Windy Days

March 21, 2024

My funny black and white cartoon of Bryan standing in a wind tunnel. Drawn by artist Bryan Skinnell.

Ahhhhh spring.

How I love you, you bright and cheerful devil. I love the warmer and longer days you bring. I love the sunshine so warm and bright. I love the verdant green grass even if that means it will soon need cutting. Even the dandelions are beautiful this time of year. I so love the yellow of dandelions which is probably one of my favorite colors. But Lord I can sure do without the windy days that feels like it’s going to peel my clothes right off me. I may be a hunk but only with my clothes on.

It’s been so windy the last few days I haven’t ventured out much. But being holed up has inspired me to explore my thoughtful poetic side for kicks and laughs. That’s about all my poetry is good for as it certainly isn’t Walt Whitman caliber but at what it lacks in finesse I hope it makes up for in originality.

The winds that blew
My hair all askew
Makes me wonder
If ladybug spots
Come off too?

Little ladybug you’d better watch out
Why don’t you come inside and sit on the couch?
That wind is awful mean today
It’ll surely blow your spots away

For God never intended
Ladybugs undecorated
I’d feel silly seeing you spotless
And since I’m an artist
I’ll fix that injustice

I’ll paint you up
Better than ever before
Your new spots will be the envy
Of ladybugs the world over

Why hello there! My name is Bryan Skinnell and I am a middle-aged (50-ish) artist and neighborhood kook who is living the artistic and creative life out in the boonies of Bedford, Virginia. Bedford is one of the largest counties in the commonwealth of Virginia and, for the most part, it’s still a mostly rural one that bridges the gap between Roanoke and Lynchburg. You could say, in more ways than one, that Bedford is the heart of Virginia. I can’t argue with that although I usually think of Bedford more as Virginia’s belly button myself.

I grew up right here in Bedford and have lived and toiled most of my life on our infamous red clay. The sort of clay that makes the stickiest mud known to man after a rain and which clings like super glue from God to anything and everything it touches. If you are so foolish as to get it on yourself you’ll wind up tracking and leaving a trail of red goop everywhere you go for days afterwards to the delight of your family and friends. But I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else and Lord knows I tried as I’ve wandered from one end of the country to the other. But Bedford has my heart and that’s where I’ve chosen to live my life today. In my free time when I’m not stuck in my studio making art I do love being outside gardening or hiking or just pestering the neighbors.

Every day I try to write something that’s original, entertaining, and half-way thoughtful here on my blog while sharing my happy-go-lucky attitude and zest for life. Quite often I don’t have the foggiest notion of what I’ll end up saying in a post. But, whatever I end up writing about, I do hope you enjoy it!

I do keep a mailing list for interested readers and fans. If you would like to get in on the action and follow my musings and rabble-babble, that can be easily arranged. Just give me an email address that you would like for me to send my blog posts to and I’ll see that you get it.

Thanks for stopping by!
Bryan Skinnell