new kiln load

Tried some new glazes on dark clay and got interesting results.  As they say, it was a good fire!

43 years deserves a celebration!

Yes, that is a cow right next to the "T".  Adds to the Western theme of the resort!  Nice view of the Santa Rita Mts from anywhere on the course.

Our 43^rd Anniversary is coming up this week so we decided we needed a little romantic get-away to mark the occasion.  Drove down to Tubac, Arizona on Sunday afternoon and checked into the Tubac Golf Resort.  Off season rates still apply to room/golf packages which was a nice incentive to enjoy the property.  We checked out the artsy town of Tubac and found several shops and galleries that we had not perused before.  Because it was still summer in Tubac AND Sunday night, there were not many restaurants to choose from—could have eaten at the resort, however,  they were down to only one open also—but found a little pizzeria that served us yummy pasta.  Up the next morning, patio seating for breakfast and 18 holes of golf.  Sun actually stayed behind clouds for most of the day which made it very pleasant to be out on the course—plus a dynamite sunset in the evening.  Soaked in the pool, drove into Nogales to “Soto’s” for Mexican dinner.   Even stopped for a hike in Madera Canyon on the way home this morning.  Nice.  We’ve definitely been Blessed . . .for 43 years to start with.  I’m lovin’ it!

K. Newby Sculpture Garden in Tubac.

Found this Arizona Woodpecker hammering away in Madera Canyon.  Only brown-backed woodpecker in Americas and definately a southeast Arizona specialty.  Fun find.

A live one

Great!  There is still at least one owl left after our fiasco with the water bucket!  This guy was up in the rafters of our patio just watching us ever so closely all morning.  He should be off roosting somewhere asleep.  Can't tell if it is an adult or first year babe but is a Western Screech Owl.

this week

Got a bunch of projects fired this week.  Did some tiles over the summer and a couple of fun little pots left over from last spring.

The home studio is in full operation!  Can you tell by the mess. . .I mean, well used arrangement.  Nice to have a place to just leave the mess and walk away until we have time to get back to it.

And the new patio is slowly taking shape also!  Lots of sweat hours here.

death of an owl

This is the saddest picture ever!  I feel so awful.  This a Western Screech Owl that I discovered--drowned-- in  5 gallon bucket half full of water in my back yard this morning.  I could have cried.  I did, actually.  We have been wakened several nights over the past year to the "bouncing ball" hoot of this little guy out our open bedroom window. It was so fun to hear him, we almost claimed him as our own because he became such a regular feature.  We even got a glimpse of him once when he took refuge in the roof rafters of our patio during an evening rain storm.  Otherwise he spent his days roosting who knows where and seemed to like our back yard for his night time prowls.  We left a bucket of water setting after a day of working on the patio.  Who would have thought it would have been a death trap.  Whether he flew in to get a drink and realized too late that he could not make it out of the bucket--we'll never know.  Nature is tough but there was nothing in his genetic mind to tell him how to handle a stupid bucket!

projects

We've been home a while and keeping busy.  We moved into our "studio" and we're both enjoying the creative space.  Will started a couple of new glass projects and I have been practicing my throwing techniques.  Have clay spatters on the new clean wall to prove it!

Now Will is working outside to put the patio back together.  He is expanding it around the new addition and adding a bit of a raised bed for me.  Its looking nice but is just pure hard work.