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Color Tours Near Petoskey

A personal return to Northern Michigan’s autumn colors, with scenic drives and time to stop along the way.

Hummingbird in Progress

Two stages of a new hummingbird watercolor, from the first washes to a little more color and character.

What if our kindness was simply accepted?

No praise. No gratitude. No feeling that we had saved someone. Just another person whose day became a little softer. Would we still help? Can we let kindness be enough, without needing it to make us feel like more?

“Sometimes doing the right thing today is a gift we leave for tomorrow.”

Penguin

A new penguin watercolor is taking shape on the work table.

“Sometimes you just have to do the right thing, irrespective of the possible consequences.”

Help to make someone’s day a little softer.

Some days felt endless,

some carried a weight, we learned early on how to question, then wait.

But some days stretch

like winter roads, with miles and miles to bear. They test the heart, they bend the back, they ask if we still care.

“I’m sorry.

Lo siento.”

“See clearly. Question honestly. Judge gently.”

“There is no redo. Spend your life where it matters.”

The Four Curious Bears and a Frog with a Scarf

The Four Curious Bears is complete, while Frog with a Scarf is taking shape as part of the Lesa Collection.

“Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.”

“Value yourself. The only people who appreciate a doormat are people with dirty shoes.”

Think of others,

even as they smile. They may hide a troubled heart, trying to walk that final mile.

Ponder this: Every relationship ends, either by choice or by death.

What day is it, asked Daddy Bear.

It's today, laughed Baby Bear.

Three Bears in Progress

Three Bears in progress.

“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”

“The dollars we earn,” Baby Bear once said,

“Buy supper and blankets and somewhere for bed.” “Yes,” answered Mommy Bear, “and all that is true. But money can wait as our days slip from view.”

“September mornings are cool,

and the birds begin their dance. This reminds us today will be different, and tomorrow will be another chance.”

“Sometimes the smallest things

are the easiest things to miss. A warm cup of coffee. Clean clothes. Someone who loves you, and is very glad that you are you. They may seem like ordinary things. But perhaps ordinary things are simply little miracles we have forgotten to notice.”

“In all of the turmoil, the rushing and pushing,

set aside a moment for listening. Listening to the cicadas.”

What This Is Becoming

A first field note about making room for paintings, poems, memories, and thoughts that are still becoming.

“You don’t have to finish today, only begin.”