Peg Van Amburgh

My mom, a truly amazing woman, artist, and inspiration to her family went home to be with the Lord this morning. Yesterday was her 80th birthday.

Untimely Goodbye

I see a patch of sunshine she would have enjoyed. The bag of treats is on my nightstand. I can't bring myself to empty her water glass yet. Or take away her dry food dish. I didn't even get to say goodbye. She went missing last night, while relaxing on the warm concrete of the front walk, soaking in the leftover heat from the summer day. It was just after dusk. Gone. Likely a forest creature took her and she never heard or saw it coming. 18 years old, deaf and blind. She was my best furry friend. No last kisses or long lazy combings on the front steps. I'm still sobbing.

Fire and Rain

2 days ago I was in Summerville SC and it was 95 degrees and humid sunshine. Two plane rides later it's 60 and cold rain. And it hasn't stopped for 3 days. I pulled out the winter jammies.

Done some more kayaking - in Point Judith Pond, the center wall... made a few trips to the beach. Made stuffies, boiled fresh butter-and-sugar corn from Dame Farm. It's been a grand, sunny summer, so the rain is just paying our dues for all the sunshine.

Winnepaug Quahogs and Sunburn

The weather this week could not be finer. 100 degrees of Hot, sunny, a little humid. We took the kayaks to Winnepaug Pond down by Misquamicut, and put in at the breachway. The tide was going out, so it was a vigorous paddle to get to the pond. Sandbars were appearing and so were the quahoggers. We found our own sand bar and started digging. We discovered the secret: walk in the squishy mud and you can feel the quahogs with your feet. You just bend over and dig 'em out. You can also look for the airholes squirting water, and a little dark sand around them. We got about 70 keepers.

Winnepaug is a beautiful place to paddle, quiet, clean. Of course, tide was coming in on our way out so it was another vigorous paddle to pull out.

Drove home and made stuffies, clams casino and littlenecks. Bought some chowder to wash it all down. A quintessential New England day.

A Glorious Fourth

Fenway on the Fourth is a great place to celebrate America. The Star Spangled Banner was punctuated by an F-14 flyover - never gets old. If only the Red Sox offense showed up! We did see Youk knock one outta the pahk, though!

We are in the midst of the best weather of the summer, and it is my vacation week - yay! Today it's chillin' at the lake house, and tomorrow will be kayaking on Ninigret Pond in Charlestown. Maybe I'll attempt the BIG canvas I bought last week... in need of inspiration, this one is HUGE. It needs an equally Big Idea. And a lot of paint.

Not-So-Empty Canvas

I'm beginning to understand how to work loosely with acrylics - use a big canvas, long brushes and a lot of water. I had fun with a big abstract floral today. Maybe I have found my milieu...
Mr Fox trotted by this morning while we were enjoying coffee on the deck. The chipmunk population is down by one more. The fox never saw us sitting there, hurrying by with the limp body dangling from his maw. There are at least 2 foxes living down the hill towards the lake; a grayish one and the red one.
And what a few peanuts can do! Last night the skunks and raccoons came out. We thought there was going to be an "incident" because the skunk got very twitchy when the raccoon got too close. Great. Memo to self - buy tomato juice.
Lobster dinner tonight - yay! I'm getting my slobber shirt on cuz the steamers tend to splash. Happy Father's Day!

Silent Spring

(Nod to Rachel Carson). Been awhile, sorry 'bout that. I didn't have much to say worth saying. But now that spring has sprung I feel more positive.
The fox has been a regular visitor to the backyard; we've seen him several times in the past two weeks. He trots up the path from the lake and heads across to the neighbor's yard. At least I think it's a "he."
3 deer moseyed across the top of the hill in the backyard the other evening, nibbling on tender saplings. I love the reminder that we share this space; indeed, it's more theirs than ours. They are far more comfortable with the environment than we are.
Tiffy stays very close when she ventures outside. She is completely deaf and nearly blind. She's sleeping for at least 20 hours a day, mostly on my bed. She can't jump up onto the sofas anymore, so the stool next to my bed is her only option. She loves being petted these days; a reminder of her connections in her quiet world.
Life goes on; I've swabbed some paint across a few canvases. Mostly for therapy; they are amateur daubs. Starting to consider a large canvas - seeking inspiration everywhere!

One Hand Clapping

That's all I can muster these days. Fell on the icy deck 4 weeks ago and broke my wrist. Surgery involved 10 screws and 3 weeks home. It has been comforting to be home during the holidays and the multiple snowstorms, but frustrating to be so housebound and handicapped. Simple tasks elude me.... typing one-handed is the least of it.
Nice Christmas, lots of family time. Snow, good cheer. New Year's Eve with the Stooges. Now we settle in for the long hard pull; nose down, shoulder to the wheel. Don't look up til April.