Pity the Groundhog, For He Labors On February 1st...

So, today was Groundhog Day. As a Pennsylvania gal, I take a certain amount of pride in the fact that Punxsutawney Phil is our guy, and ours alone. But it's an awful lot of pressure on a hapless rodent. I can't help but imagine the pre-game jitters. So I did. Imagine them, I mean.

In this cover for Spider magazine a couple of years ago we see Phil in the wee hours, trying, rather desperately, to divine what may be. And, obviously, he's deadlining (that's a nod to my profession, for sure).

This was the February/March issue. The shamrocks on the tablecloth are a reference to March. The pressure's off by then and Phil can go back to relaxing. And randomly destroying people's gardens. Spring is (somewhere) around the corner. He knows that.

Ghost Leaves

 I always love the ghost images that fallen leaves make this time of year on concrete walkways. These images are progressive- some taken during the day, some at night. Traveling between the Art Building and the William J. Benton Museum of Art on the University of Connecticut campus, pausing to take in these ephemeral moments is a nice "anti-venom" to the blah, blah, blah of time spent in depressing meetings (otherwise known as "time out of my life that I can't ever get back"). There is something about these "leaves/not leaves" that always interests me...

Exercise... and "Silence of the Lambs"

This recent page, from my sketchbook, details an oddly beautiful but scary sight. There were so many vultures, all perfectly still and silent. Birds are omens, aren't they? There's something about seeing this many carrion-eaters while you're exercising that says, "Maybe I should hurry up?"

Summer Skin

Summer is upon us, along with its attendant beauty! Who can deny this? Well, maybe me. Another in a series of iPad explorations.

Ticks. I Still Hate 'Em.

Ticks. One of God's most loathsome creatures. Well, lampreys are also loathsome, but they don't live in my back yard and attach themselves to me with any regularity. So, ticks win. Here is a handy field guide to help you identify them.

The Fate of Honeybees

Another image reflecting my ongoing concern with Colony Collapse Disorder and the fate of honeybees. They're so important. We should pay attention!

More Chickens- Raise Some!

In the spirit of Easter... chicks! If you're considering having chicks this spring, consider rare breeds. They need your support. Reliable purveyors of rare breed chicks are the Marti Poultry Farm in Windsor, Missouri, and the Murray McMurray Hatchery. Don't be afraid to have backyard chickens!

A Little Chicken Love

A special post for my brother, Eric Deibler, who is considering having a flock of chickens. He is thinking about Buff Orpingtons, a heritage breed. "What's a heritage breed" you ask! Sometimes called "rare breeds" or even "antique breeds," these are agricultural animals that are so low in numbers they are considered endangered. They're genetically important, so raise some! A great resource for learning is the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy out of Pittsboro, North Carolina. Visit their website!

This beautiful rooster posed pretty well! Painted on site at Kelmscott Farm in Lincolnville, Maine, a haven for rare agricultural breeds.

Boboli Gardens, Sketch Crawl

On Saturday I took my University of Connecticut art students on a "sketch crawl" at the Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy. For the uninitiated, a sketch crawl is a group of artists getting together and drawing on location. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. We even enjoyed lunch afterward, courtesy of Palazzo Rucellai (where the students are currently enrolled). What's better than a morning of drawing? A morning of drawing followed by as much pizza and salad as you can eat.

Fantasy Fishing

Fish. Big fish, small fish, freshwater fish, deep sea fish, ancient fish, today's fish. Fish are just great shapes to work with. So here are some more fish, fantasy and otherwise, for my readers to enjoy.

La Specola, Firenze, Italy

La Specola is Florence's Natural History Museum. And, what a place! It's full of 18th and 19th century taxidermy and wax models of the human body. Definitely a "must-see" if you are in the area. Six euros well spent, I say. Weird, wonderful, and not to be missed.

Anatomy of a Thunderstorm

Goats (and My Hatred of Goat Cheese)

But it wasn't always this way...

I never liked goat cheese much. Well,... not at all. To me it tasted like male goats smell- you know, that goat-y smell/taste. Anyway, yuck. Make that yuckety-yuck-yuck.

I could agree that goats, themselves, were terrific in other ways. Just couldn't abide by the cheese.

But I kept trying it because both healthy and sophisticated people seemed to like goat cheese. Still, yuck. With dried cranberries? No good. With herbs? Nope. Black pepper? No. Even garlic? Still, no. It didn't matter.

Then, things changed...

My friends, Jane and Susan, kept goats and began to make cheese. Fresh, wonderful, non goat-y goat cheeses! Hard cheeses too! It's great stuff and I was a convert. You can visit them online here: Jane and Susan and their wonderful stuff

Buy their soaps and lotions and stop by to visit them so you can have some cheese!

Happy Goat Cheese Ending.

A Little iPad (Fish) Fun

Some fun with Zen Brush for the iPad. Fish are such great shapes!

A Meditation on Honey Bees

More on the current stress on honeybees... and us. Yikes!

A Sea of Corrugated Tin

Asking the Eternal Question, "Why?"

Worried About Honey Bees? I Am!

They're on the way out. And that's bad! Not bad-azz, just BAD.

Happy Tuesday Animal

Pink letters = pink animal.

Sometimes a little pink animal is just what you need. You know, after shoveling through three inches of sleet.

Do You Love Fish?! I Mean, Their Colors and Shapes and Stuff...