Hidden Pictures...or, stuff that makes me think of other stuff.

See, Grandmother Willow, warped in her shawl, has come out of her lodge made of sun bleached branches to stand on the creek bank.

Asparagus Tree.

A Personal Work of Art, by any other name, is a Collage.

So this is my first personal work of, uh, art.  I was really looking forward to this class and have to say, I am disappointed.

This is supposed to be my life journey, from past to present and where I want it to end up. It is to be my muse. 

I am trying to remain hopeful. A couple of the listings on the syllabus look interesting, such as making an altered book.Though having spent so much time in the world of animal husbandry, I wounder about that word altered. A some projects look dicey, like making a personal shrine.

Let me ease your mind, I know you are wondering, the community education center has a  no refund policy. Its a gamble to sign up for a class there. I have taken 5 classes there, 3 of which were excellent. 1 not and this one...I'll wait to make a final judgment.

At 52, I have come to understand I will learn something I can use from this class. I may be pleasantly surprised as the class goes along. I will try to keep an open mind.

Anyway, going to add a few more do dads to this, uh, piece, out of my vast junk supplies and hang it on the wall next to the reindeer and Christmas tree the kids made with felt tipped markers and sequins for me when they were 10 and 7, should fit right in.

No,I like their work better.

Itchy Trigger Finger...on the Camera

This happens every time. I love the baby rabbits, and take too many pictures. I always think, this litter is the cutest, the most advanced etc, etc , of any of our litters we have ever had!

Today the first brave bunny left the nest box. Brave Bunny was trying to figure out how to get back into the nest box, so I gave him/her a hand.

Right around this time in their development they need a lot of food and will begin trying to eat solid food. So I figured Brave Bunny was probably Hungry Bunny. He had seen mom out there and thought, hey....I think I need a snack. So I gave them a little bit of timothy hay.

The little sibling in the back was focused on grooming it's two siblings . The two in front got a hold of the same stalk of hay, one on each end, and chewed it down until there little noses touched. I took this picture just before the bunny on the left let go.

These guys are the cutest and smartes bunnies we have ever had....

I know. I know!

You had me at Junk Drawer.

I am starting a new class this evening. Mixed Media. The little blurb in the class catalog said "... each project will be a personal work of art...incorporating such things as junk drawer items,." .... Wait. What!?!?

Junk drawer items I have in spades. Most of this stuff I need. Those round white plastic things that come in pizza boxes,they look sort of like three legged tables, they work great for holding oasis in place for flower arrangements. The syringes are for bunny doctoring. I do have junk room items.

This would be my junk closet...the blurb says 6 projects...I think I have enough stuff to keep me going for six years. It kind of piles up you know? Ex Girl Scout leader (10 years), ex 4-H crafts, sewing and scrapbook leader (6 years)... ...Hummm.... Maybe I can do this kind of art and clean out the closet too, question is, where do I put that many "personal works of art"? New mantra...If it fits, it ships.

A Frosty Sunday Morning In Southern California.

Woke up to clear skies and 30 degrees here in southern California

Frost on the grass,

Hungry little birds in the feeder,

 and Hank glued to the window watching them.

Of course my Road Warrior, Lycra Man, had to go out on his 60 mile ride this a.m. That's ok, his rides keep him sane, like my walks in the park keep me sane. Oh, he prefers MAMIL pronounced, mammal, it stands for Middle aged Men in Lycra...but I like Lycra Man better, has more of a super hero ring to it. Anyone who can get on a bike in 100 degree - 30 degree weather and ride 60 miles, most of it up hill, is a super hero in my opinion, but I might be biased.

The baby bunnies are doing great! They are "popcorning." In rabbit raising lingo that means they are learning how to hop. They pretty much jump straight up in the air. Just little jumps because they are building muscle. They tried to eat some hay this morning.   

Hank tore himself away from the window long enough to have some kitty salad. He says the white tulip salad he had two weeks ago was better. Dude, that wasn't  salad , that was a flower arrangement!

Hank wants to know if there is anything I wont photograph in his life....yes kitty, your glitter box, as the girls called it when they were little, that is off limits.

He says, thanks.

Storm #2 on it's way

Cat Walk.

We had a big rain storm move through our area last night and are due for more rain off and on today. This morning was bright and sunny so I decided to go for my morning walk before the new storm arrived.

I must have a million shots of these guys, the Drakes...I love the sun on their green heads. I love this huge old Oak tree.

After a rain, I like to take the dirt trails through the park.  I get muddy, but some times I find the best animal tracks. Once I found the tracks a Red Shouldered Hawk left as she had swooped down on her prey. I saw her hunting in this area yesterday, so I thought maybe I could find her tracks again. But no...no Red Shouldered Hawk tracks. I did find,

Raven Tracks

Worm Tracks

And then a set of tracks that stopped me in MY tracks.

Bob Cat Tracks. Four toes, no claws, scalloped pad, hind foot print stepping on, or close to, the forefoot print.

I followed the tracks through the park about a quarter of a mile, until the cat must have decided to go back down into the creek bed. I was pretty excited! This is why I got rid of my treadmill. I need to be O-U-T-S-I-D-E it helps me keep a grip on what little sanity I have!