On the bluff, high above the beach, we looked out over the glittering lake while sailboats raced past the lighthouse in the distance.

Tall grasses, young trees and flowers skimmed our calves as we sprinted down the hard-packed paths of the bluff to the water.

We swam, sailed and boated on the bay and lake. We had sleepouts and hot dog roasts on the beach.

The sunlight dappled the path and the woods as we ran.

Limitless adventures.

Unforgettable moments.

Special friends.

Rita was one of my dearest friends from those years on the bluff. Rita was the one I swam with, sailed with, laughed with, and shared secrets with.

She lives many states away from me now. While we kept in touch as often as possible over the years, our lives, paths and distance prevented us from getting together.

In three decades I had only seen Rita once. That was at her mother's funeral where we were unable to spend time together.

Not long ago, I visited Rita. It was like we were kids again. We broke out in a song we had sung when we were kids as we ran down the hill or sat on the dock of the boathouse. It was a silly, kooky song, a song worth remembering. Rita and I laughed as we sang it to each other. Never skipping a beat. And we hugged.

It felt so good to be together again.

Once I was back home in my studio, I couldn't stop thinking about my reunion with Rita.

All the wonderful adventures and memories we had, running up and down the bluff tearing through the woods and the wildflowers and exploring the lake and bay, came back to me.

For days the memories flooded me.

I began to paint. I brought out my oil paints. Each dollup of paint was mixed with cold wax medium to create a heavy body of color allowing me to incorporate textures for petals and leaves and tree bark.

My palette exploded as I mixed a variety of green and blue hues to mimic the sky, grasses and woods of the bluff. Orange, red, yellow and gold marks and strokes depict the wildflowers that swayed in the winds of my childhood.

Memories from my carefree and innocent childhood days, flowed out of me and onto my canvas.

My Cottage Nature Collection was born.