Summer Sunflowers

Spellbinding Sunflowers
5.5 x 7.5" - transparent watercolor on 140lb Arches paper, matted to 8 x 10"

Today's painting was done from an anniversary bouquet that I received last Thursday. Sunflowers don't ever seem to last very long for me, so this time I took some photos before they got too droopy. As you can see, artistic license was taken with the colors. Compensating for the wilt and just going with the flow, I strived to infuse them with a cheerful vitality.

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Question of the day:

Are you ready for Fall?

If not, get in the mood!

See this week's FREE  

Halloween Coloring Pages and a 

witchy watercolor on Sketching Everyday.

Supervisor #1

On the home front -

The kittens are growing up fast and getting very

 comfortable with their studio cat positions.

Supervisor #2

They are both such a big help with production and quality control.

I don't know what I ever did without them!

"Enjoy the little things,

for one day you may look back and realize

they were the big things." ~ Robert Brault

♥

 

Princess Crosses The Rainbow Bridge

Princess - 1 - 3 - 2012 - The last time she played with her favorite toy.

Yesterday I took Princess to the vet because she has been failing since February when she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. She has been on medication, but improvement has been minimal. She continued to lose weight and only about 50% of her days were good ones recently. After taking an x-ray and finding a mass in her abdomen, I made the very tough decision to have her put to sleep before her condition got worse. I just didn't want to see my precious kitty suffer. She was good the first two times they took her into the back, to get her weight and an x-ray, but when they took her in that last time, after I said my teary goodbyes, she screamed her lungs out.  I could hear her loud vocal cries of distress as I was filling out the final paper work at the front desk, behind a flood of tears. Do you think she knew what was coming?  She had been extremely affectionate to me at the vet's office, very vocal, rubbing on me and purring, the whole half hour or so that we waited in the exam room.

Princess has been somewhat of a celebrity here on the web. Here she is herding her deer.

Always ready for a brushing, a cuddle or a walk about, she was definitely MY CAT and only tolerated everyone else.

Check out her antics with the ten toms last year.

Last June she had her portrait done.

And last but not least, Princess, was my studio cat and the Art Director here at The Sandarosa.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable
.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.

~ Author unknown

Howdy Hoo From Cat Man Do!

Sophie - sweet resident barn/shop cat

I said I'd fill you in the cat happenings here at "Cat Man Do", so here I go. It's complicated. Eva, the one year old recent drop off and fred's last fling has been vetted, treated, spayed and contained in a large cage in Jerry's shop since last Tuesday. She's been in the same room as Sophie and Ginger, our outside/inside, barn/shop cats. Sophie is a real doll, but Ginger is a an insecure, neurotic pterodactyl. (Wow, how do you like the spelling of that word?) The three cats seem to be accepting each other and I think we'll open Eva's door to the room with the two girls on Wednesday. I hope her and Sophie hit it off, because Ginger really annoys the Soph with her constant clinginess.

Ginger - Sweet, skittish and fat with various issues

The love triangle - Eva,  Ja Ja and Fred 

Eva -  tiny newbie 4.5 lbs.

Eva seems very docile and tame. Jerry's been sticking his hand in the cage and petting her, which she likes very much.

Ja Ja - teenage mother, 6 mo. old

As per my previous post, we caught Ja Ja,

only to find she was nursing kittens,

so brought her back untouched except for a rabies shot.

She loves the trap and we have caught her several times since. 

Freddie the Free Loader - Still at large

Fred's just too smart and continues to be an outlaw. We set the trap. He sniffs it, sprays it and walks away. He's been around the block a few too many times and we're afraid he is going to be a difficult one to catch.

Princess has her good days and bad. She's 17 now and often seems grouchy. She has been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. We have her on transdermal medication which is helping her have more good days. She now has a better appetite and is starting to put some weight on. 

Tigger is our big, lovable guy. He is spending more and more time with me in the studio, much to Princess' dismay. He's usually very good and tolerant of her and her space, but every once in a while he has to be a bad boy and get right in her face. This of course sets her off and gets her all riled up. He's young and playful and does it just for the fun of it and because it really annoys her.

Lately, Tigger's been taking all of the big soft balls out of his toy basket. Then, he walks around with them in his mouth. He carries it like it was a kitten, all the time crying in a loud, pitiful way until he finds a good spot to lay it down. Then he goes and gets another one and repeats the process. Saturday morning, we woke to find all four of them arranged in a neat, evenly spaced row. He continued observing and guarding them throughout the day until later that evening, when he started adding smaller sparkly balls to his arrangement. Then he seemed to loose interest. I think he wants to be an artist.

Leah - resident outside feral

Ziggy and Leah seem to be staying to themselves, mostly hanging out on the shed roof during the day where they occupy the penthouse suite.

Ziggy - Tigger's brother, resident outside feral

Snowflake  - spring 2011

They are not alone up there in their roof top abode anymore though. For the past couple of weeks, a raccoon has been coming out of their apartment and joining them for their evening meal. We don't think it's Snowflake, because it's shy and runs when it see's Jerry, but it could be one of the babies from last year. Anyway, they all seem to be getting along at the moment. Most likely, Ziggy and Leah don't have a choice and are just trying to hang on to their prime real estate. 

"Psychologists now recognize that the need in some people to have a dozen cats is really a sublimated desire to have two dozen cats."  ~ Robert Brault

Baby Raccoons and SandyLand Update

Guess who's living under my hay barn? OMG there are three little fuzzy-bear rascals and they are SOO CUTE! Momma took over Chuckie the wood chuck's home under there a few weeks ago when it was so hot here. The family has been living there ever since. Jerry took these snaps of them last night. I need to do a stake out from the big barn and try to get some good shots of them soon.

Snowflake is a very good mom and very strict and protective of the cubs. She has also taken over our feral cats, Ziggy and Leah's turf and food.They don't seem to mind it though and instead look forward to watching mom and the kids. The two cats can often be seen looking under the barn and waiting by the hole for the babies to come out.

We got some more plants and Jerry welded up more plant stands. We had to stake them into the ground as one tipped over in the strong wind. Thank goodness it missed the Jeep! Here's the studio entrance, taken this morning.

The screened porch off the kitchen is a favorite spot to hummer-watch any time of the day! The butterfly bushes are just starting to flower at the very top, but they should be exploding with blooms any day now.

Princess loves to roll around on the cool stepping stones in the morning.

She'll survey her territory to see who's been around during the night. Then up on the porch to watch the hummingbirds, deer, turkeys, birds, cats, squirrels, and chipmunk action for an hour or two.

I've gotten up early the past couple of mornings and taken Rembrandt for a spin through the woods. He's been looking awful mopey lately. At 31 years old, his teeth are not good and he doesn't do well in the heat. He has not been eating his hay at all, not moving around as he should and not pooping very much. It's been so hot and dry the past month, there is no pasture to speak of. I knew he needed exercise and lunging just wasn't enough. He starts out pretty slow and stiff, but by the end of our rides both days, he was so strong! Trotting through the trails, stirring up flocks of turkeys and herds of deer, I was applying a lot more half halts than leg! Looks like I'll be riding regularly this summer, 'cause he's been doing sooo much better since I started. It seems to have helped me and my back too. It's good getting up and out early. It makes the day so much richer. Here's a photo of him this morning after our ride. The watermelon and cantaloupe has really perked him up too. I've increased his Cushing's medicine which I think is helping and I started wetting some chopped hay mixed with Cavalor Senior which he has eaten a couple of times now. There was more manure in his paddock this morning, and his attitude is much more spirited so that is encouraging. With a horse this age, it's constant attention and tweaking of diet and routine to keep him strong. Oh, what Jerry and I wouldn't do for our old buddy! (And all of our animals!)

Princess And The Ten Toms

Princess, my studio cat, was restless and very vocal this morning. I couldn't figure out what it was she could want.

With me being laid up with a strained back over the last week and a half and rain off and on the past couple of days, she hasn't gotten to go on her usual frequent "walk-about" the property. So I got my jacket on  and we headed out. Once out, she acted hesitant, like it wasn't what she wanted after all. Sometimes, like all of us I guess, she doesn't know what she wants.

I noticed a group of male turkeys were out in the field. We have a flock of 25-30 off and on around here. The young bachelors are sticking together now as the hens are off nesting.

Princess followed me out and the turkeys quickly took note of her.

It didn't take long before the dominant males were over to check her out.

She was really enjoying all the attention.

She kept watching me, perhaps in case she needed protection. Or was she looking for approval?  Showing me how brave she is, here deliberately posing for this group shot.

Her body language was that of superiority, confidence and being in control.

The encounter really perked her up.  I watched as she played mind games with them. Varying her posture and eye contact, she was checking out what kind of a response she'd get.

After ten to fifteen minutes of turkeys, she got restless and bored. By diverting her (intense) gaze and shifting her posture, the ten toms started to move on.

The leaders came back a few times to make sure it was over, and it was. By this time, something else really had gotten her attention. She was done with them.