Sidney the Unstoppable Squirrel

I had a little surprise in the mail on Saturday. I received my manuscript back from Tanglewood Press. It was another rejection for poor unwanted Sidney the Squirrel! But the funny part was that I mailed it on 2-11-08. I haven't sent any storys to publishers since poor little old Sidney. And I can't believe that after 17 months of sitting in a slush pile, that determined little Squirrel found his way back to me. (I didn't really want him back) Here's a tidbit...Sidney could hear the cat's paws hit the ground faster and faster behind them. Then Carmen dove for the hole and Sidney was right behind. He squeezed inside just as an orange paw swiped his back side. With a sigh of relief they peered outside. A big orange face stared back at them. "Yuck, fish breath!" said Carmen shaking her head. And with a twitch of a whisker and a splash of smelly drool the cat left. "We won!" laughed Sidney.

Monkey Business

I know this will come as a shock. But I couldn't find any girbra pictures to relate to my last art post. And I also don't have any photos of the girbra's distant cousins, giraffes and zebras. On to the monkeys. These characters were running around the jungle in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. And there is so much monkey business going on that it is hard to get a good photo. These are wild monkeys and there is a chance you might not see one here. But there is a very, very good chance that you will! While we were taking these pictures, one monkey ran right beside us on the trail. I'm not sure if we were watching a group of monkeys, or if the monkeys were watching a group of tourists. But either way it was lots of fun. For a little more on Manuel Antonio, see below.

Manuel Antonio...a.k.a. Monkey park

To get to the monkeys, you had to walk over this beach. But when you really want to see something, sometimes you have to make certain sacrifices.

Girbra

The SCBWI had a field trip to the Como Zoo last weekend. You can imagine my surprise when this Girbra showed up. A completely new species without any hoopla or publicity. Alert the media! (or maybe an art director...inside joke) But I suppose I should provide full disclosure. Apparently I'm the only one who actually saw the Girbra that day. I tried to ask one of the Zoo keepers about the Girbra and they blew me off. They said they were about to do one of their "Seal" shows and were too busy for silly questions. Another employee only had time for a, "No comment" They ask for a $2.00 donation to get into Como Zoo. I can't help but think that if they had Girbra shows, people might leave twice that in the donation box. Something to think (or laugh) about!

The Ruins of Ujarras...and dog.

Since I always relate my art and photos, you'll just have to take my word that this dog was at the ruin site. The church (or ruins) is the oldest church in Costa Rica. The first time we tried to find it we drove right by. All we saw was a community pool that was packed with people. And a pretty park that was crowded with revelers. The second time we were determined to find the place. Luckily the park was deserted and low and behold the ruins were behind it. You usually don't expect to find relecs near a public pool! And of course I had to snap a picture of the local pooch. For a couple more ruins photos see below.

My Life at Ruins

Curious Dog postcard

I've mailed the second in a series of four promotional postcards. And this would be the art. My backstory for the little girl is that she's rethinking the whole dog thing. She's annoyed with his barking and maybe wishes she had a cat. Cats rule right? They do at my house! It's also award time at my house. Check out my picks below.

A Bear Blob and a Turkey Wing...Trail cam week continues.

That's a very exciting blob or (blurry looking on bear) That's the best I could do with an acronym. He showed up on picture number 1,784. And after almost 1,780 deer, we were thrilled. He's walking away from the camera, darn it all. But it's a big bear behind. And I was also happy to see a turkey. Do you see a turkey? Look in the lower lefthand corner. Enlarging helps. It's a beautiful turkey wing. I hope you're not thinking that your favorite part is a drumstick! For more deer and "The Golden Heart Award" See below.

More Deer

There were almost 2,ooo snapshots on the trail cam footage. And at least 98% were deer. Groups of deer, mothers and fawns, alot of bucks and on and on. But I thought the light was really pretty on the day shot. And the buck in the night shot sports the biggest rack we found.

Trail cam week

This is a little piece of a larger wildlife painting. Something I dragged out of my infamous (not so famous) archives. And a perfect post for trail cam week. What is a trail cam you ask? See below for some sneaky wildlife photos.

Trail Cam

Full disclosure...I did not take these pictures. The magical trail cam caught these animals smack dab in the middle of their secret lives. The daylight picture shows a mother and her two fawns. The picture is a little grainy, so it helps to enlarge it. There are almost 2,000 pictures since early spring. And low and behold by the end of June the fawns started to show up. And the night shot captures a young buck, and he's not even camera shy. I felt like part of the crew from Ghost Hunters as we scanned our footage for signs of life. And yes we did capture one bear. Look for that picture on Thursday. But don't blame me or the trail cam for a not so sensational shot!

Two fists full of feathers

One of my favorite places to walk is at Wood lake here in Minneapolis. You would never know that 35w hugs the West side of this marshland trail. It's definately a world away and full of nature's usual suspects. I've seen fox in the afternoon. And families of raccoons in the evening. You never know when a deer might run across the trail. And at all times of the day there are herons, ducks and lots of geese. So would it surprise you to know that I have a certain drawer at home devoted to my collection of feathers. On two different evenings at Wood lake recently I collected a fist full of feathers. One of the fists pictured is mine and the other my husbands. I think feathers are objects of beauty. My cats think they are almost as good as the real thing!