Mary Richmond Design

Hot, hot, hot......

It's so hot that Zeke is lying in the window with his belly against the screen, hoping for a cool breeze. His roomate, Smudge just lies on his back in the middle of the floor letting it all hang out. They are just hot, hot, hot....as are we all.

I know there are places that are hotter than Cape Cod in the summer time but these last days have been killers with almost a hundred percent humidity and 90 degree afternoons. Whew!

Can you see the baby frogs in this picture? There are two of them, toward the bottom. They are newly minted, having been tadpoles just a few weeks ago. Some of the frogs we're seeing still have their tails but these fellows have absorbed theirs already. Even though it was hot these guys didn't seem to mind. It's all pretty new to them.

Interestingly we didn't see any larger frogs hanging out in the sun. They're too smart. They hang out in the shade on days like this.

This week we talked about geology with the kids. We looked at glaciers and earthquakes, volcanoes and rocks. We did experiments and lots of fun activities. Because of the heat we tried to stay cool in the shade and kept our walks in the brutal sun to a minimum.

Fortunately there are many activities one can do around geology that are fun as well as informative and by the time we ended the week with a rousing Jeopardy game the kids were well informed enough to be very competitive!

One of our activities at the end of the week was called Chocolate Chip Cookie Mining. The kids 'mined' the chips out of the cookie without breaking it, using only a plastic spoon. When they were done...they got to eat the cookie. You might say it was a very popular activity and a nice way to end the week.

A parting shot of a native plant and an invasive plant. The white flowering shrub is sweet pepper bush, which is just starting to come into bloom in our freshwater wetland areas. The other is loosestrife, a pretty but invasive plant that many people work hard at controlling. It doesn't have much of a stronghold in this location and I suspect it will soon be removed.

Stay cool!

Just for fun....

We haven't had much snow so I went out early this morning and took these pictures. I'll be away for awhile so will leave you with these...

Sometimes It's Just About the Beach....

It was a lovely day here today. The baby came home from the hospital with his mom and dad and his little brother and I were there to greet them.

Later I headed down Cape to meet with a photographer for a story we are doing on the winter beach. I took some photos as well and have posted some to my Flickr site where you can see them.

I especially liked taking this picture, though it is difficult to see it this small. It is of the photographer taking a picture of the seal that looks like a little black dot in the upper right....The seal just hung out watching him take the pictures and then followed us as we walked down the beach. These pictures were taken at Coast Guard Beach in Eastham.

This is First Encounter Beach, also in Eastham but on the Cape Cod Bay side, not the Outer Beach side.

The light this afternoon was amazing. This shot was taken with my back to the scene just ahead of it. The sun came out just for a few moments and I took this quick shot.

The colors in this series of shots (only one shown here) were incredible. I may do some paintings from these later this winter.

It was a peaceful and inspiring afternoon. I love this place I call home.....

What is This?

Nothing like a little white stuff to put me in the spirit! I had to put my coat on and take the dog for a walk. We both got covered in big, sticky white flakes. Yummy!

I took this from upstairs when I got back to the apartment. Obviously I don't live here for the view.

Hawk and Owl went to their new homes yesterday but first I packaged them up and tied them with a bow so they would look their best.

Today is almost a day off for me. I have a column to write but otherwise will be with my daughter and grandson doing some shopping and lunch out. Our new little grandchild will arrive on Friday!

By the way, my friend, Stu Parsons, children's librarian for the town of Sandwich and all around teacher and and instigator extraordinaire, just won a New York Times Award as one of the top children's librarians in the country. Only 21 people are chosen for this award so Congratulations, Stu!No one could deserve it more!

Halloween Dogs on Parade

Here at Mashpee Commons this morning there was a parade of dogs in costume sponsored by Hot Diggity, a store specializing in dog paraphenalia. The dogs weren't the only ones being silly. Their owners and children were often dressed up too and even the local fire department got in the act, leading the way with one of their fire engines.

My pictures aren't very good but you can get the idea. The dogs were pretty cute and everyone was laughing and having a good time.

In the picture above there's a little teeny dog in the stroller....it's dressed like a bee...

And this little dog is dressed like a skunk....

A little silliness in a busy day is a good thing.

Back from Albany

Just got back from a trip across Massachusetts to Albany, New York to see my friend, Jane. I had hoped to enjoy some nice foliage on my drive out but instead drove through horrible rain, fog and car spray. There didn't seem to be much color yet though I probably wouldn't have been able to see much of it through the smeared, wet windshield. I obviously survived and we had a great visit.

I did get to go for some lovely walks while there and am including some photos of things I found fun or pretty here. (More on the side) My friend wasn't feeling very well so we stayed in most of the time and were pretty quiet. I used the down time to start work on some beginning character illustrations ideas for a children's book I'm working on. I will post some of them later. It was a good project to play with while the TV was on and Jane was snoozing.

The drive back today was just beautiful. It must have gotten cold enough to activate the color change in the leaves because driving through the Berkshires was just lovely. Another week and they'll be blazing reds and oranges but they were pretty nice today with lots of yellows, golds and reds. As I drove east the trees were still mostly green with just an occasional colorful burst. The color change on the Cape has even farther to go, being the last to turn. I look forward to the next few weeks when the marshes turn gold and are surrounded by the reds and oranges of maples and tupelos.

Tomorrow I get back in the studio and have all sorts of ideas running around in my head.

While I was away I did a lot of thinking about what comes next, what my goals are for my art, my business, my life this next year, the next 5 years.....and so I will be working on those, too.

Nothing will change drastically but I am hoping to travel more this next year and get more time out in the world painting, writing, etc. Maybe this will be the year I hire an assistant....

A Cape Cod Day

Just a perfect Cape Cod day....John and I spent most of it in Truro. The kids in the last picture seemed to capture the spirit of the day just right....

Provincetown and Whale Pictures

Just some fun pictures from a whale watch and day in Provincetown. We saw lots of whales and  the rain held out.

These Humpback whales were "logging" in the top photo which is sort of like sleeping. They never moved although we got quite close and they spouted pretty regularly.

The three in the picture below were 3 whales traveling together; a mother and calf and an 'escort'.

Just a fluke, as they say, as a whale takes a dive. Street scenes from Provincetown follow. Look for the little old guy playing his keyboard, the pontoon boat with "StudioSea" on the side and the young boys jumping into the water for quarters. I think some detail gets lost in these but you get the idea. Fun day.