The last of Winter... a photo journey

Peeking out from one of my canvas carryalls is Dinah. Tiny Dinah as she is known here, doesn't get much respect. She's very small, difficult to photograph being a black cat - and she tends to be very busy except when she's hogging Freda's dog bed. Poor Freda is completely intimidated by this tiny dynamo - and will come and stare at me to do something about Dinah being in her bed.

Dinah was one of two kittens found on a highway dehydrated and near death from upper respiratory disease. She and her sister Winkle (the Blue Siamese) spent six weeks in quarantine. My vet said that even though they were tiny as eight week old kittens, in reality they were five or six months old. They finally got well and grew a little - but both maxed out at about five pounds. Five pounds of Dinah-mite!! Dinah is of course named after Alice's cat in Alice in Wonderland.
What do you do when you are iced in and out of birdseed? My poor birdies couldn't believe that the feeders were empty what with the freezing temps and the wind blowing snow. I felt so guilty that I rummaged about to come up with something to get them by. I had whole corn that I mix into the horses' feed and actual horse feed - which is pelleted grain and alfalfa along with cracked oats.

The bits were way too big for the small songbirds, so into the Oster for a grind. Then I added Kasha and barley and bread crumbs to the mix, and got out the Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter to slather onto the suet feeder and some pine cones that I wired to the old pear tree. What a feast!! This buffet drew cardinals, bluejays, doves, nuthatches, woodpeckers, chickadees, red-winged blackbirds, several different sparrows, phoebes, tufted titmice, juncos and of course, starlings. I'm pretty sure they like the Jif better than the generic stuff I usually give them!! (But then, so do I)

When I ventured outside with my camera, I found this imprint of wingtips and little bird feet and got this photo right before Elvis obliterated it in an attempt to ambush Madeline...
If you look closely for click for enlarging, you can see the imprint here ... and then...

Whump!

I think he's trying to lick the snow or just make a face at Maddy

And finally - Here's Claire. She may not look it, but I know she was thrilled to finally get some Pyrenees-suitable weather. These dogs begin to pant when it is over 50 degrees. That's why I have them shaved every spring.

Today it is nearing 70 degrees and it's my turn to be thrilled!!

Oh yeah, Spring is ... confused!

Things can really change in a few days. Just ask the daffodils... In twenty years, this is the most and the prettiest snowfall I've ever seen here in Northeast Georgia. The horses were running around sniffing the ground and tossing their heads - and Freda was (blush) afraid of the snow...

A blanket of snow for Easter Lilies. In this case, they are Valentine lilies!! Or President's lilies...?

I was working on the cabinet on the right at a client's home - making a couple of changes/additions when Brodie came over to sulk a bit. He's not the one pictured - he's the new dog; a rescue - and I think he wants to be painted! Cool dog - a Blue Weimeraner. I had a wonderful time painting for this animal and art loving couple. Just being in a home filled with original art gives me a huge lift! Everywhere you look, there is something to make you smile.

A funky bear they bought at a silent auction - coincidentally, I had done much of the painting! This was for a fundraiser and I'd no idea who had "won" it. Small world.

The kitties on one side of the canine cabinet, done in a folksy style.

A cool and spooky figure. Very enigmatic.

These were just a few of the interesting art items in this wonderful mountain lake home. Oh - and I'll be doing a portrait of Brodie in the near future.

Meanwhile, Happy Snow Day!

Introducing Freda...

As my last post was rather lengthy, and my fingers are stiff from pulling on fence wire, I thought I'd tell Freda's story. She's so uncomplicated that there's not much to tell. Just the facts (mostly).

Fact No 1. I couldn't say no.

For nearly I year I didn't have a dog at all. After the loss of my beautiful black Great Dane Chloe, it was a long time before I thought of another canine. I was cat food shopping at a Petsmart, and I stopped to look at the photos of pets for adoption. Just as I was turning away, a young woman with three small children walked up. She asked if I was looking for a puppy and she shoved a snapshot of five mostly black hound-dog looking pups at me. I politely said that I really didn't want another black dog as it would remind me of my Dane. The woman's face actually crumpled, and much to my horror she began to sob loudly and to wail "Oh God, what am I going to do? Nobody wants any and now I have seven dogs and they're getting really big and they're not very cute anymore and I've tried everything and what am I going to do and I don't have any place to keep them and we found the mom dog and she was starving and we rescued her and she was already pregnant and I can't bear to have them all put to sleep and what am I gonna do? Wa-aa-ah."

Fact No 2. No good deed... yadda, yadda, yadda.

Everyone in the store was looking at me... I said: well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look . She hic-cupped and smiled and apologized - and said she didn't live far and I followed her... I named my new nearly all black puppy "Freda" after Frida Kahlo - but I didn't learn how to spell it until later (obviously).

Freda's mom was a Yellow Lab. Freda's dad ?????. He must have been some sort of Pointer though, as she looks like a black German Shorthaired Pointer. And she points.

Fact No 3. Some dogs are completely useless. (heh)

Freda is naturally lazy. She doesn't bark unless the moon is full and the foxes or coyotes are yipping in the distance - oh, and once she barked all afternoon out in the pasture and when I finally went to investigate, she was dancing around a huge rattlesnake that had obviously just eaten something very large ( rabbit? neighbor's chicken?) Freda must have known it was the sort of thing one rarely sees in real life, and she didn't want me to miss out (eeesh). Safari guide dog anyone? She loves strangers and won't even bark at their dogs. Not much of a watch dog...

But she did help me get that plaintive look for a little painting...

Fact No 4. A winning smile will take you far.

I'm a huge supporter of spay/neuter and good care for all cats and dogs, no matter the color, breed - or lack thereof. I hate that so many people are indifferent to the wonderful mixed breeds in shelters and go out and buy dogs and get on "waiting lists" for particular puppies rather than saving one from euthanasia.

I mean: just look at that face!!!

Coming soon: Freda's paw...