May

May finds me with three shows going at once. Bear's Mill in Greenville, Ohio has an exhibition of my handmade rustic willow furniture as well as John Bundy's Ducks. The Judge Stone House in Noblesville has a display of my work as a part of the Indiana Artisan Furniture Guild during the month of May and I just today delivered a corkscrew willow Mirror as a part of the Hands: Shaping Our World exhibit at the IUPUI Cultural Arts Gallery.

This gallery is in the heart of the beast in the center of downtown Indy and I was able to experience the everyday reality that is the rush hour commute. In comparison, my drive to and from my shop is a lovely piece of cake. It is a wonder that more people are not killed in accidents or shot by other motorists. Of course, everyone is on the phone or texting and not paying attention. I saw one lady with her barefoot on the dashboard as she recklessly zoomed in and out of heavy traffic while on the phone.

Several orders have also kept me busy in the shop and it is a welcome change from the long winter months.

I went mushroom hunting yesterday at Veteran's park on the outskirts of Fortville. I return to this pristine wooded area every year. I became familiar with this lovely woodland when I was 12 years old. I spent many hours working on nature merit badges, observing wild life and plants there. No one else went there and it was not far from my home. I fell in love with being alone in the woods. In years past, I have had success mushroom hunting here, but pickings have been slim the last few years. The woods remains unspoiled and I did have some success seeing and hearing warblers. Blue greens, Northern Parulas, Tennessees, black and whites, yellow-rumps, Connecticuts, yellowthroats. Lots I could not see.

I always wind up my trip here with a stop at the old dump at the edge of the property. For some crazy reason, groundhogs have long made this a village and each year, at the entrance of their dozen or so holes, they have brought up new bottles along with piles of the cinders and broken glass that lies beneath the surface. What they like about such an inhospitable place is a mystery, but I find new bottles every year from deeper in the past.

Last week I saw an osprey along 206th street near Victory Chapel road, sitting in a bare soybean field. He has eating a large bullhead. There was only a small little stream nearby, and there was not a tree within a quarter mile. Very odd.


The sudden heat is a joy to everyone and makes the cold weather of just a few days ago seem far away. Chimney swifts are racing in the sky around my shop, twittering for all they are worth. A deranged robin has decided to nest just above my front door, largely oblivious to my comings and going as well as high decibel music.

I have yet to go fishing, but that will soon change once I have completed some of my orders.

I was able to take time for my annual visit to the Stutz open house, and the next day returned to the same downtown area for my cousin Liz's wedding, which had a steam punk theme. What a blast!