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Dear Friends:
What a wild weekend! Tropical Storm Ernesto was an unwelcome guest that disrupted everyone’s Labor Day Weekend plans. My daughter Patty, her friend Mary, and I were planning on sprucing up my little post office building that I use for storage with some new paint. Instead, we dealt with tidal flooding, hurricane-force wind gusts, and a four-day power outage!
Patty Moss standing hip-deep at her mother's dock on Horn Harbor during the tidal surge from Tropical Storm Ernesto.We didn’t have any serious damage, just a lot of debris to clean up, and we are very thankful. As many of you know, my home in Mathews, Virginia, is very close to the Chesapeake Bay. It’s situated on the banks of a creek known as Horn Harbor, which is a tidal tributary of the Bay. The creek is very shallow where it meets my back yard, but during Hurricane Isabel three years ago, the tidal surge went under my house and ruined my ductwork. Even though the water came up in my yard a good ways this time, it didn’t reach either my house or Patty’s so we’re counting our blessings. Others weren’t so lucky.
Water swamps the footbridge that runs between Pat's house and Patty's.In spite of the inconvenience and the mess, I found a wild, natural beauty in the storm. I was fascinated by the waves, the way the wind whipped them in different directions. The trees practically danced as they twisted and swayed, and the threatening clouds dramatized the power of Mother Nature.
I was relieved to see that “my” kingfisher survived Ernesto. I’ve written about the kingfisher in past newsletters. This week it returned to the now tranquil, once-again-shallow water of Horn Harbor that makes up between Patty’s and my houses. It likes to perch on the power line near the creek, where it can get a good view of any fish that may be swimming in the water below. Then it swoops down and grabs up its meal. Life is good again!
This weekend I’ll be in the twin cities of Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Iowa, for back-to-back shows with brothers Greg and Garland Angove, owners of the Heritage Art Galleries. I’ll be in Cedar Falls on Friday, September 8, and in Waterloo, on Saturday, September 9. I’m looking forward to returning to Iowa and spending more time with my “Iowan family.” We’ll be releasing two new print editions this weekend, Ice House Days and Campanile Memories-UNI.
Ice House Days (top) and Campanile Memories - UNI to be released during Pat's visit to the two Heritage Art Galleries in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Iowa, September 8th and 9th. For more information, call the galleries at Waterloo (319) 236-0000 and Cedar Falls (319) 266-4681.September marks the beginning of my busy fall show schedule, and I’m excited about seeing so many of you. Our Collectors’ Convention in Williamsburg, Virginia, is just a couple weeks away, and it’s shaping up to be so much fun. Remember to order your tickets!
I’ll sign off by sharing with you the reason why I consider my collectors to be part of my extended family. During a gallery show in Ohio twenty years ago, I had the privilege of holding a six-week-old baby boy. His mother and his aunt were so proud, and we had a wonderful time talking about babies.
Twenty years ago, Pat was introduced to Baby Garrett by, (left to right), his aunt Victoria Blanton and his mother Myra Reid.At our Dealers’ Meeting a few weeks ago, Jon Thames of Thames Fine Arts and Framing in Frederick, Maryland, gave me a letter and two pictures from that now twenty-year-old baby’s mother. She shared with me the wonderful news that her son Garrett will be getting married at the Dahlgren Chapel near Frederick, Maryland, this December. (I released a print edition featuring the Dahlgren Chapel a few years ago.) Garrett’s mother Myra also wrote something very precious to me in her letter: “I have enjoyed your beautiful art and collected many pieces through the years but your gifts of graciousness & kindness were the treasures sketched upon my heart.”
Twenty years later, Garrett Reid is engaged to Carolyn Dilley.Thank you for letting me be part of your lives!
Love,
Pat
The Moss
Portfolio
74 Poplar Grove Lane
Mathews, VA 23109
(800) 430-1320
©P. Buckley Moss 2005