Caden and I had the best play date yesterday! Here are the kids having a blast catching (and releasing) polliwogs in this gorgeous pond on a beautiful sunny afternoon:
After the polliwog experience, many more exciting adventures were had, a visit to see the chickens and sheep, a country walk, sprinkler Olympics, games, swinging, running and tons of country fresh wholesome goodness. Exactly the stuff great childhood summers are made of!
Caden has made it through his first week of Level Two Swim Lessons:
The water was a chilly 69 degrees the first few days with warnings of Hypothermia! But our brave boy made it through, slightly blue but with minimal complaint. He’s really doing great! Caden’s swim instructor Kristin is not only beautiful and sweet, she has the utmost patience with the children and I feel extremely confident that Caden is learning amazing things from her. The water temperature has since risen another 6 degrees so we are hoping for a more comfortable learning environment for the remaining two weeks of daily swim.
Theses Poppies emerged early this season after self seeding from last year’s poppy crop:
These red pretties have made it through difficult circumstances; they are lucky to be alive considering that I dug up and reconstructed their bed and built a stone wall over them! But here they are, gracing us with their fragile beauty in the hours of life between recent rains. I hope to see many more in the next few weeks, but for now I’m overjoyed to have this early glimpse of the crop to come. I’m back working on the Poppy Painting series right now, so their early arrival has been truly inspiring! I hope to have Poppy paintings ready to share with you later this week!
Here is our darling boy smiling from ear to ear after receiving his Lebanon Youth Rookie League Award Medal this past weekend:
Since then, our busy little *High Octane* athlete has already moved on to swim lessons and the summer season of T-Ball with his Plainfield friends on the Farm Team. Caden’s summer is off to a great start!
It’s that time of year again! The Maxfield Parrish Stage Set Committee and the Plainfield Historical Society are sponsoring the 20th Annual Art Show at the Plainfield Town Hall. This show is always a major activity during the fourth of July Parade and Celebration in Plainfield. Please come and experience this unique selection of local art. You will be thrilled by the caliber of talent Plainfield has to offer. A percentage of the sale proceeds are donated toward the preservation of the Maxfield Parrish Stage Set.This year the art show will be held from Friday July 3rd through Sunday July 5th.
The hours will be: Friday, July 3, 5-8 p.m. Saturday, July 4, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday July 5, 1-5 p.m.
HERE is what I presented at the Plainfield Exhibition last year: 19th Annual Art Show. The Poppies were met with rave reviews so I think I will present a brand new selection of Poppy Paintings for this year’s show!
Please save the date! I look forward to seeing you there!
This delightfully scary looking creature came to sit next to me on the back porch:
I completely had a little Miss Muffet moment! This brown speckled beauty measured over 2 1/2 inches in circumference! Seriously, we got out the ruler. Does anyone know the species/identity of my new, er, friend? The Mr. thought it might be a Barn Spider? If so, it’s easy to see how one of these might have been the inspiration for Charlotte’s Web. She is kind of pretty with that exquisite design on her back. :)
By now most of you know that I have an overwhelming desire to live those moments in fairy tales where the princess frolics through the forest with all of her wild animal friends in tow… Every once in a while, it actually happens. Here’s a glimpse of my afternoon watching three adorable baby skunks clowning about:
Up next: My NEW wildflower paintings, a Blackberry Blossom mini series! Stay Tuned!
Caden’s last day of pre-school was on Thursday. We greatly enjoyed the children’s singing and performance as well as the picnic that followed but were a bit disheartened by the tearful goodbyes. Some of Caden’s best friends are moving away to Canada; they will be severely missed. Here are a few moments from Caden’s last day:
I still can’t look at these photos with out choking up… My baby is growing up and already dealing with one of life’s harder lessons. But on to happy thoughts! Caden’s Summer is going to be packed full of fun and adventure and before he knows it, Kindergarten will be here! Swim lessons start tomorrow!
Sweet William is currently in abundance in the Wildflower Meadow:
The rainy weather hasn’t put a damper on the Sweet William’s growth but it sure has made it unappealing to go out there and enjoy their beauty. My usual profusion of floriferous photographs has been put on hold as I hope for sunnier days. The calendar marks today (Father’s Day) as The First Day Of Summer, but it appears that Mother Nature has other ideas as the rain and clouds continue. I am SO ready for summer to begin!Think SUNNY thoughts! :)
These three species of Wildflowers are currently blooming in my Wildflower Meadow and will be the first subjects in my new Wildflower painting series:
Blackberry Blossoms
Buttercups
Columbine
I‘m hoping desperately to have some of the new Wildflower paintings completed in time for the Sixteenth Annual Juried Summer Exhibition competition deadline coming up at AVA June 20th as well as for the 20th Annual Art Show in Plainfield July 2nd. However, time is flying by, lots of other events happening in the same time frame so I’m feeling pretty doubtful about being able to complete new work in time. However, I did complete one new painting tentatively entitled “House in the Meadow” that I will share with you soon. I’m very interested in hearing your thoughts on that piece.
Here are some shots of Caden’s swing set in its new location in our backyard forest:
I was forbidden from sharing the photo where Caden swung his shorts off – literally! It was a blurry action shot but I actually caught the crazy kid losing his shorts mid swing! Hilarious! I was also unable to include the *money shot* depicting the overview of his new play space located deep into it’s forest setting with it’s magnificent spotlight of sun shining through the trees (technical difficulties). The new forest playground is quite charming really; in fact it’s so lovely our wild animals have taken to playing there when Cadenisn’t. So far I’ve seen deer munching along the path and the turkeys, crows and woodpeckers have had a ball digging around in the freshly turned earth. I’m thinking the raccoons use the slide while we are asleep and I’m half expecting to see the new fawns on the swing set some morning! It could happen. :)
The Exalted Beauty blog provides regular updates on Amy E. Fraser’s Art Announcements and Events, as well as images and information about the Artists’ Paintings, Polymer Clay Pendants, Life, Work in Progress, Inspiration and other topics of Creative Interest.
