Below the Ridge, by Carol L. Douglas. |
Last summer, a fellow painter gave me a prescription pain patch for my lower back. With that, codeine, and a brace I stood long enough to do a (bad) Quick Draw. I could barely sit to drive home to Maine.
Doctors are thin on the ground where we live, so we see a
nurse practitioner. He suggested I try physical therapy for my back. I’ve been at
it for a bit more than a month now, twice a week when I’m home. I try very hard
to do my assigned exercises no matter where I am.
Snow sublimates rapidly at this altitude, even in sub-freezing temperatures. |
The beautiful dogs that kept me company while I painted. Don't they look like lions in the dry grass? |
I doubt these dogs have a breed name; I've heard them called ‘Mexican
dogs’. They’re often brindle- or golden-coated, with strong terrier bodies
and lots of smarts. These two kept me company during Santa
Fe Plein Air Fiesta, and they were back again as if no time at all had
passed. They’re such fine animals that if the opportunity to buy a puppy
presented itself, I’d seriously consider it.
There are roads here that are no more than lanes. Slipping
down one with difficulty, our canine pals trotting at our side, we came to a
point where we couldn’t see over the drop. It was time to back our way out. Piñon
and white pine branches that had moved grudgingly when we were heading
forward, steadfastly refused to budge as we backed out. “That’ll buff out,”
Jane said optimistically. I hope so; it’s her truck.
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By the time we were done painting, my hands were so cold I could no longer even draw accurately. |
We tried the high road. “I think there’s a turnaround right
past the overlook,” Jane said. Possibly, but the road was drifted in. There was
a thousand-foot drop to our left. Still, Jane managed to do a 37-point turn to
get us out of there. “As long as we have three wheels on the ground, we’re fine,”
she said as I gingerly opened one eye.
Jane is very petite, and that truck is very large, but she
handled it like a pro. She’d be a great one to paint in the Arctic with, but at
that point, a warm lunch by the stove sounded like a more prudent plan.
2 comments:
You are the master ("mistress"?) of the short take. When is the book compilation coming out?
Are you a good editor?
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