I went to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois on Labor Day and discovered this sycamore tree leaning toward the water (Lake Marmo). I loved the peeling bark and the way the branches grew, with prominent knobs, and changing direction quite abruptly.

Last Sunday afternoon I was with the sheep at the Minnesota State Fair. This was my first state fair ever, and the longest time I can remember spending with farm animals. I loved being near the sheep and their owners. The animals were at first very subdued. I went out and got a snack, and when I returned, they were much more lively, as if shaken up by something. They wouldn’t sit still for drawing, but finally I found one (bottom right corner of sketch) that sat chewing its cud, so I was able to draw it. I learned that sheep do not have top teeth, but a hard palate which they grind against with their bottom teeth.

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Primroses are getting to be a yearly thing with me. Long before I’m even ready for winter to end, they appear in the grocery store and their bright colors cry out, “Buy me! Buy me!” I spend a long time picking out just the right two or three plants to bring home.

I took my father to the emergency room the other night and we were there for seven hours. Thank goodness for sketching! It is the silver lining in every cloud. I enjoyed drawing the machine in front of the table because I had no idea what it was. I normally like to find out about how things work, but I found myself thinking of this machine as something odd, even absurd; I preferred not knowing but just letting it become a central part of the composition. The blankets, too, held my attention and I ended up making them too big, so they look thicker than they actually were.