A Squeaker in Disguise

The Wiffee and I acquired a very cute and adorable guinea pig over a month ago. As with bunnies, we melt at the sight of guinea pigs. Because of their tendency to whistle and "squeak," we often refer to guinea pigs as "squeakers."

The former owner was unable to keep the squeaker (named Gracie) because of changes in work schedule, kids and a pet dog. Gracie has a quieter environment now, and we have time to hold her (she's VERY well socialized!) and give her goodies to eat.

She's a "rough-haired" type, meaning her fur always looks disheveled, and is black and white (the brownish coloring in the photo isn't really there). Sometimes she looks like a skunk without a tail!

A squeaker in disguise!

The Coming Holidays

Funny thing about me (well, one of the funny things about me, anyway) -- many people talk about having, or not having, the Christmas spirit when that holiday arrives.

I'm subject to that same malady. But in my case, I also have to get into the autumn "spirit," usually by mid-September. Then I have to get into the Halloween spirit and the Thanksgiving Day spirit before I can get into the Christmas spirit. Without that sequence, Christmas comes and goes, and it's just another day except for all the decorations we have up and the gift giving and receiving. The Christian aspects of the day are still there, of course, but I really like the whole package.

Christmas 2007 ended up being one of those "just another days" that seemed to create a lot of stress and busy-ness. I never "got into it." To add insult to injury, I even got sick that day -- and a few days later, my mother-in-law suffered a stroke and died on New Years Day.

This year, I'm determined to immerse myself in the thoughts, images (especially the images!), sights and sounds of the seasons. I'm even working on my first-ever Halloween-themed painting -- not because I expect to make money on it, but because I simply want to do it.

Since I'm no longer surrounded by fellow employees who decorate their cubicles and do things that remind me of the holidays, I have to work a little harder at it on my own so I can enjoy the times. Already I feel autumn is slipping by me. My work is cut out for me.

No Dumb Bunnies HERE!!!

I'm a bad boy. I put food out for the wild critters around here -- rabbit pellets for the bunnies and chicken scratch for the quail. There are certain places where I put each of these food items.

Of course, the critters don't always eat just "their" food, and that's especially true of the bunnies. Given the choice, they would rather eat scratch than pellets; however, if that was all I put out, the long-earred varmints wouldn't get much of a snack: they eat one kernal at a time, while the quail rapidly peck and eat the grains, managing to swallow between pecks. The quail would clear the area of scratch while the poor bunnies would get only a little.

But it's fun watching how the bunnies have changed their behavior over time. I put the scratch in an old Cool Whip container and toss the stuff one handful at a time. The bunnies used to run out to get it as soon as I threw it -- and got pelted with grain and corn, which probably doesn't feel very good.

Now, they wait on the side and run out between throws, and they'll run to an area that I've already thrown to. That, in turn, makes it easier for me to avoid hitting them with scratch.

These bunnies ain't dumb!

MORE Autumn!!

Except this time, it's the Colorado mountains, not the desert; and it's a painting, not a photograph.

As with the last painting I posted ("Cliffs of the Green River"), the painting is not entirely a literal rendition -- I put several different views togehter into one image (guess you could say I "Photoshop'ed it").

The mountains are the Sneffels Range, somewhat north of Telluride, CO; and the peak to the left of center is Mount Sneffels. Mt. Sneffels is one of Colorado's "14ers," meaning it's 14,000 or more feet high. (That's 4.3km to you metric folks). The area depicted is the Dallas Divide, a place that's filled with aspen, spruce and red oak. Catch it at the right time of year (usually mid-late September), and you'll see it in spectacular fall glory.

Fall in the Desert #2

This photo was taken a few minutes before the one in the previous post. It doesn't really show seasonal clues, but I like the overlapping mountains -- a common sight in the desert.

Fall in the Desert #1

Many parts of the country have definite seasons. You can look at a picture and easily guess the season by the way the natural elements look. In the desert, the seasons have their differences, but the differences are subtle, and you have to know what to look for.

I took the attached photo this afternoon in Joshua Tree National Park. In many ways, the picture could have been taken at any time of the year, and it would look virtually the same as this one. But this photo holds two small clues that reveal what season it is:

(1) the rusty-red seedheads of wild buckwheat dot the landscape; admittedly, these can persist pretty much throughout the year;

(2) the real clue, a little hard to see in this view, but it's there -- the rabbitbrush is in bloom with goldenrod-yellowish flowers. Rabbitbrush is an autumn-blossoming shrub common in many places in the West.

Subtle, huh?

Autumn, Art and Other Kinds of Seasons

Tonight was the first gallery ArtWalk of the season in the desert community where I have a number of paintings. The attendence was low, I'm sure because: (1) tonight was also the VP debate (Biden-Palin) on TV, and; (2) not all of the seasonal/part-time residents are back in the area yet.

However, I did have an opportunity to speak with some of the gallery people I network with. I heard hopeful comments from a couple of gallery directors--sales should be good since many of their clientele are people who are not as affected by the current economic situation. In fact, their art sales seem to be continuing in spite of the financial conditions we hear so much about these days. As a full-time artist whose day job is making and selling art, that's good news for me. I have to remain positive as the season begins in the desert.

Ahhh...autumn and art sales -- two great seasons!