Three Alarm Zick Alert

I'm in New England again! I've come here to give three talks. It only took 700 miles and 12 hours in my faithful Subaru.

File under: Arrested Development

 I got lost on the very last part of the trip. I took a detour to sign some books for an old friend, who has a cat named Bitsy with her own chair. 

 I got back in the car to drive to my sister's house, about ten miles away, and Siri routed me to the right street name in the wrong town. But I got magnificently lost. I found this place.

And this place. (Canton, CT).

It was a lights on-lights off kind of afternoon, the heavenly switches being thrown regularly.

I was arrested by the lichens. I'd never seen Cladonia like this growing on a stone. I'm told that lichens are indicators of good air quality.

I loved these lichens.

Then I looked closely at the inscription. Oh my. How can I decipher this?  I could get the first line. 

Praises on tombs are trifles

something spent

A man's good name is his

something something ent

So I'm playing with contrast and definition, eking out one letter after another, trying to see through the scrim of distractingly beautiful lichen colonies, and my brilliant sister Micky says, "Why don't you type in the first line in Google and see what comes up?" Which was an inscription on a stone at St. Botolph Aldersgate, London that read:

Praises on tombs are trifles

Vainly spent

A man's good name is his

Best monument.

She's not slow.

Basalt towers are a pretty good monument, too.

Talcott Mountain.

I needed that little climb, after two solid days of car. The fresh air was bracing.  The views were freeing.

All of which is to set off a Three Alarm Zick Alert . I will be at White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield, Connecticut tomorrow, Saturday, December 3, at 3 pm, speaking about Baby Birds: An Artist Looks Into the Nest.  

On Tuesday, December 6, I'll give the same talk at the Westerly Land Trust , 10 High Street in Westerly, Rhode Island, at 6 pm. Bonus there: Original art from the Baby Birds book in a pop-up show! Tickets are available at  this link.

On Friday, December 9,  at 7:45 pm, I'll be at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, Morse Auditorium, East India Square (161 Essex St) Salem, Massachusetts 01970.  We'll have original paintings on display there as well. 

I always put this stuff in the left sidebar of the blog, but I'm never sure people check it, so I'm presenting it here. I'd love to see you!