In early June, I needed to paint three good paintings for a July show with my PaintNC group. I decided to spend a day painting en plein air at Raven Rock State Park. The morning was beautiful with lots of clouds passing quickly, a steady breeze, and moderate temperatures. I hiked to Fishtraps first. The river was high, so I found a little rocky ledge along the bank and sat down to paint for a few hours. The mayflies were swarming, but since they don't bite, I was happy to share the space with them.

After a few hours, the clouds began to build, so I hiked on to the base of Raven Rock to start a second painting. Years prior, I remembered sharing a picnic with my son on a large flat rock that jutted into the river. I thought maybe it would have a good vantage point for painting, but since the bank was steeper and the foilage dense, I couldn't find it at first. When I finally spotted it, I was surprised that it was already occupied by two large snakes. Avoiding poison ivy vines, I crawled as close as I could to get a good view, took photos and sketched the couple. Later I was able to identify them as Northern Water Snakes, a nonpoisonous species.

I spent the rest of the afternoon painting the dynamic rock outcropping where ravens used to roost, earning the name "Raven Rock" as a landmark along the Cape Fear River. Midafternoon a rumbling of thunder and increased wind were accompanied by a little rain, but I only received a gentle misting under the tree canopy.

At the end of the day, I headed home with two satisfactory paintings and had avoided the few flora, fauna, and weather hazards sometimes encountered en plein air.