Back to the Bench
When we decided to bring another dog into our lives, my one requirement was that it have a little more leg. Not that I don’t love our little low-rider to pieces, but she doesn’t like to walk very far before calling it quits - which has meant that I’ve been out of luck as far as canine hiking buddies go.
What I didn’t plan on (though what I should have expected with the way we take things to extremes in this household) was ending up with a dog who has stilts for legs. As in, the legs of a normal dog PLUS the half a leg that Ponderosa is missing. But that’s Bisbee - gangly and floaty and so silent with her mile long legs that she’s earned the nickname of “Little Ghost.”
I’ve been waiting to take her into the hills with me, to give her little joints and bones time to grow and settle, but lately she’s become a bit of a terror. There’s a whole lot of energy in that little body and, unfortunately for us, she likes to use that energy for all sorts of puppy EVIL. So even though I’d planned to wait till her birthday in March before heading out together, this morning she and I headed west of town to walk among the rabbitbrush.
We stayed on dirt roads (aka, easy walking) and wound our way through the hogbacks from north to south traveling a total distance of about 4 miles. This isn’t drastically different than the 2-3 we do in town on a daily basis, but the light was mesmerizing and the scents and sounds abundant - so by the end, little Bees was ready for a nap (a miracle!).
The reason for this emergency puppy-energy-draining hike was that today was my first day back in the studio - woohoo! With so much up in the air at the moment (the postponement of the Tucson gem show, an impending move and all the chaos that goes along with it, the general hesitancy I tend to grapple with as a new year dawns) I want to try and sneak in a mini collection of new work for my shop anniversary next week. As is tradition, I’ll have a little sale on the remaining pieces from last year and am planning a couple giveaways too - but throwing in a few new creations to kick off this year of making just feels right.
These are the stones that drew me in when pawing through my dwindling collection (note to self : pick out a few more stones than I think I’ll need when the gem show finally rolls around, just in case!). I may use them all or just a few - we’ll see.
And last but not least - because the new year and the thought of leaving has me all sorts of nostalgic - I wanted to share a few photos of the studio that has fostered so much creativity these past few years. When we first arrived, the space was kind of “blah” and I felt blah in it - but now it’s filled with so many of the things I love and everywhere I look makes me want to dive into something new. I took these photos, preserved these little memories, for myself before sitting down with the silver this afternoon - but thought you might like to take a peek behind the curtain, too, before everything changes.
