I polished to perfection.

Nelson kept us well fed all weekend with his pancake breakfast, chicken wings and venison steak dinner.

I cleaned my plate. Nelson’s venison is always super tender and delicious!

Nelson’s sauce made our nose hairs sting. Buggy and Molly hung around in hopes of something hitting the floor.

Amber sanding the nutcrackers…

throwing another log in the stove…man, I love a good fire.

working late into the night…

this guy had extensive termite damage…we got to use some of that expanding spray insulation to fill the hole. fun!

winter succulents. robin bird keeps watch

morning muffins…

tea while we paint and sand…

amber’s floral & feather handiwork…

coming up with new names for the ‘crackers…

discussing the course of action for this fellow…

off with its head…

lips & lashes and a new lease on life…there is still a lot of work to do before next Christmas, but I had a really nice time getting these nutcrackers ready for wardrobe. I always love my weekends at the bungalow. sunny.

sweet little you.

kate. — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:13:04 +0000

My pal, Shelley, who manages the Oceana Santa Monica asked me to design this little Valentine’s Day card to accompany the cookies they left in each guest’s room today. Hope everyone had a sweet day. Happy Valentine’s Day. xo