The Insulator-photo-Connor Fullerton

I get the biggest charge out of kids. If you leave them alone to be their own individuals and let them speak freely it is truly amazing the things that come out of their mouths.

My son is a prime example. Like any other 13 year male version of the species he has entered that phase of his life I call "slothdom". There is a trail of belongings that if he were to get lost would help any searcher find him in a nanosecond. His own ability to recognize his belongings and to relocate them to a more suitable environment aka his bedroom seems to be a learned response. One he has yet to master and no amount of coaxing, bribing, blackmail or screeching seems to affect his ability to retain this knowledge.

I went into his room to say goodnight and there in the middle of the floor sat an empty laundry basket. Surrounding it like a massive body of water was a variety of discarded clothing. Realizing that the vast area covering the floor was too large to navigate I waded through it. All manner of crunching and cracking was heard as bits of Lord knows what hidden in his pockets was broken. I am sure it will filter out in the washing machine.

I watched my son for a moment before reprimanding him about this Island in his room and the fact that the basket appeared not to be inhabited by any soiled clothing. Without blinking an eye he stared back at me and stated

"Its art Mom."

Seriously, how am I supposed to remain all "Mom faced" after a line like that????

After the giggles stopped I told him that it appeared to be performance art and the performance was over. Clean up the stage.

This morning the island is slightly inhabited and the waters are receding but it still requires a master mariner to make it from his door to his bed without trodding upon some sort of debris!

Connor is learning how to become a photographer and doing quite a fine job of it. The above photo is his attempt to use the evening sun to illuminate an old glass insulator. I must say that this is what I had in mind when he said, "It's art Mom."

Grey Puss 3x5 Oil Portrait Sold

On those rare moments when I get a few seconds to myself I enjoy the studio. It is like a cool drink of water while stranded in the desert. Someday I will have more than a few seconds to spend at the easel and this blog will return to its former glory of a daily posting.

The above painting is one third of a trio. All three pusses are very different in appearance and it should be a really neat series when completed.

That is if I can keep the owner from crying.

I was warned. I didn't beleive it would happen and I was unprepared. I rummaged in my pockets for a tissue and realized that all I had to offer was a fewballed up used ones. Realizing that would not be a classy gesture I scooted out of the room and returned when she found nicer tissues than I could supply!

My people skills need work and my pockets have been cleaned out.

Next time I present her with another painting I will be bringing a box of Kleenex with me!

Precious' Boys (Rideau Arcott x Blue Face Leisceister)

It has been a busy spring. All my ewes have successfully lambed out and Precious my favorite ewe produced twins. Or so my daughter thought when she came racing into the house to phone me. When I got home and saw the third bundle of joy I began to wonder about the value of her mathematical education!

Roger, Garnet and Floppy are quite the characters. Floppy was born a bit weak legged (hence the name) as one would expect considering how much lamb Precious crammed into her uterus. If you doubt me look at the above picture. Here are the boys and they are not even 24 hours old yet! My hat is off to Precious, but not too long, it is cool in the mornings here!

Yes they are wearing wool coats. Some of my non animal friends questioned me on this and secretly wondered if I had lost it. Most people would probably agree that dressing farm animals up would be a foolish pastime but for this woman it is the easiest and cheapest way to ensure your lambs survive.

Believe it or not a new born lamb is born with very little in the way of fleece. Our winters/springs can be pretty brutal here especially if you have just left the warm comfy confines of your mother and are exposed to the harsh realities of a -20 degree windchill with a snow bank for a bed!

An old wool blanket (trust me the irony of it is not lost on me!) is easily sewn into a little lamb sweater and voila, instant warmth and skyrocketing survival rates. No heat lamps and it is all chemical free. No sheep were harmed in the making of these blankets and another generation of lamb gets to bound joyfully through green pastures.

For those of you who don't believe me try it. I have a friend who has been a Shepard all her life and she blankets everyone of her Romney lambs. She told me she hasn't used a heat lamp in over 20 years. Considering we lost our chicken shed to a heat lamp I was thrilled to try out the blankets and trust me when I say I have never looked back.

Now all I have to do is find a way to put them on my day old chicks!

The Dawning of a New Day
(Clun Forest x Blue Face Leiscester)

Future Star
(Clun Forest x Blue Face Leiscester Ram)

The Future is Great
(Benny - Purebred Clun Forest Ram Lamb)

I love my family. I feel sorry for people who don't love theirs.

My family has informed me that I have been lax of late in filling the quota of amusing tales of life around me. As you can see my girls and I have been busy and someday I will write a book about it but for now you will have to bear with me while I stumble along.

There are paintings on the easel, chicks on order, lambs bounding about and of course family to deal with! My astrology claims that after Venus leaves my sector things will improve.

He's a bit behind the times! Things are improving.... rapidly. Too rapidly for this domestic Goddess to keep up with.

I have learned that while I am pretty special, time will not stop upon my whim and so I have to adjust my needs to what a mortal woman can accomplish in a 24 hour time span. Doesn't seem particularly fair. Father Time is ignoring my requests for a delay or extension in regards to the amount of available minutes a human can productively create in. That is soooooo not fitting in my plans.

The only thing that makes me feel somewhat better is that Einstein, Da Vinci and Edison all had the same constraints.

And I'm a woman...aren't we supposed to be more efficient???? LOL

Have a great day and stayed tuned!

Rex Oil Portrait Private collection

I have been a volunteer with 4H for many years and I must say that it provides me with a great deal of happiness. I enjoy the enthusiasm of the kids and count many of the parents as friends. I love being able to encourage young people to raise animals and learn about them as well as where they stand in the food chain. A Friend of mine who is an educator at the local Agricultural College told me recent statistics have our population as being 3rd generation from the farm. An alarming ratio when you think about the future and how we plan to feed an ever increasing population of people.

Last night my poultry members gathered for a meeting on judging conformational qualities of a chicken. For all you non farm folk, yes this important. It is a living breathing reproductively viable creature before it becomes a scrumptious meal upon your dinner plate.

In order to show where certain body parts are on a chicken I enlisted the help of my sons rooster Rex. Rex is a mature 4 year old Ameracauna rooster with 2 inch spurs capable of causing great damage should he desire to leave. Rex was my sons first foray into the world of chickens.

His real name is Nervous Wreck as he was originally too high spirited and nervous to make a good show rooster for a 9 year old. Connor worked with that rooster all summer. Rex was introduced to all sorts of things, horses, cats lawnmowers and televisions! By summers end he was what horse people call "bomb proof". It is something he has never lost.

So last night as parents gathered in a circle chatting about kids and watching them interact with a fully grown rooster on my living room floor I never once considered the scene strange. Everyone took turns picking up Rex and he was literally hugged like a teddy bear on more than one occasion. When the kids thought I wasn't looking a few of my freshly baked chocolate chip cookies were fed to the gentle bird.

Later that night when the kids and Rex were safely tucked in their respective beds my husband asked me if anything strange happened today.

I thought about it and replied an honest..." no".

"You don't think having a very large rooster walking about your living room being hugged like a doll by 10 year olds and being fed chocolate chip cookies is a bit strange?"

I considered his question, interpreted his underlying meaning and once again said ..."no."

How else am I going to prove to people that animals have feelings and are capable and deserving of kindness if I can not show it first hand? I have worked in the agriculture industry for over 2 decades and while I have the greatest amount of respect and admiration for people who make the business of raising livestock their career, I believe there is more than one way to keep animals.

With our civilization becoming more and more removed from the land I will take any opportunity to highlight the beauty and ability of raising animals, however small the scale, to people both young and old. If that means having a rooster in my house eating my cookies to prove there is nothing to fear about raising livestock, I guess I better start on my next batch of cookies. I wonder if Rex likes gingerbread?

Broadcove Valiant Diablo Oil Portrait Private collection

I have been painting for a long time. Long if you ask my kids but to me it seems like it is a timeless event. I do this because it causes me pleasure and takes me to my happy place. I used to tease my friends about having a happy place but in recent months I have found that other creative friends understood me when I joked about this mythical location.

One's a musician and the other is a writer and both commented on the calmness they felt when they took up their "hobby" and lost themselves for a few hours. Maybe it is akin to meditation because after I leave the studio I feel refreshed and energized.

Invariably people who visit my studio ask "How long did it take you to do this?"as they gaze upon some piece I have created.

"It varies" I say. And this never satisfies them. When I explain that I do it until I get it right they usually look at me with concern or disbelief. In a world so consumed by the quantification of time it seems foolish to them to do it until "it is right."

Then they ask "is this your best?" Or "What one is your favorite?"

When I explain that each one is a journey where I learn something new they look at me as if I am queer in the head. I suppose in this day and age that is a justifiable concern (my answer, their question but not my state of mind!). Why would one ever want to do a job until it is right or learn from the task when they could just go home at 5pm? No later mind you , wouldn't want to pay overtime would we?

I am glad to know that I am not alone in this ethic. I would hate to think that my doctor would ever walk out of a surgery because it was quitting time. I like to think that he and many others out there like to "do it until it is right."

What about you?

The above bull is a Holstein Bull bred by Ensley Crowe of Burncoat Nova Scotia. Diablo put Nova Scotia on the map for improving the quality of the Holstein breed in this country. While I am well known for painting dairy cows this is the first bull I ever painted. I was quite pleased with how well it turned out.

The Grey Mare 8X10 Oil Portrait Sold

This was a commission for a fellow who was retiring. As I worked on the piece I began to recognize certain anatomical characteristics about the mare and certainly in the foal. I asked if the recipient could tell me if they happened to be related to a stallion I knew.

I guess the question freaked the fellow out as he was astounded that I could recognize not only the stallion but his offspring. Turns out the mare is the daughter of the stud and the foal a throw back to him. I guess the fellow who now owns the painting was astounded that an "artist" would also know horses. The funny thing is that as an artist you end up spend extraordinary amounts of time rendering life like images onto canvas so much so that you study, duplicate and memorize all the little nuances of that creature. I can walk into any dairy barn that houses a cow I have painted and pick her out by her markings and the mammary veins, but only on one side!! LOL I probably spend more time looking at the cow than the owners do!

Today's News.

SO today we are being pummelled with what feels like the 900 th storm of the year. This one started innocently enough at 2pm but by 5:30 there was over a foot of snow. By 5:45 it started to blow. Now it is starting to rain/freezing rain. The kids are doing their little "happy" dance as the possibility of school being cancelled tomorrow is very high. I must say the drive home through this latest weather delight was "wonderful" (insert sarcasm here!).

I swear every 80 year old Grandmother on the planet decided she had to take her aged car with 3 year old summer tires out for that one "quick" trip to the grocery store for milk. Slamming on the brakes and skidding in a variety of semi circles before my eyes was just for my amusement I am sure.

Folks, News flash; YOU LIVE IN CANADA...BUY SNOW TIRES!

It snows here...alot.
We have more winter than summer.
It rains here, then it snows here ... alot.
We have crappy weather .... alot.
Global warming has not affected our miserable seasonal weather patterns enough for you to keep your bald summer tires on in February. EVER. This has not changed from when you were a child and it is not likely to change in the future.

BUY APPROPRIATE WINTER TIRES.

While I can normally get my jollies watching people experience the terror of sliding out of control from the comfort of my home while watching some form of vehicular "Wipeout " on the tube....I do not need to participate in your delusional fantasies that include your warped belief in your ability to travel safely through snow drifts that stop snowplows.

If you feel this rant does not apply to you, and you decide to pull such an idiotic maneuver and find yourself calling the ditch your new garage I will not stop and give you a ride home. You can walk your stupid arse home and stay there like you should have done in the beginning.

Winter preparedness. It is called being responsible. If you can not be responsible for your own actions...then don't act. Your inability to remain on your side of the road threatens the lives of every responsible person who is driving home to their families in their weighted down, new snow studded tired car.

Playing dodge ball with my car on a snow covered road with you is not my idea of a good time. Stop it. Your not funny anymore. If you won't do it for me Granny than do it for the 32 cats you have living in your house. I don't want to be responsible for them when your dumb actions have you hospitalized or having a personal meeting with St. Peter. I personally having you chatting about your eternal damnation with another fellow entirely but I think you get the point.

My rant is done.

I feel better.

Be safe on the roads. Be prepared, we'll all live longer.