Category Archives: Art, Garden, Creativity

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A Return to Lassen County

Smoke veils the late afternoon view of Reading Peak and Mount Lassen on September 2, 2020.

The invitation to spend eight days at a dear friend’s cabin near Lassen Volcanic National Park could not have come at a better time for me and my dog, Stella. Daily bouts of anxiety, depression, and disappointment were beginning to adversely affect my well being, my relationships, and my ability to joyfully create meaningful art for myself, and my patrons.

Daku stands guard while Stella excavates for lizards.

Since I would be spending the first four days at the cabin alone, Sandy agreed to let me take her dog, Daku, with me. Having his big dog energy was reassuring to both Stella and I, and we genuinely love him.

Hiking the trail to Devil’s Kitchen in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Rarely do I leave the property once I have arrived but a Saturday morning hike to Devil’s Kitchen with my husband would afford my friend a day of solitude at the cabin. I applauded his willingness to give the 4.2 mile hike a go despite the discomfort that would likely result from him walking the distance in mismatched boots! Impressive, on a couple of levels.

George on the boardwalk, discomfort from his mismatched boots not yet impairing his gait.
We yield the path to a Drakesbad Guest Ranch trail guide as we make our ascent.

Drakesbad Guest Ranch, located within the park, offers trail rides to a number of geothermal sites. The guide said “Looking out across the broad meadow, you can almost imagine the Cartwright brothers from the TV show Bonanza to ride into view.” Different mountain range, I thought to myself as I snapped the cowboy’s picture.

One of the many fumeroles viewable from the Devil’s Kitchen loop trail.
Volcanic gas escapes into the atmosphere below a Pine and Incense Cedar tree lined ridge.

Steam vents, boiling springs, and bubbling mudpots are indicators that the volcanic center still smolders. And such has been the rhythm of my creative flow. It smolders. Slowly. Steadily. Although there is no way to predict when the next eruption will occur, we know that it will.

Be well, stay safe.

T.

© 2020, Theresa Mae Funk. All rights reserved.

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My Plum Gig: Harvesting Nature’s Candy

The Plum tree in the back yard has been steadily ripening for the last two weeks, yielding enough fruit to, so far, make two batches of sauce and three small jars of preserves. Today’s harvest will be the last for the season.

The moring’s harvest, freshly washed and ready for processing.

I referred to The California Native Plant Society’s Website to help me identify the type of candy we’ve been growing and discovered that Sierra plums are supposedly a good source of vitamins C and A and fiber. It is likely that Sierra plums were a part of the diets of Native American tribes in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains.

And so with my newly gained knowledge about this season’s candy harvest, the mess and tedium of prepping today’s harvest for the next batch of tastiness will be met with aplomb.

Be well, stay joyful.

~T.

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Disconnect to Reconnect: A Visit to Mount Lassen

I took a trip to Lassen County three weeks ago at the invitation of a friend to get away from the Sacramento heat for 6 days, help with some cabin chores, and free myself from the distractions that I’ve been allowing to thwart my creative endeavors. She was absolutely right about the distractions. How could I refuse the invitation?

Looking West from the cabin. Snow pack on Mount Lassen, 28 May 2020.

The beauty and solitude of the place is glorious. My iphonography skills don’t adequately capture the divine spirit that abides in the natural world and this particular little plot of heaven on Earth, but the images will suffice as reference when I attempt to translate the experience to original works of art on paper or canvas.

Kelly’s Lodge

Before leaving to return to our “normal” lives of responsibilities and obligations, we took a tour of the surrounding parcels of land that have been in her family since the early 1900’s. Hearing the stories and feeling the history of the place still captures my imagination, and I look forward to disconnecting to reconnect again before the summer ends.

Be well, stay safe.

~T.

© 2020, Theresa Mae Funk. All rights reserved.

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Nine Words of Encouragement

You can do more than you think you can.

While you were away, I struggled with my power and created dances for mad girls
singing love songs of despair.
Pablo Neruda would have been proud of my endeavor.

I have no photographic image to show you the grace with which I moved,
only nine words of encouragement that I utter upon awakening from the dream:

You can do more than you think you can.

© 2016, Theresa Mae Funk.  All Rights Reserved.