Last Hike of the 2013-14 Winter Season; Countdown to Spring.

Yesterday morning when I saw that the temperature was 55 degrees I knew we couldn't stay inside all day minding the fire. So I put together a crock-pot of soup using a recipe* a pal had posted on Facebook and we headed out the door and down the road. Because the Poop Trail, the closest local trail, was too muddy to even attempt we made a b-line to one of our alternates -- an oil road out Droney way.

We got to the t-junction by the access road after a little slip-and-slide on the ice and at first I wasn't sure the Jeep was going to be able to get all the way off the road, but we did it! Took three attempts with the fellas at the factory watching* to get in exactly the right spot. Drove right up the snowbank that the plow had been building up all winter. Was kinda wild; the Jeep kinda teetered there for a second, but we made it.

There's A Storm Rolling In...

...from the Northeast where the Great Lakes lie in their winter slumber. As of February 14th, eighty-eight percent of the Great Lakes are covered in ice. At least, that's what CBS Chicago reports.

All I know is that it is unseasonably cold. Cold enough to keep me from getting my daily exercise by walking the trail. And with no exercise... So I've decided to haul the elliptical out of the back room and into the living room. Time to get rid of this paunch. Besides - if I don't do it now I won't be able to go for those long hikes once Spring arrives.

Daily Journal - 20 February 2014

Lately I've had the good fortune of seeing some amazing scenery in movies. I'm enamored of how the story line fits in with the background images. Oh to be a director of such wonderful things. To be able to visualize what the author of a story had in mind - or to adapt our thoughts of the scenes in a way that reflects at least the intent of such a huge endeavor.

Palaces in Italy. Fishing boats on the high seas. Wolves running free in Yosemite.

All the places that I'll never get to see.

Beating the Winter Doldrums.

Maybe It's Me...

For the last couple weeks I've had a hard time finding scenes to photograph. Most of the time the weather has restricted our movement, but today the sun was shining and the temperature was quite a bit above zero. Twenty-six degrees Fahrenheit to be exact.

Yet STILL nothing I saw on the trail was worthy of even temporary storage space on the Cannon's SD Card. While the sight of the sun streaming through the trees and the blue-tree-shadows that lay across the road were enjoyable, I never once got the urge to reach inside my Carhartt Active Jacket to pull out the camera.

Old Friends Are Gold.

Thinking of the faces in the window

That you passed along the way

-- Kris Kristofferson "This Old Road"

This morning brought a cloudless sky and temperatures well below freezing (-6 degrees Fahrenheit at 6 a.m.). So cold that the morning paper stroll merged with the morning constitutional as paws warm from slumber sank through a crusted top-layer to fine powdery snow beneath. Good lighting to sit by the window to paint, yet here the time passes with laptop on thighs. Alternating between watching wood embers glow, surfing the internet and listening to thoughts wander.

Working Wednesday - December 4, 2013

 
 Progress continues on the doodle shown here in rough form.









Slightly more color and detail.

Line work to bring out more details.





Hoping to finish

Thankful Tuesday - December 3, 2013

I always like to play around with shapes when preparing for detail projects. After being away from drawing and painting for a while, I find it best to 'practice' before jumping into the paint. Doodling gets me in the mood and allows me to practice motion control.

Little projects to improve techniques. Colored pencil, watercolor pencil, acrylics, pen and ink, watercolor. Mixed media.

Keep in mind that everything looks different in color. Will post the 'finished' doodle.

Today I am thankful for melting snow, old friends, new friends and family. For leftovers so I don't have to cook. For kitty-cats that curl up on your lap for a nap. For dancing flames in the wood stove.

A couple other sketches...