Sabino, 13"x16" acrylic on canvas, b.steichen 2022
It's been a long ride but we somehow managed to make our way through selling a house, buying a house, countless boxes, the unpacking our old life into a new life and trying to build community in a new place. We have fresh eyes in a new place. It is quiet and calm. It is hard to believe we have been in this new place for a year and a half. The pandemic took its toll on so many of our travel plans but it's time to get back to it. We are ready. Catchin up.
Fasen Round Barn, Sartell MN
This gem, before we barely get out of our neighborhood to drive the backroads, the Fasen Round Barn was one of the first wonderful things I found. It was featured in the Minnesota's Preservation Alliance in 2006 "10 Most Endangered Sites List", however, it does not appear that the preservation will happen. No one loved it enough. So disappointing that this treasure is rotting away. The round barn is located in Stearns County just a few blocks from my home and will eventually get surrounded by building developments and dirt hills. City planning with roads and curbs is all plotted out. This past winter a part of the roof caved in and I fear that it will soon be gone. One day I will look over and it will be gone.
Marfa, 8"x8" acrylic on canvas, b.steichen 2022
We started Goin' the Backway (Sunday Driving) shortly after moving to St. Cloud, MN. We do it any day we want. It doesn't have to be on a Sunday. Sometimes we bring a friend. It's like Monday night Jazz on Thursday nights (at the Veranda Lounge downtown) or just knowing you don't have to be anywhere at all. You can do it any day that you want. The days all kind of blur together so who cares. That's OK. Life is an abstraction. I love it.
Lake Wobegon Trail
Driving the back roads. Exploring the regional parks and nearby small towns. It takes just a few minutes and we are in the countryside driving along the Mississippi River to some great scenery. We drive through the farm lands, along quiet stretches of the Mississippi, Watab and Sauk Rivers. We ride along all the great bike trails too and pass through beautiful lands and farms headed for Bolus, Holdingford, Avon, St. Joe or Albany. Great old barns, treasures, farmers markets, the Knaus Sausage House in Kimball Minnesota with the most amazing horseradish pickles, quiet cornfields alternating with soy beans, pickup trucks with pipes and lots of pine trees. I love where this all is taking me, new adventures, people, encounters, experiences, ventures and it's all influencing my paintings. Looking forward to balancing all that with some upcoming travels.
“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It’s lethal!” – Paulo Coelho
