Posts Tagged ‘seasons’

The Italian Countryside

Posted on: May 18th, 2012

A beautiful hike in Umbria

Yesterday we hiked from Spello, along the old Roman aqueduct, to Collepino – a tiny little medieval “borgo” on the side of Mt. Subasio, completely surrounded by il parco regionale del monte Subasio. It was perfect hiking weather – bright and sunny, clear blue skies, with a nice cool breeze up in the hills. The great thing about hiking in Italy is you often can go from one town to another, and thus, there is usually some place to stop and have a nice plate of cheese and salami, and a glass of wine in a lovely little piazza. Or, your destination could be to stop for an espresso before turning around to do the hike back.

At left are pictures of the view along the trail, and looking back at our starting point, the town of Spello. Below, yet another amazing Umbrian countryside view, with Spello in the distance.
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Below: The little piazza in Collepino; a pizza oven on the edge of town in Collepino; and along the path, a sweet-smelling flowering bush, the name of which I know nothing about, neither in English nor Italian!

collepinopizza-oventhepath

Festa Della Donna

Posted on: March 8th, 2012
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Oggi e la giornata internazionale della donna.

As stated in Wikipedia: it’s a day to remember the social, political, and economic conquests of women, as well as the discriminations and violence that are still in evidence against women in many parts of the world. In Italy the day is celebrated with Mimosa flowers. And, right on schedule, the Mimosa trees are in full bloom. When we were in Rome 4 years ago on March 4th there were mimosa cakes in all the pastry shop windows. I’ve not seen them yet in Foligno, but I’ve not yet been out this morning.

Here’s wishing you a bright sunny day of the women – may we all continue to move forward in creating a peaceful world where equality and justice for all prevails.

Permission to Stay

Posted on: February 12th, 2012
foligno-street

We are stamped, sealed, and officially here

After another trip to the questura (police station), and two more sets of fingerprints, we received our official “papers” (actually something that resembles a fancy credit card that sparkles). We have finally been granted permission to stay. What a relief!

The weather, meanwhile, has been lousy: cold and windy and grey. We’ve been waiting for some real snow, which did finally come this week – outside of Foligno. In town it was never much more than a dusting. Even so they closed the schools for two days. Today we headed up into the hills and had a beautiful cross-country ski adventure in pristine and deep fluffy powder.

I’ve discovered some new materials with which to work, and in the cold grey days of winter have been getting a fair amount done in my studio. There’s a new page where I’ve posted some of the recent work you can find it by clicking here

Plaster colllage

Welcoming the New Year

Posted on: January 12th, 2012
colfiorito

Three Cheers for January Snow

I saw the snow from a distance right around the middle of December up on the mountain tops surrounding Foligno. It was magical. To my great delight I actually got to hear the crunch under my feet when we went to Colfiorito for a hike on the Epiphany, last week. It was a cold blustery day and it finally really felt like winter.

We did some traveling playing tour guides with visitors over the holidays – hit the usual suspects: the Giotto frescoes in Assisi, ruins in Rome, the Duomo in Florence (as well as the Capella Brancacci), among others. Now, I’m ready to get back to my own work!

Photos below from left to right: a modern ruin on a Roman wall; a detail in Assisi; and the Duomo in Firenze at dusk.

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Flowers for my mom 12.31.11

Posted on: December 31st, 2011
ahb2011