Easter Outtings

With skies colored ala Crayola, a stroll through the 38th Annual Mandarin Art Festival seemed in order. It'd been several years since I last attended the longest continuously running art festival in Northeast Florida and the warm breezes warranted a visit.

The festival was held beneath the 130+ year old Live Oaks that shade the grounds of the Mandarin Community Club. The Club once received funds raised from Harriet Beecher Stowe to help build the structure that has been a prominent landmark in Mandarin, the community I've called home for nearly 16 years.

One highlight of the festival was seeing Carol Adamson, a weaver from Nashville, Indiana. I am friends with her sister-in-law and was happy to talk with her and see her beautiful work. I was extra happy to see Chris Jones. The ceramic mugs I bought from him several years ago met their demise and I didn't know where to find his work, except for the festival. Now I have his card and some of his mugs, all is good.

There were no Easter eggs hunts here, but I did manage to find some chicks lounging around in the backyard. It won't be too much longer before they're spending their days outside. The chicken tractor is under construction and should be ready for them to inhabit this week. Making a tractor without plans is a bit time consuming but the end result will make it worthwhile. For those who have an eye for chicken, perhaps you've noticed that Xena isn't the Black Australorp we thought she was. Apparently she was mislabeled. By the looks of her, she's a Barred Rock. The big question now is, wasw her sex mislabeled, too??