Ever since I've had this blog, I've written about the classes I've taken at Valley Ridge Art Studio, and I still will, but this time around I'm going to be showing you some of the things we saw on the roads to get there, surrounding the studio. There's too many pictures, so this post will be about the sights and the next one will be about Misty's class. Sound like a deal? I thought so:)
Amanda went with me, and at the last minute we decided to go a day early and do a little exploring. Everytime I go, I want to take pictures on the road to the studio, but am always too excited to get to class to stop, and on the way back I'm so busy thinking about the class that I forget to stop for the photos. So this time, we took a ride up that road the day before just to get some pictures. Just past the studio, we saw these cows. Now I see cows everyday around here, but these crazy things were walking way up on trails on top of a rock bluff that edged the road-they were acting like goats instead of cows! No need for a fence, they seemed to know that one wrong step and they'd be goners-crazy!
A little further down and we found a big old pine snake sunning itself in the middle of the road, haven't seen one of those since I was a kid. I still remember in the 3rd grade, in a 1 room schoolhouse, at the end of the day when we were all let loose, there was a huge pine snake laying at the bottom of the steps so none of us would leave the building. Then my Dad showed up & got rid of the snake for us-he was a hero that day:)
I'm always amazed at how Andrew stops & takes notice of all of the textures surrounding us everyday, so following his lead of paying attention, I got a close up of the snakeskin-with a zoom, no way did I get THAT close!! Andrew would have taken it a step or 2 further with some digital manipulation, but I'm still no good at that-someday.
Once again-cows! There are a lot of creeks or streams running through the farmland there, so we kept seeing cows in the water-not something we see around here. It was nice to see them have the freedom to do a little rock climbing or take a quick dip, compared to around here in dairy land where they seem to live most of their lives in fields that seem too small or hooked up to a stantion.
Becasue I always stay in Fenimore when I go for class, I come in to the studio on a back road, Hwy Q-very windy, hilly, and scenic. Off and on, the sides of the roads were banked with these rock bluffs on either side, something we also see on Hwy 18 on the way down. Always amazes me to see plant life thriving on these rocks, not quite sure how they do it.
Well, this photo isn't nearly as cool as it really looks. This dead tree is really quite tall, with wood vine wound tightly all the way up the trunk, with a hint of red in the leaves here & there-a sure sign that fall is closing in on us.
Each day we got to see these horses grazing in the field, sometimes with the company of cows, sometimes not. The little foal never seemed to stray far from it's mama, keeping right toght behind her at all times. I love watching horses, especially out in a field, but have a nice healthy respect for any critter that size and keep my distance. Well, that's not entirely true, there was the time I was petting bear through their cages-but that's another story for another day:)
Speaking of another story, tomorrow I'll post about the class and tell you how this mess happened-another one of my shining moments! In the meantime, if you want to know even more about me than you already do, head on over to the MMCA Marketplace blog and read my answers to a little Q & A. And I'll see you all tomorrow!
Love the MMCA interview (love that you mentioned me but love the interview and the jewelry pictured even more!)...now tell me about this pine snake...doggone if it doesn't look like a rattler to me - it's not venemous?
Posted by: Tammy Vitale | August 19, 2008 at 11:39 AM