Red Monkey Flower (Mimulus lewisii), watercolor pencil with color pencil. |
The storm had not passed completely--around 8 PM it rained again, harder this time, and then it got very, very cold. Once again I bundled up with all four wool blankets on my bed, and I was thinking we might see some snow on the ground in the morning, but it didn't snow.
Sperry Chalet on an overcast morning |
My rapid descent the previous day had taken its toll--in the morning my knees were so sore I could barely amble down to breakfast. It was overcast and very cold. It seemed like a good day to spend hanging around the chalet. After breakfast I walked around looking for something I could sketch indoors, and found some beautiful Red Monkey Flowers right below the balustrade of the chalet. This was the same flower I had seen for the first time blooming in masses by the hillside rill on my hike up to Sperry Chalet. I'd seen a lot of it blooming along the ledges between the waterfalls on the Sperry Glacier trail--it was obviously a common wildflower here.
Sedge (Carex podocarpa) pencil sketch |
I picked a sprig and placed it in a glass of water in the dining room, then sat at one of the tables with my sketch book and color pencils. The rest of the day went by quickly as I worked on it and later on a black and white sketch of the sedge with black flower heads. During breaks I perused the botanical books in the Sperry library.
2 comments:
Nice "close up" change of pace from all the climbing up to long views. Even the down days work to your advantage as an essayist! It is a pretty flower, too.
Nice "close up" variation on the "climb to a longer view" of many other episodes. Pretty flower, too!
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