"Pony in a misty field" by Hilary J. England, 2012, oil on canvas, 8" x 11"

Snowy today.  That's nice though.  We've had no snow this winter, and I don't mind it, especially since I am leaving for Fort Lauderdale tomorrow, haha.  That's one of life's little gifts.  enjoy the snow, then head for warmer territory.  That's OK though.  I love the cold weather, so even if I stayed, I'd be perfectly content with the snow.

Here's is a quick little painting I did, and I say quick because ponies and horses don't stand still for so long, even if it's they are at a constant slow motion.  We have so many beautiful horse farms around here, but getting a quick painting of a horse or pony can be challenging, not so much from the beast itself, but from the farmers...you gotta watch or you'll get an arse full of salt shot, haha.

I really enjoyed the way the rays were illuminating the mist...very beautiful and almost reverent.  
I love unusual weather, and this was one of those moments.

So, inside today, after shoveling the walk, forcing my spoiled little dog out into the snow (she resisted mightily...I may have to get her little doggie galoshes), and now will work on the last day of math I hope I am ever forced to take!  So, although it's quiet today, I am very good with that too.

Enjoy the little painting, and I'll give more information about my upcoming show in Fort Lauderdale as it comes in.

Ciao♥

"Snowy farmfield at dusk" By Hilary J. England, 2012, oil on canvas, 8" x 11"

It's been bitterly cold out, and that makes me reticent to go out and paint, but I force myself to.   Thank goodness for the invention of Under Armour. 

I am on the last leg of my math course--ending up 10 weeks of hell, no joke.  I'm so happy about that, and also about heading out of here at the end of the week. 

This little painting was done from the field down the street.  I don't paint snow much, but it was peaceful, and the light was getting low, so I don't have time to scurry and search and search.

So, that's the painting of the day.  Another tomorrow....



"The Tree (Autumn dusk)" by Hilary J. England, 8" x 11" 2012

I have doing little painting studies between fighting through a brutal math course, and never-ending annoyances with kids, for real.  I think these little studies help to keep me sane.  The winter seems to sometimes put a damper on my feelings after a while, because everyone has this inclination to remain inside and under each other's feet and skin.  If someone askes me one more time "what's to eat," I may go postal LOL.

Anyway, I haven't been to the canal in a few days, and that has me depressed.  I miss my runs, and my knee has been hurting, my good one, so that has me a little worried.  I'm so damn thankful this math course will be over next week, and I still have to find time to truck 8 paintings down to Ft. Lauderdale in the next week and a half for a dual show down there.  Yikes...but, road trips I enjoy.  Staying at home studying for math, I do not.

So, that's where its' at.  I've been lazy with the holidays photoing new work, and have just started a new direction for a new series, this year.  Same subject matter, slightly different progression.  It's what I love, painting people and landscapes and if I can combine them, even better.

So, here is another little paint study called, "The tree (Autumn dusk)" and it was painted right here in Schuylkill county Pennsylvania.  Enjoy♥

New Year, new intentions...

"Winter's dusk" By Hilary J. England, 12" x 16" oil on canvas

So, we welcome a new year. 2012.  I guess I've learned things throughout the year, although for all the credit I give myself as a quick learner, I sure made a lot of mistakes, and some of them repeat errors.  I am so very grateful that God is a merciful and forgiving one...

I'm not corny and cliched enough to make resolutions, since I usually have them blown up by the end of the month anyway, but I do have a bit of advice that was given to me, and darn it, seems to work pretty good if I could just follow it!  It's so simple, and yet so very tricky!  Live in today.  24 hours at a time.  Plan for tomorrow, but live in today.  If you can make today successful, you can make your life successful, because, after all, your life is just a series of "todays" since no one is ever guaranteed tomorrow.  So, I'm going to try my darndest to live this advice.

With that idea, I am going to try and paint in every "today."  With the recent interloping of math into my schedule, as I pursue the completion of my Communications degree in the near future, my mind has been in two different camps, and that's OK, because in all honesty, I enjoy the very different way my mind has to work in order to process quadratic equations and cube roots, haha, and it is a refreshing change.  Kind of like swapping your five mile run for a two hour Zumba class.  Just as challenging, but sooo very different.

I think it's funny how I am the only artist in my Communications program.  We have Army and other military, law enforcement, some business majors, a rogue teacher here and there, and then me....they must think it very odd for an artist to be in a left brained field like this.  But, mass communication has always fascinated me, and I think it's marvelous to get degreed in a field different from what your obvious talents are.  I pursue art and furthering my craft because it is who I am, but I pursue other intellectual studies because I have many interests that I feel compelled to cultivate as well, and this is one of them.

Ah well.  On a different note, I have gone back to my most primieval comfort zone for my first painting of the year, the local landscape.  It's like curling up with chicken soup and a blanket on a cold winter's day, and I love the sting of frigid, super clean winter wind on my face and watching the various birds such as cardinals and chickadees so puffy in the barren tree branches, and little creatures scurry by every now and then, our worlds touch for just a moment and it brings such warmth to my heart...so I will never abandon this genre. 

Yes, painting the landscape makes me feel closer to God, and brings me great comfort and love for this beautiful world.  I especially love the lonely and barren landscape of Pennsylvania in winter.  There is such a stark beauty in the farmlands, where all the woods, creeks, hills and dales look quiet and at peace, and I feel such an anticipation as I look at it in restful winter slumber, knowing in a few months it will be bursting with color and activity...but for now, it gets some blessed peace and quiet.  Even the creatures seem reverent of the stillness, as if they are tiptoeing through the brush.

So, more to come in the next days and weeks, that is my hope for the upcoming "todays."  As for today, I've got my own agenda to move along to, so Adios for now...

Happy, peaceful, healthy, and prosperous New Year 2012.

New painting



"Too soon/Mort laisse un chagrin d'amour que personne ne peut guérir, l'amour laisse un souvenir personne ne peut voler"
by Hilary J. England, 2011
Oil on canvas, 24" x 26" x 2"

This was a hard painting to paint.  After the procession of deaths I have experienced over the last several years, I felt moved to chronicle the absolutely abyssmal pain that follows these experiences, and how we flounder and feebly attempt to process the enormity of the losses. 

For several months, I was languishing in a sort of limbo--my mind refused to move forward, but it also refused to look back.  It stubbornly resisted all thoughts of anything painful, as you would attempt to fight off a mugger.  I felt this apprehensive, breathless sort of waiting...as if something more was going to happen.  And, sometimes it did.

After several funerals this year, several last year, etc., and etc., I was a bit on edge, and just plain sick and tired of people I know and care about kicking the bucket...not very eloquent, but there it is. 

I am thankful at this year's end for all I have, and all that were given to me, for the people, places and gifts that make me appreciate life.  I mourn those who have departed this life before their time, or even, if it was their time, it's never good time for those who are left behind. 

In three days time, Christmas Eve,  Nicole will have left us a year ago.  Casey is gone a year as of December 15th, Dan died on President's day, Matt on Memorial day.  Several more have gone on since the beginning of this year, such as Lori at Thanksgiving time, even Larry who went at St. Patrick's day...we have all the holidays covered, not to be sick or sarcastic...and although I'm well aware that death is part of life, it seems once you open the floodgates, it's a never ending trickle. 

I remember 14 years ago when my Grandmother died, and it was the most enormous loss I had suffered to that point in my life.  Here I was a women in her mid-twenties, and I had been lucky enough to not have been touched by death in a major way until that point.  I knew in my heart of hearts Pandora's box had been opened with her death, and we had several more, back to back, all in a succession.  It seemed to grow quiet for several years, and then, again, all at once. 

So, this painting is my way of trying to work out the enormous love that is carried away with the departing souls, and the enormous hole that is left behind in the hearts of those who love them.

Legendary creatures and local mythology

It's been a long time since I wrote here.  I guess I have been very busy, and I have been shunning writing, for whatever reason, but, it is what it is right now.

Today, while I was running along the canals in Weissport, I saw a black creature running along the ice, close to the shore.  It was running parallel to the embankment, and as I jogged, at first, it appeared to me to be a cat.  But, why would a cat be running along the ice near the shore?  I ran even faster to catch up with the animal, and as I neared it, I began to get an icky feeling it may be a big black rat.  I slowed my pace, and instinctively, the animal turned to look behind, casting his body into a profile position, and I was flabbergasted...it was a mink!  A beautiful, dark brownish black, large mink!  He turned to run and I chased after him, ripping the earphones out of my ears and fumbling to find my camera app. 

As I approached him, he tried to take refuge and hide from me in the brush that hung over the canal, still on the frail ice of the still stream.  I crept up slowly, and he was crouched into a position, as if ready to spring and strike at me.  I began to chuckle to myself about what kind of story I would have if I was attacked by a mink while out for my daily run.  Not a cougar, but a mink.  As I slowly stalked up to where I could get a good look and photo of him, he took one last baleful glare at me, and plunged into an opening in the ice and disappeared.  I missed my shot, and was sorely disappointed.

I waited for a few moments to see if he would resurface, but, he didn't.  So, I continued my run, and about 20 yards away, stopped and looked back, and there he was, on the ice again, watching my retreat.  I decided to leave him in peace and continue on my way, and just be content with the fact that I spotted him and actually saw a mink in the wild, and not stuffed in Cabela's showroom.

Anthony thought it was pretty funny, and said, "You should've caught and skinned him!  He's probably worth good money."  I told him not to be sick ;-)

So, that's my "TG" gratitude moment for the day!

The Rollercoaster that is Life...

Back to the day in and day out...that's OK.  I don't mind it.  I do have some very big changes coming in the next few months, and I'm looking forward to shifting gear.  Change is hard, but I know that it is the only way to progress into new parts of your life, and continue growing, so I brace against the wind, and run headlong into it!  That's just my style.

I have some shows coming up in the next couple of months, the first in Chelsea in another week or so.  It is called "Idiosyncratic Expressions," and will be on West 25th Street, with the opening on December 1st.  I'll be really busy in the next upcoming weeks and months, and that's always good.

On a sad note, my friend Lori passed away this afternoon.  I was so saddened to hear it.  She had been only recently ill with cancer, lung cancer, and went downhill so quickly, it was shocking.  She was the sweetest person.  I know most people always say that after a person is gone, but Lori literally was.  She was a gentle, shy, funny, witty gal with a heart of gold.  We  bartended together "back in the day," and we remained in contact because we always passed in the same circles, and remained in touch.  I knew she was ill through a mutual friend of ours, and I talked to Lori and planned to go see her this week, not realizing how close to the end she really was.  She died this afternoon surrounded by family and friends.  I'm happy she passed in such a loving way...

She was such a fighter.  According to her oldest daughter, she was drinking coffee until a few hours before her death, and still conscious!  She was beautiful and spunky, with baby blue eyes and a shy but dazzling smile.  Now I don't get to say goodbye to her,  only to her family.  I can kick myself for not moving more quickly, for thinking I had more time.  I saw she was out to a luncheon with friends only ten days ago, so I couldn't fathom she was that close to death.  I am heartsick now.

R.I.P. Lori.  You will be missed.  You touched many lives with your kindness and compassion, and your strong but gentle will.  May flights of angels see you to your rest.

Paris mi amour

I can't believe it's our last night here in Paris.  I love this city, and it makes me sad to go :-(  The opening of the exhibition went very nicely, and we met some wonderful and interesting people from London, Russia, Dublin, Italy, and other places, so we had a great time.

We did have a lot of fun memories on this trip, from the initial Algerian taxi driver trying to charm us with "sexy time," (eeeeeeeeeeeeewwww!!!) to Jilly and I fumbling around in the Metro unable to get the automachine to take our Euros, all under the disapproving eye of the most French looking Frenchman we saw in all of Paris--it was so comical, I said he probably thought he was watching Ralph Kramden and Norton trying to operate the machine!  Jill was in awe of how French he was--she was waiting for his tongue to shoot out of his mouth and catch a fly!!!  (No offense LOL).  The crowning moment of the day:  when we were in a beautiful little cafe by the Eiffel tower, and the old guy in the seat next to us just started eating bread out of our bread basket.  It was like a friggin Seinfeld episode.  I whispered, "Jilly, he's eating our food!" We just looked at him in surprise, and he smiled and waved.  Jill and I just started cracking up!  It was so damn funny, we laughed until we literally cried. 

So, we are going to go out for a nice farewell dinner tonight, and then tomorrow, back to the States.  But, we will be back in the Spring/Summer of 2012, so it is only au revoir for a short time!!

"Summer's End" by Hilary J. England, oil on canvas, 40" x 40" x 2", 2011

Here is my newest painting, called "Summer's End."  It was a bittersweet painting to complete, as there was a hint of sadness in it, suggesting the passage of time and inevitable change, and how we all move on to new things, and our moments together are fleeting.  I felt a cataclysmic shift approaching, a vibe in the air that felt like a strange foreboding, and the only one in the painting completely oblivious to it was the baby,little Amelia.  Although I enjoyed painting it, it really took a lot out of me emotionally, and I was quite drained at the finish of it.

I've been very busy lately, since Paris is coming up in a couple of weeks, and then I still have another two exhibitions, and more planned, overseas as well.  School has been taking a lot of my time as well, and I have been feeling blue since I've had a major change in the house with Noelle moving to New York City to attend high school.  It really was more painful than I thought to let my baby go to bigger and better, and I have been nursing my broken heart for a couple of weeks now.  I hope the change will do her good, and it does bring me comfort to know she is attending the same high school I did, only I hope she will make more of it than I did, lol.

Yes, Paris.  I am looking forward to returning to Paris...what can you say about Paris and its exceptional beauty and vitality?  Culture and history?  Just amazing.

So, with that happy thought, I hope you enjoy my new painting♥

More painting

"Stonhedge in late Summer" 12" x 16" oil on canvas by Hilary J. England

I have to say, I have been very very busy lately.  I have been planning for upcoming shows, and with school, running the B&B which has been booming, and working diligently on my paintings, I'm just a paintin' fool!!  I love the cooler weather (although we are technically still waiting on it), and I'm looking forward to Paris in November, and perhaps going on to Italy from there.

I'll leave you with this quick, impressionist study I did of a beautiful enclave in Stonehedge Gardens.  It was very shaded and cool and damp, and it just kind of struck my fancy.  It's titled "Stonehedge in late summer" and it is 12" x 16" oil on canvas.

Lots more to come!



"Summer picnic in Pennsylvania" by Hilary J England, 2011, 36" x 48" oil on canvas

Well, I finally finished this piece.  I hit the wall and forced myself through...I get bored easily, and like all people I have to force myself to finish what I start.  In the end, I'm happy with the painting, but this one was not any easy or pleasant one by a far cry.

First, the nature of it (so many people) took maximum effort.  Multiple figure groupings are a challenge from a design standpoint, but I was very happy with the design I finally ended with--it was just hte painting itself.  Through the end of the summer, it was a miserable experience, to be blunt.  But, I perservered through sweat, fly, gnats, sweltering heat, and general frustration, and I finished it.  That in itself is a victory.  Near the end, I was ready to just throw it aside...but I knew how much that would bother me.  I would not be able to move on until I gave it my very best once more, and in the end, I really think it came together wonderfully.

So, now I can breath a sigh of relief, sit back and really enjoy this painting, and move on to the other large scale paintings I'm looking to begin...Hooray!  Out with summer and in with the cool weather!

Sunday...and the countdown begins!

"Poppy field" by Hilary J England, Oil on canvas, 2011

Let the countdown to school begin!!  Brother, I am sooooooo looking forward to these teenagers having something to do with themselves again.  I don't remember ever hanging around the house whining and being annoying at this age--I was always out....getting in trouble LOL.  Maybe it's better they stay around and whine about being bored!!!

Here is my newest study out in the field...it was actually done about a month or two ago, but I have been slacking with keeping up with my photography, so here it is now!  It's called "Poppy field," because, it was a field full of poppies and wildflowers!!  Sorry, I wasn't thinking of anything exotic in terms of names with this one.  I really enjoyed painting it though...it was one of those really relaxing and satisfying paintings with no hiccups...hiccups usually occur outside like your easel being blown face down in the dirt by the wind, getting stung by a bee or eaten by mosquitos, forgetting your turps, or getting chased away by irate farmers who don't want their land "painted."
None of that for this one!

So, out to get a jog in and some other stuff today...enjoy!!♥

Cool nights

Wow, when I was a little girl, I absolutely LOVED this man. I know it's weird, but his voice is so sublime, and I was transfixed with him. I thought he was such a handsome man, maybe because he reminded me of Jesus LOL.

This song takes me back!!! I love watching the video, and seeing how music was original then, with no corporate backers marketing them as objects or products, and they picked their own clothes instead of being dressed by staff that made a "look" for them, etc. They actually wrote and sang their own music, and looked like they were having fun, not enduring a choreographed workout some pencil pusher indicated they should do, to enhance their marketable image.

R.I.P. Paul Davis, you were a true artist, and you shaped my thoughts about love from when I was a little girl...romantic, exciting, contemplated. Just delicious. 

Come on over tonight...come on over....

Slacking...

"Study of pansies in their bed" by Hilary J England, oil on canvas, 8" x 10"

I know I've been slacking lately on my posts, and for that I do apologize.  I have personal stuff going on so I am pretty stressed out. 

Usually, I find solace in painting, but lately, its been like I have ADHD or something.  I find it hard to concentrate on anything, and sleeping is the only time my mind stops spinning and turning, when I can grab some.

I am plodding along doing what I have to do, albeit slowly.  I seem to have no heart for anything lately, but I know it will pass...I do feel a bit of hope that I didn't feel initially; maybe its just the support of some good friends that has me cheered up, and that is certainly a blessing!!

I am working my way through my big piece that I'm creating right now, with several other smaller pieces languishing on their respective easels in varying stages of development...that in itself makes me depressed.  I'm not used to struggling with this kind of a "block," and its one of the toughest things I've wrestled with lately.  All of the problems that are going on seem to have all fallen down at once, kind of "kicking my knees out" from under me.  Perhaps I'll just sit on the ground awhile...or, maybe not.  I'm not the kind to sit around and grow moss ;-).

So, I'm going to push myself to finish what I've started...I have to for my own peace of mind.  I have shows coming up, and deadlines to meet, and languishing is not an option. 

To my friends that have sent me private messages and have been there for the last few weeks through this stress, thank you, God bless you, and I love you for your friendship and kindness.  I only hope that I can be there for you as well as you are for me if you ever have need....

So, I can blow up the image of my own "good" life LOL.  Nothing is ever perfect, not people, not places, not things.  And not me.  But, recognizing that, I can move on without animosity or anger, knowing that in the end, everything works itself out...I look forward to a new chapter in my life, hopefully I'm a bit wiser, and will learn from my own mistakes this time around.

Dog days of summer

"Cloudburst" by Hilary J. England 8" x 10" oil on canvas.

So, the dog days are here!  Hiding inside between noon and 5 pm because of the blistering heat, and an bored people.  Yikes...  Time for another vacay...

So, here's a rapid oil sketch I did at the local "botanical" gardens at Stonehedge.  I rather like it...

Trippin' and jumpin'

"Pain in the A$$ ♥♥"  by Hilary J. England, oil on hardwood panel, 16" x 20" 2011

We are bounding through summer.  I leave on my roadtrip to Montreal in a few weeks, so I'm prepping for the possible "tornado" damage I'll return to when the housesitters leave.  The old saying, "when the cat's away..."  Ah well...these are the little pitfalls of traveling and still keeping your home safe.  At least my Dad is on top of things while he's managing the place!

Above is my newest painting, called, "Pain in the A$$"  I'll let you figure it out, just from her mischievious facial expression.  Sigh...teenagers.  Boredom.  Mischief and energy.  Know it alls.  I wish I was that age again, sometimes.  Just to have the energy and optimism.  But, when I think of going through life up to this point all over again, the idea makes me shudder.  So much for reincarnation!

Aaaaaaaanyway...going out for the day and leaving all inhabitants behind in the house.  My mediums are drying up in the heat, and I can't believe I've run through so much, plus, I have paintings to pick up at the framers, and other errands.  That's the glamorous life!

Enjoy♥

Sand in the pants

"Storm over sand dune " study oil on canvas, 8" x 10" by Hilary J England

I had a nice day at the beach.  I've always liked Sandy Hook, since it brings back memories of my childhood...funny, since I've been going there my whole adult life, but I never really brought my kids there...I was always too afraid to be alone with them at the beach, afraid they would drown, and I worked so much when they were little, and lived far away from my family, so I never had anyone to go with.  Sad, really.

They are more "lake" types, since that's where I would always bring them.  The lake was calm and safe, with no rip currents, no mysteries of the deep.  The beach was "off limits" since the water was wild, and the kids were daring, and this scared me.  I remember once, when Noelle was about two, she wandered away from my beach blanket at Jones Beach, when it was packed wall-to-wall with people.  I ran searching for her, blanket to blanket, and then, down to the edge of the shore, where for a moment I watched the rough surf pounding against the sand, and felt a thrill of horror like one I've never felt before or since...I just felt completely helpless, thinking in that vast, violent mass of water, my baby could be lost inside of it, and I couldn't get to her.  I just stood on the shore and cried.  The lifeguards found her wandering with a little group of children close to the snack stand.  She apparently saw the kids playing with their sand toys and ran off after them.  I never brought the kids back to the beach again.

Yesterday though, the beach was extra quiet, the water still and gentle.  The shore has a steep drop-off, so I respect that I have to be cautious.  The day was so hot, it was hell trying to cross the quarter mile of sand to access the North beach.  I can now say I feel pity for anyone who has to cross a desert.  What an ordeal...I literally thought my feet would have blisters on them.

The weather held out until about 5 pm, and then a terrific storm came rolling in.  I got to capture a good deal of it before we were kicked off the beach, and as Providence would have it, the second we opened the door to the car, the rain started.  Talk about perfect timing.

So, I hope you enjoy my painting study of "Storm over the sand dune." I was only working with four colors and titanium white, so it was as basic and to the heart of it as I can get it.  I'm looking forward to hitting up some more Shore points very soon, and getting right back into that ocean! ♥

Stormy sky



"Stormy sky study" by Hilary J England 8" x 10" oil on canvas

I am looking forward to my road trip to Montreal for the opening reception of our group exhibition at the Gallery Gora.  It should be fun, and road trips are always a good time for me.  I love the scenery and stopping off in different parts of the country and taking in the local "culture."  I am definitely looking forward to the next few weeks.

This little study above was done in a field of some kind of wheat, I'm not really sure what type, but the sky was starting to get really stormy looking and the clay earth had this red tone, so, I pushed it a bit, and had some fun with it.  That's why it's fun to be an artist...you get to make it your way!! 

So, with summer upon us, I was thinking of ways to incorporate that season and the accompanying heat into the series I'm working on, and I've gotten some pretty good ones, so I'm going to start on that limb of the series in the next few days.

All in all, life is good!  Hope it's the same for you♥

Sunrise and sunset

"Sunset" by Hilary J England 8" x 10" oil on canvas

Sunsets and sunrises...they seem to go by very quickly these days, and I didn't want to miss the beauty of these never-ending awe inspiring events.  So, I did this quick study...

I have been looking for different ways to meditate with this beautiful, natural world, as well as make that important mind-body-spirit connection, and I've decided that giving up watching current events for a spell would be extremely helpful.  So, I will just "be" for the time being.  Be calm and restful with no daily assault of negativity on my senses...

I wish I could go on a nice holiday and completely "unplug" but that won't be the case for a few weeks...sparing a day here and there at the beach.  But hey, it's still something to look forward to. 

Well, back to the studio!

Gentle breezes

"Field of flowers" by Hilary J England 8" x 10" oil on canvas

I am looking forward to going back to the beach...it's definitely time to get some ocean refreshment!  I want Noelle to come with me, but she is hesitant to leave her friends (typical teen), but I have her in mind for this specific trip.  I must admit, I have some ideas in my head for painting her at the beach, actually that is truly the motive for the trip, besides my need for the water.  So, I must set up my plan to convince her...it's like setting a plan for hunting a deer, lol.  Make sure I prod her in one direction, but not too strongly, if I see her going in another direction, head her off at the pass...

Montreal is coming very soon, and I must get the paintings shipped.  Then, my New York exhibition, my Paris exhibition, the trip to Florence, and the holidays.  This year seems to be slipping by at an unprecedented rate...I don't know where the time goes.  It gives me nightmares sometimes, how fast life is going by.  If I had no faith, it would be an idea that depressed me into catatonia...

Last night, when I was reading, I got a very unusual phone call...a real "blast from the past"---25 years in the past!  An old school and neighborhood chum, who found my number on Facebook, and found we were not living too far from each other now.  He was actually very good friends with my brother, and was looking to get together with us all and have a barbeque.  I felt such nostalgia as I talked to him, my mind vaulted back to rough and tumble days at the dirty beaches of Staten Island, frolicking in the murky waters, yelling and screaming and running and fighting.

 I remembered he lived on a little cliff by the beach, with a path that led to the front of his house.  The house next door had an electric fence for their pet cow, and we were obsessed with this fence--we would form a chain, and dare each other to be the one to grab the fence...the theory behind it was that the guy on the end would get it the worst, but it hurt like hell just the same no matter where you were in the pecking order.  Michael Florio was the boy who lived in the house with the electric fence.  He died in 1990, decapitated in a car accident on the highway, on his way back to his college dorm at SUNY Binghamton.  All these years later, all this life went by, and he is still 19....

My old friend was a first responder to the 9/11 disaster, and now suffers from pulmonary fibrosis of his lungs as a result.  I felt sad to hear how this happened to him, in his attempt to do his duty for his community and his countrymen.  We made plans to get together for a barbeque in the next few weeks, and we could catch up and reminisce. 

So, the next few days should be busy as usual.  I am nearing the end of my second semester in University, and we have a "full-boat" with guests in the B&B.  The ghost stayed away last night and let me get a good night's rest, thank goodness!  I woke up so refreshed this morning, I didn't want to get out of bed...or, maybe it was the five miles I did in the gym yesterday...who knows. 

I leave you with this little painting I did of a beautiful field of wildflowers out in the little remote area of our "neighborhood."