September 23-October 1, 2021 Fort Collins, Colorado

 In the low 80's sunny and some smoke again.

I spent most of the day putting the bear together. The kiln also has large barrettes and some pieces that will become beveled and polished jewels. They are all firing as I type this, I will get to look how they come out tomorrow. Sunset was mostly blocked by clouds and smoke. This is it. 

The bear and the large barrettes came  out well. This is them sitting in the kiln, on top of molds ready to go. Right now they are slumped, but the kiln is still to hot to open. Will see them tomorrow  Sunset tonight. 

I was out gardening and look who showed up! Sylvia and Martha. Good to see them. We checked out the Multicultural fair at Library park. There was free jazz and blues music all day. I finished the bear. He is pretty cute.

16 large barrettes with the clips glued on and drying. For some reason I am trying to get the perfect raven jewel so I keep making them. 

Sunset tonight. John and I walked over to the fair half a block away and caught Doug and the Blue Dogs. It is only half a block away so we could listen to them all day. The fair was rescheduled from Aug 31st, so there were almost no one there. 

My new friend Martha, who  is a friend of  a friend in Denver , is a glass artist and wanted to tour the studio and talk glass, came up today. We had  a nice afternoon talking about glass and I got to show off my work. She left with a box of scraps and we both got some glass information. It was great to meet her. John is working on some shelves for the bus. Our washer/dryer died this spring, it was 19 years old after all. We didn't use it much so we had it removed, John is building shelves for the cabinet it was in. 

I worked on a few jewels. They need a little tweaking, but looking good. Sunset tonight with no smoke was a treat.

This cool sculpture of the double helix of RNA is in the stair well at Kaiser Rock Creek. I went there today for a screening procedure and it was negative. Won't need another for 10 years. Yeah!! Beautiful down town historic Longmont, Colorado today on the way home. 

I have this spiffy new car. Actually it is a loaner from the Subaru place. We took the car down for it's 60,000 mile check up and it needs a new engine. They  replaced original engine 2 years ago because it burned way too much oil. This new one has a bad rod and is burning too much oil, so they are replacing it under warranty. We were going to leave on Sunday, but the engine will take a week. At least we are not paying for it and the loaner is no charge too. Sunset tonight. 

I took my brother Jerry and John out to dinner at Austin's steak house for their birthday seasons. Since it was their birthdays they got complimentary ice cream sundaes. Good dinner and great to see Jerry. My friends Katie and Katy drove up to visit this morning. They wanted to look at our blog books from last year. It was great to see them.

Tonight we had dinner at Steve and Ginny's house, with neighbor Brittany. The food Steve prepared was excellent. The company was fun too. Brittany, John, Steve and Ginny.

September 17-22, 2021 Fort Collins, Colorado

 Low 70's and sunny today.

We had brunch with Mandy and John. Mandy cooked us breakfast including home croissants. It was yummy and good to see them. We spent a lazy morning in the sun. Inside their greenhouse is huge basil and tomato  plants.

Our herb garden has 4 basils and a small oregano that I just harvested. The basil in the posts will come with us on the road. the ones in the ground traveled with us last year. I sandblasted the masterpiece today. Here it is with the stencil still on it and with out the stencil.

Beefy belongs to the renters in the front house. He is often out in the yard when we come out, always ready to play. He is a sweetheart. Every time I ride by this graffiti I ponder what it means. 

Evening light on the  Poudre River. It is pretty low right now. The waxing gibbus moon caught in a sculpture at the water park. 

Sunset over Martinez park. I spent long hours last night adding dichroic and colored glass to the masterpiece. It is currently in the kiln cooling off. I had glass spread all over getting just the right pieces. 

What the masterpiece looked like going  into the kiln last night. This is what it looked like the this  afternoon when I took it out of the kiln.  I painted a bunch of gold on it and it is now in the kiln again slumping into a mold. 

Sunset started like this tonight, then dropped below the clouds and stopped. The   master piece is  now done. It is 12 inches in diameter, with copper mica luster and dichroic and colored glass. It is a gorgeous. 

The last batch of finished glass basket centers set in resin and drilled.  A few beveled, polished pendants I finished.

The full harvest moon rising. I was lucky to catch it between the horizon and the clouds. I started another masterpiece. 

Beautiful light in the trees on the bike path this evening. 

September 14-16, 2021 Fort Collins, colorado

 In the 80's and sunny.

No real clouds at sunset, just this small bunch on the horizon. More glass basket centers set in resin today. Will grind the edges and then drill holes around the edges. 

I sorted and bundled up half of the new ponderosa pine needles. Half still to go. These are for the basket classes I teach in the winter. My friend Katie took me to lunch today when she was up here with her brother Dwight. It was nice to meet Dwight and see Katie. 

I spent the last couple days working on the stencil for this masterpiece. I fired copper mica luster on to black. What ever is not covered by the stencil will have the luster sandblasted off, leaving black. Most of the time was spent picking tiny pieces out of the stencil. Right after I first started dating John he said he wanted some alley plants that could deal with the heat and lack of water in the alley. I planted this silver lace vine, that was 14 years ago, it is doing great. 

Cool cloud over the bike path this evening. Nice clouds reflections and a small bit of fall color on the right. 

My battered mountain bike in the middle of the trail by yellow rabbit bush blooms and  big trees. I thought this fall res color was poison ivy, but it is oregon grape. 

Spectacular crepuscular  rays around the setting sun. Same sunset in trees farther down the trail.

Sunset over the Waterpark. Sunset under the moon. 

This sculpture/sun and wind break is named White Water, it is in the water park. The moon caught in a dead tree.

The moon cradled in a dead tree.