Monday Morning Mists

The main event on Chincoteague is the annual Pony Swim, the third weds of July, from Assateague to Chincoteague, the parade of ponies down Main St to the fairgrounds to the Carnival Grounds,  and the Pony Auction the next day. But the Saturday before the Salt Water Cowboys round up the southern herds and Sunday the northern herds which need to be moved south on Monday. And that is my all time favorite part of the whole week! It requires rising before dawn, biking to the hidden beach and then walking north on the beach. As you are doing this, day is breaking and the sun rises out of the Atlantic. Meanwhile the Cowboys have had a pre-dawn start also, moving the northern herds south along the beach. The perfect moment is when you have walked as north as you are allowed and out of the far distant mists emerge the ponies and cowboys. This painting is of just one of those mornings: dramatic cloudscapes, salt spray hazing the horizons and then, the ponies.