I have already mentioned here how oppressively hot it has been here. Today will mark 22 consecutive days where the temperature has reached 90 degrees or above - factor in the humidity and I'll need a tranquilizer.
The library was crazy this week as the summer sessions at school ended. Patrons have returned carloads of books to the book drop and the circulation desk, and some students attempting to enroll in fall classes are finding an academic hold on their account for excessive fines. This makes for many telephone calls to the library about those fines, which cannot be adjusted in any way at this point. I'm a patron, too, and I know if I owe a fine I am notified about sixteen ways to Sunday about it. Shame on ME if it gets to the point where I can't register or request a transcript.
But we aim to please at the library. I am happy to have the experience, even if I have to securely fasten my professionalism and refrain from resorting to "the straight scoop" (which I would have done in social circles for certain).
When I get home from work, I usually stay up late reading or relaxing and listening to the train whistle from the State Fair. For roughly two weeks every summer, a train takes passengers directly to the fairgrounds from parts North. While I don't need to ride from there, and the tickets are a bit pricey, I love to hear the train whistle. It ends at about 11:00 pm each night, but I wouldn't mind if I heard it later.
I'm also working on a rush commission. Somebody needs a chicken painting - STAT!
I'm making a total of five chicken paintings and offering a choice. Given the turnaround, I was limited to working in watercolor.
These are only two of the chickens. To warm up, because I haven't been painting much, I have also been sketching other things.
This is Frieda. She is one of the dogs of Bedlam Farm. I have sent a request to post the image because I sketched it from a photograph taken by Jon Katz (who is currently writing a book about her). If you haven't read Jon's books, you should. I have read the ones I hadn't read yet over the summer, and I have re-read the few that I had. I am anxiously awaiting the release of his newest book in late September. I have effectively convinced my Mom to get me a signed, personalized copy for my birthday (graduate school has made me a shameless beggar).
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