schmolze studios

Yes folks, we are back after a rather extended hiatus. Back to blogging and back to school following an unexpected medical adventure. I’ve been woefully unproductive photography-wise, and I hope to remedy the situation in the year ahead, but in the meantime I do have a few snapshots from the summer.



This is about the only artful picture I’ve taken in the last few months. We used to walk up to this cabin all the time when I was a wee lad, but for a while now it’s been the exclusive domain of the sheep who have free range of hundreds of acres surrounding it.






I went to Block Island for a few days with Nori and Pa. It’s a small island (10 square miles) off the coast of Rhode Island, reachable via a 45-minute ferry ride. We left the car on the shore and brought along some bikes. I was in the middle of a doxycycline regimen (ask me about Ehrlichiosis!) and was feeling a bit trodden upon, but I still managed to have fun. The thing is, doxycycline can induce a photosensitivity reaction, and I wasn’t supposed to be out in the bright sunlight. More on this later.









The first night there was a killer double rainbow during dinner on our hotel porch. The very next evening the exact same rainbow appeared. Auspicious.












I’m not quite sure what the idea was here, but it was fun.












This was advertised as a “labyrinth”, and I was expecting the type of hedge-enclosed structure in which little kids get lost and start crying, but it was just a path on the ground that snaked its way to a central pile of rocks/alter. We spent about ten minutes walking in, and then just stepped over the path to get out.





















This is the public beach, with our hotel visible in the background. It was the only beach with any people on it — all the beaches that we biked to were pretty much deserted.






Alright, so remember what I said about doxycycline and photosensitivity? The last day was pretty sunny, and as we biked around the island my hands and feet started to feel a little weird and these red blotches started popping up. On the ferry ride back the blotches deepened and started to get pretty painful, then very painful. Basically, I was developing a bad sunburn, but mostly just on the sides (not tops) of my fingers and toes. Anyway, it was bad for a couple days but faded pretty quickly. Now I can tell patients about this side effect with the authority of personal experience.






I went to the Columbia County Fair with my Dad. It’s a genuine old-timey country fair, with a big 4-H presence, classic rides, and horribly disgusting food that will kill you if you eat it more than once a year.






Ricky Skaggs was there performing with his band, which was kinda surprising for such a small venue. A seriously talented group of musicians.






That’s all for now. Stay tuned for Seth’s Bar Mitzvah!