Happy Derby Day!!!! Happy Arbor Day!!!

I have had to rest again today but with all the coverage of Louisville,Kentucky's Kentucky Derby it took my mind back home. The track was a bloody mess and thank goodness no one and no horse was injured with this intense 20 horse field for the 136Th celebration of the fastest two minutes in the Sports World. Supersaver is a homegrown horse and this is Todd Fletcher's first win after 24 attempts to train a winner. Calvin Barrelle the jockey is a wonderful character with deep faith in God and his love for his horses...his next focus is to go for the triple crown. From his lips to God's ears ...as this would be History in the making for the Kentucky Horse Industry. Yesterday's Blind Luck came from the very last place to win a photo finish race for the Oaks Filly Race. Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home" always makes me homesick and tear up but once the horses get into you blood you will never forget the thrill of this two minute race.

I am working on my binding and the final stitching for my large quilt tonight and we have a movie ..."up In the Air" from Netflixs to pass the stormy night away. The tornadoes have been ravaging the South states and Louisville is fortunate to have the races out of the way before the weather turned drastic. I transposed some images of Judith Scott's images and have a collection of threads and bits to create my small homage to her courage and strength to persevere against all odds in the asylum...a place where one should be a protected refuge but simultaneously a place to be avoided at all costs. Being deaf she had a powerful voice in her visual sculptures that draw you closer to see beyond her wrapped surfaces.

This is the first Arbor Day I have missed in years but I did not have the strength or endurance to make the journey down to Dawes Arboretum for this green serene pleasure. Have a wonderful weekend and Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart