Dori DeCamillis

My daughter, Annabelle illustrated this newly-released book by James McClintock. She did pen-and-ink drawings of fish for the chapter headings. The book is available for pre-sale on Amazon , and she will have book signings this week. They are invite-only or I would gladly put the word out. Hopefully soon I'll post a few images of her drawings.

This post is an update of the past weeks. At home and work I've been busy, so here's a short photo recap of my goings on. My mom will appreciate it. The photo from above was taken on a silent retreat at Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman, Alabama. I had our invasive forest ripped out and laid a whole lot of sod. After 10 years of fighting nasty vines and bushes, we are happy to see our large property. I donated a painting to the Alabama Folk School at Camp McDowell. Lovely Maggie Johnston (of Camp McDowell) and Janice Barrett (of Wild South) modeled with me. It's always nice to hang out with other tall girls. Scott and I spent a lazy day on Clear Creek in the Bankhead Forest at Camp McDowell picnicking with friends and fishing I got a new guitar and this is the case. The guitar is even prettier. We hosted Halcyon, the solo show for Mary Compton at Red Dot Gallery. Mary's family came from Baltimore...

Here are my newest paintings. They are small (4"x9") and are a light version of my more introspective paintings. Which is a little break for me. I call them my Party Animals. Available at Red Dot Gallery.

Scott and I just returned from a long weekend in Asheville, North Carolina, where we hung out with my sister, Dana She was there attending a workshop. I did my usual hiking, while Scott fished in the area. The shot above was from the Blue Ridge Parkway which runs through Asheville. This was taken in the morning before a hike in Craggy Gardens. A view from the Parkway while driving. From a hike to the top of Mt. Pisgah. Lots of lichen and fungus everywhere. Why they call it Craggy Gardens. Scott's tiny moose friend who rode with us. View from the top of Mt. Pisgah, a steep, rocky hike with a great reward at the end. Blotchy leaf patterns on Mt. Pisgah hike.

I'm finally posting our fishing and hiking vacation picks from the weekend of September 7th and 8th. Above is Bald River Falls, near where we camped on the Tellico River in Tennesee's Cherokee National Forest.  A view from the Cherohala Skyway, a 40 mile highway leading over the mountains from Tellico Plains, TN to Robbinsville, NC. The views are spectacular, and motorcycle enthusiasts love the many curves. Scott fished all day, every day on the Tellico River. I hiked all day, every day in the woods. I took a million photos of tree trunks. I have started a tree trunk blog. More info later. My favorite woods I've ever hiked in is the Joyce Kilmer Wilderness. It's never been logged and has 400 year old trees. It's like a fairytale forest.  Another view from the Skyway. I took a 3 mile hike around Indian Boundary Lake. Our motel (nicknamed The Deliverance Hotel) sat right along the Tellico River....