Another Rainy Night

It's been another day of rain and
gray misty skies...tonight I'm
working with the company of
my darling Ellie May.
Been making
pins for a craft fair... when I glance
over at her she looks so content!

A Rainy Night

Ellie May and I are spending a quiet evening
in the studio as the sound of rain falls on the roof.

Summer Solstice Surfers

Happy Summer Solstice!
Today brought more rain, clouds and drizzle
and also great surf over at the beach in Kennebunk.
The eiders formed a large group to ride out
the waves.

Another kind of surfer took advantage of the large
waves over here...

Where's Brody?

I searched the house this morning up and down
several times....

The Chipmunk and Rose Bud

Saturday evening we enjoyed a leisurely walk
along the Marginal Way in Ogunquit
with the beach roses in full bloom.
It was heavenly!

(you can take in the views at my Shells and Roses blog by clicking here)

As we walked, little chipmunks would scurry by
and one in particular caught our attention and
we paused to watch. We noticed it ran under the
beach roses. The leaves on the shrub were moving
and we realized that chippy was climbing inside
of it.
As he (or she) reached the top,
the chipmunk's head appeared and chippy began
to eat the rose buds.
It was fascinating to see this tiny creature sitting in
the rosa rugosas by the sea enjoying the roses in a different
manner from us!

As we continued on our way, we came upon this
quote...so appropriate in many ways, especially
after our observations with the chipmunk!

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread,
places to play in and pray in,
where nature may heal and cheer
and give strength to body and soul alike."
John Muir

A Special Pet Portrait

I was delighted to receive a pet portrait
commission through the internet...
it was from someone
who had visited my gallery in 1992 when our gallery
was located across the street from a lobster pound.
Since their oldest daughter just graduated from Vet School,
they thought that a gift of a portrait of her dog
would be just right.
Their daughter actually e-mailed some of her
favorite photos for me to work from...
The whole family just spent a week at a nearby
beach so I actually was able to meet them all including
the subject of the painting which allowed me to add
some final touches that weren't clear in the photos!
What a treat! I learned that when they were here many
years ago, their son was 6 and he wanted a hummingbird
print... it's still in his room! The youngest daughter had
a special touch with Ellie May.
I was so happy to be able to finish it
so she could take it home... their visit
was so special and many thanks go out to them!

The Eiders

Enjoyed watching the eider ducks and their
young families tonight at the beach.
There were many groups!

I was also swept away by the beauty of the
beach roses just around the bend...
to see them just click here.

Ellie May

I was running down the stairs in my studio
ready to head over to the house, when I caught
sight of Ellie May looking so comfy on the couch
with the portrait of her daughter, Polly.
It's been 15 years since Polly and Ellie May
were that close!
Polly lives in the house and Ellie May in the studio.
How we wish they could have continued to be
as comfortable and close to each other
as they were when Polly was a wee kitten.
They were separated when Polly was 8 weeks old
so they never really got to know each other.
Their story is to be continued another time....
in the meantime, here's a glimpse into their past...

The House Finch Family

For quite some time I have been listening to
a pair of house finches singing near the back
porch.
Yesterday, D spotted the nest, tucked up under
the eave of the porch.

Can you see the 2 little babies in the nest?

Mom and Dad Finch were on the porch roof
preparing to check in on the little ones.

Was so delighted to quietly observe these moments
with the finches.

Hummingbird

Early in the evening, I heard a loud
humming sound very close by, and suddenly
there were two hummingbirds chasing each
other and they really do hum and were
incredibly fast. Then there was silence,
way up in the tree the hummingbird rested.

Garden Helper

D worked in the vegetable garden this afternoon
and had an unexpected visitor supervising and
lending a paw now and then.

The neighbor's cat, Kita, seems to really like
our yard...and she's very personable, likes action
and might be lonely living in a horse barn.

Finishing Commissions

Another fine day of working under the supervision
of Ellie May... we're making progress towards
finishing some commissions. Am waiting for
her seal of approval!

Working on New Paintings

It's nice enough to work out on the porch and
Ellie May has been sitting beside me or on
my lap to make sure I stay focused on finishing
the painting of her favorite subjects.
We may exhibit this at a Group Exhibit coming
up in July at the library.
She's out there now, so I must get back to work!

Eiders and Sea Roses

A dramatic sky led us to the beach
early yesterday evening...
to see more sky and sea, click here.


After a brief rain with lightning,
the sky lightened a bit and further
down the beach, and to my delight,
I spotted them;
the eiders teaching their young.

As we rounded the corner, there
were more babies, the young gulls
were lined up by the edge of the sea.