I woke to this Eastern King Bird catching cicadas in the front yard. It has cooled today. Temperatures reached only into the low 80'sF. lows tonight in the mid to upper 70'sF with a slight breeze out of the west.I finished cutting and grinding the blue heron this morning. I painted him up and stated the firing process. I will end up firing 4 times, minimum by the time I get to the silver stain.
Here is another shot of the King Bird. They are all over the cicadas. It is fun to watch them hunt!
While the heron was in the kiln, I began work on the next leather back turtle. I got the turtle cut out and got the grinding done. Here is the turtle with the silver stain drying.
The Kids are here again tonight. It is fun to have them. Killian helped me with the grass, running the mower and cutting the grass over at Art and Nancy's. The girls helped Sherry in her studio today, cutting chain and installing jump rings. Killian helped grind some crystals, until he got bored.

We got in last night at around 11PM. We decided to stop in Parole at the Outback for dinner. Not great, and I doubt that we will stop there again. An uneventful trip, really. Nothing big to report. Traffic was light for a Sunday night. No back-up at the bridge what-so-ever. But ain't it good to be back home again. The bed felt wonderful, and my back is greatly improved, although not yet mended. I spent most of the morning closing out the Sea Glass Festival. It was definitely worth the trip, and we will go back again. The month overall was our best June to date, and the best month of the year so far.

Now it is time to hit the glass! I am so excited to get back in studio.

Sherry finished with all of the chores necessary to bring the Forrest River together, cleaning, laundry, unpacking etc. Once she completed all of the chores, she took off for town to do her shopping and to pick up the kids. We celebrated Killians Un-Birthday this evening, after steaks on the grill with salad and baked sweet potatoes. Tomorrow, painting and more glass!

Great day today! We got a really nice shady spot on the Historical Society grounds. A corner spot under a nice shady Maple. The crowds were heavy all day until about 3PM. The weather really cooperated with High temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80's F., and lows this morning in the lower 70's F. with clear skies throughout the day. Everyone was buying! We could have really sold more, if we had it. Now we are beginning to worry about next weekend at St.Pete's. It is doubtful that we will have a sufficient amount of inventory to do the show. Currently, we are at less than $20K, and it is for the most part "stale" inventory from 08'-09'. I am "jone's-en" to get back in the studio and start building glass. We had a lot of requests for turtles, herons and fish (all of which we are out of). We have no dichroic transoms, no sunburst half-rounds, no beveled herons, no bevel clusters with diamond crystals, and no slumped/draped masks. We are short on everything. This is a good problem to have!

We got back to the RV at 5PM. Sherry fixed crackers and cheese that she picked up at the Farmers Market this morning. Afterwards, Sherry biked into town for ice, while I fixed dinner. Fresh peas (from the Farmers Market), yellow rice and grilled sausage with habanero peppers. It was passable, I thought. Afterwards, we closed up the camper, turned on the A/C, and walked in town to the ice cream parlor. This time we hot The Blue Dog a vanilla cone with peanut butter toppings! She seemed to enjoy this very much. Back at the camper I closed out today's receipts and tallied up the month. Not bad, for a soft economy. We can only hope our luck holds, and our sales continue. Until tomorrow...............

Now we come to the last leg of our journey, Lewes, Delaware. We departed First Landing State Park this morning at about 7AM. It was a beautiful drive across the Chesapeake Bay through the bridge tunnel. I wish I had remembered my camera, as the view was spectacular. This was Sherry's first time across, so she really enjoyed herself. We stopped along the way in Salisbury to shop and than continued on our way across the Delmarva Peninsula, until we arrived in Lewes at around noon. We met Cassandra (the director). She showed us to our space and said we could begin set up after 3PM. We went back and got camp set up in the field behind the Historic Society grounds. I began foiling some bevels that I had brought along. Sherry read. At 3PM we began set up and were complete by 4:30PM. Tomorrow morning we will finalize the display. We went back to the Forrest River and I continued on my foiling chores. Sherry cooked a great dinner and, at about 7PM we headed out for our evening walk.

Harbor Sunset, Lewes, Delaware
The Blue Dog in the Pet Topiary.

Sherry looking in the Cannon Ball House, hoping for an "orb" to show (no such luck).
Sherry and The Blue Dog in front of the Cannon Ball House. The house gets it's name from the bombardment it took during The War of 1812.

After our walk we all three enjoyed hand dipped home made ice cream at the parlor on 2nd. Street. Blue especially enjoy this treat.

Beautiful morning at First Landing State Park. We were able to grab the same waterfront (dune front) site we had on Tuesday. Beautiful views of the Chesapeake Bay and the Bridge Tunnel. We had a nice shower blow through the camp last night, accompanied by a cool front. Much cooler today with temperatures in the Upper 80'sF Lows this morning in the mid 70'sF. We have a 20% chance of rain this afternoon.

We will pack up this morning, and head over to Lewes Delaware for the National Sea Glass Festival. We have a set up today The show starts tomorrow at 10AM and runs until 5PM both days. Off we go!

Beautiful morning on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Clear Skies with Highs in the 90'sF. Lows this morning in the mid-to-upper 70'sF. Chance of afternoon Thunder-boomers.

Up with the sun this morning. I slept on the floor last night because my back was acting up again. It did help, a little. I will have to give it a little more time to mend. We have an early start this morning, as it appears any sales we have we will get before noon, as the heat is likely to drive folks inside.

We will begin packing up at 5PM. We should be done by 7PM and on the road. This puts us back at First Landing State Park at about 9PM. Tomorrow morning (very early) we head over to Lewes to set up for the Sea Glass Festival. A jam-packed week we have had!

Well, here we are back at First Landing State Park. We made it just in time to catch the sun setting over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. They shut the show down early, due to the unseasonably high temperatures. It reached over 100F. Our neighbor, Dave (a glass guy) suffered from a mild head stroke. He was out of it for much of the afternoon, until they got him hydrated. We put him in our truck at 2:30PM and turned the A/C on high. That helped a little, but he was in pretty serious condition for a short while.

We were packed and on the road by 5:20PM, in spite of the heat. We made it into the park by 8:PM, did some set up chores, and got some good shots of the sunset. Tomorrow, off to Lewes, and another set up.

Beautiful day today. The Hight Temperatures were in the upper 90'sF, with a light breeze out of the west at 5MPH. Lows this morning were in the mid to upper 70's. It was very hot, with a Heat Index well above 100F.

Sales were light. So light in fact that I went back to the trailer at 1PM and slept until 4PM! We did enjoy the Artist Reception Dinner, although we did not stay around for the Awards Ceremony, as the weather was turning foul, with a big thunderstorm moving in off of the mainland. They always have the best BBQ dinner here. The Whalehead Club is a beautiful setting for an art show. We very much enjoyed ourselves.

We departed the First Landing State Park at about 9AM this morning. We had a bunch of errands to run, like going to the UPS Store to ship glass to Richmond. We had a non-eventful, and really pleasant drive down to the Outer Banks. We got in to the Whalehead Club at 2PM, dropped off the Forest River, and started our set-up. We finished up by 6PM, with only a few last minute placements for tomorrow morning. Sherry served up some tasty hors d'oeuvres and we sat in the A/C trying to cool down after a very hot set up.

We walked around the park, taking time to visit with some of our Artist friends. The Whalehead Club has a beautiful campus, and adjoins the Currituck Lighthouse Museum, Nature Center and Marina. The Currituck Lighthouse is fully restored and operational. It is utilizes a Fresnel Lens (beveled glass) similar to the light I photographed during the Gosport Art Festival last May in Portsmouth, Virginia.

We finished up the walk with a nice stroll along the Oceanfront. We stopped at a small ice cream shop and got The Blue Dog a vanilla cone. After we returned to camp, Sherry make a delicious single dish of rice sausage peas and peppers. It was a wonderful way to finish up the evening.

On our way out of the camp, I stopped by the Park Office to reserve a site for Thursday Night. I booked the site, and asked about their laundry facilities. They have a laundromat located next to the camp store. I got Sherry started on the laundry and went back to the office to ask if any sites were available today. They had a nice one, right on the dunes. Sherry and I talked, and decided that we would spend the day here, and head down to the Outer Banks tomorrow. I moved the camper around to the site and set up while Sherry loaded the laundry. After the camper was set, I went back and helped with the laundry. We drove down to the Bloom grocery and did some shopping and than back to finish up the laundry. After we had all of the laundry folded and put away, I started on close out of the Boardwalk show. After that we sat outside. Sherry reading her book, and me foiling a couple of projects I have hanging.

Sherry made a great dinner of
steaks on the grill, sausage and rice, and peas. It was a great meal. We ate inside, in the A/C as it was terrible hot outside. Afterwards we took off to town for some ice cream (vanilla for Blue, of course). We made it down to the beach for the sunset over Chesapeake Bay, which was magnificent.
The Blue Dog enjoyed her walk on the beach. She has had a great big day at First Landing State Park.

Tomorrow we head down to Corolla, North Carolina, to the Curituck Light House, The Whalehead Club. A beautiful drive is in store, I am sure.

Sun and clouds mixed. Hot. High around 90F. Low 73F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Where to start? I seem now, to be always a day behind in my postings. Yesterday was a great day. Jess & John gave me an early morning "Fathers' Day" call, which was much appreciated. They are very kind and thoughtful kids, and I love them both dearly. We had some early morning interest, but not enough to keep me around for long. At 11AM I went back to the trailer, packed up, hooked up, and relocated to the "First Landing State Park", 5 miles north of town. This is a great park right on the mouth of the Chesapeake. I returned to the show, where Sherry had done a good deal of selling. We finished out the day with a very difficult load out. I had to carry everything a block and a half to get to the truck. This was very hard as I am old, I think. We finished up in three hours, went back to the camp and dropped off the Blue Dog. We went out to the HOT TUNA. Sherry had grilled tuna and I had shrimp fajitas. We picked up some ice cream on the way back in, and Blue and I enjoyed some vanilla before turning in for the night.

Blue and I were up at 5:30AM this morning for a walk on the beach. The dunes here are magnificent, with an abundance of bird life. Dove, quail, red-winged black birds, mockingbirds, and warblers abound. Along the shore are pelicans, terns, gulls, herons, cormorants, and sea ducks are everywhere. There is such a convergence of ecosystems here. It is really a beautiful place.

However, we will not dally long here, as we must move on to the Outer Banks for our next venue. We have laundry and other housekeeping chores to attend to today, as well as closing out the Boardwalk art show, and the two hour trip south. So, it is best that I get started. More pictures promised, as the camera is back in hand and charged up.

Finally, the top photo is the beginning of the second Pecan Point Heron. I can't wait to get back at this. It will be wonderful to get the brush back in hand!

Mainly clear. High 85F Low 73F winds south at 10 to 20 MPH.

Up early this morning. Set up to sell, but nobody came to the party! The weather was perfect, but the crowds were really down. Sales were abysmal. Everyone we spoke with had the same story, "...no money here...". It is as if there has been a huge alien abduction of the entire middle class of this Nation. No more money. Tomorrow is the last of it. We will pack up tomorrow, and move the trailer to a camp ground for the night. Monday it is off to the Outer Banks. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Missed yesterday's post so here goes. Nothing much to report. Hot. Hot. Hot. I got up at 4AM and started loading in the panels. Sherry came in a 6:30AM and finished up with the smaller stuff and her torso's. I moved the truck back to the camper, checked on The Bluedog, filled the generator and went back over. Not much action all day. We made a few sales, but nothing of any significance. A lot of lookers though. Maybe they will be back by the booth today. I released Sherry at noon. She foiled some bevels we brought along for just such an occasion. She relieved me at 3PM. I came back and foiled until 5PM at which time I returned to the booth. We packed it in at 6PM and were off the Boardwalk by 7PM. Sherry made a great meal of left-overs, and we turned in.

This morning we are up early, ready to head over and start set-up. The weather is suppose to be beautiful. Sunny with a High of 78F. Lows this morning 66F. Winds have clocked around from the East/North East 5 to 10 mph (we started the week with the winds coming directly out of the south). We have a couple of commissions to be picked up today, and some return customers that measured last night, and may be back this morning. Also, the early morning walkers/joggers need to be able to see our glass. Time to get started...

Blue and I were up at 3:45AM this morning. A pot of coffee and out the door to explore our world. The beach was deserted all but for the kids who sleep along the boardwalk. We had a great walk, but the dawn broke under cloudy skies. Blue had a good run while I waited for the sunrise. Unfortunately, it never came, as a result of the clouds. We headed back to the trailer at 7AM. More coffee, a quick "Artist Statement" for the booth and something to eat. We will run out to the Office Depot and get the statement printed out and laminated. Than off to registration. Capt Bill says it is raining in the county this morning. It is raining here, but is predicted to blow out by late afternoon. The weekend looks great.

We got set up (tent, display, loaded in crates, etc.) and are ready to load in the panels tomorrow morning. We started at noon and finished by 4PM. We had to dolly everything in, but the volunteer got us pretty close to the Boardwalk. We only had to carry in about a block and a half. It was hot! After we got as far as we could, we came back to the RV and used our new camping grill (a Fathers' Day Gift from Jess & John & the Kids) to cook up some "Back Strap" steaks (again, a gift from Jess & John) "jumpin' johnny" beans and wild rice. Sherry did a great job with dinner! The grill worked great and the meal was fabulous. After dinner we were going to walk, but the weather turned foul, with thunderstorms accompanied by torrential rain. So we are socked in for the evening. Oh yeah, on our way in we stopped by the Dairy Queen and got The Blue Dog a vanilla ice cream. She loves ice cream and showed her gratitude with copious tail wagging. Currently, she is napping at my feet, after a big day at the Ocean.

A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers this afternoon. High 82F. Low 66F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

At last, the big day arrives! Off for our 2 weeks of shows. Road Trip!

A very pleasant drive down today. Gas is anywhere from $2.39 (which we filled up on) to $2.49 (Virginia prices). We stopped and shopped in Gloucester and finally arrived in Virginia Beach at 3PM. By 4PM we were all settled in. We have the A/C window unit in place and running. This is putting absolutely no drain at all on the 2000w generator, as it only pulls 535w. Great idea Jimmy L. had. Tomorrow we register at 10AM, and begin setting up. The show begins on Thursday at 9AM, and runs through Sunday.

Early morning off to Candy's for a two hour on the "Paper Work". Back home to pack for the big adventure. This evening we have a Unique Boutique Meeting, than over to Jess and John's for an early un-fathers' day celebration.

Up really late this Sunday morning. Long 20 hour day yesterday. A nice show that we would do again. We are sad we missed Killian's Un-Birthday Party at the pool, but duty called. Today, close out this job, and get ready for Candy tomorrow. I have to pack all of the glass and glass supplies for a two week trip out on the road, in addition to all of the regular stuff. Better get at it.

A gaggle of geese went up the bay this morning. Probably close to 50 total. Lots of gosling.


This big adult Bald Eagle was keeping a close watch.
Partly cloudy.Low 64F. High 84F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. It feels as if something is brewing weather wise. The wind has clocked around to the east this morning, and is blowing pretty strongly.

Yesterday afternoon, Sherry noticed a "widow maker" hanging from on of the Pecan Trees. I do not know if this very large branch was the result of a lighting strike, or if it snapped under the weight of a great wind. In either case, it was dangerously hanging from the tree. It took some time to "lasso" it with a long rope, and tie it back to another tree. This sounds simple, but it became quite a production, and took some real effort and time to properly secure the thing. Now when it does fall, it will fall away from the studio (and house) and safely land in the yard.

I completed 2008 yesterday, and started 2009. Sherry continues to work in her studio, producing glass inventory. I am dying to get back to my glass work. I want to start on another turtle, as I know this would sell during our upcoming trip.

Back at it.

Got everything done. Just a few little organizational things, and I am done. Done that is until Candy gives me my next set of tasks. Tomorrow, Bethesda. Monday, Candy and packing. Tuesday, ROAD TRIP!

Partly cloudy. Hot. High near 90F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Low this morning of 70F. with overcast skies.

UHHHHGGGGGGG. More paperwork this morning. Sherry is working so hard at inventory replacement. I am very proud of how hard she works. Once again, last night she was hard at it late into the evening. After this weekend we have only one day until we go out on the road for an 11 day / 3 show trip throughout Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. More time away from glass for me. Sherry, I am sure, will be happy for the break.

Well, it is not getting done sitting here, spewing my woes on to this blog page. Time to go back into the paperwork salt mines.

Showers this morning, then thundershowers arriving during the afternoon hours. Gusty winds. High 79F. Low 65F. Winds South at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Back in the studio, doing the dreaded paperwork. Sherry, for her part, is working herself to a frazzle in her studio. She is very productive, working into the late night hours. She was up again this morning at dawn, back in the studio working her fingers to the bone. She knows she has to produce double of what she normally would, to cover my absents. I have to get this paper work done. How painful!

Beautiful day today. Unfortunately, it was another day for me doing book work. Will it ever end?

Tides for Shipping Point, St. Clements Bay, Md. starting with June 7, 2010.

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon            /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible  M    7      Low   5:08 AM     0.4   5:43 AM    Rise  2:11 AM      31      7     High  11:15 AM     1.7   8:28 PM     Set  3:45 PM      7      Low   4:45 PM     0.3      7     High  11:34 PM     2.0  Tu   8      Low   6:06 AM     0.4   5:43 AM    Rise  2:39 AM      22      8     High  12:08 PM     1.7   8:29 PM     Set  4:48 PM      8      Low   5:38 PM     0.3  W    9     High  12:19 AM     2.0   5:43 AM    Rise  3:12 AM      14      9      Low   7:01 AM     0.3   8:29 PM     Set  5:54 PM      9     High  12:58 PM     1.7      9      Low   6:33 PM     0.3  Th  10     High   1:03 AM     2.1   5:43 AM    Rise  3:52 AM      8     10      Low   7:53 AM     0.3   8:30 PM     Set  7:00 PM     10     High   1:46 PM     1.7     10      Low   7:29 PM     0.3  F   11     High   1:48 AM     2.2   5:43 AM    Rise  4:39 AM      3     11      Low   8:43 AM     0.2   8:30 PM     Set  8:04 PM     11     High   2:32 PM     1.8     11      Low   8:24 PM     0.3 

Very cool this morning. Low 57F. High 78F. 0% chance of rain. The air is clear with very low humidity. Virginia is Green across the river. Sherry was out today gathering vitals and sundry items. I was home doing the books. Lord, how I hate the paperwork. I sold the "Turtle Beach Leatherback" this weekend, and I want desperately to recreate it, as all others after the prototype are an improvement. I loved that panel. I really want to get back at it, but I can't, as I must complete this paperwork. Once the task is complete (sometime next week), it will be time to head out on the road for two weeks ( a three show run), and I still will not be able to get to this panel. Oh well. It is what it is.

Three bucks at the corn this afternoon. It looks as if there is one set of twins and the alpha buck.

Purhaps tomorrow I will paint.

We got home at about 1:30PM I mowed the lawn, and than over to Jess&John's for dinner. Another wonderful afternoon at the Raleys. Bud and Thelma came over, and the conversation was lively. The raspberries are looking great.We left at about 7PM, and headed over to Chaptico Wharf road to look at some property.
That is where we got this pic. of a buck in the wheat. Lousy picture, pretty neat seeing these deer. We headed over to Copples Marina to meet Billy & Kelly, and look over their new boat. Very nice. Now home to a good nights sleep. Big day tomorrow.Sherry having lunch with the Blue Dog at Panara Bread.

Gotta make this quick. We are getting ready to pack up the camper, and head back to Maryland. The show yesterday was mediocre at best. It was hot and the crowds were thin. We sold the Silver Stained Turtle, and that was about it.
Blue and I were up before the sun this morning. We stalked and photographed the Hudsonian Godwit. A nice addition to the life list.

Have to run. Sherry is waiting to pack up!