monday already

It rained last night, but I slept right through it - quite a surprise when I went out to do the morning chores today and found a world soaked and dripping. And cool! Today has been the most pleasant day in ages. Breathable air! A refreshing breeze! Ahhhhhh!

I rarely sleep through rain, but maybe I was still tired from Saturday, which was - by my current standards - an event-filled day.

It began with an amble around the Hardwick Fair, camera in hand. I've never been to the Fair at that time of day. It was quiet and relaxed and I took lots of photographs. But chasing the morning light was not the reason I did chores at dawn and got down to Hardwick so early. No. It was all about the Pancake Breakfast.

I have never been able to make pancakes, and after many, many disappointments and wastings-of-food over the years, I am willing to admit defeat and just go somewhere every year or two and buy pancakes made by someone who possesses the superhuman skill apparently required to make a decent pancake. It's worth it!

As the day started heating up, I headed home but stopped at a yard sale and found some treasures. Highlights: a small hardwood turntable-thing which will be beautiful with just a little sanding, I think, and a deep Pyrex frying pan with lid. As I was trying to decide on a small lamp (would it fit on the porch windowsill? would it be heavy enough that I wouldn't knock it off, like the other one?) I got a text from a friend inviting me to ride shotgun on a trip to the distant feedstore where our Chaffhaye is delivered every six months or so.

A trip along forest-lined roads, with someone else driving, in a vehicle with real suspension? Heck, yeah!  It was a fun trip, talking goats all the way in both directions. About four hours later I was back home with ten 50-pound sacks of feed in the Little Green Sportswagon, offloaded from my friend's truck when we got back to her place. (I had only 500 pounds; she had a ton. It's swell to have a friend with a truck and a sharing attitude!) I also bought Piper a new toy at the feedstore; don't tell her. It's a surprise to celebrate her recent dental work :)

So if Saturday was a madcap romp, Sunday was more or less a recovery day. I did drag the feed out of the wagon, but apart from that and the routine chores, very little got done yesterday. Not even drawing! I've missed three days of #DrawingAugust, so today I made this ink sketch of a little larch branch I'd picked up on a walk with Piper last Autumn. I'll try to keep up the drawing momentum for the rest of the month, even if it's a only a few minutes each day. It's often hard to start, but once begun, I get pulled right in to the process and it's really enjoyable.

I hope you had a great weekend, and your week is off to an excellent start!

~~~~~