Josh Turner Concert

      When it comes to country music, George Strait is definitely the king. I can't imagine anyone, anywhere not liking his smooth, easy voice and delivery.  There are many new stars in the world of country music, and Josh Turner is among the very best.

    Last summer my friend Edith, who is also a country fan, and  I saw Josh Turner in concert at the South Shore Music Circus, and his show was awesome. When we saw that he was returning again this year, we decided to get tickets. Saturday night was a great night for a concert. As you can see from the above photo, there were many cowboy hats and also many boot clad attendees.

      If you don't know his music, check out this YouTube video of Josh singing Will You Go with Me.  Another great tune is Why Don't We Just Dance. I guarantee you will like his deep, deep voice. He can rock, sing a sweet ballad, and even throw in some gospel. He had the crowd up on its feet throughout the concert, and it seemed as if everyone there knew all the words to his songs and sang along. Speaking of the crowd, what struck me the most next to all the hats and boots were the different age groups represented at the concert from the very young to the definitely mature set and all were having a great time. The large number of teens and twenties bode well for country music's future.

New Haven, VT

     While we were in Vermont quilting, I just had to go out and do some farm photography. I love the colors in the above photo.

     This was such a pleasing scene that I went back the next day to photograph it again. This time the cows were in the field and came right over to see who I was and what I was doing.  Again I ask, who knew cows are such curious creatures?

Here's another barn I found interesting.

    Now I'm pretty sure all these barns were in New Haven but don't hold me to it. They were, however, not far from a wonderful quilt shop, Kits and Bolts, which is in New Haven just a short drive from where we were staying.

One More from the Strong House Inn

     I know I indicated yesterday that today I would be sharing some farm photos taken while in Vermont, but I will do that in tomorrow's post. Instead, here's one last photo of us all at the Strong House Inn. It will give you an idea of just how lovely it is.

     While driving around looking for farm scenes, I came across this patch of wildflowers.

Quilt Projects (cont.)

  
 This was the first time that Maribeth and Laurel had come to the Strong House Inn with us, and they both had a wonderful time. Here's Maribeth sorting her strips and posing with two completed blocks.

Laurel worked on two projects. This is her America the Beautiful quilt top.

 Finally, here is my patriotic challenge piece.

     I also worked on a quilt. I need to make twenty-four of these strips which will then yield forty-eight blocks. . .  only five more strips to go!

      On Sunday morning, we bid a fond farewell to Mary Bargiel, our favorite innkeeper, shown here with a snippet cocktail created by Maribeth.

A final group shot . . .

(Maribeth, Laurel, Me, Edith, Deb, Donna, and Liz)

    Tomorrow I will post some farm photo taken on the backroads of Vergennes.

Quilt Projects

   While at the Strong House Inn, we each worked on our own projects. Liz started with these colorful batik strips.  

By the end of the weekend, those strips were transformed into this gorgeous work in progress. If Vanna ever needs a vacation, Liz looks ready to step in and turn those letters.

     Deb was working on an intricate paper pieced pattern. Here's one completed segment of what is sure to be a stunning quilt.

     Among other things, Edith completed six pillowcases. Here she is wearing two of them.

   

       Donna made a table runner using patriotic fabric. It is for a challenge for another group. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of it, but here's Donna hard at work on another piece.

    

    This post is getting long, so I will continue it tomorrow. Come back to see what Maribeth, Laurel, and I were working on.

Quilting in Vermont

     On Thursday, I headed up to the Strong House Inn in Vergennes, VT, with six of my quilting buddies for a four-day quilt retreat. This was our third time staying at the Strong House Inn, and as always, we had a wonderful time. We had left early for the drive up and made stops at two quilt shops along the way: Country Treasure in Chester, VT and a new shop for us, Waterwheel House Quilt Shop in Londonderry, Vt.

We also made a quick stop at the Vermont Country Store before heading on to Vergennes.

(My quilting buddies . . . Left to right . . . Liz, Deb, Maribeth, Edith, Donna, and Laurel)

The Sewing Room

Tomorrow I'll post photos of the projects upon which we were each working.

Yup. . . That Cow Was Watching Me

     Do you remember the cow in last Saturday's post? It appeared to keep an eye on me while I was shooting  Well, I was just looking over those photos, and here is a different scene, and sure enough that same cow was definitely watching me. The rest were all happily munching their breakfast, but this one was curious about what I was doing. :-)

The early morning light enhances this image.  I guess it really is worth getting up  at the crack of dawn to go out shooting.

Chihuly Exhibit at the MFA

 

     Saturday, I went with friends to see glass artist Dale Chihuly's exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. This amazing retrospective of the artist's work will be here until August 7th. I have to admit that I had not heard of Chihuly until recently. His towering blown glass installations left us all speechless.

  
     I've included the photo below with a person silhouetted in the doorway at left to give you a perspective regarding the size of the pieces.

    Here are two incredibly beautiful segments from the Multi Fiori installation.

   This is a ceiling installation.

If you would like to learn more about this exhibit, visit Chihuly: Through the Looking Glass.

     It was a truly phenomenal look into the mind of a creative genius. There is still time; go see it.

Soule Homestead

                                                    
 Today I would like to share with you some more photos taken on our farm field trip on Friday. These were all taken at the Soule Homestead http://www.soulehomestead.org/ in Middleborough, MA. Here you will find a nature trail, animals in the pasture, garden plots, and a pond with turtles though we didn't get that far this time. You're welcome to get close to the animals, just don't forget to lock the gates.

                                                    
     This cute little guy was playing peek-a-boo before deciding to leave his shaded spot.

Here are three of my favorite flower shots.

                                 

 I can see that this education center would be fun to photograph all through the seasons.

As a change of pace, check my blog in a day or two to see photos of the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The exhibit features large scale blown glass installations that are truly unbelievable and worth coming back to see.                  

Farmlife

                                                              
     When I was  young, I had a number of favorite books. One which I read and reread was Dean and Don Go to the Dairy.  It told the story of two boys who when they reached the age of nine were each allowed to select a calf to raise. One boy chose a Jersey while the other chose a Holstein. Through the rest of the story you learned what went into raising cows. I'm not sure why I enjoyed it so much, but I do know it was one of my favorite books which brings me to yesterday morning.
     The other night I had seen posted in the South Shore Camera Club messages that two photographers would be doing some farm photography on Friday morning. One was Carol Smith, an excellent photographer whose blog I follow and a link to which may be found at the bottom of this page. I decided to join them. We met at 6:00am in Abington and off we went. The first farm was in West Bridgewater. When we pulled up to the fence, the cows were way out in the field, but they soon came galumping at a good clip across the pasture down to the hay stations near the barn for breakfast. One in particular seemed to keep an eye on me.

     Next it was on to Lolans Farm on Thompson Street in Middleboro. Sue, one of the owners of the farm, graciously allowed us to photograph her property. She even showed us her day old chicks.    

Just look at the variety of eggs that she gets from her hens each day.

   The very best part was that she allowed us to watch the milking process. It was fascinating.

The cows calmly entered from the back of the barn and took their places with encouragement from Sue as she called to them by name. She explained the process as it went along. Soon it was time for this group to exit the front of the building passing by the three of us standing behind a half door. I'm smiling as I recall how each cow stuck its head over the door to check us out. Who knew cows were so curious!

     I know that farming is a hard way to make a living, but without romanticing it, it also must be a wonderful way of life being in touch with the land and the seasons. Support our local farmers, and God bless them!

                                    

   And finally, here is a photo which looks like an homage to Georgia O'Keefe.