The end of summer, a sad time, and exciting as well. The summer flowers in my yard all have started looking ratty. I had to pull out the impatiens, not because of frost, but because we had so much rain and humidity that they either rotted or some bug or fungus got them. But the mums I popped in to replace them look fine.
At the end of August I drove to Michigan for a much anticipated artist workshop. It turned out to be something of a disappointment to me. I still admire the artist's work, but her style of teaching was not one I liked. To my mind she was ultra critical and negative, and at one point I wrote in my notes "I do not feel safe." That would be emotionally safe, since she was prone to suddenly calling on class members out of the blue, and then showing them up to either be not paying sufficient attention or able to discern what it was she was after. I did enjoy her demonstrations, and getting to see her work up close. I made a new friend. I learned to use a GPS. There were good things, but since I came home I have spent essentially zero time in the studio - which must change.
Just a few days after I got back from the week long workshop, we flew to Montana, rented a car, and spent five days at Yellowstone National Park. This was the first time we got to use our senior passes, bought for $10 at an office in Madison a year or so ago. Neither of us had been there since we were children, so we were happy and anxious to revisit the iconic park. The weather was interesting, sometimes very warm, sometimes freezing, mostly according to elevation. I wore shorts and sleeveless tops, and jeans, wool socks and multiple shirts, all in one trip. The scenery was stunning, and we enjoyed out stay at the Old Faithful Inn Show Lodge. The only thing I missed seeing, that I remembered from childhood was bears. No bears. But we saw lots of bison, elk and deer, so I was happy.
