ART & POETRY BY PAUL & KATHY BOECHER©

Even though my husband is no longer here, I’m still learning from him. His knowledge didn’t come from the internet, but books and actual hands-on experience. His brain was geared towards getting into the field to learn and he passed that wisdom on to his students, his children, grandchildren, co-workers and me. He didn’t need Google. He’d much rather get out and experience things firsthand. At times I’d get annoyed with his plethora of information, but there were other times, when doing research for a writing project that I’d ask Paul and he’d know. Today, I’m sharing an “artist’s print” – which I had to search for on the Internet. An artist’s print is a copy of a painting, professionally done. The detail and color of the painting isn’t the same as having the real McCoy, but it will be used for making limited prints. To collectors, the value of an artist’s print is closest to the actual work. There are so many times I count on Paul for answers. My poetry also caused me to search out color blindness in species of deer. Did you know that elk, deer and moose are partially color blind? They can only define two colors – green and blue. When the hunting season begins and hunters don their bright, blaze orange or camouflage clothing, The camo blends in with the environment. They become just a mass of white, woven into the landscape, yet they can hunter is still visible to other hunters.

Wouldn’t it be grand if humanity could take off the blinders,

Throw away their bias and indifference towards one another,

To become blind to the variety of colors in the races,

To see each other as part of a huge tapestry,

Of interwoven threads,

Each an integral part of the greater picture,

The one which unfolds each day,

With people unconcerned about skin tones,

Simply working together to create a beautiful piece of art called life.

Wouldn’t it be grand if we were color blind?