The farmer who owns the fields all around us varies the crops year after year, but this year it's corn. I like it when it's a "corn" year. The field corn stalks top out at about 7 feet. Because of their height it gives the perception of isolation even with the nearest lateral neighbor being several acres away.
Most of my life has been lived in a rural setting. The college years and a half-decade or so afterwards were in different metropolitan areas. It amounted to a decade of anxiety and nervousness. Nothing against city life, but it didn't really suit. Nowadays I may have to work in a city, but I don't have to live there. I'm happy to visit, but also happy to leave. I'm not much of a "people" person so it's best.
My high-school self, as full of himself as he was, thought it best to head out at first opportunity. I suppose everyone needs to go out and experience what it is you think you're looking for. I did relish the journey along with the dents and dings. They make for colorful stories, but now seem like a work of fiction. Once I realized the dousing rod was pointing toward a different wellhead, I found the pattern and pace that fit was the one I left from. It's nature's pace I follow now.
This piece is called "Evening Shade." A nod toward a TV series from the early '90's whose main theme was the appeal of small-town life. It's a Tree Swallow done in acrylic on a topographic map of the Birdsall, NY area mounted to a 5 X 7 wood panel.
