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Posts Tagged ‘Bucks County PA’

It has been so hot here that the prospect of Plein Air painting is somewhat repulsive. Perhaps a drawing done on the spot with color notes and lots of photo reference is the way to go.  Right now I’m setting up at the drawing board next to the computers. The Weather Alert radio upstairs just turned itself on automat­i­cally with some warning or advisory. It was in a cabinet in the dining room staying quiet. I’d just taken it back out again. I know now that we have another day of excessive heat expected here on Saturday. Oh joy.

I’m surrounding myself with these OTT Light bulbs. They give you brilliant illumi­nation but they are CFLs and will save a lot over a period of time and they are daylight balanced. You can find a nice display of OTT lighting at any JoAnn Fabric Store and I’ve even seen them at Michaels Arts and Crafts. They are also available here online and have a nice variety of shapes and forms that they come in to suit people’s different needs.

Color-wise they are much more effective than the old Luxo Lamps that I was used to working with. They relied on a round fluorescent tube and in the center was a spot for the incan­descent bulb. While this gave you more balanced lighting than fluorescent or incan­descent bulbs alone… it still did not come close to daylight. These OTT bulbs seem to make a big difference. You ought to check them out. These bulbs do reduce eyestrain quite a bit.  I’ve got to get on into painting here now.  so … I’ll keep writing  …more later

I hope that all you Mothers had a wonderful day

Sue and I went looking for some more raw materials for her new creative outlet on Mother’s Day afternoon. Sue is getting involved with making jewelry and has had a couple of very successful pieces as she learns the ins and outs of putting gems, beads and metals together. They are really looking nice. Got some nice images of a couple of them on Saturday morning and I’ll put a couple of small shots below. I’ll put up a gallery of images soon. Turquoise photographs extremely well and the lighting looks good.

We stopped in at Tanners and a friendly herd of Dairy Cows came by to look at the funny looking people on the other side of the fence. These are big soulful animals and I can see that they are pausing and having their thoughts about all of it as we stand there. I’d last visited with a herd of Black Angus Cattle that were on the other side of the fence.

I have hundreds of new reference shots (thanks to John at DigiTech) of the Black and White “Gateway” Cows and hope to do some drawings of them soon. Looks like it will rain tomorrow afternoon.

I hope that everyone has a warm, happy, and wonderful Christmas. If you live in the Northeast like me, we actually have a White Christmas. Most unusual according to the statistics. I’m very typical of my standard behavior again this year… a bit nostalgic and melan­choly missing my folks and my brother. I have the blessing of my wife Sue’s compan­ionship and my stepdaughters who are always “enter­taining”.

Had a couple unexpected bumps in the road recently and I’m glad that I’m here. I don’t take it for granted. I feel a need for a few days of quiet that I’m unlikely to see — but I think perhaps that isn’t a physical quiet but instead a quiet that you carry with you inside. The animals feel a peace now. Maybe it’s the snow. Things are a bit more muffled than usual. That is okay. I’ve listened to the Christmas Carols on the radio and I’m in the mood. I’ve been drawing and designing a whole lot of stuff lately and right now I’m working on a series of portraits. I’ll be done with them soon. I really don’t want to run out of projects. But if I did — I’d update this blog with lots of new things.

I hope that everyone here in Bucks County takes a piece of their Christmas break to go to the Visitors Center to see Daniel Troy’s exhibit of Railroad Photography entitled “ON TRACK”. It runs until January 9, 2010. Go to the Visitor’s Center website for additional info and direc­tions and also see lots of Dan Troy’s work at his website. It’s a good show. Image below ©2009 — 2010 Daniel Troy.

The best produce that we can purchase here in Bucks County Pennsylvania comes from the Tanner Brothers Farm in Ivyland. Better equipped for your shopping needs than any super­market that I can think of — Tanners stock is extensive and less expensive than regular super­market shopping. From Chiquita Bananas to Fresh Baked Pies — they’ve got it. If you need paper towels, Windex or Drano… go to the regular market. If you want to make an amazing Apple Pie — go to Tanners. Not only will you find six or seven varieties of Apples  — you can also cross reference them with some helpful charts hung on the wall nearby. Fruit and vegetables are always fresh and a good value.

And after all they are a dairy farm — They sell their own Chocolate Milk which is the best you’ll find anywhere. Smooth and creamy in consis­tency — it is somewhere between milk and ice cream. (awesome). In the freezer case they have their own Angus Beef that is just wonderful. Very good stuff.  We’ve never been disap­pointed with anything that we’ve brought home from Tanners. When we were there last we packed up the van with our groceries and then drove behind the store by the fence. The cattle were fairly friendly and I think that they were enjoying looking at people as much as the people enjoyed looking at them. I was lucky enough to have my camera with me and took the shots that you’ll see in the gallery here.

As you look at these images, you’ll have to remember that they were photographed as an illustrator’s reference shot. Composition is usually off and in the case of these blackish-brown cattle — I was spot metering so as to see detail beyond a silhouette in the form of the animal.  So the grass might be all blown out — Hey — just look at the Steer though… I found some reviews of Tanners right here.

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Tanner Brothers Farm
Ivyland, Bucks County, PA 18974
215–357-1716

Market Hours:
Mon-Fri: 8:30 am — 7:00 pm
Sat-Sun: 8:30 am — 7:00 pm
Fall Hours are in Effect

Tanner Brothers is located on the corner of Almshouse and Hatboro Roads in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They are a family owned and operated farm market serving farm fresh produce and dairy products. Check them out the next time you need to make a trip to the store for produce, I’m sure you have a new favorite farm market and feel as though you are a part of the family.

Specialties

• Homemade Ice Cream
• Fresh Made Milk
• Fresh Fruit and Produce
• Fresh Baked Pies
• Farm Raised Angus Meat
• Wide Variety of Dairy Products

History
The Tanner Family has been in the dairy business since as early as 1890, when Rudolph Tanner would drive his milk delivery route on horse and buggy. Over a hundred years and many gener­a­tions later, their market has become a staple in the lives of many Bucks County residents. They continue the legacy and the tradition of providing the best dairy and produce to everyone they serve.

Aerial View of the Tanner Brothers Farm from Google

A cold and rainy week here in the Northeast. Over the past few days,  a couple nor’Easters came through with snow as close as the western edges of Bucks County. There was a serious frost this morning and it sure seems as if winter may just be creeping it’s way in here.  I guess it is just about that time of year. It sure is nice to have the Philadelphia Phillies in the Championship again. Remains to be seen if they’ll be in the World Series again or not… Hope so. We had an early snow during the Series last year and the power was out for nine hours or there­abouts during the rain — snow out. The trees couldn’t take the snow with their leaves still on. The Bradford Pear trees suffered lots of damage.

Been working on a bunch of design projects with Victoria lately and haven’t been around to blog much. Well actually I have but the time spent at the computer was for other people. Met a nice printer up in Lansdale, PA named Dave this past Friday afternoon. He gave me a tour of his facility and Vic and I did some estimating work. I didn’t get home till about 8:00 PM Friday night. That gave Sue a chance to rest before I got home. We went out and got Mums last weekend and on Sunday we went to Tanners Farm Store and shopped. I had a nice oppor­tunity to photo­graph their herd of steers.

So — I’ve got a lot of new photos of Fall scenes with Pumpkins, gourds and flowers at the Farm and Garden Station and the Cattle at Tanners to put up in galleries. Sue had some fun looking at a large beast eye to eye as he snorted. He had an inter­esting presence.  I’ll be back soon with more stuff. On October 22^nd I snuck in here and resized President Lincoln.