Life is Peachy

This past weekend we drove to Fairhope, Alabama for the Eastern Shore Art Center 36th Annual Outdoor Art Show. We left the cold of the northeast and seemed to power through spring and into summer with every hour we drove further south. First we saw daffodils, then blooming dogwoods and finally in the deep south it was what we would consider full on summer. We basked in the 70 degree weather -- a far cry from the freezing 30s we have become accustomed to in the northeast.

On our travels south we saw many things, but nothing more interesting that an enormous peach in the sky. In Gaffney, South Carolina looming on the horizon was an enormous peach that looked like a big butt in the sky. Made better on approach by the discovery that the sign from the restaurant below seemed to emerge from the cleft. The name of the restaurant ... FATZ!

When we finally arrived in Fairhope, AL we spent a lovely afternoon lounging at the pool. For dinner one night we had a picnic by the water. In the water were several birdhouses with "Fairhope" painted on their roofs.

Winter Projects

Snow, Snow & More Snow
It's no secret that we have had a ridiculous amount of snow this winter.
Enough already!
Last summer we bought an enormous snow thrower which was going to make our lives so much easier than using the old school snow shovel. As luck would have it half way through the snow season our snow thrower broke. After much back and forth with customer service and numerous visits from the service technician -- it's still broken :-(

Winter Feathered Friends
Winter brings us some interesting visitors. Several times we have seen oodles of wild turkeys walking through the yard (our highest count was 20 or more in one visit.) On several occasions we have also seen Downy Woodpeckers (both male and female.) Other feathered friends include: chicadees, tufted titmice, nuthatches, blue jays, hawks and others.

Bluebird House
One of this year's Christmas gifts was a bluebird house built using the wood from a tree that had fallen in the back yard a couple years ago. Hopefully some bluebirds will take up residence this spring.

Staircase Redux
A while ago we decide to redo our staircase. We hated the carpeted stairs and couldn't stand the country spindles.

We now have a much more modern staircase with cable railing. All done with materials found at our local home improvement store. (We weren't too keen on spending a ridiculous amount of money for the cable railing systems that are out there.)

Kitchen Cabinet Redux
Much like the stairs, we didn't like the country look of the kitchen cabinets. We decided it didn't make sense to replace the cabinets (because they are perfectly good cabinets) instead opting to paint them.

It's amazing what a little paint can do. The kitchen has a much more contemporary look now. Now we need to redo the counter top. We plan on making a beautiful concrete countertop.

Trash or Treasure?

It's all in the eye of the beholder as they say. For me there's nothing better than rummaging through boxes of stuff at a flea market or tag sale. Boxes of bits, random pieces, interesting tools and hardware, it's the stuff I use in my art. Part of the perfect days of last weekend was finding a treasure trove of useful things at the tag sale at the Ashfield fair and the next day at a big flea market in Hadley

Perfect Days

It's easy to take for granted the beautiful and interesting things that lie in your own backyard, so it's always fun to hit the road and do a little exploring. Fall in New England is a visually inspiring time and a drive into the hill towns west of Northampton was the perfect way to spend a day. Sure, there was a distinct lack of fall in the air as temperatures hit the high 80's, but the cider donuts from the bakery in Easthampton eaten in the car with the AC on were still a delicious way to start our adventure. Our destination was to meet friends at the Ashfield fair, but one of the best parts about tooling through the countryside is stopping at interesting places.

Roadside America came calling in the form of a large silver man made of stovepipe guarding a spectacular collection of rusted steel and installation art. The crunch of gravel under tires that came off the highway a little too fast announced our arrival into this fabulous world. There is an actual business buried somewhere amongst the art, something about stoves, new, vintage, repairs...whatever...who cares about that???! Places like this speak to my soul, they are raw expression. They come from a place so deep within their creators that it becomes a compulsion fueled vision. The vision overtakes the person and it becomes a lifestyle. Love it. People who create installation pieces around their lives expect and invite visitors into their world, so sure enough after about 10 minutes of taking pictures in and around the buildings the artist emerged from his house. I'm pretty sure he waits to see if you're just a tourist taking pictures of the oddity or if there's a real appreciation. I would, it weeds out annoyances. We had a nice chat with him and he invited us to explore his gardens.

There was something interesting at every turn, amazing rock work and sculpture, random surprises hidden in crevices, fantastic patterns and colors. Here are some pictures... If you're ever on route 112 N just before Ashfield MA stop in, you'll be inspired.

Warning: COMPLETELY disgusting!

Seriously, this is fair warning, don't be eatin' and readin'. This is part public service announcement to all of you that have animals, and partly me not wanting to be alone in this totally gross experience.

My sweet little Brittany Spaniel LucyRose has had a cut on her side that just wouldn't heal. We thought it was a puncture from running like a fiend through the woods...maybe a stick had nicked her as she tore by. Understandably, it was terribly irritating to her. She couldn't stop licking and, while I usually I just let her have at it when she has cuts to be cleaned, this was excessive. The past 11 years of living in the woods have taught me that dogs get into ALOT of crazy stuff, (standoffs with porcupines...these never end well, the chasing of foxes, almost being run over by a buck) so the medicine cabinet is stocked and the clippers are always at the ready. A little shave of the afflicted area revealed what looked like a little hole, and while it was inflamed and ooozy, it seemed like no big deal. However, after a week of trying without alot of luck to keep it covered through a combination of ace bandages around her middle, an e-collar around her head and alot of "stop that licking!" there was no real progress in terms of healing, I called the vet.

LucyRose hates the vet. She turns into a 47 lb. panting lap dog. Our vet, Dorsie, is sweet and kind and gentle, but that holds no weight with LRose. So we are sitting in the exam room, she on my lap and me reading a magazine propped on her back. I picked some burrs out of her fur just to make good use of time. Dorsie comes in and kneels down by us. I explain to her what's been going on and even offer up some possible culprits for her predicament. "I saw her kill a chipmunk yesterday (don't judge her), maybe it's from a bite?". "Oh!" exclaims Dorsie, "it's a chrysomya!". "Hmmm??????" I say with furrowed brow.

Dorsie goes on to explain that a chrysomya is...wait for it...the larvae of a parasite that has crawled into Lucy's ear (probably from her sticking her head into a chipmunk or rabbit burrow, again don't judge her) and traveled through her system until it landed near the surface where it lived, irritating her skin and creating serum (puss), which it ate as it grew. YOU COULD SEE IT IN THE HOLE!!!!! For a vet, this is an exciting thing, it breaks up the usual day I suppose. For me, I am so far beyond grossed out I want to run from the room!!!! The look of horror on my face is frozen in place. There is a maggot in my dog's side!!! "I can just pull it out" she says "wanna watch?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? "Lucy and I will just look at the wall together, thank you very much"

The extraction is successful, she literally PULLS this beast from the hole, I feel like I have just been in a horror film, and Dorsie wants to know if I want to keep it, you know, to show people!!!!! Oh, c'mon!!! It was the single most disgusting thing I have ever seen in my life and if any of you are curious, (you know you are!) click on the link for a picture of my nightmare. http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/CA25677D007DC87D/LUbyDesc/Ag0081j/$File/AG0081j.jpg.

There really is reason to share this beyond the obvious...me grossing you out!. If your pet, and this can happen to cats too, has a wound that just won't heal there may be something like this going on. Dorsie told me that if it happened again I could "just take it out myself" to which I said " I would work until my fingers bleed to raise the funds to pay for you to perform this service for me....there is no amount of money that you could charge which I would consider excessive" There are some things that I will not do when it comes to country doctoring...this would be one.

Hey...have a great day everyone! ;-)

The Last Word...

It was like the perfect storm of bad things that could happen at a show. After living in the dust bowl for 3 days, the Philly Folk Festival ended with pouring rain and the artists having to hoof their stuff to their vehicles because no one was allowed to drive on the grounds. Perfect. My parting words to my neighbors, with whom I had shared some laughs over the ridiculous shows we had done over the years, were "this will not be funny for a VERY long time." That's not altogether true, because it's already kind of funny now.

When bad shows happen to good artists

Every show seems like a good idea in February. It's cold and ugly outside. The sun goes down at 4:30 PM. You're trying to wade through the piles of applications stacked on your desk, each one holding the promise of customers who love your work and will throw money at you (HA!). Sitting in a field in August listening to music and selling my art, sure, sign me up! Thus began my adventures at the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

The reality of me being at this show went more like this. The woman that runs the craft area saw me at another show, gave me her card and said "you should do my show". "Well", I say, "I've applied to your show but you never let me in." "Try again", she says, "and this time use my name". OK. So I do, and I name-drop and I get in. Great, because August shows are tough and a music festival brings with it a built-in happiness quotient. People wait all year to camp, drum, sing and dance with their friends, this is going to rock! (pun not intended because it's a Folk Festival and, well, you know life in the slow lane, tie dye and all).

So I drive down yesterday and got a little frustrated with MapQuest for not knowing the intricacies of the Schwenksville, PA back roads. When I got here I remembered why I don't do Music Festivals anymore. I don't do shows at Ski Areas anymore either, but I broke that rule this year too. February clearly was a difficult month. Anyway, I'll break down the salient points of why this was a rule in the first place...

• Volunteers that look at you like it's the first time they've ever heard THAT question
• Dusty field
• Port-o-Potties that bake in the sun
• Hours: 11AM-11PM, Sun. till 9:30PM
• "Camping" in your car
• Showers that cost $5
• Freaky guys in tie dye with bells on their shoes that look at your work and say "well, it's not MY style, but..."
• Sound checks

You get the idea. The woman who runs the craft area came by too. She said "I gave you this booth (a corner) because I thought you would hang stuff on this side so people can see it when they walk into the area, now all they see is a white side". "But I'm not set up for a corner" I say "and you can't just change this configuration around. You should have told me about this spot beforehand". "But, you can just pull this wall outward", she says. "No, that's not going to happen" I say. "How about you hang some of these paintings on the outside?", says the craft minion who is with her. "No, that's not going to happen either" I say. Thanks for giving me your card, lady.

So here I sit till 11PM, never more thankful that someone has set up a wireless network that I can jump on to. Here. In a field. In Schwenksville, PA. Another artist came by awhile ago...he's been doing this show for 10 years, but "only with the stuff I hate to make because that is all they will buy" and said "what are you doing here, you don't belong here, they won't understand you!" Thanks buddy, story of my life. Call me in February and tell me to re-read this post, will ya?