Cafe du Cirque, Circus Wagons, Half Pint of Ice Cream and Rotting Mussels

It's Circus Week next week and that's why this wagon is here. Tim and I started this sultry day with a good breakfast at the Cafe du Cirque. Tim asked where we could paint and then he thought that he had seen these old circus wagons by the circus headquarters in Peru. The wagon master as I called him was in charge of getting these vintage wagons lined up for the premiere show tonight. An old friend saw us painting and stopped just after we had finished our art work on these two wagons. He took this picture. I had set up under a large sumac and Tim about five feet behind me. Just about five minutes into the painting the sun starts creeping through a branch here and there. The temperature started to climb when earlier it had been fairly nice out. Eventually, it climbed to 92 degrees by late afternoon. When  we finished these two

                                                                                                              pieces we decided on ice cream.

We couldn't decide where until to get it so  Isuggested we go to the store and each get a half pint since a scoop in town was about the same price. That sounded like a good idea to the both of us. We sat outside the store under an awning and ate our ice cream talkin' to all the locals like two old retired guys which we are. Life is great. After the ice cream break I suggested we go down the river on the southside and Tim said that's what he was thinking too. Well that was settled. He drove about a quarter mile before I said "there,  pull over there." I could see the river was low and a small bridge we had just passed over was over Little Pipe Creek that emptied into the Wabash.

After we set up the deer flies started chewing on us. Nevertheless, we are hard headed plein air painters and we ain't gonna let some damn flies run us off. We were able to get two pieces almost done before Tim wanted to call it quits for the day. I think it was the 'fish' smell from all the mussels rotting that live in the Wabash. Such good runoff from the fileds around there from the pig manure fertilizer. Mussels just eat that up.  Here's the two we did.Mine topside

That's the Little Pipe Creek bridge (Tim's pastel). He nailed it.

Two art works each, a half pint of ice cream (vanilla and Cherry Garcia) plus a possible nap waiting for each of us this afternoon. Tim dropped me off.  How about Monday?  No, I have a Dr's appointment and new glasses to be fitted that about blows the morning and part of the afternoon was my reply. Oh yeah, I have an appointment too. Wednesday I suggested. Wednesday, then! We figured by Wednesday we'd be rested up enough to go another round of ice cream and a sit on the bench outside the store. Oh yeah, we'll get a picture or two done in the process. After all we aren't called  'philandtimpaintoutdoors' for nothin'.