The only problem was “rush hour”, which kept me from pulling over just anywhere.

Here’s my fave…

And second fave…

I am just a sucker for a red barn!

I’m pretty much done with my resume, and wanted to put some finishing touches on a piece of art that I want to submit to the juried show I’m entering.

Luckily, Phoenix watched some tv, while I worked on my piece.

We went to get milk, and I had enough forethought to bring the camera along.

I got a picture I’ve been meaning to take for about 2 years.

This is what living in the country looks like…

I love all rust things.  There’s such beauty in it.

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And some more textures…

I know what tomorrow’s image will be.  There’s a special occasion happening… Stay tuned!

Happy to pick up the milk, because it was a sunny day, and I might find a photo op.

And I did.

Birds, loving the top of the silo, and the warm sunny spot.  Hundreds, I guess, but I didn’t feel like counting.

This farm has been in the same family for over 200 years, and some of the family goes to our church.

I went by the other day, to see a new calf, who is only 3 weeks old.

It was a very cold day, and I’m glad I’m not a cow in a stable.

Did you know you can see a cow’s breath when it’s cold?? You can, and I can prove it!

A baby calf doesn’t care how dirty his momma might be, as long as she has milk for him! I think this little guy might be named Connor or… something else I can’t remember.  They hadn’t decided yet.

Then there’s the ever present snow.  Of course, when it looks like this, on a very blue day, I almost thing it’s okay…

Another day with a sick kid, along with 5 other kids running around.

Kids were not cooperating for any sort of good pic.

Got the good picture of the day when I went out for an errand, while my sis-in-law stayed with the kids.

Here’s the shot:

I like also in black and white:

Anyway, late morning start(finally my kids are learning to ease into a saturday morning– hallellujah!!), late breakfast, a little straightening up, a little laundry, and then finally, I decided we should venture out for some lunch, and errands.

I had not had any coffee because it seems now that the heating problems have worked out, I might have a water problem.  More on that if indeed it becomes a problem.

Anyway, I didn’t have any coffee this morning, so my first stop was at a Starbucks, and then onto lunch at Jules Thin Crust– one of my favorite places in Doylestown.  The boys got their usual- a brooklyn pie.  I had 2 different slices, and they were both grand as is to be expected of everything at Jules.

After lunch, I decided to take a detour, and see if I could get a couple pictures at Fonthill and the Moravian Tile Works grounds, but it was not to be.  I almost fell down a small hill, almost lost my camera’s lens cap, and then as I tried to just park on one of the driveways to get a few shots, another car came, and I had to move.

We then went on to our supermarket stop, where I got provisions so that I can welcome my sister in law and her kids tomorrow, for the beginning of the week visit.

Then on to a second errand, where I got some thick-sliced slab bacon straight from the butcher, sliced to order.  Who doesn’t love bacon, huh??

Finally, we made the last stop, which was where I wanted to go all along.  We stopped over at a nearby farm that belongs to one of the people from our church.  The farm has been in her family for 200 years.  We had been there once before, when the little calves were only a week old, but I did not have my camera then, and it was too cold.  Today, although very overcast, was a bit more bearable.

There was much I wanted to photograph, and I did get several good shots.  But the one I’d had in my mind’s eye since last time was the winning photo of the day.  I was glad I captured it exactly as I had pictured previously.

What I didn’t expect, and was pleased to find, was a very friendly and loving cat.

Apparently, he wanted to be in the photos, and with us!

Tomorrow, I will ask my friend his name, since they weren’t around to tell us.

I need a bike, but I guess I can wait until spring!

This post is a long time coming.

This month I intended to make four paintings at least, of a theme I called “the country life”.

While I have tried to use any spare moments to paint, I found myself doing a myriad of other things, meaning I’m way behind.

The beginning of the month was taken up with some prep and some research for this theme.  I spent several hours driving around, getting pictures of the  country life around me. That was pure delight.  Unfortunately, morning would turn to noon day lighting, and that would be the end of the shooting.  Rain and overcast days also kept me from more photography.

Other things came up, such as working on a sculpture I’d committed to paint for our church’s kids’ choir, weekly bible study, helping with some kidztown stuff, graffiti retreat weekend, and today, a sick kid at home.

I’m excited to be done with this first painting.  It was a joy to paint, although interrupted far too many times.   I look forward to your comments and criticisms.

I’ve already started working on the next piece, and promise to put a progress update on here soon. Hopefully it will get done much quicker.

If you are interested in purchasing  this piece, or any other, write me and we can discuss prices.

If you would like to see more of my work go to gallery and click on individual pieces to get a closer look.

I also  do commission work.  Drop me a line if there’s something you would like to have as an original piece of art.

Yesterday I had a great country adventure.

After seeing a sign last week that said “Fresh Brown Eggs — Drive In” ,  I made a mental note to return as soon as I could. Yesterday was that day.

After both boys were in school, we drove about a mile down this quiet road, passing nice spacious properties, with barns, horses and other such things.  We arrived at the sign, and turned into a long driveway.  As we made our way down the driveway, we saw several sheep, and even a few baby lambs on either side of the driveway.  They were all so cute, and it was all so quiet.

I parked, saw chickens in the distance, and the house and car behind us.  Since I couldn’t spot a person, I went to the door and rang the bell.  A tall, distiguished looking man open the door.  He had a white beard and was holding a yogurt container and sppon in one hand, and the lid to the yogurt in the other.  I said I was interested in their eggs, to which he turned and called his wife.  She was tall, white-haired and thin, and with exitement, responded “Great!  I’ll go get them in the basement!”  In the mean time, I stood at the doorway, while the man licked his yogurt lid and made small talk.  She was back with the dozen eggs in a couple minutes, as she charged me $2(what a bargain!).  I only had a 20-dollar bill, so while she made change,  he told me about how the eggs were not “graded”, but were cleaned.

They asked me if I was local, and I told them I was, but was new to the area, which started a whole new conversation about a “folk fest” coming up in Doylestown, which they will be a part of, since he’s a metal engraver.  As it turns out, he showed me some of his work, and I shared that I am an artist as well.  He spoke of our joining efforts because sometimes he needs to engrave a picture, but he’s not very good at drawing.  At this point, I mentioned that my mother-in-law was out there, and so Toni(the lady) went out to talk to Patti, as I finished talking to Peter about the art, and his being featured in Early American Life magazine.  We headed out, and I joined Patti and Toni; who then went on to tell us lots about raising chickens,  and raising sheep, as we asked several questions, trying to take it all in.  I had already asked permission to take photos of the animals, so I kept on snapping as we talked.  I got some wonderful shots of these creatures, and dare I say, might have made a new friend, in the community.  I hope to take the boys out  there to see the animals, and meet the farmers.

When I came home, i promptly looked at the website for their business “The shepherd’s Croft“, where I learned more about them, and their farm, and their sheep.

Patti and I made an omelet for lunch, using only 3 eggs, which fed both of us thoroughly. It was delicious!

Yay for meeting the farmers and living in the coutry!  Thank you to the Kellers for being so friendly!

After fiddling around with it for about an hour or so, I figured out that the coffee was not giving me the contrast I needed for a monochromatic piece.  I then picked a dark sepia colored pencil, and worked thru part of today to finish it.  I still intend to do another place tonight, but this is yesterday’s posting– belated.

I’m happy with the piece as a whole.  I enjoyed restricting myself to one color.  And although the experiment didn’t work, I’m still glad I tried.

Has anyone worked with coffee before?  I have some seen some great things, but could not reproduce the same results.  Any ideas?

yes, one of the best things so far, about our neighborhood…

I can get milk from a farm that is about 2 miles away. Yeah, in the glass bottles and everything!

I paid the deposit and the price of the milk today, but after today, I will just be bringing back the bottles, and getting fresh milk and paying only for the milk. I am so excited! I even got chocolate milk as a special treat, since the boys will be back this weekend.

And the price of the half gallon is not that much. $1.95

That’s less than a lot of other milk, especially organic milk or other high quality milk. So, needless to say, I am thrilled, and not only that, we will be a little more green and environmentally responsible by not using so much plastic.

Let me know if you want some, and come on over…