Finally, a decent shot of this Northern Flicker! Three days later, I finally figure out that he’s living in the hole of a tree right behind our house. No wonder we’ve been hearing so much of him lately!
Northern Flicker
April
22
2006
This is a Northern Flicker – he’s been making quite the ruckus around our trees lately.
I really paid attention to him the other day while I was out washing my car. I heard this monkey like call in the trees and stopped to try to find the source. I couldn’t, obviously he blends in pretty well with the tree bark and they stay pretty well hidden. I heard him again later and he was loud. I caught a glimpse of him on the tree in my neighbors yard, and then tried to identify him by his chirping and what little I saw of him before he flew off.
He’s got a mate, they call back and forth to one another. This morning he was really loud again so I knew he was nearby, and I snuck outside barefoot in my pajamas and got a couple of pics before he saw me. I applied a couple of filters to make him stand out a bit more. He’s a big bird – I’d say he’s about 12 inches.
Great Blue Heron – WIP #1
April
21
2006
This canvas is 18″ x 36″. Mmhmm. That means this Great Blue Heron will be just shy of life sized at around 30″ tall. This will be an amazing piece indeed – thanks Laura!
A Little Cocky
April
21
2006
Another perfect capture, in my opinion. We saw this Peacock strutting his stuff from a distance and hurried to be sure to catch him in the act. What is it about their plumage that is so hypnotic? I’m getting very, very sleepy.
How To Leave Blogger
April
20
2006
Finally, the long awaited (and long overdue, sorry ’bout that) instruction manual has arrived! For those of you “stuck with blogger”, “sick of blogger”, and who “want a real blog”, this is all the information you need rolled up into one tidy little post. If I forget anything, I’ll update it. If you know something I don’t know, tell me, and I’ll update that, too.
Keep reading »
Thursday Thirteen #29
April
19
2006
My other Thirteens
2. The next post I publish will be how to get off of blogger. Pinki Swear. I started walking Shelli through it last weekend, so I’m going to write it down while it’s all fresh in my mind.
3. While you’re reading this, I am in my studio sketching my new painting. It’s 18″ x 36″, and I’ll post the sketch when I’ve completed it. Here’s one clue: Vitamin Sea. That’s all I’m giving you.
4. I will also begin working on the other series, since I finally got over to the store to pick up the backdrop for those paintings. That’s the one where a whole bunch of you told me your favorite bite sized edible nummy. If you didn’t make a suggestion, please feel free! I’ve got a list going!
5. The first color I normally put on my palette is raw umber. It’s also probably the color I use the least. Strange.
6. There are some new brushes that I really want, they’re Aqualon Wisps. Well. Now that I’m looking at them, I don’t like them as much. Hm. Nevermind then. 😛 Does that ever happen to you? Please tell me it does.
7. I think I am finally going to end the week on the other side of this weight loss stand still I’ve been on for over a month. I never was good with a yo-yo, especially when it’s wrapped around my hips, if you know what I’m sayin’. I’ll be one helluva happy camper if I get through this plateau – I haven’t even blogged at my weight loss blog (Pounds2Go). My head is hanging in the hall of shame. Crossing my fingers that things will perk up by Friday and I can be inspired, and inspire others again.
8. I did, however, pull my pants down the other day. :shocked: Capri jeans, that is. Still zipped and buttoned, I didn’t even have to wriggle. That was cool!
9. Our girls and I went to a park the other day with my neighbor friend and her kids, and boy did I get a workout. We played a bit of tag, and I was “it”, a lot. By the end of it all, her 10 year old said parents shouldn’t be able to run that fast, and shortly after that I knocked the top of my head into a beam. No more runnin’ for me! Doh.
That (still) hurt(s).
10. Right now I have more great photographs that I want to blog than I have days to blog them. I try to put up a photo a day, but I may have to double up before some of them get lost or forgotten.
11. I have to share my feet, including my creepy naked toenail photograph. If you’re easily queasy, now would be a good time to cover your eyes. Please keep in mind that until now, I could count the people who have seen my naked toenails on one hand. It’s a rare thing, almost more rare (rarer?) than a blue moon. Okay an eclipse. Something rare. Just pick something rare.
We love stories with happy endings, especially when it involves toe rings and new flip flops. (MommaK, I did you proud, my friend, didn’t I? :sniffles: You needed that. I know it.)
12. I love my new flip flops. They’re pink. They’re soft and leathery and ooooh my new favorites. And I’m so happy the weather is nice enough for them! Yayyy for flips flops and pretty toes! What color are your flip flops, and more importantly, what color are your toenails? Just curious.
13. Here’s a challenge for you Thirteeners out there. Get a post-it and a pencil, or print the list of this weeks’ participants from ThursdayThirteen.com. Over the next 4 days, make a mark every time you visit and leave a thoughtful comment with someone listed in this week’s TT edition (comments will close at 7AM CST on Saturday morning, so any time after that is good for printing the list). Stop back here on Monday and let me know how many you visited, and the top 2 will be next weeks featured blogs at the hub. Sound cool?
Happy Thursday! Thanks for stopping by!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Translation, Please?
April
19
2006
This website, Chinadaily , has a section that has displayed a couple of my photographs lately (here, and here). I’m guessing it’s a community section of some kind? I don’t know. I’ve followed the referral links back to them and sadly, someone manipulated one of my photographs and cropped out my copyright. That’s against my Terms of Use, folks. That image should be replaced with an unaltered version – and those of you here from China that speak English – please handle that for me, as no one from Chinadaily is replying to my e-mails. Yet. *Updated to add* They do link back, yes – and I appreciate that and am very flattered by the interest in my work! There’s just the one little croppy issue, still, that needs to be addressed.
Anyhoo. Back on topic.
This page here, this is new. And I translated it (babel fish), but I still don’t get it. Help?
??beautiful ?life
[ 2006-04-19 15:04 ]
?Dan ?: “In life America is to ?the existence, ?to I ?eye, lacks America, but is lacks ??.”
Http://www.intricateart.com/blog/,also ?, life originally very ordinary, the life very is originally light, but if ?has one ?is good at ??the eye, ?has ??myriad things curious hearts, in the body ?ordinary world also ?has ?the unclear enchanting beautiful scene. The website author is the ??family, she ?feels in the life with ??family’s unique judgement ?you each kind of each ?America… … (Peng is abundant)
I think I’m flattered, but I’m not sure?
In other news, I had another vivid dream lastnight.
Just Dreamy
April
18
2006
The reason I got it done? I had a doozie of a dream lastnight and wanted to write it out first thing this morning. Of course once I had an entry, I had to have a design, right? So, yes, by the way, that’s me in that header. I took a self-portrait this morning especially for my new blog.
