You know I love Summer Camp.
The kids, the projects, the stories, the laughter… but I’m ready for it to end.
Although I’m sure I’ll start to miss it early next week!

But not today – maybe a few drips here & there, a little drizzle
and some wet patches of bike trail where you could tell it had “just” rained!
But I trudged onwards… perhaps due to my own clouded judgment.

And it turned out to be worthwhile.
Okay, so there was no “real” sunrise to speak of… but the clouds were really cool.
both early on when I was still questioning if I was going to get poured upon…
as well as towards the end of my ride when the clouds were making my stop
at the beach a very serene moment.

So my Wheelthrowing Camp has be trying to quickly “master” the art of throwing
pots on the wheel. I think they are all finding it a little tougher than they had expected.
They’re all still having fun – and getting dirty! Today we trimmed & decorated our first
batch of stoneware pots so they can go into an electric kiln and be back out & bisqued and
ready to glaze on Friday. Tomorrow we switch to a day of throwing pots with terra cotta.

In the afternoon, we made some whimsical masks on Monday, and since have switched
to a colorful textile project. Each kid is weaving their own colorful pillow! We’ve been cutting
strips, weaving them together and will eventually sew them together to make pillows!

Although we are “taking a break” tomorrow from weaving so that we can do our final day
of Tie-Dying in the afternoon! You know how I love my tie-dye!

So we hopped into our rented kayaks and started off. Last Monday we headed south
and went around the closest island. Today we decided to go north up to the
Botanic Garden and back. About 6 miles. With map in hand… we paddled off.

It was a beautiful afternoon with some dramatic clouds rolling through. There were
a few moments of “dark clouds” as we questioned if we were going to rained upon.
Luckily, we didn’t – the clouds blew over and the sky cleared up. With more beautiful
clouds to contrast against the beautiful blue skies.

As the sun started to go down, the water lilies had already closed for the evening.
I can’t wait to paddle again a little earlier in the day to see the blossoms wide open.

As we paddled through the lagoons, Chris and I got to see a lot of waterfowl and trees.
We were surprised by the number of Great Blue Herons we saw flying all around us.
Up close & personal, swooping & squawking, flying from tree to tree. Dozens of them!
Along the way, we also had to get out of our kayaks and portage across three small
embankments. And for the novice… let’s just say, neither of us looked all to graceful as
we tried to maneuver our way out of the boat, and then back in without flipping it over.
Let’s just say, the opening in the kayak isn’t as large as I would like it to be… to get my
legs, thighs & butt wedged in there! Like threading a needle… while still afloat?!

And then we turned another corner, around the river bend… and we spotted this incredible
tree full of waterfowl. How spectacular is this? The “tree” was in constant movement as
the birds flew in, and flew out, and interacted with each other. On a side note?…
let’s just say that the green bushes below this tree were a lot “whiter” than they should be!
Sadly… I don’t know my birds well enough to identify this tree-perched grouping?!

EDITOR’S NOTE: After this initial posting, I was informed by my birding-friend
& fellow potter Karen Avery that these flocking water birds are actually called
Double-Crested Cormorants. Who knew?! – - – - – - – - okay, well I guess she did?!!!

Now these waterfowl I can identify… a row of female mallard ducks sunning themselves.

As we came around the final bend, and paddled towards the shore to finish our journey,
one last glimpse back and there was a wonderful sunset in the making! A perfect end
to a perfect afternoon… and a nice “alternative” to pedaling up to the gardens!
Close, but not quite the same… paddling, instead of pedaling!

Well, today was the Bike Psychos Century which started in Coal City in central
Illinois down by Kankakee. The ride started out pretty nice – good weather, cool breeze
and a relaxing rest stop early on for “breakfast.” Chris and I stopped off for a quick bite
and to refill our water bottles… unbeknownst of what lies ahead…

As the ride progressed, it got a lot windier… and a lot hotter! I would venture to say that
it easily went over a hundred degrees in the heat of the day! And the humidity was a killer.
Sweat was running down my face, okay, my whole body! I had to stop a couple times just to
wipe the sweat out of my eyes! And to make it even tougher, the wind as whipping across
the country farm fields. It felt like a headwind the entire time… exhausting! At the halfway
point, our rest stop was at Matthiessen State Park (very near Starved Rock State park).
It’s a beautiful park with a beautiful river gorge  & rock formations. I hate to say it… but
we were just too hot, sweaty & exhausted to even walk down to see it. Instead we were
focused on drinking one bottle after another of water & Gatorade. It seemed impossible to
keep the fluids in… as I was sweating them out faster than I could swallow!!! Still…
another wonderful ride, albeit a little more exhausting than most Century rides!!!

Something new in the works… they started as my own “need” to make some kiln fillers!
I hate nothing more than empty spaces in a kiln. And since I’m working to fill another
glaze kiln in another week (shared with Karen Patinkin), I had some spare time and
decided to make some little things and I call them… “kiln fillers”! We’ll see what becomes
of them… and if they work as I think they might… more to come!