Playing Hooky

The weather was so nice and there were several projects involving gardening and I confess: I played hooky from studio work and spent the better part of the afternoon outside. I said to Bob before he departed for a railing installation job, "I feel guilty, but I really want to be out of doors." I realize- and Bob reaffirmed- that there was no reason to feel badly. Sometimes, you just need to listen to those internal voices that beckon you out into nature...
Blooming plants, like the Sand Cherry above (Prunus pumila) are a good a reason as any to want to be outside! The long border that the Sand Cherry resides in needs a partial make over and today was a good day to start. I lifted and removed a whole slew of periwinkle that was running amuck through my phlox and Siberian iris (and everything else). I replanted that along the side of the Blue Garden. In itself, it was a major undertaking because those spreading ground cover things tend to multiply like crazy and when you lift a seemingly small area, there are seven million plants to be re-planted. But it was worth the effort because the border looks better, the periwinkle (Vinca major) is useful at the perimeter of the Blue Garden and I had a space to plant the Arborvitae "Forever Goldy" (Thuja plicata) we got on sale at Home Depot looks great there... gotta love Home Depot. They may not always water their plants, but they're affordable and they actually have some interesting specimens!
And an additional benefit was that Robin the Good ran around like a possessed demon and got all tired out and didn't even protest when I sent her back into the house to rest when I went "outside the fence" to plant that Vinca. Robin was very helpful and made sure to eat my sunglasses (granted: the crummy, scratched lenses around the house pair...) and run straight through my newly watered, freshly dug area and generally cause havoc.
And later in the afternoon, post reviving shower and clothing change, I did manage to get into my studio and get a start on assembling a copy of my latest artist's book. A good day!

Wholesome Outdoor Projects and Dog Harnesses

Bob and I spent several really nice days recently enlarging Maggie's horse field to include a few random corners of property (like down by the pond) that actually give her more grazing. As the fence is electric, it's pretty easy to move the posts and restring the three lines of wire; you just have to remember to disconnect the electricity first. Maggie seemed happy to have an expanded world view and more square footage to explore and chew down. We are looking at re-seeding the horse field with pasture grass, as there is a lot of moss and the grass has been eaten down.
And this certainly reinforces how lucky we are to have such a nice piece of earth to wander on and call our own. Happy Earth Day!

Strangely, there was a hawk sitting on the grass down by the new area two days ago. I just hope the hawk wasn't scoping out our mallard duck, who likes to hang out on our pond. We also have a visiting Blue Heron that enjoys the amenities of our swampy little pond. Sometimes I wish the pond wasn't there and that corner was solid ground, but then I remember how birds (and other things) call the pond home... like bull frogs and peepers and little fish.

A view back up through the trees towards our BauHaus Chicken Coop. I am admiring the slanting rays of a Spring day- a full moon and spring fever to boot! I think even our little dog (who's not such a small puppy- I call her "The Big Puppy") is experiencing spring fever...
And a new harness! Robin (somehow... don't ask!) makes me think of an astronaut, ready for adventure, when she has her new harness on. My generous sibling and her partner (aka Beatrice and John) gave Robin the Good a gift certificate to an pet store. I suspect that lil' Robin would have liked a toy (to destroy and dismember in the space of three minutes!) but I thought a harness with which to introduce her to the delights of walking together was a better investment. (Probably made her think like we would of socks for Christmas!) But it's been a hit and she doesn't strangle and choke when pulling on the leash.

(Quite the tongue!) But here's Robin the Good modeling the harness. Here's another shot:

(No, she hadn't collapsed from exhaustion; she was merely fidgeting as I tried to fit her harness on her.) Another possible use for the harness arose the other morning at breakfast when I told Bob that if Robin was very bad while I went to work, he could attach a leash to Robin's harness and hang her from a hook on the ceiling. Hahahahhaaha. Only kidding Robin!

Stair Master!

Congratulations to Robin the Good! She finally mastered descending the stairs! Robin was ace on running up the stairs but going down had eluded her. It was that first top step that was a killer. She'd dangle her paws over the edge and make frustrated moaning sounds. It was imperative that she learn to go down the stairs as she's getting bigger and heavier: Lil' Robin has gained 10 pounds since she came to live with us. I was at my absolute upper weight limit for picking her up as she is heavy AND squirmy. (30 pounds and growing at her last vet appointment.)
Bob worked very diligently at assisting Robin in mastering the stairs. He began by carrying her down the stairs and putting her down, then carrying her down except putting her down on the third lowest stair and then half way down... until finally she just did it. It was such a conceptual leap; you could see the gears grinding in her head. But she committed and the next thing I knew, she was halfway down. You have to imagine that her legs are very long and still ungainly- her back end tends to overtake her front end. But she did it!
Now, of course, the stairs are a great source of fun and entertainment. Up and down and up and down; great exercise and great help for her coordination. (Sometimes, she can't find her brakes in time and over shoots and crashes into things like trees and glass doors. Ouch.) Thank god for carpets (even ugly, stained carpet) as it makes for better traction that wood.
Today, we're having a puppy play date so we're expecting utter exhaustion come this evening.

It's Show Time!

Yes, it's time for another edition of Bob and Rita play Famous Artist and have a show! This time, we're actually showing together with a very good painter named Megan Marden. Years back (which no one but Bob and I will remember), we vowed NOT to show with each other for a variety of reasons I won't go into here. But time passes and opportunities arise... The show looks great but there are some obstacles to presenting work in an alternative space. Like there's no heat and it may be chilly and possibly rain/snow shower. But artists are made of sterner stuff and the show must go on! There is no art on the walls and my studio is empty so I chose to insert the above photo; art courtesy of Robin the Good.
(I think Robin shows great promise as a sculptor (she takes after Bob) although her work tends towards manipulation of the ready made, as opposed to carving or welding. She carefully "painted" the end of her gnawed rawhide chew with a liberal application of teething puppy blood. I was perplexed when I almost stepped on the above treasure. I thought the light in the room had a rosy glow, until I discovered that Robin was nursing an incoming molar. Kind of gross, but that's life!)

(That's my newest book, in artist's proof form! I'm still tweaking assembly and some details, but it's getting there. Isn't it about time? This monster took months.)
So the update is as follows: no snow or rain for our opening (Yay!) but freezing temperatures and an inscrutable location made for a sort of arctic goose chase evening. Brave souls, our art viewing friends! Some wandered through the depths of the Danbury industrial wilderness, searching for signs and landmarks. Others faced down pneumonia and everyone dressed for polar exploration (a re-visitation of down parkas and fur-like hats and woolly scarves). The show really was well received and Bob and I (and we certainly hope Megan) came away feeling numb (feet) but satisfied.
The success of our opening- and a big thank-you again to all of our intrepid friends!- coupled with the excellent news that Bob sold an interesting garden object (the moss table) yesterday makes for a really pleasing day after glow.

April Fool's (A Day Early)

At least I had one smart moment the other day and I "fixed" the computer. Last Saturday, when we tried to turn on the computer and it seemed frozen: the tower light was on, the monitor said "Dell" but nothing worked. After numerous attempts at rejiggering and replugging every possible cord and cable, it was off to Staples for a fix. We were informed that (despite having a McAfee anti-virus installed) we harbored many spyware, malware and viruses. We left the computer to be debugged.
Two days later, we picked the computer up having paid $160 to have 161 (apparent) viruses removed- about a dollar a virus! But imagine our consternation when on arriving home, we set it up and the same thing happened, ie; nothing.
Bob and I again replugged and even tried other outlets, new surge strips etc to no avail. I took it back to Staples, oozing indignation. But not only did it boot up and operate just fine (making me feel super stupid) but they tried to charge us more than initially quoted for the new anti-virus install. After fixing the evil eye on the young man waiting on me (with a line starting to grow with other computer customers piling up behind me) I was granted discounted service. I left the computer for installation.
Okay, so you see this coming. I return to Staples, get the computer home, we hook it up and... nothing. Bob and I are drawing straws to see who will be the sacrificial lamb and call Staples and confess to our complete idiocy as we both agree it HAS to be a very simple problem. At that point I believe Bob abandoned ship and I was left to fool with connections on my own. I decided on a very un-Rita solution. I began to methodically push each and every key on the keyboard, thinking just maybe a magic button would re-engage our machinery.
And it worked! I tapped the key that has a sort of windows image and the computer sprang into action. The key had been stuck all along!
I happened to be back at Staples a day later, getting a collage laminated for the cover of one of my artist's books. On my way out the door, I spied the corpulent young man who had assisted in the diagnosis and repair of our computer. "Hey", I said, "We got home and the computer still didn't work- until I discovered a stuck key!" "Yeah", he answered, "I noticed that when we worked on your computer." Ooooooooooooooooooohhh! That made me mad! Couldn't he have mentioned that? Bob and I almost lost our minds and it was all so simple... Now we're left to wonder whether the computer really did have viruses!