Blues on the Bridge is a day of free outdoor concerts, with food trucks and vendors in downtown Binghamton. This was my first year going, and I brought my sketchbook to give the Skirmisher statue another try.
I wasn’t happy with the first attempt, here:
But after walking around a bit, and running into a few family and friends, I sat for another try. Pretty happy with this one, especially as I just put ink to paper, no pencil outline first. Calling it a day!
This market is awesome for delicious and juicy fresh veggies! They’re so amazing that, well, sketches were needed.
Here you go, fresh from market, and they tasted as good as they looked! Hope you’re enjoying some fresh fruits and veggies this summer!
Fresh garlic.
Fresh carrots
Fresh onion
On display at Cup-a-Jo
Very excited to share the latest items with my art.
The colorful screen imprint is of ink and watercolor sketches, original art by me. These are printed so the design can be seen when hung. 
These makes excellent gifts when paired with a box of favorite tea or coffee!
Pick any or all of three different designs.
1. Blue/ Silver
2. Green/ Brown
3. Orange/ Brown
I did these sketches on site from displays at a local coffee shop, Cup-a-Jo, on Front St. in Binghamton, NY.
These soft flour sack tea towels measure 28″ x 28″. Art size is approximately 5″x8″. Fabric color is white. Machine wash and dry.
Towels are $12 each (plus shipping), buy any 2 or more tea towels for discounted pricing!
How to purchase? 1. Stop in to Cup-a-Jo, enjoy their delicious food and get your towels there! 2. Message me 3. Visit my Etsy page. ($14 includes shipping)
My niece pointed out that those green things growing outside might be ostrich fiddleheads! These are good for eating, after boiling and sautéing. So I picked several and tried them. It may have been a little early to pick, because there was brown stuff that was rather difficult to remove.
But I did like the taste, so I decided to buy some at our local market. These were a little larger, with no brown ‘stuff’ on them. Very yummy, like a delicate asparagus flavor. Of course, garlic, butter and salt helped. It seems like a bit much effort needed, so I won’t be doing these very often, but I’m very glad I gave them a try! 
Walked the Glen today, 40°, the snow has started melting and last fall’s autumn leaves are peeking out. I sketched quickly, adding color at home. Check out my favorite tree on the right, just noticed the heart shape!
That’s what sketching does – helps you notice details, things you’d otherwise miss. 
Here’s a screen shot from the Alltrails app of my typical Glen walk- 1.7 miles in 40 minutes. I’m not a speed walker! 😉. 
Don’t get me wrong, I really like hawks! But, I do have a favorite – the eagle. I’m so glad they have made a comeback, and there’s quite a few here in the upstate NY area. Today, a grey and gloomy February day, I walked the Two Rivers Greenway in Endicott. 
There’s an island you can see from the bridge that goes to Vestal, and there’s a flag I always see on it. So, I found a bench and sat down to sketch it. I shot a reference photo, and didn’t notice an eagle sitting in a tree on the other side of the river, because a branch was in the way. I got about 3 lines drawn, when I moved my head a little and saw it. Bold as can be, an eagle looking down river. 
He didn’t stay long, and soon took off. But, I thought it only went a little way, and went to look for it upriver. Throwing my sketch stuff in pockets, I hustled to find it.
Found him in a tree a little upriver, and oh joy! There were two! 
After a half hour and tons of photos, the second one looked like it was getting ready to move, so I put my camera on movie mode. The first video is 38 seconds, but listen, and you’ll hear an eagle screech. Chills.
After catching it flying away on video, I decided it was okay to leave. Seeing them was such a wonderful gift! 
Here’s a lovely collection of teapots seen at Cup-A-Jo on Upper Front St. in Binghamton.
Stop by to see them and enjoy some delicious food (and coffee, of course!) at the same time!
And another one in its own special cubbie! 
M
You may have read about how to re-use various veggies. After buying a few onions from the farmers market, one had already sprouted, so I thought I’d give it a try.
I typically don’t follow instructions well (surprise!), so after trimming some to sauté, I just sort of stuck it in the ground where it seemed happy, and gave it a good watering. It seems it may need separating after it grows a bit, because there might be more than one that will sprout from this.
We’ll see! Fingers are crossed!
What it looked like when I bought it
What it looked like after I “trimmed” it for planting.
The privet hedge out front never got trimmed last year, so, the other day, I decided to attack it. I was making great progress until I spotted something inside it.
A well constructed robin’s nest with four beautiful eggs nestled in it. That was the end of trimming that hedge, even if it IS lop-sided now! I was lucky enough to catch a decent photo with my phone, and made sure to do a sketch to remember it by.
The hedge will still be here next year, needing trimming again!