The raccoons in our neck of the woods lead pretty raucous lives. They tip over trash cans and fight under back porches…

After
we came home from vacation a couple years ago, Al went into the house
first to (he said) chase the raccoons out. The girls and I sat in the car,
thinking about what the raccoons could be doing – surfing the
internet? (reading furry porn says I, and Al cracks up) or boating in
the flooded cellar in the pasta pot? or maybe dealing marshmallows out
the back door to the neighboring raccoons? They had cleared out before
we got home, and tidied up after themselves, but we wondered.

Now,
the raccoons have my wallet. It got removed from the car, unless it
fell out, at the park where we were sailing this afternoon. I can
imagine them, driving a car like Shanenon Garrity's hamsters, massed behind a mask and a trench coat,
using my license for ID. They have the credit cards too. What can a
raccoon do with a credit card? Nothing now that I've cancelled them,
but imagine, if you will, the kids' tool section of the newly opened
Home Depot. If that doesn't make your blood run cold, you are not
thinking. Hammers, saws, nail guns, batteries – so long as their
disguise remains intact, they can acquire all the makings for doomsday
weapons. Or for really properly attacking the garbage, and the raccoon
proof containers at the park.

So I imagine them ordering
steaks from Omaha Steak co. and a weber grill and having a jolly-up in
the woods where no one can find them. Maybe beer. Can you get beer
online? or do they have to rely on their disguise?

And reading furry porn.

exquisite corpse composed
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

The exquisite corpse that I started has come home to roost.

I worked on different pieces of five corpses all together, for four other people in my group. I had fun making my pieces, especially once I stopped overthinking them. I made needlefelted boobs with nipples, and sort of paper doll arms on shoulders, and an outrageous bottom with layers of skirts to make it polite, and finally some fabulous legs with bare feet, surrounded with Barbie shoes.

Click through and look at the pieces up close – they are really something!

steam shovels
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

still here.

Kids at camp, house oddly empty, husband fabulously present, everything is fine.

I got two pieces framed today, Ten Ginkgo Leaves and Andy's River, and man, I can completely see making my own framing options, because they were expensive! Although it will make me take my own work seriously, and maybe price it seriously, having spent a chunk of $$ on making it look formal.

My crit group says I have to get stuff organized to show. Art stuff. So
a lot of the next couple weeks/months are going to have more to do with
mounting and framing than with making. Which is OK, but probably
boring for you guys.

On the other hand, having dreaded the crit group to begin with, now I am anticipating it like crazy and thinking about signing up again in the fall.

Sorry about the paucity of pictures – I'll see what I can do about that.

We were at Circus Smirkus pretty much all day yesterday. We ushered and took tickets for the afternoon show, which was happy and made me laugh, and then Al came up and we ushered and took tickets for the evening show which was sold out and had a long line of people that mostly made it in. While the afternoon show as great, the evening show really rocked. I think having a bigger (louder) audience makes a lot of difference to how the show proceeds. Brattleboro is a very familiar stop, and a lot of the troupers take lessons with NECCA, so I think there is a lot of local enthusiasm when the circus comes to town.

There is so much to love about this show; the energy and enthusiasm the kids bring to the performance, the shouts and shrieks of the audience, the excellent live music. Plus the quality of the performers improves with each year.

I think this is one of their best years ever.

Alice learns some knots
Originally uploaded by sharon_lowe88.

Alice got to take a trip on the Spirit of Massachusetts last week, from Gloucester to Boston and then into Boston Harbor with the Tall Ships. My mom took her. She learned some knots, took the helm for a while, stood bow watch in the fog, and slept in a bunk. It was a pretty fine adventure, I think.

Well, I'll be.

That's my kid! Right on the page at MSN! Although the people who wrote the picture captions haven't a clue.

I got to ride horses today. It was a good day.

Alice is on the Spirit of Massachusetts, steering. Actually by now I hope she is sleeping.

Reflections
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I saw a lot of great reflections today. I also managed to dodge the rain. I did get lost once (completely not where I thought) and misplaced another time (one intersection off) which added 5 miles to a trip I underestimated anyhow.

The best part was swooping downhill for 5 miles back to the car. Even if it wasn’t where I thought I’d left it. I came down a different road. But I got back.

old things
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

And these are all things I saw on my bike ride today.

35 miles, from Brattleboro to Northfield, MA and back; down one side of the river, and across it, and back up the other side.

What better use of a screamingly gorgeous day?

July 4
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I finished these sometime on Saturday, sitting in front of the computer rereading the directions for Kitchenering on Knitty.com – thank goodness for the Internet.