Glacier Rocks and Kettle Hole Ponds

Right off of Hockum Rock Road in Dennis you will see a very large rock/rocks. This is Hockum Rock; a massive boulder left behind from the glacier that created Cape Cod thousands of years ago.

(This may help put the boulders size in perspective. ) I think this is one of, if not THE largest one on the Cape.

The glacier also left behind big holes that filled with water, called kettle holes. (which are now kettle hole ponds) There are about360 of them on the 75 miles of Cape.

I grew up in Brewster in a neighborhood with a small kettle hole pond (Owl Pond). It was really deep and in one part of the pond there were trees under the water, that had been there long before the hole filled up (I guess). It was a pretty weird sight to be swimming and looking down at the tops of trees. I can remember the sunlight streaming down through the black water revealing the tips of the trees. I was always scared that someone/something was going to come up out of the trees and grab me! Hey, I was a kid with a good imagination. What can I say? None the less, that was a great pond and I practically lived in it in the summer.

Here are a few images of ACEO's (miniatures) that I just listed on Ebay. Warm Autumn Glow...

Late afternoon sparkles.....

Seashells by the Seashore....and this is NOT a painting. I picked up this Maple leaf on my walk today. The colors were so irresistible. I just want to bring home lots of pretty leaves and do something with them. I don't know what yet.....Last year I photocopied them and made pretty stationery. This year....?

"Let the timeless be in charge of time. Feel the world instead of trying to understand it." Deepak Chopra

Signs of Fall

It seems like just last week the leaves hadn't turned yet, but this week even the oak trees are changing. They are usually the last to go and when they change color they just turn from yellow to brown -not as exciting as a maple tree which can change to various shades of yellow and red before they fall.

That red one is a maple tree by the herring run in Dennisport.

This is the time of year when the Milkweed bursts open releasing the little fluffy seedlings that were held captive for so long. They take off into the wind like fluffy helicopters.

Oh ,and I just threw this photo in for the heck of it. She's just so darned cute!!! (It's my niece Qena who will be a month old tomorrow!)

Swimming in October?

What a gorgeous day it was today! The temp reached around 60 degrees so I went for my walk at W. Dennis Beach -a nice change of pace. It was soooo beautiful! This is the marsh right before you get to the beach . As you can see the colors of the grass are changing from rich dark green to gold.

The trees are still mostly green here though.

Then there was this crazy guy who decided to go for a swim!!! He was only in the water for about 2 seconds then he got out and ran down the beach. (?) Probably just to see if he could get the circulation back into his limbs.

I finished hand coloring the super long map of Bunker Hill today.

Here's the (kind of) before- I had already done most of the roofs, so it's not totally black and white here......

and this is after...it looks a bit bright, but I hit the auto adjust button so this isn't exactly how it came out, but you get the idea. Everything kind of pops now. This one map took me over 3 hours to finish and I could have done even more but time is money for the customer, so I had to cut it short.

Now, I have to relate a little story about a missing cat. It was actually one of my cat ACEO's that I sold on Ebay last night and I couldn't find it ANYwhere. I looked high and low for it- I even cleaned my entire desk (which was loaded with reference material and half painted paintings). I still couldn't find it anywhere. Finally after more than an hour I decided to quit and try again in the daylight. Well this morning I got up, centered myself preparing for the continued search, and decided to just ask for help- from the Universe of course. Within a couple of seconds of asking, I looked under the scanner and low and behold - there it was.

Peppers and Power Sellers

I had to put in a couple photo's of my pepper plant (and Simba). There are 2 peppers that are almost ripe now. They went from green to almost all red, so I'm assuming they are just about ready. I've never grown peppers before. There are still several other ones on the plant that are growing nicely. I can't say any of the ripe ones are 'normal' size, but hey- they are organically grown with love. What more could you want? I'm just enjoying watching them grow.

On another note, I just became a Power Seller on Ebay! I didn't even think I was close, so it was kind of a pleasant surprise to find out that I qualified! What does this mean? Well basically it means I get a little icon that says Power Seller by my user id. -Big whoop. lol No, seriously, I'm sure there are some other perks, I'm just too busy to read about them right now. Maybe someday when I have nothing to do (HA!). For now all I know is I have to keep doing what I've been doing to retain the title. I sold 36 paintings last month alone. (oh, and those are just the ones I sold- not the total amount that I actually painted)
That's a lot of paintings to be done! I better get started right away to keep up that pace!

Paintings and Map of Boston / Bunker Hill

This painting I just finished represents a beautiful day of summer- totally unlike the day we had today. It even snowed up in Worcester, Ma.! It' was rainy, windy and in the 40's here- that's cold enough for me, but it's only the beginning of FALL!

The birds are starting to flock together (not chickadee's though- I just really liked this painting! lol) and are feeding like crazy to get ready for their long trek south. Chickadees stay year round and are a welcome sight in the dead of winter. Isn't he cute?

Today I was working on hand coloring some antique map reproductions. This is one of them. It's a great map- view actually, of Boston and Bunker Hill. As you can see I had to pull up another desk just to accommodate it! You can find it at MapsofAntiquity.com or visit the shop in Chatham on Route 28.
I have only just begun coloring in the rooftops of every single little house using my very smallest brush- a #000. My fingers usually get cramped up after about 2 hours and I have to take a break. I also need to breathe because when I do such intricate work I have to slow my breathing down to next to nothing so I don't make any sudden jumps. I usually go for a walk afterwards to renew the life in me, but today it was just too cold and rainy! (sure Breten- make excuses!) I know, I should have gone. :(

I don't have much to say today so I thought I'd share a few nice photo's with you. This is Sesuit Harbor in the afternoon light.

This one was taken in Cotuit.

This one isn't 'scenic' but it's an interesting photo. I spotted it as I drove through Buzzards Bay (yes, there really IS a place called that!). I'm not sure if the tree split the rock of if the rock was split and a seed grew in it, but either way it was a pretty neat sight.

"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." ~ A.Einstein

Cranberry Picking Time

It's that time of year again when the cranberry bogs are alive with freshly picked cranberries. The red color stands out so much against the drab greens and tans of fall that you just can't help wanting to take a photo of them!


This bog is in Harwich right across the street from the C. C. Tech High School. Lots of weekend visitors jumped out of their cars to watch as the cranberries were being harvested. They don't grow in the water, but once they are ripe, the bogs are flooded and the berries float to the top. There are also some bogs that 'dry scoop' the berries like they did long ago, but that is more labor intensive and I think in the end you pay more for them. So next time you have cranberry jelly with your turkey, or drink cranberry juice, it might be from one of our bogs right here on the Cape! I know a lot of them are owned by Ocean Spray.

I have a couple of cranberry bog ACEO's (miniatures) on Ebay this week in honor of the harvesting time. http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Homecoming Lady

Last night was the high school Homecoming Dance and look who got crowned (sacheted) "Homecoming Lady"! Yes, I guess 'Lady' is about the 4th one in the Queen's court - it just cracks me up- 'Lady'. They couldn't think of a better name? lol Anyway, it was quite an honor as she's just a freshman and the dance was for all the grades.
She was very fortunate to have gotten her hair done by the lovely ladies at New Image hair salon in Dennis. They do a great job over there!

Meanwhile Brielle (who's home this weekend) was doing a little hair styling of her own. (not on her hair) Doesn't it look like she's about to bust out laughing? That's because she was!

OMG! It seems she used a #1 blade when she thought she was using a #4 giving him an instant Mohawk! We laughed so hard (as you can see), and of course I immediately got out my camera. Well.... luckily he was a good sport and she just cut it all down really short. (yes, who else could it have been but her dad) Thank God he's got a good sense of humor. Hey, it's just hair- it will grow back!

Yes Deer (3 of them)!

On my way through Brewster, while I was at a stop sign, I spotted 3 beautiful deer crossing the road in front of me!
I don't see deer very often, so I was really excited! They are such big beautiful creatures, and lucky for me, I just happened to have my camera.

This was the last one which was smaller. You can click on the photo to enlarge it.
So that was my major excitement of the day yesterday. Today, the major excitement was, I left the refrigerator door open all night. Ugh. How could I have done that? Lately my head has been in the clouds I guess- just look at my last 3 entries! Speaking of clouds, I forgot to mention that I saw ANOTHER rainbow yesterday. This one was at Payne's Creek Beach and was just a little touch of color (nothing like the one the day before) none the less, still an amazing sight. See what I mean about appreciating beauty and the Universe will send you more to appreciate?

Beautiful Secret

Did you ever think you were in the right place at the right time? I think I was when I saw this magnificent rainbow yesterday over Sandy Neck Beach. It seemed to formulate right there in front of my eyes, for a brief 5-10 minutes and then it was gone.

There were a few guys hauling their boat out of the water who seemed totally oblivious to the spectacular event that was occurring right behind them.

About a minute after it went away a lady came down to the beach with her camera taking random pictures of the water and boats, but she had no idea that there had just been an amazing display of colors reflecting in the sky.

At that moment, I felt so privileged just knowing that the Universe let me in on it's beautiful secret.

I think that the more beauty I appreciate, the more the Universe sends to me to behold.

Heart in the Cloud

Yesterday I took my walk at Sesuit Harbor. It was a beautiful sunny day as I went out...

Then this big ominous dark cloud started coming my way.

But as I looked up in the sky I noticed there was a heart right in the middle of the cloud. Can you see it?

Right there. Ok, it's true, maybe I stretched things a bit with my imagination, but I wanted to see a heart and feel that the Universe was sending me some love. Why not?

Then the Universe sent me a bunny. Aren't clouds fun?! :)

Kittens and Koi

3 Little Kitties all in a row..... This is the funniest painting I have ever done. I look at it and just laugh. It's so - basic, but adorable. I see the middle cat as my Simba because I call him "Mamma's Big Boy" and this picture kind of states that. I don't' know why I call him that, maybe it's because he's such a baby, because he's really not that big- just furry.

Here's another one I just finished that's on Ebay now along with the kitties: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist I really enjoy painting the Koi fish. There's just something soothing about the movement and flow....Did you know, I have dreams about swimming in the middle of winter (when it's freezing out and the water should be ice cold)- I just dive in and the water is really warm. It feels so good to be swimming. Weird huh?
Ok, last but not least, I figured it was time to finally change my photo's over to my new 'look'. My hair has just about grown out finally. So......here's the old me, and the new me. I still have to get used to it but I think it could grow on me.