Catch Up!!

 

So much to catch up about! First- and most importantly- it's Robin the Good's Birthday! Hooray for Robin; yes, the bestest doggo on the whole, entire planet.I can't believe she's 10! She looks great and acts like she's still a teenager... even the vet was impressed when he saw her last week (for routine shots). Let's hope to share our world with Robin for many more years!

And as if to celebrate Robin's birthday, nature gave us the first snow of the year. Kind of a heavy, wet snow and the wind is supposed to pick up this afternoon, but it was a charming surprise this morning. Neko's hiding in the barn; my horse definitely hails from a warmer, sunnier climate originally!

Another first! My first headcold (*1) since pre-COVID! I've been gasping and honking and my nose has been sheeding copious amounts of phlegm. I had forgotten just how stupid and unpleasant an old-fashioned rhinovirus is! (*2) 

And finally... I am sure that many things have gotten in the way and prohibited me from posting but let's be honest: The outcome of the last election threw me (and plenty of other sane, reaonable and intelligent human beings) for a big ol' loop. I mean really?!?!!?!?!? And as we count down the days until the orange menace assumes the throne for the second time, I guess we should take stock of all that is important to us- including this illusive thing we call "democracy". Fully one half of our country saw fit to send him back into office (despite all the awful things he's responsible for- like COVID deaths and a dreadful January 6th insurrection (and too many others to mention here!!) because of "the economy" and "the price of eggs". Just you wait; those things will pale in comparison to the disaster about to happen. Ugh.

*1). I tested myself as Bob had been sick a few days previous to my falling ill- although his symptoms were different. We've actually never had COVID! Let's keep it that way!!

*2) But you've gotta love Bob! He saw me photographing my old kleenex in the bathroom waste paper basket and never once questioned why I'd be doing such a thing. Artists understand...

First Blood

 

It was going to happen some day; Robin actually caught- and killed!- an animal. Robin chases everything: squirrels, birds, leaves, shadows... seemingly she is a born hunter. (*1) But despite many heroic attempts at catching anything, it has taken Robin almost six years to achieve the status of Official Hunter.

She had been pursuing the above rodent (a shrew.. similar to mice and moles and voles) for several days. It apparently lived in the patch of lirope beneath the Tiger Eye Sumac. Certainly, it attracted her attention whenever she was in the vicinity. 

She finally nailed it one day last week and proceeded to "play" with it and one last toss in the air dispatched it to the Great Shew Beyond. (*2) However, once it was dead, a look of anguish seemed to cross her face. She sat and stared at it and all I can say is she seemed to experience some sort of existential remorse. Bob noticed this, too. (*3) Robin was no doubt analyzing the impermanence of life and considering what happens "afterwards". It affected her profoundly!

This is how Robin typically hunts. She up ends her toy box- which need frequent replacement as she chews the box apart as sport- and selects one toy to terrorize. (By the way, she totally ignores that pink camouflage alien in the front of the picture. Not sure why) She then shakes it and tosses it and eviscerates it.

Look at that face! You would never know that I had just spent twenty minutes performing surgery on this poor thing. Robin promptly pulled it's nose off, stuffing every where! I don't think she experiences and remorse about "killing" stuffed animals. I'm sure she knows the difference.

Although who knows? Maybe now that our little angel has tasted blood, and contemplated the loss of life, she'll reconsider her approach to hunting artificial game. She does look a bit contrite in the picture above...

(*1) And you would expect this as both her parents were field hunting dogs. You will perhaps recall that her mother, Chloe, was a Long Haired Weimaraner and her father, Gunnar, was a Llewellyn English Setter. 

(*2) I'm really glad she killed it as our previous dog Ricky used catch things but never figured out how to kill them. I followed her around with a shovel, finishing off what she had started. It was not the most fun I've ever had!

(*3) Yes, I know: many will find it anthropomorphizing and "inappropriate" to assign "human" emotions to dogs, but believe me, Robin the Good seemed bummed and confused.

Wild Kingdom

 

Because I never think to carry a camera with me at all times, I mostly succeed in missing all the really dramatic visitations that occur in our yard. Hence, Robin the Good's stuffed animal collection will offer stand-ins for the actual critters. (Above is "Snake", one of Robin's favorite toys. There are three (3!!) squeakers in this play thing which lends an almost stereophonic soundscape to her rough-housing.)

Coyotes have become a regular feature of life in the wilds of suburban Connecticut. Alarmingly, last week I opened the back door at 10:00 in the morning to hear what I thought was a siren. On closer listen, I realized- as did Robin who wanted back into the house- that it was a pack of coyotes. Out and hunting in broad daylight seemingly just one backyard away. Yikes! Probably hunting turkeys...

So we have turkeys; boy do we have turkeys! There's a flock, or a slew, or... what's the group name for turkeys? A throng? Dunno but we have what must be an extended family of them. Every day or two, they make a slow-motion appearance in the horse field. The horses don't seem perturbed, but Robin goes ballistic. They show up and dine on horse poop. They also are no doubt eating endless bugs and ticks so they are indeed welcome.

(Okay, that's "Bison". I thought it was a squirrel when I purchased it, but it does have horns and on closer examination, yes, it's definitely a buffalo). Anyway, the other day when I was playing with Neko in the round pen, She kept flexing her nostrils and holding her head really high, like she was smelling something. I trying peering across our stream to the area that was holding her interest. I saw motion in the bushes and thought maybe it was our resident fox but NO! It was a large and muscular bobcat. I was brandishing my (long) lunging whip anyway, so I ran to the lower end of the round pen and swung my whip around and ululated loudly. The bobcat- correctly- assumed it was being hunted by a human lunatic and took off towards the nature preserve which our property abuts. Good riddance!

(That's "Alien". Robin doesn't care one whit for Alien but I like him/her.) I saw something that not please me at all the other night. When taking Robin out for her late-night pee, I thought I detected a large dark form near our side fence, between the birch clump and the wood pile. Holy fucking crap! It was a deer! We have been blessedly free of these cloven hoofed vermin; all they do is chew things to pieces. It scrambled to safety as I bolted out of  the house, (again) ululating wildly. (I think there is a pattern developing here. If it keeps the wildlife in abeyance, I'll gladly keep exercising the weirder aspects of my sound-making capabilities!)

("Frog" who makes a peculiar crunching/clunking noise because you put an empty plastic container inside of it. Robin's had this toy forever and he's stood the test of time and constant dog chew.) We also have a neighbor's stanky Siamese cat that insists on putting in guest appearances. I just don't like this pest, particularly because it emerged from the hay section of our barn once and the area smelled like nasty cat piss for days. It's a grudge match since then, with me hollering like a banshee and giving chase (sometimes in the car... don't ask) when I see it. (Our next door neighbors on the other side of the driveway witnessed one of my finer performances involving this cat several years back. I believe I recounted that particularly embarrassing event in a previous blog.) 

(Your guess is as good as mine, here. Chipmunk? Squirrel? Corduroy hybrid? I had to replace the eyes as Robin pulled them off early in this toys debut at our house; that only added to it's elusive identity.) So what else? We do have a fox that stops by. And Bob has a special gaggle of crows that await his mouse offerings. I think they've missed him these past few days as he recuperates. The crows were massed by the driveway and vegetable garden- unusual location for them!- and seemed to be looking for Bob. Don't tell them, but we did catch a mouse and I'll be delivering it to them soon.

Our friends (Hi Sheldon! Hi Louise!) in Hamden have had a bear ramble up the driveway recently. No thank you! You can keep the bears! We have plenty enough wild life without bears!
 

 

A Little Anxiety Anyone?!?!?

 

Oh look! I made a "puppy" for Robin out of a bit of her shedding fur. It's what an artist does when she's so overcome by generalized anxiety... Couldn't fall back to sleep last night. I wonder why?!??!?

F'rinstance (and in no particular order, although I could clear my throat and sing this litany to the tune of "My Favorite Things"):

*The upcoming ELECTION (only 5 days a way)... Aaaauuugh!!!!!

*A full moon.

*Mercury (continuing to be) retrograde (until Nov 4th. It figures; day after the election)

*COVID 19. Have we forgotten about the pandemic?!?!?

*Lousy stinkin' weather. Will it ever stop raining?!? (After a droughty summer!)

*Will they extend my unemployment benefits?

*Will I  ever be able to show my (art) work again?

*What's for dinner???!!?

*Did mention the upcoming election?!?

So you get the idea: just your typical, run-of-the-mill anxiety. Nothing to see here!

Mercury (Always) Retrograde

 

What could be a better antidote to the current incarnation of Mercury Retrograde than two charming equine friends sharing lunch at BobnRita's All You Can Eat Buffet? Look at that near perfect imagining of the Peaceful Kingdom. And as Mercury has gone so spastically retrograde, I sought solace in the company of Horse Number1 and Horse Number 2.

I was truly having a lousy day, having received two (2!!) notifications that my unemployment claim had been hacked, my cell phone plan is almost up (and they're playing inconsistent pricing and the fucking cell phone won't let me pick up when the phone rings!!), and I missed several call from a doctor's office (I walked into the clothes line late at night and clocked myself in the eye...) and neither pair of pants I ordered fit. (Same size but one pair waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to big and the other waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too small!) I decided to play with Neko instead.

Here's Horse Number 1: Hello Maggie!

So I drag all my gear out to the pasture (saddle, helmet, bridle, grooming box etc etc) and approach Neko saying all manner of sweet nothings and pleasantries (such as, "What a good horsey!! Come here my pretty girl!") and she takes one look at me, throws the stink eye and ducks behind Maggie. I think, "Haha! Silly pony! You can't escape me! I'll just catch Maggie and you'll follow her!"

Hahaha! Silly Rita! Maggie caught the "I don't want to get caught either" bug and trotted up the hill with Neko trailing her. Then the fun really broke out as every time I approached the pack of two horses- now fully enjoying their game of catch-me-if-you-can, they took off at a brisk canter (Neko) and a wonky, wobbly lope (Maggie). And around and around we all went.

Needless to say, by this point I was sweating and furious, but still trying to hide it. I even carried a horse food pan around, hoping to trick one of them into being lured by the (empty) promise of grain.  But by the time they had sailed by me 90 times at 90 miles an hour, I was done. I responded by encouraging them in their game of Rawhide with much yelling and whooping and driving them forward. (*1)  I cracked my whip and hooted and hollered, terrifying poor Bob who later confessed he had heard the commotion and prudently stayed away. Robin joined in at the fence line, woofing and running and generally enjoying this display of pandemonium. I finally had had it. I left the field, feeling utterly defeated by Mercury and a pair of very naughty horses.

Here's Horse #2: Neko. The main culprit who got it all started: (And boy does she like to eat!!)

I went out to the field later to see how my criminal pair was doing- and if they'd ever let me near them again. Well, two very contrite ponies met me at the fence and came right up and allowed themselves to be caught and brushed and have their toes picked out, all the while staring at me with adoring, dewy eyes.(*2) I had to laugh.

And yesterday when I went to work with Neko she didn't give me trouble at all when I went to catch her. Stood like a charm and followed me around like a puppy. I trust that this is the sort of behavior I can expect in the future!! (*3)

(*1) Yes, I KNOW this was probably entirely the wrong thing to do, but I was playing off the old "keep their feet moving" theory of horse work. The lead or alpha horse pushes the other horse(s) around by driving them away from food etc and keeping them moving.

(*2) So I know I'm projecting; I don't really believe that horses feel remorse for naughty behavior, but it made me feel better.

(*3) Not likely!

Nu Horz

 

OMG! Suddenly- after much anticipation and delay- Candy/Candy/Nico/Neko*(1) is here! I feel like I'm hallucinating... She's so laid back, so zen, so chill; she got off loaded from the trailer and we put her in her pasture and she fell right to eating. Good girl!!

Meanwhile, "Horse Number One" aka Maggie is carefully sequestered on the other side of the fence*(2) and her eyes are bulging out of her head:

She's like, "Who's that and where did she come from?!??!!?!" Hopefully, they become fast friends and live happily ever after. I will be keeping them separated for about a week. If they seem accepting of each other that's great. If they don't... well tough! Life may be a bit more complicated for the near future but isn't that what makes life fun? Just wait until grain feeding time... then the excitement will really begin.

Anyway, I'm sort of surprised that Robin hasn't seemed to notice that we have a new horse or has decided that all horses look alike or something because (atypically) she is not barking. Glad some one else is low key; my head is still reeling that we*(3) now own two horses.

That's Maggie thinking things over. I trust she will like having pasture company in the form of another equine pal. She hasn't seen one of her own kind in a while. I have been letting her smell my hands and clothes when I come back from riding but this is an escalation. 

At least the arrival of Horse Number Two (they're now like those multiple wives of sultans) has kept me from obsessing over the endless parade of crazy news. NOT!! See *(4) below.

*(1) Although officially, her name is Neko... by popular demand.

*(2) I'm thinking of the old adage, "Good fences make good neighbors". Hahahhaha: Get it? "Good NEIGH-bors"?!

*(3) Thoughtfully including Bob in my insanity.

*(4) And speaking of insanity, how about the entire rethuglican party deciding to go all positive for the virus? Does that surprise anyone? No masks, no social distancing... what a bunch of losers!

To Catch a Thief

 

Yes, Robin is casting her eyes heavenward as if to proclaim her innocence. This dog is responsible for most unseemly heist!

Yesterday, we socially-distance visited with our friends Roberta and Hanneke. In preparation for their visit, I made chocolate eclairs... a three part endeavor that does require time, patience and quite a few bowls. Robin- who does enjoy helping me in the kitchen- was very interested in the whole process. 

They did smell good and I had to set them up high to cool in order to avoid unnecessary temptations to a certain overly active canine nose. Robin didn't want to leave the kitchen.

I then made the filling and stored it in the refrigerator as I don't like to make the shells soggy. (I like to fill the pastry as close to consumption time as possible.) But after the pastry had cooled, I carefully slit along one side and removed some of the extra filaments of dough that remain soft. I offered those to Robin who was confirmed in her expectations of how good they tasted. She scarfed that down!

Our friends came and we had a lovely time, touring the garden and admiring Bob's sculptures and then sitting down to iced coffee and those splendid eclairs, now filled and iced with chocolate. We happily wolfed them down. As I had made a bumper crop of eclairs, we had plenty left and I suggested that Roberta take three of them home for her and her partner (hello Phillip!) to have later. We secured two in paper plates together by clips to protect them on their way to Roberta's house. Roberta set them on the picnic table.

 

In the ensuing excitement of Hanneke deciding to purchase (yay!!) one of Bob's scholar rock sculptures (a wise choice) and us all gathering around to beam at the sculpture, I unthinkingly turned my back on Robin (typically called "the Good") and the eclairs resting on the table.

The next thing I see is Robin hunkered down on the lawn, devouring what I thought was probably one of her bones... until a light bulb erupted over my head and I realized that Robin has succeeded in sneaking the eclairs off the table, spilling two onto the ground while she assaulted the third. She was rushing back to snatch the other two off the grass, but I intercepted her.

It was pretty funny but also worrisome as chocolate is poisonous to dogs, not to mention she had inhaled a large dollop of cream filling and puff pastry- very rich stuff for a dog's belly! I was concerned that she'd awaken us at 3:30 am with a stomach ache and the need to go outside and evacuate, but fortunately, she was fine.

We all had a good laugh over Robin's criminality, but I had to go into the house and restuff and frost three more eclairs for Roberta, leaving us only two. We kept an eagle eye on these!

Hanneke had thoughtfully brought us a "host/hostess" gift of some cookies and a bar of dog shampoo (apparently useful on horses, too). I briefly considered washing Robin's mouth out with the soap- only kidding! Here's another shot of the thief. Doesn't she look non-plussed?!!??

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birthday Most Murderous

Here's Robin the birthday girl herself. She'd all growed up and 4 years old! What a splendid dog! What a destructive dog! What a murderer! Not three minutes after she received two lovingly chosen new dog toys, one of them had parts of his head ripped off and strewn about the upstairs landing.

This is actually a picture of Robin (who is doomed to be eternally represented by a black blur as she refuses to hold still) trying to eviscerate the second toy, which proved to be tougher material. (Note to self: only purchase dog toys WITHOUT stuffing.)
Just look at Robin running away from the evidence: (off to destroy other unwitting toys.)

She's like, "I didn't do it! And if I did, it just shows such shoddy third world construction!" I know what I'll be doing later today- performing emergency surgery on the poor victim. I am also debating contacting the company that manufactured this not very substantial toy and offer Robin as a toy-tester. She's brutal!

(I'll admit I bought this particular specimen because I think it's supposed to be some sort of elephant-inspired animal. I thought it might be fun for Robin to chew on a rethuglican-themed toy. I guess she did prove it to be a witless jamoke filled with fluff and no substance!)

Waiting For The End of The World

Well... maybe not the end as we seem to be receiving (thankfully!) way less accumulation of snow and ice than previously projected. Bob had run out on Saturday and stocked up on provisions and I'm glad he did. Despite there being less precipitation, it's a nasty, messy mix of ice and rain and snow and... remind me why we live in New England?!?!

I've been running outside to minister to Maggie and all of her needs- hay, grain (2x a day) and fresh (unfrozen) water. (Plus I like to go out and hang around with her for a while as I think she's bored. I offer her encouragement and break up the monotony.) Maggie does insist upon standing out in this unpleasantness despite 24/7 access to her lovely stall. She even goes in and drags her hay out; what's a horse owner to do??!?!

Robin and I see eye to eye. She wants to go out, but is pretty happy to return inside and get toweled off. In the picture above, she's imploring me to stop fiddling with the camera and PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!!

I'm happiest in my studio with the wood stove generating almost too much heat. I call it The Florida Room. I finished sewing diamonds all the way around my latest piece yesterday and today I embark on a new-ish project. I am (finally) starting my latest book, "A Pot To Piss In (or: What's an Artist Urn? (Earn)) about income disparity and my lowly place in the economical hierarchy that is modern day America. I have actually been playing with these ideas for a couple of years but become so extraordinarily depressed when contemplating the magnitude of the situation that I have not gotten much further than a few trial images and then holding my head in my hands in despair. Alas! I like my artist book offerings to be funny (or at least trenchantly amusing) but this one seems dark and unrelenting. Perhaps I'll win the lottery before long and can change the timbre of of my tome to one of financial success and optimism! Fat chance!

A Romantic Interlude

Robin's got a boyfriend! A very nice doggo with an interesting history... more on that later! His name is Ding and he's a lovely Golden Retriever...
Ding's human (a very nice woman!) was so committed to our dogs meeting that she drove Ding out for a visit on a sunny Saturday... all the way from Queens. Robin isn't thrilled with car rides and I suggested that as we have a generous and attractive fenced in garden, it would be the perfect place for a romantic first meeting. I think the dogs agreed!
Robin is sometimes a little shy with new dogs, but she and Ding seemed to hit it off... she only issued a throaty growl (channeling her inner Lauren Bacall) once. I think she missed Ding the next day; sniffing around the yard where they had been together. We are hoping for a more intimate hook- up next spring.


*And before everyone gets all cranky and judgemental, I will state- as I have three million times before: I never (REALLY!!! NEVER!!!!) wanted children, but I've always wanted a litter of puppies. And no, this is not some sort of weird cross species transference. I just love dogs.

*AND I am neither stupid nor naive (despite what some detractors may say!!Haahahahahaha!!) I know that having puppies is a messy, bloody, poopy, exhausting ordeal, but I still want to do this and have a Robin the Good offspring. I have asked Robin what she thinks and she just answers with her typical inscrutable deadpan gaze. What a dog!

*Additionally, it's not as easy as one would think to have puppies. Firstly, there are many prejudices against mixed breeds. Pure bred dog owners ask exorbitant stud fees and are mostly only interested in breeding to another pure bred (despite inherited health risks!). They seem to think their dog is going to be ruined by breeding to a mix: Unclean! Contamination!  Don't get me started...
Also, so many people have castrated their males that there are few available to breed to. (At some point in the future, I will bore you all with my advanced research into the health benefits of NOT castrating your male...  Castration leads to all kinds of awful side effects like senility, cancer, joint issues)  I could go on and on. It has literally taken me three years to find a partner for Robin!! (Someday I will relate all the surfing of "dog porn" that I have under gone. It's an education!)


 

Dog Party

Crazy cat ladies do things like have 75 cats. Crazy dog owners dress their dogs in pajamas and drive them to play dates and have birthday parties. I will never order Robin a set of Star Wars themed dog sleepwear, but yes, I did plan a birthday party for her last Saturday.
I had originally projected inviting six dogs (and their respective humans) but three doggos were able to attend, and in retrospect, that was probably plenty. We provided cupcakes and crackers and dip for the humans and I wrapped small treats for the canines. I took the precaution of hiding most of Robin's toys and not offering too much in the way of dog edibles so as to prevent spats and aggression. This was probably smart on my part as Lil Robin seemed to discover that she could growl. In fact, Robin (who had previously met and played with all three of the dogs in attendance) decided she wasn't spectacularly happy with so many dog "frenemies" in her living room! Our friend Mary- who accompanied her dog Izzie- suggested that poor Robin was worried that this pack of dogs was here to stay... in her house!

Here's the guest of honor attempting to escape her collected friends. Here nose looked even longer than usual. It took her most of the afternoon to decide that a birthday party was okay. But the other dogs seemed to have a swell time:

Emily looked quite pleased. She is a delightful peachy pumpkin colored girl and seemed to beam the entire time... at least someone enjoyed themselves! And Emmett- quite dapper in his orange winter suit- liked being the only boy surrounded by lovely lady dogs. (His human, Michelle had fun, too. She made delicious brownies for us humans. We were pretty well behaved- no snapping or growling!)

Emmett appears bigger in this picture than he really is. I think he weighs all of 12 pounds! And our other guest was Izzie, a spunky and entertaining terrier mix who I was unable to get a good picture of. I seem to have taken a few blurry ones, probably because Izzie was always on the move.

That's Izzie (behind Emmett) in the yellow poncho, scarfing up bits of food dropped on the floor. At least I didn't have to vacuum! We attempted a group photo, but quickly abandoned the idea as our assembled guests were unwillingly to sit and stay. But I had a good time! I like to party with a pack!

In addition to turkey legs and wild thing dog jerky and happy birthday bones and assorted treats, I gave Robin an entertaining squeaky snake (squeaks in three places!) after her friends departed. It was a big hit: as we went upstairs to retire for the evening, Robin chose the snake to bring along and has been making quite a happy racket with it ever since. I guess I made a good choice!

Early Winter

Just in case anyone slept late and missed the joy of waking up to five inches of slushy snow and rain and sleet and generally miserable conditions outside, I'll present a few pictures. How about we didn't get a measly inch or two- the proverbial "dusting"- but instead went for the full-blown, all out winter presentation: Look at this mess!

There's Robin, looking like she's lost in Alaska. She alone among us professes to like the snow. I suppose when one is young and carefree, snow is a blast. Robin does enjoy being toweled off (and given a dog treat) when she comes back in. No one gives Bob or me a dog treat when we come back in... but then again, Bob made French toast and the house smelled divinely like cinnamon and maple when I came back in from feeding Maggie.

Wow! I hadn't even thought about how monochromatic our world is when it snows... just shades of grey. It's hard to believe that just Wednesday, I was planting bulbs and raking leaves and Bob was splitting wood. I sure hope that this early snow storm isn't a harbinger of a long, cold, snowy winter to come. Yikes!

*At least I'm taking the day off from work. The drive in would be a nightmare! (Besides whne I called in, no one answered the phone.) Bob maintains you can't snow blow this sort of heavy wet stuff. But you sure as hell can't shovel it, either! Maybe (wishful thinking) it will melt??!?!?

A Post After the Elections

It's nice to be able to think about something other than politics (Go Blue Ripple!!) like the fact that Bob made this wonderful tile top table. It's got a great stable metal base with an attractive diamond pattern (maybe I'll photo that later) and these tiles were "found" down by Bob's studio. Amazing the stuff that turns up! I love the variation in blues among the tiles...

And you don't see items like this everyday! Our delightful and talented friend Roberta charmed me with an elaborate birthday package. This repurposed Osage orange (with a found alien hand!!!) announced my new magazine subscriptions (Remember that I use them in collage making). But that wasn't all: beneath the carefully wrapped orange was a lovely length of African cloth- perfect for upcoming project! and as if THAT wasn't enough, Roberta also bequeathed me a huge assortment of bulbs! Species tulips, scilla, daffodils, hybrid tulips... amazing! Any one of these gifts would have been more than generous but altogether, I'm overwhelmed! And really? It actually is nicer to receive gifts when least expected! Thank you Roberta!

And here's pastel upside down Robin to remind us that dogs enjoy getting mentioned, too! Robin's been very happy; I think she likes the colder weather, even if I don't. It makes her super frisky and nuts. She's been doing mad loops around the yard at like a million miles an hour. Craziness runs in the family.
I am trying to catch up with myself. It's hard to believe that it's almost Thanksgiving and the year is drawing to a close. So much has happened and continues to happen (and I'm not just thinking of politics!!! A decades worth of "incidents" in a day!) Remember that we experienced a tornado and we are still cleaning up from that. The tree guys are eagerly awaited to take down a whole bunch more dying spruces (the weather's been against them). I have a bunch more planting and yes! I have more studio ideas to implement. And don't get me started on the changes going on at work... anyone want to hire an artist? Actually, I have ideas in that department, too!