These beautiful Black-Eyed Susan flowers have always been one of my favorites. I love these traditional ones that show up everywhere this time of year… in gardens, along streets & growing wild all over the place! Everywhere EXCEPT in my garden???

I’ve tried a couple different varieties a couple different times. And for some reason… this darn plant still evades me!!! The one that seemingly grows everywhere all by itself… except for me… AARRRGHHH!!!

Another healthy lunch up in Stevens Point… loving the colorful mix of healthy!!! With a base of spiraled zucchini. Who knew you even could do that… spiraling?… I kinda thought zucchini only came as bread??? Beautifully contrasted against one of my bright blue bowls with a wavy rim! Thanks again for sharing Kristy!

Big sky. Big colors. Big reflections.

After yesterday’s crazy-cool storm clouds blowing through, it was kinda nice to get back to basics this morning. Clear sky with low-flying clouds. Colorful with a fun cloud-spread surprise at the end!

Always fun to see people using my pottery in their homes… growing beautiful African violets! In fact, this white African violet comes from the same original plant as the African white violet that has been blooming forever in my dining room. One of my pottery fans gave me an African violet plant he grew from a cutting in one of my flower pots! I got it last Fall… and mine hasn’t stopped blooming since!!! Thank you Rick… for the plant and the photos!

We’ve just heard from the Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce that their Summer Fine Art Fair is back ON!!! They had postponed it from mid-June to mid-August with the hope that things would settle down enough to host an outdoor art fair. They’ve created a complete socially-distant plan with fewer artist booths, plenty of space between them, single-direction sidewalks, and a lot more safety measures to keep the artists & customers safe. I’m sure there will be more details to come for all of us… but mark your calendars now for August 15th & 16th!!!

Finally… AN OUTDOOR ART FAIR!!!
And a chance to see some friendly faces getting outside & buying art!

Doing a little more stamping in the studio. It’s been awhile since I’ve done a full platter like this… what with the pandemic and all… but it does feel good to be re-focused, back to teaching, and back on track!

Such a cute little succulent garden… it never really crossed my mind to turn one of my small oval pieces into a flower pot for succulents. But now that’s all I want to do… make some of these for myself!!! Thanks for sharing my green-thumbed fans!

So I met a friend down along Montrose Harbor this morning while taking pictures of the clouds moving in! And by friend, I mean a high-spirited squawking & chirping red-wing backbird making quite a ruckus to show me I was in HIS area… and should move along… complete with a flew “fly-by’s” as he swooped around my helmet!

Hot… humid… and not much of a sunrise. It wasn’t until I was turning around to head home that I saw the dark clouds moving in with lightning & thunder up north. And foggy dark clouds moving over the City. Made for a dramatic morning along the lakefront… but then it was time to pedal home FAST to avoid getting wet. And I made it… with about three minutes to spare before the deluge came down!!! Whew!!!