A new year...

Collage #1, 1/1/2012

 It snowed...we rec'd a January's worth of snowfall in the last couple of days after balmy 40's flirting with 50's just a couple of days ago...Although I've been known to complain, I don't mind the snow, I don't mind the cold, it's supposed to be that way when it isn't, it feels wrong...a small flock of red wing black birds have been visiting my bird feeder today, poor little birds were feeling secure that it was okay to stick around the brown fields and marshes...the ground isn't frozen so there's been plenty to eat...oops...dang...so I stepped out and put extra in the feeder to feed the extra visitors...

Collage #2, 1/1/2012

Two Thursday's in a row, there has been a flock of crows outside of my office at work early in the morning...they are very noisy!

Taking Flight and Perching, 1/5/2012

Been laying low, not feeling 100%, the usual FMS stuff, back issues, and a digestive system that has not been happy with the rich holiday food, but I'm getting better, treating myself well...

Perching, 1/12/2012

I'm currently reading Owls Do Cry by Janet Frame...her writing is always so stunning, some passages are dense and gorgeous, while some are simply frank, to the point...my favorite part is the beginning of Chapter 4, page 19:

Their town, called Waimaru, was small as the world and halfway between the South Pole and the equator, that is forty-five degrees exactly. There was a stone monument just north of the town, to mark the spot, in gold lettering.

- Traveller, the writing said, Stop here. You are now standing halfway between the South Pole and the equator. 

What did if feel like to be standing at forty-five degrees?
It felt no different.

Of course it doesn't feel different...it's just one of those things. It tickled my funny bone...I know such things have disappointed me in the same way...


Speaking of books...
Here's a recent review of Dusty Waters, even though it isn't the best, thought I'd share it anyway:

(2 stars) This book started out so well that I was captivated. I read it in 2 days. But about 2/3 of the way thru the book it fell apart for me.
The story is about a woman retelling her life story to a friend, who is writing her biography.
The young Dusty is so interesting and well created that I really liked her character. She sees ghosts throughout her life and she tells some of their stories, her interactions with them, and her own feelings about seeing them.
But the grown up Dusty is a woman I did not like at all. The author seemed to use this character as a political platform and the language used when writing for the adult was just unnecessary.
I could give this book 2 and 1/2 stars, but not 3...


No big deal. I appreciate the reader's thoughts...everyone comes to a book with their own set of tools from personal experience. To be honest, Dusty's adult life wasn't my favorite part to write, believe me, I know she made me cringe when I wrote her, what she went through is a complete departure from my life...her life did fall apart...there's something secure about childhood that is lost once we hit puberty and grow up, how we turn out comes down to choices and Dusty made many bad decisions...if I could, I'd ask the reader, "Do you think Dusty was happy with her adult self?" I don't think too many of us are completely satisfied with how we turn out when we grow up...Dusty had to start over, she grew, she "reformed", she went home again...just like Aunt Mabel and just like her mother...

As for Dusty's politics...this seems to ruffle the feathers of the more conservative readers, which I knew when I wrote it (I'm still waiting for a good old fashioned book burning, that trumps the "wall of shame" any day of the week!) Oh well...she's a folksinger (Are there conservative folksingers?) Dusty was born at the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation, she grew up during the Vietnam era with a different perspective than her older siblings. This difficult period in American history affected her psyche, and her edgy point of view about the human condition places her as a distinguished bookend for her generation...during the early stages of writing this book, I particularly went for this left leaning mindset in reaction to 9/11, I was feeling a bit outraged by the right and left division of our country in the aftermath of the tragedy. For the record, I'm a social liberal who's conservative slip shows on fiscal matters...and I support the protection of the wild horses out west...How about that BLM? Gotta love how they piss away millions of taxpayer dollars rounding up a few hundred wild horses and burros to make room for the tens of thousands of privately owned cattle who do more damage to the range environment...I could go on, but I'll step off my soapbox...

Language, this has upset a few more sensitive readers...yes, Dusty has a potty mouth, she comes by it honestly...she's seen things to make her angry enough to drop an "F-bomb" before 9AM on any given day...words are words, some are more colorful than others...for the record, I've been known to have a potty mouth...and yes, I have dropped the "F-bomb" before 9AM, with good reason.

I think the funniest thing I ever heard about a reader doing to a book with "too many swears" and "naughty parts" (I think it was The Time Traveler's Wife) she used white out and then was able to read it...whatever works, I guess.

Can't win 'em all...I writez 'em as I seez 'em, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So my digital sketchbook is full again...overflowing...


I love studying shadows and shapes...the floor and stairway in the gallery caught my eye one early morning, some overhead lights had been left on...the mix of textures made this fun...











The kitties have been good...Crouching Tigger-Hidden Pooh sat semi-still long enough to catch his expression...he has developed little "worry wrinkles" on his brows...so cute! (He's 13 years old, will turn 14 in April.)




Popeye is looking good...he likes to pose for his portrait...






 That's it for now...thanks for stopping by...