Busy summer?!

     It seems that every summer comes before I am ready for it, along with the list of things I need to get done during the summer. But then, by the time summer comes around, after a long school year, I certainly am ready for some down time.
     So, I get busy with the honey-do projects, the carvings, the relaxing times, the vacation, the reflections I do to prepare for a new school year. Every year, at the end of the school year, I think over what took place in the year, decide what I want to change, and what I want to keep. 
     Then I get the house projects done, and start carving. This summer, I have not carved as much as I wanted to, but I did put some carvings in a shop in Idaho City, at a place called the Idaho City Trading Post. So far, only a bottlestopper has been sold. Not as successful as I had hoped to be, but maybe it will pick up. I put in an application to be a vendor at the Christmas Show at the Western Idaho Fairgrounds, on December 5, 6 and 7. Hopefully I will be more successful at that event.
     Here are a few things I have carved this past few weeks.

I carved these baseball player busts as practice pieces for a set of busts I want to do. They are fun to carve, with unlimited possibilities for commissions.

Here is another of my fat-bellied cowboys. Still working to get them perfect. 

     I carved this alpenhorn blower from some pictures I found. My wife and I were both stationed in Germany, and enjoyed traveling to several countries. We enjoyed a great evening of entertainment in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in southern Germany, in the Alps, listening to local singing and entertainment. This horn blower was similar to one we saw that night.

Soon enough it will be time to go back to school. Hopefully, I can get ready for the Western Idaho Fair (August 15-24) and then the Christmas Show in December.
     Thanks for looking!