DRIVING MISS CHERI (Mark)

Every year the Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, North Carolina artists' guild has an artists' open studio tour.

I was driving Cheri around the area and made a few photographs along the way.

Of course I could have stayed home and picked up more leaves; what you see here is one days worth:

I pick them up with the mulching lawn mower so I can use them to amend the very heavy clay soil.  Driving around and seeing the country was much more fun, and the leaves could wait one more day!

This old tractor was not at an artist studio, just on a little country road along the way.

I love the color and texture.  I am a sucker for old tractors, and old signs, and this setting had both.

This signpost was near one of the studios we toured.  I wonder if they had a child who attended UCLA?

One of the many old structures we saw as we wandered.  This one is on a working farm, and is probably still being used.

At the studio of an artist who did jewelry; I really liked the rack of hand tools she used on a daily basis.

This artist had converted a small bedroom in a townhouse in the city to be used as her painting studio.

Sitting here and painting you would almost not realize you were in the middle of town.

And just a little ways out of town, guess what Cheri found?

A real made-right-on-the-farm-where-the-cows-live ice cream emporium.

It was very popular, quite busy.  It was definitely a destination for bicycle riders as well as people driving.