International Encaustic Conference and farm update

This year's International Encaustic Conference was beyond the most imaginative expectations.  Other than a few much missed friends (Paula Roland, Laura Tyler, Pam Farrell, Supria Karmakar, Alexandre Masino), everything was perfection.  Joanne and Cherie can take credit for the seamlessness of it all.  Next year, Provincetown early June and I'll stay longer to actually get to the beach.

Back at the farm we have over 300 new baby chicks thriving.  Not one has gotten sick and that's to the enormous credit of Kate, Meagan, and their co-grad students paying incredibly close attention.  Hatched June 1 and June 8, they are very big and ate so far more than a ton of chick feed.

In the farm studio a couple days ago, organizing and doing a little painting, there was a 'peep peep' and there in the hallway a tiny baby duckling.  There are a few ponds which graduate farmer Joe McFadden populated with ducks born in January.  Those ducks had babies before we thought it possible.  I picked up the duckling and took it to the closest pond, hoping that's where it belonged.  Here it is:

And here it is on the shore about to take its first swim:

That teensy dark dot at the center of the picture is the baby.  Ah, summer.