I’ve pedaled the Chicago River North Branch Trails hundreds of times.
But I think since we’ve started earlier in the season than usual, and we’re seeing
things we typically don’t see along the way. This afternoon we noticed these…

It may be hard to see, but there are well over 500 of these cement cylinders
sticking out of the ground? Not sure why? They’re very definitely placed…
all the same height, all in nice lines – a large “pasture” with hundreds of crazy cement pugs?!

Anyone have an idea of what these may be?! I’d love to hear your suggestions…

To celebrate my taxes… Chris and I rode up to the Botanic Garden this afternoon…
where we like to turn around, refill the water bottles, chat, stretch, relax, etc.
And this time as we rode in, we were “greeted” by these really cool flower spikes.
Apparently, the Canary Islands have all the cool plants?!!!

I love the texture, the pattern, the swirling spiral, the spikes, the whole thing!
And the best part?… they will grow to be well over 8-feet tall! But apparently they take
two years of growing before they get to show off their intended, summer-long beauty.
Where else would you expect these stunners other than the Botanic Garden?

Who knew???… the come in purple too!
Not quite as tall, not quite as stunning, but still quite beautiful.

On the way back, the sun was setting… and the deer were out in abundance.
We like to call it “deer hunting” – basically just keeping an eye out for the deer
as we are pedaling past… hoping that none of them dash out in front of us.
Tonight we saw well over 30 deer along the bike trail… not bad for Chicago, huh?

Finally… done!!!
Another year… another headache… another chance to put it off until the very end!
But look at me… done one whole day early!!! Yeah me!!!

What better way to celebrate than with another bike ride up to the Chicago Botanical Garden?!
Beautiful weather, spring flowers emerging, deer grazing, stunning sunset…
and did I mention my taxes are done?!!!

It started out cloudy on the horizon…
and then the sun finally peeked out to reveal its morning glory.
But just for a few minutes… until it became enshrouded again in clouds.

While my bisque kiln was cooling today, I decided to head off… into the woods.
So I drove out of the city, with my friend Nancy, and up to Rock Cut State Park in
Rockford, Illinois. As a kid, I spent many a summer weekend camping there with my family.
Now it’s just a great escape from the hectic city – and today was wonderful opportunity to get
away and enjoy the adventure. It felt like a mini-vacation as we hiked around the lake… twice!
The weather was great and spring was popping out everywhere you looked. I love the colors,
the textures and the small surprises throughout the forest. The tiniest of wildflowers.
The vividness of the duckweed. The sprouts of the mosses. The smallest of nature’s details.

And my personal favorite… and old, grown-over sign & fence. Keep off what?… the lake?!!!

It’s coming soon… one of the biggest pottery events of the year!
So mark your calendar, convince your Mom to spend Mother’s Day Weekend
in Minnesota, and make a trip up towards the Twin Cities for a weekend of clay!!!

18th Annual Pottery Studio Tour & Sale
by the Minnesota Potters of the Upper St. Croix River.

Not only are there seven potter’s studios on the big tour… but each resident potter
invites other “equally famous” to share the weekend and their wares. All together,
there will be 44 “famous” potters on the tour. These are the names you see in all
of the clay magazines, galleries & workshops around the country. The resident potters
inviting you into their working studios are Linda Christianson, Richard Vincent,
Robert Briscoe, Will Severson, Jeff Oestreich, Connee Mayeron and Guillermo Cuellar.
We usually start our day at Bob Briscoe’s studio – as I think he has the “best” group
of invited potters in the tour… including my favorite Matt Metz. Here are just a few of the
ones I’m looking forward to seeing… to do a little shopping, get a little inspiration and quite
possibly add to my ever-growing-and-have-already-run-out-of-space mug collection!!!

Including my friend Steven Hill, maker of the beautiful pitcher in the bottom right corner!
When you see Steven at Richard Vincent’s place, be sure to say hello for me!

18th Annual Pottery Studio Tour & Sale
Friday, May 7th – noon-7:00pm
Saturday, May 8th – 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, May 9th – 11:00am-5:00pm
Check out their website for full details, maps, and a list of all the great potters!
www.MinnesotaPotters.com

Another loaded bisque kiln… layer by layer… piece by piece… firing today!!!
Love the challenge of stacking, nesting and piling in of as much work as you can fit in.
Guess I’m going to need to do some glazing – and get a soda kiln scheduled soon!

Layer One – flower pots, mugs and tiles!

Layer Two – bowls, flower pots, tumblers and more tiles.

Layer Three -bowls, mugs and a LOT more tiles!!!

Layer Four – bowls, flower pots, tumblers and tiles!

So while my bisque kiln cools tomorrow…
I’m taking a day off and heading out of town for a little hiking in the woods!