Groundhog Day

I was at Jugtown yesterday to see the final loading of the groundhog kiln. Firing it up for their Open House/Kiln Opening this coming weekend.  They save their best pots from the years firings for this event. If in striking distance be there or be square. The sun was shining and their was some cold wind but according to my sundial the groundhog didn't see his shadow. Should be spring.  Travis and Pam Owens were firing the groundhog over night and will have it blasting off before I even reach NY. Here I sit in Raleigh airport with flight delays to La Guardia and then Buffalo. If I do actually make it home today it will be close to midnight. It is a 12-13 hour drive so since I woke at 5:30 I would be home in time for supper and a welcome to Jack the Bear. Flying in the winter can be such a drag.
A special thanks to Jennie Lorette Keatts for her friendship and

Groundhog entrance- not for geriatrics

Load the kiln laying outstretched on cardboard

Firebrick blocks for bag wall

Being from Wiarton I'm more inclined to believe Wiarton Willie's prediction

hospitality. Thanks for taking me around to learn more about the NC potters. Going home with lots to digest. Saw so many great potters, techniques, kilns, approaches to marketing and of course enjoyed the southern hospitality of the Seagrove area. Truly a place of comfort for this potter.
Annie Dillard, “You need a room with no view so memory can meet imagination in the dark.” Leaving your intense experience and exciting environment behind, your work must now come out of you. Too many lambs spoil the haggis.
I'm heading home to my basement studio. I am going to listen to some Canadian radio, make some pots and see if I can squeak out one more firing before Christmas. Might be a later than usual Christas Open House for friends to drop by to say farewell before I head back to Seagrove for my winter residency at Starworks. My favourite southern studio.