Holding On

Yesterday's work. This one took DAYS of drawing out...so many little lines, going in every direction...just my cup of tea!

Visit from old friends

Dawn, Rich, Monet and Drew.

Wet dogs waiting to come in! I wish we had better weather for their visit.

My dear friends, Dawn and Rich Secord, stopped by on their way home from the Irish Setter Nationals. We have been friends for years and it was wonderful to have them here for a visit. You would think that 6 dogs in this house would be chaos, but it was heaven! Check out Dawn's wonderful art at www.dawnsecord.com.

What did you do today?

Have you ever had one of those near perfect days? Well, I did today. We slept in on account we were out late on Saturday night to see the late show of Iron Man. We went to our favorite breakfast joint and had a nice long breakfast. Then off to the stable for a wonderful trail ride. This is John on my horse Cadillac.

Our trail takes us right under the resident eagle nest. We got to see this year's baby up close for the first time. The eagles don't mind our presence at all and often sit on the edge of the nest to watch us pass by.On the way home, we decided to take a drive through Sherburne Wildlife Refuge and we were not disappointed! Babies were everywhere and they were all fairly close to the road. It was one of those days that would pour down rain for five minutes then the sun would come out, then it would all start over again. A great tryout day for my new camera.

This is a loon pair that we saw with a brand new baby. We watched as they fed it and then it climbed on the back of dad and took a tour around the lake.

Then there were swans...two pair. This is the second pair we saw.

Then two broods of Canada Geese. We had a very early warm spring, so the goslings are all much bigger earlier this year.

On our way into the park we saw our first "snapper" of the year. I got out and encouraged him to turn around and go away from the road.

Around the corner from us, there is a pond surrounded with cattails and full of redwing blackbirds. I took this photo during a downpour...me and my new camera got soaked! But at least I got the shot.

A couple of doors down, the resident bunny sat by the road and tried to dry out.

This is our raccoon who visits everyday and she is VERY pregnant. Unfortunately, a raccoon was hit at the end of our road and I was terrified that it was her. I was very happy to see her this evening. Again, it is just pouring and I chose to shoot through the window this time and stay dry!I treasure days like today. I have had a busy week, painting, organizing, filing, you name it. It is days like this one that help refill that "creative closet" that so often gets emptied during a busy and stressful week. I think all artists should take a day off and go sit in nature as long as possible, you never know what you are gonna see.

New Songbird Quartet

A new commission for four paintings of songbirds. The cardinals reference is from right outside my back window, and the cherry blossom reference is from a dear friend, Debra Trent. She took the photos during a trip to Washington DC and was kind enough to share them with me. Check out her beautiful paintings at http://www.debratrent.com/.
This is oil on board and is still a work in progress.

Spring in Minnesota

I love spring, especially here in Minnesota. The fields around us are full of new babies, the trees are full of birds, and nests are well underway. I put up my first wren house and it already has occupants! This is my husband, John, with a new baby at our barn. They fell in love immediately and played together in the arena.

A local farm has new babies all over the place. There are lambs and calves everywhere.

Spring is full of wonderful surprises and this baby was one of them. He was as comfortable in my arms as he was running around the farm. Needless to say...I am off lamb chops for a while!!!