Farmer's Market, Park Chalking, And A Really Big Fish!

The weekend has come and gone, and I have not really blogged much about it.  So.... It is a good time to do that now... On a Monday.  Before anything extraordinary  happens this week.  I'll try to be brief. 

Farmer's market was pretty good.    We sold some of the bubble solution and some folks returned to buy more soap.   Apparently, it will take three years until we are able to build up a loyal customer base.   Just like the Stockings. 

On Sunday,  the weather was fairly pleasant and I had very little to do inside.   Rain has been absent in the forecast, so I wanted to get out and start marking up the sidewalks again.  I was barely into my first doodle when I was mugged by a bunch of kids.   They formed a quiet semi-circle around me, watching my every move.  It was very intimidating...

So, I offered them some chalk of their own and some pointers on how to draw stuff.   They took to it like ducks to water!  I'll have to show the entire shuffle board area, because they certainly did a number on things.   All age groups are represented.   Some drew horses and farm animals that they knew, while others drew houses and barns. A couple attempted some of the cartoons that I had in my notebook.   Not too bad.  

I'm not sure, but I believe that they were all Mennonite.   Home schooled kids that are not quite Amish.  Very polite and fun.   Finding kids that are well behaved is like going back in time when I was growing up.  ( Kids were much more behaved or else our parents would give us the what for. ) Cheryl and I just got back from the park and took a closer look at their drawings.   Lots of Barns and houses.  Some animals.  One of the girls drew a really great horse. ( Horses are tough because they lack a "central feature" to focus on.)   A few of them implemented the charcoal for outlines and shadows.  Not many of them knew how to smudge the chalk, but it was their first time with the medium. 

Today,  I got the two back tires changed.  Long story!  And I wanted to keep this post short -ish.  The rear alignment on the Subie is off, and we know it.  IT wears the back times unevenly, causing them to make noise and vibrate when things really get bad.  Cheryl noticed a bald spot on the back tire a few days ago and wouldn't you know it!  I have two spares from last year ready and waiting in the shed.  Now, all I have to do is go down to Reggie's and get them swapped out and put on. 

The problem is... Reggie.   Picture a man of few words.  An old-ish man of few words.   Now picture me!  A man of MANY words and uncomfortable with silence.  There are LOTS of uncomfortable silences around Reggie.  And to avoid sounding more awkward than normal, I tend to go silent as well.  Meaning I usually forget to communicate key tidbits of information. Example:  The back two tires need to be swapped out.  I want to bring it in the morning.  The replacement tires are in the back of the car.  

Thankfully,  Reggie is no idiot, so he usually figures things out by himself.  And usually he is able to swap out a flat tire right away.  But anything over two tires may take a day or two.  Luckily, I set the appointment on Friday of last week and he got them fixed up in roughly an hour.   Subie is back to sounding normal once again. 

And finally,   The BIG FISH!  Our neighbor went fishing in one of the many small farm ponds around here. ( private property, I'm sure)  and managed to catch a fine stringer of fish.   Several bass, one large catfish, and two HUGE bluegill!  It has been quite a while since I have seen any Bluegill over 10 inches.   Dad would always want to take a picture of them, whenever we managed to catch a few of that size.  These two big females were over 11 inches long!   Don said they were filled with eggs.  This late in the Summer?   I guess maybe.  I always thought bluegills spawned in the spring time.    It was worth my time to go back and fetch the camera.   He says he will be the only one eating them, so looks like he will be having a fine meal tonight. 

Hope everyone is having a happy Monday.   The humidity is awful, but perhaps I will be able to get some more chalk drawings out there this week.  We shall see.  Tomorrow will kind of be a big day, so I will have to blog about that when it happens.   See ya then!