Picture This

The plane circled several times. So low and so slow we had to go outside to see what was going on. A white plane with a sky blue stripe and wings that were wide and square on the tips. How strange is this? On the last turn the pilot was close enough we could see him wave.

"I bet someone comes to sell us a picture pretty soon" Don determined. And right he was--as usual!

The resulting photo was wonderful. Our paddock and barn (two horses stretched out sleeping) and a little glimpse of our house, the Catfish Corner corner, and the river bottoms that surround us. At the very top of the photo--the mighty Mississippi, which is also the very southernmost part of the wide area of the creek known as Lake Pepin.

The second shot was from the south and shows the area to the north of us--really pretty, too. This is also the view we have that was done during the winter four years ago but this one was from a higher perspective and shows more of the neighborhood.

After the haggling we ended up with both shots and will probably have to submit them to Google Earth--they are way better than what they are showing!

Only Four Days Left

The final preparations will be made to set up the barn and studio for the Fresh Art Spring Tour this weekend. I hope we have good weather, but not so nice that everyone wants to stay home and play in their own gardens.

It's called a garden tour, too, but I don't have much going in the garden department this time of year. The tulips and daffodils I planted when we first moved here have run their course and I need to plant new bulbs this fall. (I think I was doing the Fall Tour when it was bulb planting time!) There's nothing like seeing a bright dash of color in the early spring.

Our lilacs are in bloom and a couple little peony bushes have blossomed. Maybe the irises will open for the event. So far my reblooming irises have been neverblooming. But there are buds there now so there is now hope. I'm just happy the shrub roses and lavendar survived the winter. Still no sign of the Hardy Hibiscus, but I'm guessing that one to be a late emergent.

Back to the glass art: I have been working on a number of pieces, but in my mind, I always wish I could have completed more. It's sure a lot slower than in "the old days" when I had a shop full of eager "studio elves" to help make my dreams come true---quickly! I have a new tulip fan lamp and a new style lantern-style accent lamp that is made of a very interesting Bullseye glass.

I'll also have two new pastels of Catfish Corner this time. "Storm Passing" and "Late Winter" will be featured.

More photos to follow! But better yet, follow your map to Site 12 -- Sherri Studio at Catfish Corner.

The Donald is out there tonight trying his hand with the fishing rod, so maybe we will be having a Fish Fry at Catfish Corner later!

We Will Miss You, Louie

We were so sad to find our rooster, Louie, graveyard dead out by the barn this morning. I had been out earlier in the morning to open the hen house door and I was welcomed with his 100-decibel cock-a-doodle-doo. Everyone went out and I dumped the corn and crumbles, fed the horses, the Paisley cat and the geese. All was well.

Don and I headed out to the barn about 11 am to put the mower on the JD tractor and Louie was at room temperature in front of the box stall. Not a mark on him. No sign of attack. Nor a sign of a struggle. The poor guy just gave up the ghost.

He has been our rooster in residence for the past three years and was a pretty healthy specimen. It was near impossible to get too close to him while he was vertical, but in this state I could appreciate his nearly three inch spurs, his full fluffy tail feathers and hackle. He was a cool rooster.

The only living bits left of Louie are now the fertilized eggs in the frig, and those that will be laid today. We were suddenly on a mission to get an incubator to bring those little calcium encrusted blobs of his DNA hatched to continue a generation of Louie's offspring. Out came the "chicken book" so I could find out what to do, and learned I have some time to line up an incubator and with a little luck we will have some little Louie's and Louisa's running around in a few weeks.

Louie had over 30 hens in his harem so there leaves little doubt that he died a happy rooster; probably doing what he liked best.

WOA Signs of Spring

I got a picture, finally, of my entry in the Signs of Spring show at Wings Over Alma. The opening reception was held Friday evening.

"Soft Maples Bloom at Catfish Corner" is a pastel which I completed just before the show and depicts the fleeting red blossoms that appear on the soft maples just before the leaves pop out. It was a dark sky evening just as the sun was setting and making the clouds look even darker. The tree reflections were eerie and seemed to bleed into a dark prussian blue/black haze. It's at that certain time of spring where the colors can almost look like fall. Of all the versions of Catfish Corner that I have done, this has been one of the most dramatic. That's what I love about my backyard muse. It is always changing, always a different color and mood.

Even though it is only a few weeks later, it's time to do another version that will be quite different than this one.

On a different take on the theme of Signs of Spring, I chose to depict two other distinctive signs. Namely, the mosquito and wood tick!

Thanks to Facebook

Thanks to Facebook I can find out what my rellies are up to. I was cruising through when I found a new post on the Anderson's Maple Syrup page.

Seems they are sponsoring a race car at Talledega (I think the pros call it 'dega) this weekend. The car # is 28 and the driver is Kenny Wallace. I don't know anything about racing, but I think the Wallace name is a racing family, isn't it?

Norman Anderson is my dad's cousin and has been in the maple business for generations. Son, Steve, is now running the business and I'm thinking things must be going in the right direction for them!

Signs of Spring

I helped hang the next exhibit at Wings Over Alma on Wednesday. The Signs of Spring exhibit is a "members" show and there are a lot of artist members  in WOA.

Silly me -- I didn't get my camera out to the studio before I took my pieces to the show--so I'll have to get some shots at the reception next Friday.

Guest Blog for Refuge Farm

I had the privilege to share some thoughts on Sandy Gilbert's blog for Refuge Farm in Spring Valley, WI, that you can read through the link. That was a different experience. I usually don't have a theme in mind when I write on my own blog until I sit down and first find a picture. I could write about whatever I wanted -- so subject matter was wide open. But, when you know other people are going to be reading it I had a case of stage fright!

The recession has been difficult for charitable organizations in general but the horse rescue has suffered a double-whammy. The number of horses that have been abandoned, neglected and abused is at an all time high due to the recession--on top of the decline of donated funds to keep the operation afloat. I am hoping to have a little fund raiser in conjunction with the Fresh Art Tour on May 14, 15, 16. Last fall it was a pumpkin sale so maybe I can have some bedding plants ready or something on that order.