"July Morning -- Lilypond" -- plein air oil study on stretched canvas -- 9x12"

A fantastic morning in Michigan: low humidity, clear skies and about 65 degrees! Seems like it's either been a steambox (temperature and humidity both in the 90's) with rain, or a steambox without rain. Don't get me wrong -- I actually like humidity, but only in cool weather. Humidity's great -- makes my hair fluffy and my skin feel great. You can just keep the dang heat!

Some of my friends and I found this little pond yesterday morning, just as the sun was raking across the lilypads. Notice the oranges and reds of the young trees on the island? It's only mid-July, but the trees were showing some color change. I think they were maple trees. Maybe new growth shows that color? I don't know why they were shades of red this early.

There is some infestation of purple loosestrife on the small island. That's a pesky invader to this region, threatening to crowd out all native water plants. Yes, it's pretty, but it's the kiss of death to our native water species. I'm not sure how much is being done here in Michigan to eradicate it.

One of the women who lives on this lake said that it's not a deep lake, only about 10 - 15 feet at its deepest point. She said a couple winters ago it got so cold that the lake froze deeper than usual, resulting in most of the larger fish dying. Mostly there are small fish, she says. Thank goodness nobody had those infernal jet skis! It was very nice to stand there painting in the cool, morning light, hearing nothing but an occasional frog splashing around in the water.