As soon as I left Summer Camp, it was right in the car and headed north!
A nice roadtrip up to Minneapolis in Friday afternoon rush hour with temperatures
just over a hundred degrees. Good planning, huh?

Kicking back in the car, air conditioning cranked up high & singing all the way,
it was a slow go just trying to get out of Chicago. Hot, humid, congested.
I finally made it over the Wisconsin border and stopped off for gas & grape pop!
When I paid and returned to the car, I noticed a huge storm headed my way.
Seconds after getting back in the car, the sky opened up and flooded the place
with heavy rains and a smattering of hail.

As I’m battling the rain, there were times when it was so tough to see the road ahead
that I actually considered pulling over under an overpass and waiting it out. Instead,
I just made sure to keep the tail lights of the truck in front of me in view. And since
I love a challenge… I had to take some pictures at the same time!

Further up the road, the rain finally stopped and the sun came back out. With beautiful
cloud formations across the sky and a striking sunset highlighting the clouds.

Enjoy it while you can… because there was another storm about a half hour ahead.
The skies got dark again and there were lightning flashes all around. Ominous looking…
and again a little scary when the crazy storm finally unleashed its fury on the freeway!

So I finally made it up to Minneapolis and checked in to the hotel – and met up with
my friend & fellow potter Amy Higgason. She had driven down earlier that day from
northern Wisconsin and shopped the day away at the Mall of America. So although
I was exhausted from my morning bike ride, day at summer camp and the treacherous
drive… it was great to see Amy again – and we chatted for HOURS when we should
have been sleeping. Knowing that we had big festivities planned for the next day.

Natural inspriations… from another beautiful morning bike ride!

After riding to the Chicago Botanic Garden again this afternoon,
I was impressed by this stand of aspen trees as their silver leaves
glistened in the sun with great contrast to the brilliant blue skies.

I also loved the crusty green mosses & lichens growing on the sides
of some of the aspen trees. Love the colors. Love the textures.

Simple. Brilliant. Inspirational.
Go out and have some fun… play outside… play with the moon!

With another afternoon bike ride up to the Chicago Botanic Gardens,
it has been incredible to watch the woods, leaves & flowers change over the seasons.
Today it was the vibrant summer flowers that caught our attention.

With crazy storms rolling through Chicago Friday night, I thought we were safe today.
It was cloudy, overcast and wet from the overnight storms, But nothing crazy going on.
So I was looking forward to a day of productive home projects! Laundry, dishes, cleaning,
bills… you know, all those things you put off because it’s nice out and you “need” to go
outside and play! So I put my laundry in the machine… trying to stay productive…
when all of a sudden the power went out, followed by a huge “BANG.” Great…
and here’s me with my laundry in the washing machines downstairs! And with no power,
there goes my “productive” day at home!!!

So… I just “had to” go for another bike ride to pass the time, right?
And luckily, when I got home a several hours later we were back on.
Apparently, a transformer blew and took out three power poles that were down in the alley
as few blocks away! Made me think how glad I was that my electric kiln at the studio
was fired the day before! I doubt the power outage in my neighborhood would affect the
studio, but it does make you think how much we rely on the electric power to be there
when we need it… and how “trapped” we feel when it’s not there!!!

Yesterday I decided to take a little road trip and get out of the city.
And what better place than Sheboygan, Wisconsin – joust a couple hours north
of Chicago right along the lakeshore. And even better, this weekend is also the
Kohler Festival of the Arts. A nice art fair sponsored by and surrounding the
Kohler Art Museum. My friend Sarah Chapman was one of the artists, so I decided
to drive up and surprise her with a visit and a little assistance as she was doing
the weekend show all by herself! Of course, I brought Twizzlers!

Other “art fair friends” also showing at the Kohler Art Fair…
Molly Bitters : jeweler combining leather & metal
The Pottery Boys : glazed & crystal-glazed functional pottery
Glynnis Lessing : sgraffito-carved porcelain ceramics
Michael Schael : wood-fired functional pottery
And a new favorite… Susan Richter-O’Connell : metalsmith with river rocks!
…of which I know own one of her boxed-stone necklaces!

As the art fair is held at the Kohler Art Museum – of course you have to see that too.
Especially the bathrooms!!! Voted the “Best Bathrooms in America in 2004″… and
quite the spectacle they are. Keep in mind it’s Kohler… maker of fine faucets & sinks
known worldwide!!! But you’ll never find THESE sinks at Home Depot!

Even the toilets and urinals were all decked out. It actually felt a little strange
to “use” the piece of art?! Talk about “target practice”…

As the day was quite hot yesterday, and the beach was so close… I had to skip out from
the art fair and go play on the beach. Sorry Sarah… it had to be done! I was surprised
how close the beach was, and even more, how empty the beach was?! If that lakefront
beach area were in Chicago it would have been jam-packed with people!!!

It felt great to kick off the shoes, stroll on the beach, dip my toes in the cold water…
and actually take a nap on the beach! What a great way to spend a lazy Saturday…
art fair, friends AND beach time!!!

I was intrigued at the beach by all of the seashells that have been pulverized into a
wild mixture of shells, half-shells and powder. All crashing together and separating
as they retreat back into the lake on each wave. There were sections where there were
so many, that you could actually hear the tinkling sounds of the shells hitting each other.

Once the art fair concluded, I “convinced” Sarah to pack up and come join me on the beach.
Let’s just say, it didn’t take a lot of prodding. So she came down to the beach and did some
wadding in the waves to refresh her aching art fair feet. Then we went for pizza at a nice
wood-fired pizza place. Then she went back to crash at her hotel as I headed home.
Quite satisfied with my day at the Sheboygan beach… and the Kohler art fair!
Thanks for playing Sarah!!!

In between spotting deer… and just south of the Botanic Gardens… Chris & I were
riding along, minding our own business, chatting it up, enjoying the gently rolling
& curving hills, pedaling at about 20 mph… when all of a sudden the bike path disappeared!!!

The trail and its markings just dead-ended in a huge tree! Yes, a huge tree had fallen right
across the path. Luckily we had time to hit the brakes and stop in time. We had just dodged
some large storm clouds that had sprung up in the area – helping to dissipate the 100-degree
temperatures. The humidity was incredible, and we could hear thunder all around us.
We got hit with a little drizzle – but from the looks of this VERY recently fallen tree, I think
we definitely missed the brunt of the sudden storm!

So?… when a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?! I think this one did.

During this afternoon’s bike ride through the forest preserves & lagoons on the way
up & back to the Chicago Botanic Gardens, we were surprised to so many spotted fawns
along the way! Several pairs of fawns with their mothers by their side.
Some, surprisingly close to the bike path!