Watermelon and Sweet Iced Tea…

This past weekend we traveled home to North Carolina. I love going in the summer for many reasons but among them are the fresh garden vegetables and fruit. We visited a produce garden selling in-season fruits and vegetables.

After shopping in boutiques and eating lunch in town and driving past my childhood home, we ended our day out. The rest of the evening was spent with family…and supper included chilled watermelon and sweet iced tea. (Since it had topped 99° F on Saturday, nothing was better!).  A quick wind and thunderstorm ended the fishing in the pond. But, all in all it was a great day.

This produce is ripe much earlier than where we live in the mountains. Not only did the farm we visit have patty-pan squash, zucchini, green beans,  early cling peaches, they still had strawberries we could pick! Mom added the homemade blackberry jam (with seeds!). Yum!

On the way home we stopped at the Seagroves pottery community. First stop was at the  Phil Morgan’s Pottery. Phil is well-known for his crystalline glaze process.

I bought a new coffee mug…and we enjoyed talking with the artist in his gallery. One day I would like to own one of his crystalline glazed pots…the yellow ones are so unusual in color and very delicate looking. They remind me of Japanese design.

Viewing the artistic creations of potters always inspires me. To learn of their stories, methods, and to get to visit their studios and galleries provides an artistic perspective from a medium different from my own. It gives me new ideas on color and the design process.

And, on an extremely hot and humid summer’s day…                                                                                                                                there is nothing like watermelon and sweet iced tea!

Iced Tea Image Credit: Via Wikipedia                                                                                             Additional Links:                                                                                                                                 *NC Pottery Center (www.ncpotterycenter.com)

*Phil Morgan Pottery(www.philmorganpottery.org)

*Discover Seagroves (Seagrove Area Potter’s Association)