For the Birds

This has been a winter filled with birds.
I have been fortunate to have a bird's eye view
from our window of all our feathered friends
dining at our bird feeders.
Like my cats, I've been captivated by them.
I'm excited to be doing a series of paintings
to celebrate the birds.
This is a female cardinal who visits daily.

Posing with Portraits

I've been inspired to work on the portraits of
Brody and Polly that I started when I was in
Connecticut in January.
They kindly posed with their portraits this
morning.

(I'm also working on finishing up some
commissions of dogs and a cat that are
in various stages.)

I love drawing and painting
so many things, and since I've been
home I'm so overwhelmed with all that is around
me. Besides my cats, the birds and squirrels, the snow
and sea are so inspiring.
My camera has enabled me to capture the moments
and now it's time to become absorbed in the
drawing and painting of them.
Winter is a good time for reflection.

Polly's Evening

Polly joined her Dad for some laptop computer
work this evening.

When her work was completed, she retired to
a cozy basket tucked away in the corner.

Many cats seem drawn to the computer!

Quiltcat can manage to telecommute with
her cat, Louie, snoozing on her lap and keyboard.

Do you have computer cats?

Cat Entertainment

Brody is quite funny!

Polly has a good vantage point to enjoy
Brody's antics.

Brody's catnip mouse is attached
to the chair which not only provides
entertainment for Brody but also for
his audience.



How do your cats or dogs make you
smile?

Valentine's Day

caring

sharing

company

May you be close to the ones you love!

The Bird Watcher

Brody spent the evening perched on the
table with his trusty Bird Book by his
side to help him brush up
on bird identification.

What a Discovery!

Late last night, D filled the bird feeders so they

would be plentiful for the morning visitors.
He didn't realize that he forgot to replace the
lid on the metal can where the big bag of
bird seed is stored.
A very lucky red squirrel made the discovery this
morning before we did.


Here's a little video of one very happy
red squirrel!

Treats for the Squirrels

D bought a bag of marked down Brazil nuts
and shared the broken leftovers with the red
squirrels and this one looks delighted!

The House and Studio Cats

We share our house with the
upstairs and downstairs cats,
Brody and Polly.
Brody can become a stalker when
Polly is in his sight so they usually require
supervision when they are in the same room.

Wonder what Brody is looking at
with such intensity and concentration?
This happens to be his expression
when he is watching Polly.

Polly is so comfortable relaxing on the couch on a
cold winter evening as long as Brody keeps his distance!

Next to our house is my studio that I share
with Ellie May. After our cat nap together,
she helped me post tonight about Polly and Brody.

Brody the Cat Camps In

Brody still loves his cat tent and

I often find him in there camping
in the house with his mouse!

Apples For the Birds

If you are having a cold snowy winter, how
about throwing some apples out in your
yard for the birds to help them survive the
winter. The robins really like apples!

Look Before You Leap

Look before you leap!
Something that is good for
us all to keep in mind!
Our little red squirrel didn't
look before she leapt.
She assumed that was another
of the many birds that had
been visiting the bird feeder
this morning.

As she leapt towards the
bird feeder, she landed in
the arms of the big gray squirrel.
They were both so startled and
after a twirling encounter,
little red dashed away in
a flash.

Good News from We Three Cats

We've been following the story of Mr. Griffiths,
the wonderful neighbor of 'we three ginger cats'
from Wales. He has been in the hospital and the
latest news is that he will be coming home soon
and we know how much his cat, Nadilog, must
miss him. My cats, Ellie May, Polly and Brody,
along with the red squirrel who lives
in our yard are all hoping for a reunion for
the two of them very soon!
Sending best wishes across the sea!

A Busy Day at the Bird Feeder

This morning I was fascinated by the view from
our window of all of the activity surrounding
our bird feeder.
It was a very busy destination and
everyone was moving very quickly for they
might have sensed an impending snow storm.
Among the visitors were the cardinals and bluejays,
chickadees and juncos, a tufted titmouse, a wren,
unusual sparrows, goldfinches, house finches, a woodpecker
and some very entertaining and enterprising gray and red squirrels.

Forget About Sharing

Forget about sharing!
Hmmm, If I could just get this lid
off it could be all mine!

The Moon and Ellie May

As I stepped outside this evening
I saw a magical sight.
If you look closely, you can see
Ellie May in the left window of
the studio as the moon shone through
wisps of pink clouds.