Cluckin' A Critter Farm: Wed. Eve, Sept. 17th… After our trip to Woodstock Today……

After my cousin Bonnie gathered herself and made ready for the long ride home to Jackson, Mississippi, we bid her farewell and invited her to stop back as soon as possible. She started down the road with her “little Dora” GPS unit telling her “turn right in 60 feet”, as she pulled out of our driveway. She hoped to make it into Virginia somewhere, before giving up, after driving 12 hours and grabbing a room for the night in a motel and finishing the other 12 hour stint of driving tomorrow. Hopefully her trip to Harrisburg, Pa was boring and uneventful, meaning she didn’t have trouble of any kind or get lost before hitting route 81 which will take her deep into the southern states. We will miss her, but can email and call regularly.

Vicki and Bonnie talkingabout her trip to Mississippi and how she will go.

We used the timer on the camera because we were short a photographer.

Poindexter is always there to greet you or give you a sendoff.

After Bonnie was gone, we did a few things we needed to do here and then took off for Woodstock, NY to return a pen nib that didn’t fit the Koh-I-noor rapidograph pens Vicki had bought. One nib was damaged and the guy at Catskill Art Supply in Woodstock thought this particular nib would fit it, but it didn’t, so Vick wanted to return it. I suggested she gather up some of her art work and since we would be there anyway, she should run up to Ellie Steffen’s gallery on Rock City Road, to show Ellie her art. We met Ellie at The Garden Works one weekend this spring and after chatting with her in the parking lot, she wanted me to tell Vicki to stop in at her gallery the next time we were in Woodstock, and to bring some of her art so she could see it and talk to her. Now seemed like a perfect time if Ellie was going to be home, because we weren’t busy since Bonnie left today and Bill and Loraine are coming Friday evening. (We both agreed to take a break in between visitors and do no work on the barn)

We returned the pen to the art supply store on main street, then went in to “Bread Alone” and had lunch. After that, we went up to Ellie’s Gallery behind her house on Rock City Road. She was there and we had a lovely visit with a super nice lady, an extremely talented artist and former art teacher in Brentwood, NY. She is now retired and paints everyday and spends time with her black Lab, which goes with her everywhere. After telling her that we had already stopped at the Doghouse Gallery in Saugerties to view her art show being held there, we mentioned that we saw all of her work there plus her late husband‘s, the infamous Bernard J. Steffen, who’s work is renowned for it’s excellence and detailed beauty. I’ve seen his work dated from 1939, into the 70’s and his silk screens are beautiful. Upon leaving, we invited Ellie to come up to the farm and share a nice lunch and spend the day with us on the rear deck watching the critters and enjoying the fall colors. We look forward to her visit. Following are a few pictures of Ellie Steffen, he dog and her Gallery. Had we known she enjoys having her artwork photographed, we would have taken some of her show at the Doghouse Gallery to post here, but we never photograph anyone's artwork without first acquiring permission to do so.