Frains Lake

I had taken this photo last fall at ArtPrize. Until today, I didn't know it was made down the street

Blue giraffe being loaded to be shipped to Grand Rapids

some of the many gardens at the Art in the Garden fair today

Threatening sky and hayfields near my house

Tile on barnwood purchased today. Turns out I had stayed at the artist's house years ago

another purchase. Note barn swallow though ours certainly aren't associated with peace and joy

About 5 or 6 artists, all living close by, set up tents displaying their wares

the eponymous lake nearby.  Steve had taken this in the spring and converted it into a canvas. A more recent photo would be filled with waterlilies

There are 5 baby barn swallows clamoring for their parents' attention. I saw the parents chasing a squirrel the other day. I keep my hands in front of my face when I am anywhere near the nest as I get attacked

In our township, there are only two unincorporated communities, with ours being the much smaller one. It once was a town, complete with businesses but now all is left are two one room school houses and a decaying former general store. There is a cemetery near our house and corn and hay fields.

Apparently there is a small artist community too. At a thrift store a few month back, I had bought a watercolor of a house finch. While researching the artist, I was surprised to learn she lived in  Frains Lake, which is very sparsely populated. While I bike, I can see her out gardening her extensive beds. Today as I biked by, there were several tents set up in her yard and a sign Art in the Gardens with customers parked all over the place. I stopped by and met her, a very sweet lady who offered to come to my house and identify some of the plants that I have no idea what they are. She showed me around the place. I didn't mention that I had bought her work (for a dollar or two that she probably spent hours on). She specializes in nature watercolors, particularly of birds. I liked  a lot of her stuff but it was quite pricey. I liked the work in one of the ceramics booths in particular. I had to go home to get my purse to buy a few things. As I was asking the man how to spell his wife's name, he said something about it being an unusual name. I told him I had heard it before and that the woman actually owns a farm nearby on *** road. Well he and his wife own a farm on *** road.

Small world. I had stayed in his house a few times though I hadn't met him or his wife ( I knew the wife's first name). We had a mutual friend who would farm sit for them when they went on vacation and I would help her take care of the animals. A beautiful place. The mutual friend stopped being their friend for an absurd reason 20 years ago and 6 years ago, (on Maya's birthday),she was no longer my friend too. Their studio is just down the street from me with mosaic sculptures in the yard that the husband has made (and I have put on this blog before about weird things around me). When I looked up their studio, I found the blue giraffe that I had photographed in Grand Rapids that he made. When I was at the farm years ago, he was making wind thing-a ma-jigs: moving sculptures. Some were quite creative.

After 3 days of extremely oppressive heat and humidity, rain finally came along with a cold front so now it is nice again. It was still in oppressively hot mode when we had the Moms' group last night  in a house that lacked air conditioning and a reasonable airflow. It had started to pour while she was bbqing our dinner outside (wouldn't want to cook inside as the heat was bad enough) but the fire was hot enough to keep on going though she got wet. We had a nice time just yakking away. I had stuffed my juicy farmer's market peaches with ground almonds, amaretti, and cocoa poaching them in sherry and serving them with sweetened mascarpone. It would have been easier if I had used giant store bought peaches but it would not have tasted as good.

Despite the storm ,which had knocked the power out for my new friend the nature water colorist, it was absolutely clear by the time I drove the long way home. A crescent moon front and center as I headed west ad a sky full of stars. Not much competing light sources where I live now. And the temp had dropped 25 degrees.