A Pretty Snow

After such a mild winter it's nice to see some of this kind of snow that sticks to the tree branches and makes the world look like a post card.  This is the view from my front door.  It's still snowing hard, though it's not obvious in the picture, and the wind is blowing in from the ocean (behind me).  I haven't heard that this is supposed to accumulate a lot, but time will tell.  In any case, the dogs, birds, and I are comfortable here in the house.  So, I assume, are the chickens out in their coop.  When I closed them in last night I made sure they had plenty of food and water, which doesn't freeze because it sits on a heated surface.  All's right with the world.

More Sandpaper

It's a good thing I don't expect to go down in history as a great artist since the archival quality of my work leaves a lot to be desired.  Here is another pastel on sandpaper.  The subject is from a photo I took at the 4th of July parade a couple of years ago.  Not much more to say about that.

A Little Adjustment

Willy's unhealthy relationship with the birds forced me to make some changes in their habitat.  He is obsessed with them, and at times jumps up to get a better view.  He jumped off the bed every two or three minutes last night to run downstairs and check them out.  Patrick and I couldn't sleep, so I had to close Willy in the bedroom with us.  He accepted his fate, but as soon as we got up this morning he was off down the stairs as fast as his legs would carry him.

The table I originally put the cage on looked a little unstable and I worried that he would knock it over with his exuberance.  This "thing" (I don't know what to call it) that I had in the hall is a little higher and much heavier.  I knew that Willy wouldn't be able to budge it no matter what he did.  So I swapped the  two.  It's a great setup, with my old incubator light from the baby chicken days hanging from a hook in the ceiling over the table for heat.  I was worried that Joshua and Jenny would be cold, not to mention the projected bill for electricity if I continued with the heater.  It creates a nice environment, too, with the plants.

It's obvious that Patrick is unimpressed, sleeping in his bed to the right of the table.

New Additions to the Family

Not long after I posted that I thought about getting birds, my friend Lindy contacted me. It's a perfect example of "ask and it shall be given."  She had two parakeets she wanted to re-home. Before I knew it, I had taken them in.  Right now I am enjoying their little sounds and watching them eat.  Willy took such a keen interest in them that I put a gate in front of the table where the cage is.  I'm expecting him to get used to them and consider them part of the family,
at which time I will remove it.

I've placed the cage in a corner of the dining/piano/computer room where they will get plenty of company for part of the day.  They are surrounded by heaters, so I'm hoping the temperature of the rest of the house won't  effect them adversely.  So far they seem content enough.

I like their little sounds in the air, signs of life.