Satsuma Season

 

12/15/24 Green Lake neighborhood

11/30/24 Maple Leaf Park

With all the cold, wet, windy weather we’ve been having lately, it’s been a long time since I’ve had the inclination to make a series of sketches while out on a walk. Although still chilly, Sunday was dry and even sunny, which encouraged me to walk down to the Green Lake PCC for a specific errand: Buy a load of tiny, super-sweet satsumas. It’s my favorite winter fruit, and I pop them into my mouth like candy. Sketching along the way was a bonus (above).

Walking under Interstate 5, I passed a number of vehicles that are being used as marginal homes for people who are otherwise unhoused. It made me aware of my privilege and fortune: Shopping at an upscale food store to buy a luxury fruit while others strap their worldly belongings to the top of dilapidated campers and sleep inside.

The rest of the snippets shown here are one-offs from the previous couple of weeks when I was too cold or rushed to stop for more than one sketch. As usual, not much is happening in Maple Leaf – just the way I like it.

12/9/24 I have sketched this huge tree several times, and it is distinctive in that it stays green all year. I recently learned that it is an aptly named Umbellularia californica tree.

12/10/24 Magenta seemed too garish a color for Her Majesty, so I hoped that sketching her negatively might help.

12/11/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood. It was only
2:30 p.m., but the light already looked like the 
golden hour.

12/16/24 Two Teslas on the same street

12/3/24 Maple Leaf Park