End of Summer-2011

I'll do my best to recap the summer. It is a way for me to feel ready to move on to the fall and winter which will be much quieter and more focused on art.

Family--The Highs

Grandchildren were a huge part of this summer.

They lept over tall objects.

 

They rode horses.

They sat in our kitchen for breakfast.

Family--The Lows

My mother's physical health declined to the point we had to move her from the memory care facility she's been in for the last two years, to a nursing facility. The move has increased her mental decline. Most visits now, she asks me who I am.

Around the Place


I love this shot of a small snake surprising me in the garden.







Once again we took down the 30 or so swallow houses,




emptied out the nests and chased off yellow-jackets,

found creepy baby bird mummies,

and kept records of each nest.

Due to a cold spring and late summer, we had many fewer successful nests.

Art--High

After reworking parts of this painting, it was accepted into the Watercolor Society of Oregon Fall 2011 show.

Art--Lows

I had 3 other paintings rejected from other art competitions this summer.

I roasted at the McKenzie Art Festival--95+ degrees, and ended up in the red financially.

My classes at the Vida Community Center Ended.

Rogue River Rafting


We felt fortunate to be invited on a Rogue River rafting trip this September, since we did not get a permit ourselves.



Kayaking Mike displayed one of the many dead salmon we saw on this trip.

This heron was one of several we saw.

And the bears were out, although we never saw one in camp. This guy has a salmon nearly as large as he was, and further down river, many salmon remains lay on rocks at the river's edge.

Our friend from New Orleans, Julie, enjoyed being rafted into a small waterfall--a nifty way to cool down!

And the take-out: all that was left was packing up all this stuff into a trailer, driving 5 hours to home, cleaning and putting away the raft gear until next year.

Next on my to do list is putting away art fair stuff and cleaning my studio. I will be happy to have that behind me and paintings ahead of me!