Worked on another platter this afternoon… stamping a textured pattern around the flange of the platter. All done with one of my handmade clay stamps! Kinda plain on the inside though… might need a little sumthin’-sumthin’. Right Cory?!

Sweet banana peppers & one imposter! I love having friends
with gardens that have too many veggies! Thanks for sharing your harvest Cory!

When I got back home from my bike ride… I was greeted by these two! I had only seen the one baby before… but here we are, with TWO little mourning doves hanging out on my back porch. Not sure what it means… but coincidentally, mama dove was not sitting on the nest as she has been forever! Nowhere to be seen… perhaps these two are on their own now???

And an “update” from a Facebook Follower named Bobbi…

Mourning doves almost always lay two eggs, and they have very good hatching results. Their nests are considered the worst of the bird world, just a few sticks placed to barely support the eggs. The babies leave the nest fairly early (or sometimes the nest falls apart) and mama will continue to feed them either on the ground or somewhere in a tree, but she won’t necessarily stay right beside them. They learn to fly quite fast and will likely stay together for a while even when they can take care of themselves. Your two look like they can fly – their feather development is close to being like an adult’s. But they still might be a little hesitant.

I couldn’t decide… so you’re getting TWO panoramic shots from this morning’s sunrise bike ride! Lucky you!!!

Once again, bigger skyshows require bigger photos! Gorgeous!!!

Clouded start… clouded finish. We started with a good amount of clouds on the horizon. I had good expectations for a colorful sunrise. But then the clouds seemed to dissipate & disappear during the middle of my ride. But then… kinda out of nowhere… a very dramatic cloud system moved in. Creating some amazing lights & shadows… crazy cool contrasts in color & shadow. A wonderful way to end today’s bike ride!

A perfect day with an ideal “window of opportunity”… so I skipped out of the studio for the afternoon. A little playing hooky in my kayak again up at the Skokie Lagoons. The sun was out, the skies were blue… and I had the whole place practically to myself. I saw a lot of waterfowl, turtles and only four other kayakers all afternoon!! So many great blue herons that I lost track! The perfect “escape” from the studio. Carpe diem, grab it while you can… and all that jazz!!!

Doing a little stamping this morning… one impression at a time! Press, squeeze, repeat.
The textured pattern was made all with that one handmade clay stamp!

Sometimes well-used pottery needs to start the day with an early morning “bath” in the sink!!!
Thanks Jody for sharing this “Pittsburgh pottery bath!”

Everyone knows picking a good pumpkin requires a good stem!
And I’ve just added a few twisted ones…