Last Ride

It was a beautiful, warm sunny day out yesterday (about 75 degrees!)- a great day for a motorcycle ride. I kept thinking that this could be the last really nice day for riding so I better make time, I can always work at night.
Well, I ended up around the Pocassett area which is up near the Cape Cod Canal. I'm not even sure where I was, (it's pretty far from my house so I don't go there too often) I was just driving down random roads that looked like they might go to the water, trying to get some good reference photos.

And of course I found some pretty spots. This one reminded me of a painting I just finished and listed on Ebay yesterday! http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

But alas, my day didn't have a happy ending. My motorcycle broke down (all the electrical just cut out- no power anywhere).

So I was stuck about an hour from my house on the side of the road with no way home. And even though a Turkey Vulture was circling above me, I maintained my sense of humor and took this photo. My phone battery was just about dead but I was able to make ONE call and luckily, my ex, who never answers the phone, answered, and.... just happened to be nearby! How lucky was that? I'd say my angels were looking out for me. Thanks!

So, now my bike sits quietly in the shed awaiting repairs which might not get done until next year now, so that probably WAS my last ride of the season. boo hoo.
:(

Last of Vermont Pics

Last but not least, I just had to put this big guy from Vermont on my blog. He was the only bull in a field full of Ben and Jerry's cows. (Yes, I just renamed them).

He didn't like us getting out of the car to take photo's and was protecting his women by making really loud threatening noises at us and digging the dirt like the bulls that are getting ready to charge. The only thing between him and us was one thin little electrical wire.

The ladies all stayed a good distance from us and the moment we all got back in the car, they went rushing over to the bull as if he was a hero! It was pretty funny.

By the way, we didn't visit the Ben and Jerry's plant on this trip, but we bought a couple of pints from the grocery store. Does that count?

This photo was taken as we waited outside for the ghost tour to begin. My mom and I look a lot alike here.

Ghost Stories

More on Vermont....

After dinner on Saturday night,
We went on a ghost tour in Stowe with about 25 other people. We walked around to a couple of spots in the center of town, the first being a grave of a girl who is said to haunt this cemetery and the bridge where she jumped to her death when her boyfriend didn't show to run away with her. (he had been detained by his parents).

Here's the bridge (Emily's Bridge). We had gone there during the day because you aren't allowed to get out of the car near the bridge at night. I guess there were too many ghost watchers and the neighbors didn't like it. One year we went there around dusk and got TONS of photo's of orbs.
Anyway, it was a fun and informational tour. (He told a little about other historic buildings in the area too. ) We brought our camera's just in case, and here are a couple of photo's that had orbs in them. Now if you don't know, orbs are said to be angels or spirits. If you think about it, we are all made of energy, so why wouldn't you be able to see the energy sometimes even without the body?

The bigger head stone in front was Emily's, the smaller one was just a marker.

Check out the orb above one of the graves. Now look how it moved in the next photo!There are a few other orbs in this photo too, but they are fainter. Look in the top left area and you can make out one of the bigger one. There is another one below the moving orb- right over the next grave stone.

I have a few more pics of Vermont I'll post later. I better get painting now!

Verrrrmont!

The girls and I just got back from a weekend in Vermont!
We stayed with my mom and her fiance, who has a time share there.
He was a good tour guide and we did something even he hadn't even done before. We went to a spot in the mountains around Stowe where there was a trail that led up to a breathtaking waterfall.
We walked along a beautiful shallow river....(and the girls posed for several photo's along the way)
then we climbed to the top of this hill, which as you can see is very, very steep.

and at the top (well, it was only part way up the actual mountain) there was this spectacular view! (AND the waterfall lol) The girls are crouching because right behind them is the edge of a cliff.

Ya, I'm not too fond of heights either! But it was so worth it. Even my mom and Leon climbed up to this view. (!) We had a great time.

It's pretty late and it's been a long day of driving (5 hours from the Cape to Stowe) so that's it for now, but I'll put some more photo's of our trip on tomorrow.

Chatham Photo's in Sept.

I went to Chatham yesterday to drop off some work and I snapped off these pics. Here are some birds doing the same thing as those in my yard; only these looked like Barn Swallows. I sat and watched them for a little while as they swarmed above and the way they moved looked like a school of fish. It's amazing how they can all turn on a dime -in unison without hitting each other!I went down to one of my favorite out of the way spots to see if there was anything picture worthy. I have these certain spots all over the Cape that I frequent hoping to catch the 'perfect picture'. This wasn't it, but I enjoyed watching the woman play with her dog. He was having so much fun jumping in the water. I wonder how cold it was.

Here's another pic from that spot. The Goldenrod is in full bloom - not so good for my allergies, but it's still a pretty flower.

Critters

It's a wildly windy day here on the Cape. Now, normally I don't like strong wind all that much but while I was on my walk early this morning it occurred to me that the gusts of wind were making me breathe in deeeeeply. Breathing deeply oxygenates the blood, cleanses the body of toxins, and releases stress. So I guess the wind is Mother Nature's way of helping us all clear our minds and bodies. How nice!

I was also thinking that I need to buy more bird food to feed my furry and feathered critters! I get such enjoyment out of watching them in my yard. I stopped for a bit because all the black Starlings (?) were eating me out of house and home. They are all gathering together in huge groups getting ready to fly south and when they land it looks like my lawn is a moving black carpet! When they take flight it's like a scene right out of the movie "Birds". Remember that one from waaaaay back? Birds everywhere. Oh, and that reminds me, I just washed my car so I definitely won't feed them today! lol

Here's a few pics I took early Sept. in Sandwich while I was out for motorcycle ride. It was a really hot day, and actually, it was around 6pm.

This is a tidal river that comes into one of the many marshes in Sandwich, so high tide is the only time the kids can actually jump off this bridge. The long boardwalk goes from a parking lot, across the river, over the marsh and out to a beach. It's a nice little walk, but there are no railings on it, so if you have kids you'd want to hold their hands. It's about a 5' drop to the marsh below.

Brielle is home this weekend and I'm so glad. This is the first time I've seen her since she went back to college. I made her favorite dinner tonight, bay scallops cooked in garlic and butter, with rice and we all sat down to a relaxed family dinner. Sienna and I haven't had one of those since school and soccer practice started, and we have been using the dining room table as a catch-all. So it was nice.

My Birthday

Today I turned 49. I'm accepting my new age gracefully, but I may not be able to say that next year!
Anyway, my mom and sis had a little lunch/birthday for me. I brought the hats. If you'll notice, they all have "Old Dinosaurs" on them. My mom made all kinds of delectable goodies and a cheesecake with a candle in it, which we didn't even waste time lighting. I wonder if I'll still get my birthday wish?
We had a nice time- just us girls, although I really missed having MY girls there.

I have to say, besides my lunch party, I have gotten some really nice emails and Facebook posts to wish me a happy birthday. (I didn't know so many people even knew me! lol)
Here's an especially creative post that had me in stitches this morning:

"I wanted to wish you "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" in a special way, but my skywriting blimp idea didn't work out. Then I started to knit a huge "HAPPY 49TH BIRTHDAY!" banner that would be pulled by an airplane flying over your house, but that won't be ready until 2085. Hiring AC/DC to set up their entire stage on your lawn and play "Happy Birthday To You" is against Dennis town ordinance. Turns out getting Tom Brady to sing "HBTY" wearing only cologne will cost $6,000,000 (there is probably a Dennis law against this as well). So, you'll just have to PUT A CANDLE IN A FRAPPE AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!!"

Letter to Brielle

Dear Brielle, Kiya misses you. She would like you to come home from college this weekend and rub her belly. (HA! Ya, right! Any one who touches this cute little belly, gets hissed at as well as scratched and bitten all at the same time, even though she looks like such an angel in this photo)
But she, ok, IIIIIIIII can't wait to see you soon. (I know you are reading this). Love Mumma.

It looks like motorcycle riding season is almost over. The temps have dropped into the 60's now and ...well... in my old age I've learned that I just don't like to be cold! I will still be riding with all my gear on (long underwear, 12 layers of clothes, leather jacket, scarf, 2 pairs of gloves, etc..) until they don't keep me warm anymore, then I'll put my baby away for the winter. I never take it off the road though- just in case there's a really warm day in February's (which has happened!)

Wine Label

I was commissioned to do a label for a new brand of type of wine by one of my very good customers.

He and I have been tweaking it for several months now and this is the end result. The wine has honey in it and is made with other ingredients that are actually good for you! He sent me a couple of sample bottles so I would know what I was trying to convey, and boy was it good!!! I'm not much of a wine drinker, (or drinker of any sort actually) so for me to say that, it's pretty big. The NFS on the label means "not for sale" so as of yet, you can't buy it but I'm hoping he'll send me another bottle (or two!) when he gets the labels made on them.

For Dogs

I just found an organization that puts fences up for dogs that are always tied up. http://www.pawsitiveeffects.com/Site/home.html
I love hearing about these people that care enough to go out there and make a difference. Check it out!

This doorstep is in Provincetown. I've been painting a lot of houses lately so I was looking through my 'structural' files for interesting houses and I came across this one. I snapped off the photo as I was driving by so it's a little crooked but I love the purples.

This one has nothing to do with what I'm painting, I just liked it. It's the private golf club in Hyannisport.

And last but not least, I had to throw this one in here.

I really don't have much to write about today. This past week seemed to go by like a blur- school, soccer and sleep, repeat. I did manage to squeeze in some painting, so be sure to check out my latest on Ebay.
http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Quiet Day

It was oddly quiet yesterday as many of the tourist went home for the season and the kids went back to school. The roads were back to normal and the beaches were bare. (Cape Cod Canal and the Sagamore Bridge)My house was even oddly quiet and it made me feel very uneasy. Sienna was at her first day of 10th grade. I know once we get into the new rhythm I'll look forward to those quiet few hours in the morning when I get most of my work done.

Today I enjoyed my walk on the beach (instead of down the road) and I found a treasure! I saw some sea turtle tracks coming out of the water -which is something that I've never seen before and it was really exciting for me. I followed them all the way across the flats to the sandy beach where it was obvious that she had laid some eggs. Only thing is, there were no tracks of her going back to the water. I'm hoping that maybe some coastal study group picked her up and put her back, and not a coyote or something. I've seen signs that if you have a sea turtle sighting you are supposed to report it to some environmental group of some sort, so maybe someone did. Anyway, it was a neat thing to see. I always find treasures at the beach in one form or another. :)

Labor Day

Good bye summer. We'll miss you.

School starts tomorrow for Sienna (Brielle has already gone back to college). Now comes the morning rushes, the lost text books, the forgotten homework, the soccer....I'm not looking forward to it, but I will try not to dwell on the negative. At least the crazy tourist drivers will have gone and the roads won't be so congested and the beaches will be all ours again (as if I actually go!) ha. Fall is actually my favorite time of year (except for the back to school part!).

Punkhorns in Brewster

Yesterday an old friend came up from New York City for Labor Day Weekend and, since he hadn't been to the Brewster Grist Mill in years, he wanted to revisit it. It was a gorgeous day- perfect to be out in nature.

I snapped off a few shots and I kind of like how this one came out with the twisted tree in the foreground. I probably won't ever paint it because the tree would be too fake looking. Sometimes the most amazing things in nature don't look good as a painting, because they don't look realistic- they are just better kept as a photograph.

Paul and I went for a long hike in the Punkhorn's- which is a lot of woods and trails where you can get really lost in. Luckily he had done this particular trail before and we managed to make it out of the woods before the vultures found us. Speaking of Vultures, we did encounter a pair of Turkey Vultures deep in the woods! It's always thrilling to see birds with huge wing spans, and the funny thing was they DID actually circle us for a while.

It was a great day and I really enjoyed having someone to go hiking with since my kids are 'too old' for that kind of stuff. There's nothing I like better than being outside on a beautiful day.

The day after....

It's the day after Hurricane Earl and it was down graded to a tropical storm by the time it hit Cape Cod, so all is well here. We got mostly rain and some high winds, but nothing that we're not used to. There wasn't even one branch on my lawn when I woke up today! (yay)

Today is a bright beautiful summer's day- as if nothing had ever happened. The Northside Marina is busy with people rushing to put their boats back in the water because this is the last 'official' weekend of summer!

I am happy that we didn't have a bad hurricane- I just don't need to be the extra work picking up branches, leaves, TREES etc...! But I am thankful to Earl because now I am all stocked up and ready for any other hurricane we might have. We were out looking for a flashlight battery (the really big kind) the day before and there weren't any left. So it's always good to be prepared EARL-y.

Now it's time to enjoy a lovely summer's day. :)
By the way, these two little aceo paintings can be found on Ebay right now...http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

The Calm Before the Storm

It's the day before we are supposed to get hit with a major hurricane here on Cape Cod. People have been pulling their boats out of the water all day and the tourist are heading back home. I put all my deck furniture away and brought in my plants. Tonight while picking up Sienna at soccer practice I saw at least 15 huge electric trucks heading down Cape. It's good to know that they are on top of things. I think the last big hurricane we got (Bob in '91) we lost power for about a week. In that hurricane a tree fell against our door and we couldn't get out of the house. I wonder what this one is going to be like. It will be weird without Brielle since she's back at school, but I think she'll be safer there so I don't want her to come home. It'll just be me, Sienna and the two cats- probably all hiding under the covers until it's over. I'll let you know how we fare! Wish us luck.