Qwik-Pix

In all due haste... monday, wednesday & friday... forgotten illustrations appear!

The Owls are Back...

The owls have returned!  It seems like it must be the same pair of juveniles that was around the Arboretum last August.  Only now they're a bit bigger and shaggier looking. (It's also scary to think that August is almost here when it seems that winter just barely finished!)

It's reassuring to know such wild things have survived and returned. Despite all the hard times that poor Mother Nature has dished out lately, somehow it all still goes on according to some mysterious plan.

Qwik-Pix

With reckless abandon... monday, wednesday & friday... illustrations from the pages of the past reappear!

Summertime... and the livin' is easy

Here's a few humble snaps from moi.
I liked how the composition of this landscape came out... the pathway & the curve of the clouds. Maybe I'll work up the gumption to paint it sometime. (as a starving artist ought to do)


Now here we're not starving at all. It's strawberry time again!
I've put up three half flats... or about 18 baskets worth in the freezer. They're only $1 a basket if you buy two half flats. And they're the best berries of the year... just like sugar.  I discovered that nothing else improves the flavor of non-sugared oatmeal quite like strawberries.


And my new favorite flower... peonies. It's decidedly sensual.  It's got the most amazing scent... tones reminiscent of ink from a ballpoint pen.

It's very nice.

I'll be going to the beach soon... maybe I'll find a few good snapshots there.

Qwik-Pix

Despite rumors to the contrary... monday, wednesday & friday... lesser known treasures of the past appear!

Qwik-Pix

As the world turns... monday, wednesday & friday... an assortment of illustrations will begin to appear. Just a little experiment in blogging.

Antique Roses

This year's roses are just perfect. They're climbing roses that bloom in abundance. Not at all garish like so many tea roses...

I think roses come out different every year. Some years they do better than others... but since this year has been so cool they came out just right.

Speaking of gardening, I'm re-reading 'Merry Hall' by Beverly Nichols. I started reading it almost by mistake and just can't stop. I wished he'd have written about 114 books so I'd never have to stop reading them. I'd just have Gaskin order the martinis, set out some Chopin and wait to see what Miss Emily & Oldfield have gotten up to.

That rarest of happenings...

That rarest of happenings... a sunny day!  

Can you believe it? 

Such things are known to happen.

Best make hay while the sun shines... so we're off to the local lighthouse.

Last time I was here, there were seals frolicking in the water... but not today.

Just some nifty boats out in the sound... with a scenic snowy backdrop.

It's supposed to cloud up again soon, so it was good to race out in the nick of time. 

This is one of the signs of being a true NorthWesterner...  that is to say a person who panics when the sun come out, knowing full well how brief an event it might be. 

Coldest June since 1894....

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
530 AM PDT SUN JUN 8 2008

...RECORD COLD FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE...

RECORD COLD AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURES FOR THE FIRST WEEK IN JUNE WERE SET IN SEATTLE...OLYMPIA AND BELLINGHAM THIS YEAR.

IN ADDITION...SEATTLE TIED THE RECORD FOR THE COLDEST AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE. THE RECORDS FROM SEATTLE INCLUDE THE FEDERAL BUILDING RECORDS WHICH GO BACK TO 1891.

*note: This is an actual weather report... not fiction. Coldest first week of June since 1894. The photo, however is almost entirely made up.

But not to worry... summer is nearly here. Just a few weeks from the longest day of the year.

Here's a snapshot of me starting in on my summer garden. After all it's nearly time to start thinking about those veggies... maybe some carrots and corn and tomatoes!

These large fish are handy for enriching the soil with nutrients... it's an old native american trick. They taught the pilgrims to always put a fish in with each new corn plant.

:0)

Some recent endeavors...

Well it's raining again, and here I am again typing away to nearly no one... that's what bloggers do I suppose.

My goodness, but I have been busy! Maybe it's the continuing winter weather (in June!) that has me so busy. Or maybe it's the extra energy from that new weight loss program. Just about 5 pounds from from my college weight now. Fruit & Fear... that's what makes for weight loss... along with sensible eating.

I've been busy finishing up the interior art to my new book... which is good to have mostly done! Whew... I thought it might take forever. But now I've burned a half dozen DVD's as backup... so even if someone steals my computer, it will still be intact. Replacing the PowerMac would be easy by comparison.



And I've been churning out new book ideas... with a few nibbles here and there. I'm also nearly ready to send off a mail shot to publishers... that's always something that needs doing.

And I'm thinking of redoing my blog, to include it into my website... so it's just part of the whole schtick. I notice lots of artists doing that now. That'd probably just be an art blog... so I'd most likely keep posting pictures of birds & ponds anyhow.

My jogging is progressing very well... getting up to about a mile. Well that's good for me! The irrepressible sense of well being is addictive.

I've been reading some wonderful books. I like obscure books that no one else ever reads. Lately I've been into Victorian gardening... Dinosaurs out west... Histories of Colorado... and Beverly Nichols.

Here's some artwork from my recent endeavors...

:0)

p.s. The weather continues an unbelievable winterlike chill... constant rain for days on end. The furnace is running, winter coats & hats are a must. No springlike breaks at all... just endless grey & rain. They're even writing headlines in the newspaper about this weather! And autumn begins in just 6 weeks!