Farm

I started a beautiful new book today.  My friend Carol made it for me out of some willow paper that we made together several years ago.  The cover has pockets in several places.  I love the color of the cover as well as the angles of the pockets so much that I painted right on the inside cover and the outside of the front flap.

Sadly, I lost my little rectangular sketchbook today, somewhere in a grassy field I think.  I had it at 10:35 when we stopped to sketch some chickens in the garden.  Then this afternoon we had a heavy rain.  Tomorrow I will go retrace that hike, around 3 1/2 miles, to see if I can find what's left of it.  Meanwhile, I am consoled by the fact that I've scanned all the pages (there was only one page left in the book).

I found wheat and amaranth growing in the field below our house as well as some other grain in a small patch in the garden.  There is also a trellis with hops growing near the chickens (4928).  We stopped to buy eggs at the garden, hence the six eggs.  And then I rounded things out with a golden leaf from the golden bamboo grove, a couple of azalea seed pods, and a rock that looks like a groundhog to me.  Another 18, and only three more 18s to get to 5000.