Cheryl Runs to The Sun and Moon.

Down the Kewash Trail

Evening in Westchester

The Weekend is almost over, and Cheryl has been doing a bit of running.  The heat has forced us to become a bit more flexible for our runs.   And by that, I mean:  running shorter but more often.   Basically, we have been running in the morning AND evening.   Which is great for me....  I actually like the evenings better.

Mornings in Muscatine

Down to the Fountain!

That does not mean we skip out on the mornings.   on weekends, we usually head to Muscatine for some water therapy.   Cheryl runs somewhere between 7-10 miles ( depending on heat and fatigue) and then she plays in the fountain there.

Cheryl's New favorite part of running.

The perfect place for a cool-down.

 Since she discovered the fountain, (And now that it is  operational...) Cheryl has been looking forward to going there and frolicking in the water.   It is also always fun to run along the river.

And photo opportunity....

Back to Kewash.

However, we have also been taking a break from Iowa City as of late.   The Kewash Trail has been fun to visit after such a long hiatus. ( basically, we have taken all of this winter and spring off from there.)   So now that summer is upon us... and the berries are out in full swing, we have a renewed interest.

Some recent trail improvements!

We also discovered that they have been making improvements!   Remember that "mud pit" on the other side of West Chester?  

Even Non-skid mats on the ends!

Well, the authorities have decided to pave over that area and make it passable!   They even pit little rubber nubs on the ends to keep people from slipping!   How awesome is that!  I'm now curious if any other improvements have been made as we get closer to Washington.

Chasing Raccons.

And evening rabbits sometimes.

It is also noteworthy that the evening runs provide a new experience from time to time.   Raccoons come out in the twilight.   And the heat is much more tolerable in the evening.

Chasing the Moon as it rises.

Chasing the Sun as it sets.

Sometimes you are treated to a wonderful sun set followed by a moon rising.   Add in fireflies and the evening rabbits and it is just a peaceful time to be out there.  I'm actually looking forward to going back out there tonight.   Maybe a little earlier so we will have time to stop and pick blackberries (they are now out in full force now,  Would hate to miss them!)

Enjoying the cool (-er) scenes of Iowa.

Hope everyone is having a pleasant weekend.  And if you can enjoy the evenings as the sun sets,   all the better!

An Evening at the Lakeshore. Origami Flower,

A couple of days ago, Cheryl and I went to the lake shore to take in the last few moments of the sun. It was, as always, quite pretty. There are always people taking pics of the sunset. ( just like us) On the other Pier, there were people knocking in the last of the ice covering the guard rails. It was like watching the glaciers in Alaska on a much smaller scale, of coarse. We were on the fisherman pier. It's hard to believe that there are people who still fish out there even during the winter. Even though ti was pretty nice yesterday. ( about 50 degrees) The geese are already showing up for spring. I hope the cold weather is now gone and no more new snow for the rest of the winter. And because I have not posted any Origami lately, Here's a flower I have been working on. It is my third attempt at an origami dandelion. ( The first two were rather unsightly, but hey! You got to experiment sometime. Enjoy!

Three seats, no money and a wonderful sunset!

So tonight was seat carving day, but that does not mean we have any money. Basically all the money we got is immediately gone to bills, fees, shipping,, etc. I know what you are thinking...Why not just sell them for more money? Where does all the profit go? We have wrestled with this question for years now and even though our cost go up ( example, the seats cost has doubled since we started 5 years ago) the customer still thinks we are charging too much. And when we do increase out price, our sales drop dramatically. But enough of my complaining, It was a wonderful evening at the beach tonight, and the weather has gotten much warmer. It was one of those" no horizon line" days if you looked in the right place. see the sail boat hanging in the sky? To finish things off today, a little carving video of how things are done in China, or perhaps Thailand. Enjoy!

All caught up!

Finally! the last of the seats are all caught up and should be ready to ship out tomorrow. It was not too bad, just some seats that were ordered on Tuesday will go out on Friday. Usually it's a little faster. Regardless, the slate is clean and ready for new orders for the weekend. The sunset was pretty good tonight, A dash of pink and a couple of artistic shadows. It currently is Raining again, but maybe tomorrow I'll be able to work on the wood nymph again. It's been a while since I had the shop cat featured. He has been exploring the outside instead of camping out on my shoulders. And to help finish off the week, Here is the opening theme to Air TV. If it does not capture you....then you didn't listen to it all. It's also a great anime series...Enjoy!

Sunset For the middle of the week.

Mark three more seats off the list! Only 4 more to go and I'll be all caught up! The sunset was quite stunning tonight, with the actual sun making an appearance for a change! Only a couple more days before the solstice. It rained most of yesterday and all of today until the final few hours. Hope everyone Else's week is going by splendidly. Oh! I found a picture of a lovely carving I want to try to make on my next tree. I'll have to see how it goes. My goal is to make a ship figure head similar to this one out of laminated pine. All I need is money.....$$$

No carving Monday!

Well, not really. I did work on the wood nymph a bit tonight and made some real progress. I'll have to post pictures later when it is light. Tonight was a wonderful sunset. but with no pictures to show off, I'll just have to post one of my old carvings. Here is one of my all time favorites. It was the first bear I ever carved up with chisels. I have made several since then, but none of them ever turned out this well. It's of Cherry, and I love his expression. The model was a bronze statue I saw in a magazine a long time ago. and for those who love Anime, Here's the opening to Ah! My goddess. A fun show for all ages. Enjoy!

Coast Guard sunset at the beach.

Took a small break from carving today, choosing instead to work on a new tree carving. Nothing worth taking pictures of s of yet, but at least the tree is roughed out a bit. So then we decided to head to the beach for our usual sunset walk, when we were able to witness the coast guard helicopter once again. This time I was able to get some really great photos of it. The lighting was just right and the sunset was great. White beach combing for "goodies" Cheryl and I found these really great beetles that wash up on shore. Lake Michigan is one of those places that capture the local insect broods in force. I have not seen a really pretty beetle like this before, but ladybugs, milkweed beetles, bees, and thousands of butterflies wash up as the seasons change. This one is called the Red Turnip Beetle, and was so cool that when we finally found a dead one, we brought it home so Cheryl can make a necklace out of it. The rest of the evening, I spent cleaning my room and getting ready for tomorrow. I have five seats and several of them are rather difficult ( time consuming is a better description. We'll see how we fair tomorrow!