Sunday, November 18, 2007

Three More of My Paintings

This will be my last post for two weeks. See you about December 1st.





















Misty Morning in Monterey

























Leo. Probably my favorite of all my paintings.



















My Mother's Garden - Garston
Watford. Approx. 1983

Friday, November 16, 2007

Some of my Paintings.

Most of my paintings are copies of originals with some variations. When I say copied, I don't mean copied by using any technical means. Just copied by hand and definitely not traced.


The English Robin, copied from a Christmas card.
























Superstition Mountain, Arizona. I don't think I copied this one.
It was done for my son who was at school out there.




















View of Mount Snowdon, North Wales. Copied from Note Card.
Did this one just a week ago.




















More paintings next time as we are busy getting ready to go
away for Thanksgiving, so time is of the essence and I have
to post what I have already done.

Computer problems seem to be solved.

Harriet (Sorry, Henrietta) is still with us!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Problems

I am having trouble getting blogger to accept any of my comments, and even sometimes signing in. So if all you have from me is silence, I'm really still here. I can't seem to find anywhere to contact blogger in an e mail either.

Sorry folks. But I am still visiting everyone.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

THE SAGA CONTINUES....

She's ba-ack! But look at her tail!! I guess the neighbors thought that by clipping her tail it would stop her flying over the fence. Didn't work! You have to clip her wings!
























Caught in the act! This is her fourth pot o
f begonias.























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In my last post I said I would put up some happier photos.

Here is my first photo of a humming bird at the feeder we put up last week.










































Here are a couple of white crowned sparrows actually sunbathing. They were not taking a dust bath but spreading out their tail feathers and plumping up their feathers to collect the sun. These white crowned sparrows are so difficult to photograph. They move
so fast. I'm still trying to get a good one.



This is an awful photo (below) but I kept it because this is a house finch that has been visiting us for quite some time and he is really a beautiful gold color -- not yellow and not pink. Of course he may not be a house finch at all. I will try to get a better photo but either I have changed some setting on my camera or else the camera is not working properly.



























The next two photos are just to show that I can still take a half decent photo!


The Pyracantha berries are in good form again this year.




















The red leaves are from a plant whose name I cannot remember, but they turn red in the fall. These are in an insignificant part of our back yard around by the chimney.
























I have posted some more ATC's on my ATC Blog, (see side bar for link).


I also plan on posting a couple of paintings I have been working on, on this blog in a day or so.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

HENRIETTA HAS GOT TO GO!

Look what that chicken did to my begonia! Compare this photo with the last photo on my last blog. She has not only eaten my flowers but is now scaring off the birds, so she can eat their seed.




















So I went to the neighbor's this afternoon and asked if he would please come and get his chicken. He was very apologetic, but between the two of us chasing the thing around our back yard we were getting no where. He went to get his cousin to help. Well, with the three of us after her the chicken just squawked and flew up over the wall into the neighbor's yard behind us. But they have a big dog, so with another big squawk it quickly flew back again. Then we were off again. Finally it flew up into its owner's olive tree, so we abondoned the chase. I'm hoping the two men somehow got it down from there and caged it, but I'm not very optimistic. The saga of Henrietta will continue.

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And here's something else that is not very welcome in my back yard. This is the third one I've seen so far. The first photo is rather blurred but I left it in the post so that you can see it's size. It was getting far too close to the patio door entrance for my taste!





















Just look at the size of this thing!! I know they are supposed to be good for your garden but this is just too much of a good thing!




















Tomorrow I will post some of the good things I have found in my back yard this past week.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Feeding the Birds

So I've been throwing out seed to feed the birds and now look what's happened!



















Where did he -- sorry, she,--come from? She has now been living with us for a couple of weeks. I think she belongs to the Spanish family next door. We've told them several times but all they say is, "Is it the brown one or the white one? She keeps getting out of her cage." ....There's a brown one?? I sent another message today but they've made no attempt to come and get her. So since we either have to put up with the chicken, or stop feeding the birds I decided we'll put up with the chicken. She stays pretty much in the semi-enclosed area outside the den, which we were attempting to turn into a small ornamental garden. Perhaps we can pretend she's a peacock! I have decided to call her either Harriet or Henrietta, whichever name I can think of at the time. Actually, for Bailey, I call her "Chucky chuck" Not very sophisticated I know, but Bailey is rather put out.


















If I find any eggs, are they ours or the neighbors? Since this is a bantam, (drawing upon my childhood memories of chickens kept in the village), do bantams lay eggs? I am paying for the seed. How much seed does a chicken need any way?

The other problem is that it is going to rain and I'm just soft enough that I don't like to think of it out in the rain, so........




















It's a cat tent house which Bailey never took to. Honestly, I must be nuts! Now I'm thinking, my cat-sitter who will come at Thanksgiving will now have to be a chicken sitter as well. I wonder if she will mind. Life is never simple.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

WHEW! LONG ABSENCE!

Whew! Two weeks without the computer! I've been having withdrawal symptoms.
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First you must go to:

http://www.bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk/flamboroughnews/Surviving-the-wildfires.3430079.jp

to see what a great job Brid Free Press reporter, John Edwards, did in writing about my experiences with the San Diego County wild fires two weeks ago. The Brid Free Press is "The Bridlington Free Press", the local newspaper of my home town, Bridlington, Yorkshire, UK. (Brid is the affectionate local name for Bridlington.) The newspaper has a "Flamborough" section, which is the name of my village.

The fires are still all in the news
today, but they are contained (not out -- just won't spread any further). Sadly, there are now hundreds of people without homes and though the press may not write about them, they will be dealing with this catastrophe for several years to come.

Incidentally, the newspaper contacted me because I have a blog with them called "Homesick for Flamborough".

I try not to duplicate what I write here, on my "Homesick for Flamborough" blog. Two different audiences. To read my "Homesick for Flamborough" blog, you will have to Google its name. I can't make this blog link to it.




















Here is the view from my back yard mid-day Monday. This is the Witch Creek Fire when it was about half an hour away from us. Thankfully we did not have to evacuate. My husband took this photo, as I was "out of it" on pain medication. The fort and flag are in my neighbor's yard. He built them for his grandchildren.

I really expect to be back blogging reasonably regularly now, that is until we go away for Thanksgiving. That will be another two weeks.
Thank you all you faithful ones who have kept checking back.

I'm still checking in on all my favorites.