Kittens in my shrubberies

This picture is from just before Ricocheting Kittens happened in my backyard on Friday evening. They came bursting out of the bushes - four of them - like little cotton ball/cannonballs. After a brief warmup routine, they did some pear tree exploration, which involves scurrying up and then plummeting out. Then there was a slower paced and not especially successful lightning bug hunt, after which everyone got very, very sleepy and it was time to nurse. I hope they come back again another night.

the Each Week, One Beast project: week 30

Ha! It's Otto again! It's now the Each Week, Otto project. Maybe, maybe not. This is again a sneak peak of a bigger, tiny picture. So far, with your help, I now know that Otto hates: cold milk (which is the same as milk that has not been warmed), the tedious task of painting trim, wet shoes (who doesn't?), dogs and everything having to do with them, sticky paws (and even just the mere thought), and Rude Awakenings. Please feel free to add to the list! Either here in the comments or an email to me, Otto's personal assistant and keeper of files, records and such.

Arts on the Square

Local friends, I'll be vending at the first annual Arts on the Square in Scranton this Saturday, from 12-8pm. I'll be donating 5% of my sales that day to the True Friends Animal Welfare Center (where my good old girl Laika came from many moons ago, back when we just called it The Pound). If you are like me, DON'T CLICK THAT LINK. You'll see the first dog on the adoption list, start crying, and jump in the car to go pick her up. Luckily my truck is broken down in the back alley, so I can't go. Anyway, back to Arts on the Square - there will be music! art! food! poems! The organizers for this event have really been putting in their time and planning what promises to be a great day. Hope to see you there!

the Each Week, One Beast project: week 29

This week's beast is a small part of a larger (but still very small!) drawing, and also an introduction to Otto, a cat of extreme grumpiness. I think we'll be having more of him around here, because, since I am currently pet-less in real life, I have been entertaining myself with tales of Otto and all the shitty things that annoy him. Like being stuffed in a loaf pan. He hates that. I'm just at the brainstorming stage, so if you can think of anything that might really get Otto's goat, do share!

Third annual Conca d'Or lily post

I was explaining to Matt this afternoon about my Conca d'Or lily anxiety. It goes like this: Conca d'Or blooms, all of a sudden, earlier than I was expecting. And immediately, while I am rapt with her beauty, I can't bear the thought that the bottom flowers are going to turn brown. Nooooooooo! But it's inevitable, folks. Also, there are only so many hours in the day, and I feel that to maximize the good things in life, I should spend them all with Conca d'Or.

Some facts: Did your lily salesman claim that Conca d'Or is so fragrant that just one bulb's worth of blooms will attract fairies? It's totally true, and completely unfabricated! And one bulb will multiply quickly. That's all I started with, as you can see in this post: A Rosie and a lily, which I think was year two for my bulbs. Now I have, like, so many. And the tallest ones are taller than Matt, who is six feet tall. He's my measuring stick. For last year's post, see here: Conca d'Or and friends.

the Each Week, One Beast project: week 28

One week, three beasts - oh well, it's kind of on topic.

New additions

Night in the City Garden prints are now available in my shop, along with new notecard sets.

Also, we caught Tiny Bunny in the woodchuck trap (don't worry! it's not the killing or maiming kind of trap). Tiny Bunny appeared to be perturbed but not traumatized. We let him go back under the quince bush because he only nibbles things, he is not the Woodchipper of Rodents, which is what that damn woodchuck is. The 'chuck turned my prize Tithonia plant into a tall green stick with exactly one flame-orange flower on top. But back to Tiny Bunny. In case you feel any doubt about how cute he might be, you should know this: he eats rose petals. Only cute things do that.

the Each Week, One Beast project: week 27

It's Charley! Reclining on a pile of pillows purchased especially for him.

Here and there and back again

Whew - it's been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks. A lot happened, and I'm so sleepy! So I'll just sum it up for you like this, in order of the pictures above: big city, then berries + dear wonderful friends from the west coast, big moth, and finally family time + big kitty. We just returned from a week in Vermont, and mostly what I did was chase big kitty (aka Charley Parker) around.