Out and About Once Again

New Family Members

This magnificent chickadee was created by Sue Talbot, who carves all sorts of birds out of wood. When I saw her work I had to get one of her creations.

Sue informed me that the bird was carved from tupelo wood and painted with many layers of thin acrylic washes. The legs and toes are brass rods that have been shaped, soldered, and covered with epoxy putty. The base and cone were carved from one piece of cedar.

The chickadee was shipped down to Portland from Camden, Maine, in a well-packed cardboard container. He seems to have acclimated very well to his new home, and I've told Sue that she has "visitation rights." It's also very special, since the chickadee is Maine's state bird.

Toni Wolf, a wonderful artist, sent me this little paper frog that she made. Toni knows I have a long-standing relationship with frogs and she thought that sending this little fellow my way might make spring seem a bit closer.

It's a welcome addition to my eclectic collection of artwork. Thank you, Toni!

March "art of the month club"

My envelope for March arrived from the art of the month club. As you can see, for this month's activity I was asked to draw something that I love on the other side of this prestamped, self-addressed postcard. I didn't exactly follow the instructions to the letter.

I cut out my skunk from one of my prints, and pasted it on to the card. Then I did do some drawing of grass and I signed my name to it. I hope those folks won't be too upset with my interpretation of the rules.

Snow and Hydrants

This is a creative way to draw attention to a lost glove. For those of you who don't live in snowy climes, the reason that metal rod is attached to the fire hydrant is so firefighters will know where those very important pieces of equipment are if they happen to get buried under the snow.

During the winter, you'll see firefighters driving around to make certain that all of the hydrants are exposed and available for use, if need be.

Huh? What Is It?

I got quite excited when I saw this "thing" lying on the bricks. I had no idea what it might be. It's a little dog toy that squeaks when pressed. I pressed it and it squeaked, so I'm able to report that with authority. Some poor pooch is without its little leopard toy.

Bacon Lovers' Delight

My agent Kevin, who handles my artwork at the eBay store, sent me this photo. I thought that he'd done something new and different with a package of bacon and wanted to share it with me.

I'd never seen a bacon pot holder before—nor had I ever hoped to see one. It's very similar to that purple-cow syndrome from our childhoods. But that was not the case at all. This isn't something Kevin made. He'd found the photo on the Internet while searching for something. You know how that goes, don't you?

I wouldn't be surprised if he does make one of these at some point. I've had bacon at his house and he does wonders with it, so I hope I get invited if he ever decides to make one of these.

Oops! Spring Snow

I'm so anxious to see "my" skunk again that when I saw these footprints in the snow, I thought that's who made them. I was quite disappointed after sending them to a friend, when she sent back a drawing of skunk footprints and told me these were made by a cat. A cat! Of course I should have known. That's what wishful thinking can do, it can turn one into a fool.

This is what my garden looked like on March 29! We had more snow, a spring snowstorm. Well, at least it helped us break the 100-inch mark. That's special.

Comments

[Dottie]

I keep checking the Art Of The Month blog in hopes of seeing a picture of your skunk postcard, but there has yet to be an update for March... very mysterious!