One of the most exquisitely endearing songs ever written was written by Huddie Leadbetter (Leadbelly) about his friend, Blind Lemon, who went out and stayed away from his home. When he returns, his wife is playing the piano and singing: You been a long time comin', Daddy but you're welcome here. I like to play this song when I've been out of my art studio for long enough that it's terrible hard to get back to it. I don't remember where I was when I left off. So I decided to start with something easy. A few weeks ago the leaves were falling in New England. I took long walks with my dog, Frankie. We trained on the heel command and the automatic sit. We learned how to walk together, not bother people on the sidewalk, how to cross the street--that the street is different from the sidewalk--and how to walk on the loose leash when we could stop to scent the amazing things that dogs can scent, and me, trolling for fallen leaves of all sorts. This leaf was meant to be just an exercise in getting back to the studio. It ended up being a meditation on the simplicity of one truly beautiful thing. I know that the leaves I picked up were beautiful because Frankie likes to eat them. So I have a few leaf paintings, very simple things and I have a new skill: Leaf Therapy. Will it get me back working everyday? Maybe. Let's see if I have something to blog next week.