august highlights

August has been a busy but fun month of summer celebrating–celebrating family, friends, nature, locally-grown foods (mmm, they are sooooo good right now), baseball and birthdays! My husband just had a birthday and it seems the past week has been full of surprises for both of us.

Last weekend, we went to the Shaker Lakes Nature Center on Cleveland's eastside:

Here's Jeff, perhaps contemplating life's big mysteries? Or wondering where I hid his birthday gifts? Or studying cattails close-up? Or did he just lose his flip-flop?


I liked this saying that was carved into the rail.


I think I might chose this house if I were a bird...


...a leaning tower bird condo!


I loved the painted wooden sign with a map of the trail.


Here's a detail of the map.


It was magical, the way the leaves became transparent in the sunlight. I love how forests have mini-forests within them, how each tree is a canopy in a forest, but also how each individual leaf becomes a canopy as well.


It was a flower wonderland.


I mean, who wouldn't want to go down this path?! There's bound to be good things on the other side!


Baseball is one of my husband's favorite summer pasttimes...and going to games has become one of mine too. Jeff surprised me with an afternoon baseball outing last Thursday...I have to say we were really enjoying the benefits of self-employment that day!


Our seats at the game...in Jeff's favorite section. Go Tribe!


Then on to sit outside at one of our favorite city hotspots...Great Lakes Brewery Company. Holy Moses with an orange (on the right) is my beverage of choice on a hot summer day, Jeff's is Imperial Dortmunder (on the left).


Patio at GLBC.

And here's some more of the celebrating with family and friends this month:


My niece Ava, snapping her first beans. As you can see, she was a very determined little snapper.


The Winery at Wolf Creek has some new additions this summer...goats!


Here's Miss Ava and her goat-friend having a little staredown.


This is what we all secretly want to do when we bite into a cupcake.


Mmmm...can I have another?


Some of my bestest friends in our party dresses! What a fun baby party!

Back on the homefront:

Sometimes I only have to look as far as my backyard for reference...see this animated spread from my book Haiku Baby and you'll know see exactly how my world finds its way into my art. We've been enjoying watching our resident fawns grow up. They still have their spots but have gotten so big...and have almost learned to not bother running from our old, harmless dog.


This is Hank, doing what he does best in the dog days of summer...dreaming of deer-chasing.