Pumpkinfest 2009

So funny! I sat down to post some images of this year's Pumpkinfest and then thought I'd add some recent photos taken around the house. Then I looked for my past posts about the Pumpkinfest and found one from 2007 with the same set of photos-a batch of huge pumpkins and shots around the yard including Penny, our awesome dog!

Every year we try to see at least one part of the Pumpkinfest in Cooperstown. I prefer the contest on Saturday, but watching Sunday's pumpkin regatta on the lake is always good too. Hard for us to get to both events every year, but sometimes we do. This was from last year's regatta.

So here is this year's version of life in a small town.

When you have a contest to see who can grow the biggest pumpkin:


You sure need to have a few of these on hand:


Ginger is still my go to kid, always willing to pose in front of a huge pumpkin. My other kids cannot be bothered anymore.


Penny, relaxing in a bed of fall leaves:


My Black Eyed Susans are still blooming:


Still pretty excited to have this step down from the patio door; took us 4 years to get it built! And love the piles-of-dead-leaves-scattered-around look.


Still a lot of green on the patio though:


And even a fall flowering shrub:


The burning bushes are flaming red, right next to our grill which, I suspect will sit in that exact spot until next spring, just like last year, heh.

Life in a Small Town

You know you live in a small town when the lady in the ball gown and tiara who is scraping out the monster pumpkin in order to race it in the regatta, is also your next door neighbor, AND was your son's seventh grade math teacher.

PS.Good regatta picture here. I couldn't get a good shot yesterday, it was too crowded!

Ginger, at the pumpkin weigh-in on Saturday.

I'm Trying!

Tree on Yellow, 2008, oil on Panel, 6x6

Well, I am trying to get some painting done, but now that I am all into it, things keep coming up to keep me out of the studio!

Today I had to drive to Saratoga Springs to retrieve my work from Gallery 100. They have been fabulous to work with over the last several years and I will miss Deb (the owner) and Nancy (the director). Even though I am sad that the commercial gallery space is closing, I am happy that Deb (the owner) is so enthusiastic about her new direction. And I am sure we will continue our association. You can read more about all of this here.

And this afternoon I must take my daughter to soccer practice, then make dinner, then more work on the taxes. So no time for painting today.

I might be able to work tomorrow, after I pay the household bills in the morning, but then will miss a good part of the day on Friday because of the all important six week hair appointment.

The weekend is totally booked with all kinds of family activities, including our local Pumpkinfest which I wrote about last year and since it's pretty much the same each year, I'll just link to last year's post. Maybe I'll get some time in next week. Although I imagine something else might come up to keep me from the studio on Monday....

However, something good, like winning the lottery would be acceptable. heh.

Odds and Ends

The last few days have been dark, dreary and rainy. I actually love those kind of days, however a few in a row can really put a crimp in my ability to photograph my work. My prime photo location does depend on at least a little bit of sun and we haven't much lately. So the stack of paintings waiting to be documented will have to wait for another day at least and today I will make do with putting up a few other things.

Doug and I went with the girls to the local Pumpkinfest a couple of weeks ago. Growers from all over the area bring in their pumpkins to get them weighed. This year the winner weighed 1376 lbs! If you are truly fascinated by all of this, and who wouldn't be, haha, you can see more results here. There were also the obligatory craft tents and baked goods for sale and we saw nearly everyone we knew there. We go every year and it is always a good social event. The next day the local huge pumpkin participants hollow out their pumpkins and there is a regatta race in the lake, along with another set of crafts, activities and food booths. We skipped that this year, although it is pretty surreal to watch adults paddling around a lake in a big pumpkin.


I took some pictures of our yard (plus one gratuitous shot of Penny, our dog) and house last Sunday when we did actually have some sun. My heart bursts when I see all of this fall color, even though it is never as good in a photo as it is in real life.




And last but not least, my work has been reviewed at this blog. I am feeling a bit big headed today, as it is a very flattering review where so much more meaning is given to my work that I ever thought possible.

Have a nice weekend. We will be busy in our garden, trying to prepare it for next spring as well as for planting a few winter crops in a straw bale cold frame. Wish us luck on that. Heh. We need it.