Chippy

Today was a rainy, gray day and the
yard was alive with birds and critters.
As I opened the door of the studio to
walk back to the house, I jumped as
all the wildlife suddenly scattered in
all directions.
This chipmunk also took off, but didn't
go far. I became very still with my camera
and the chipmunk would stand up to survey.
It nearly ran into me while I was looking
through the lens for there was a delay!

Remembering a Special Place

Many years ago I was living in the
city of Boston and yearned for the sea.
I moved to a quaint seacoast town that
had a big impact on my life.
More about that over at my other
blog, shells and roses.

A Goose in Strange Places

While driving through an industrial area
of Biddeford with much traffic,
we noticed a goose on the side
of the road on the inside of the guard rail.
We think she lives there for we had seen her
in the river sitting on an ice chunk
during the winter and thought that
was a strange place for her, surrounded by
old abandoned factories and a trash plant.
Maybe she has a family nearby.
She's very courageous!
(I'm worried for her
safety.)

After we spotted the real goose, we were in a
parking lot and noticed another goose on a truck!

Brody's Trousers

Brody loves trousers!
He especially loves to sit or
sleep on my husband's
pants. This morning he was on two
pairs of pants. We now leave
pants in several locations, and
there's always some on the
bed.
( if you look closely you can see
his scratching post. It's the end
of a bookcase and he has a high and
low spot that he has worn away so
that it has curves.)

Polly's Secret Admirer

I recently rearranged the furniture
in our little house.
Brody dove into the chair and
could not be coaxed out of it.
He was so intent on watching Polly
through the spokes of the chair.
This could have been trouble had she
decided to move, he would have been
too close for comfort.
Fortunately, she seemed
content and not threatened for he
appeared to be behind bars!

Polly's Yoga

Polly was doing yoga this afternoon inspired
by Judy's Fabric and Art blog, with her
words of wisdom for Wednesday,
" move it or lose it".

Creative Chipmunk

I think Polly's basket was lined up to give
her a view through the window of
this very creative and determined
young chipmunk .

Asleep on the Job

My night supervisor, Ellie May seems
to have fallen asleep on the job.

This afternoon Brody fell asleep and it's
difficult to understand how this sweet cat
can suddenly try to attack Polly.
Polly was almost ambushed by him
but she managed to escape,
she flew into the other room and into
her basket before I could even react to what
was happening.

Overwhelmed

This robin seemed overwhelmed in the
midst of all of these apples in our yard.
We had saved them through the winter
and though they don't look edible for us,
hopefully they will provide sustenance
for some birds during this cold
spell in March in Maine.

Ellie May and Walter Prints and Old Photos

I was going through one of my baskets of
prints and came across these.
On the right is Ellie May
in the window of our gallery when we were
located on Ocean Ave. in Kennebunkport.
We had it set up almost like a stage, it was
her window on the world, right on the sidewalk
so she could see everyone going by.
The print on the left is her son, Walter. He
loved to hang out at the little beach near us
and gaze out to sea.
It was a magical time for the cats.

Below are a few photos from those days of yore...

Here is one of Ellie May's fans, a Yorkie
on vacation from Florida, who stopped
by Ellie's window to peek at her napping.


This is Walter, Ellie May's son, who
spent much time at the Colony Beach
and Hotel in Kennebunkport.

Ellie is walking through the beach grass
behind our gallery... she could actually
hear the mice in the grass.

Painting Birds and Update

My supervisor, Ellie May, and I started
early this morning to work on
the drawings/ paintings of one of our
favorite subjects!


Ellie May not only supervises, she also paints!

First Day of Spring

Though the first day of spring was cold outside
Ellie May enjoyed the warmth of the sun
streaming in through the upstairs window in
the studio.

While in the house, Polly had a hard time
staying awake.

Hmmm, looks like Brody has taken
over Polly's other basket.

More Naps

There's something about a cat napping that
is so comforting to me.

Inspired by Birds

...work in progress

This winter the birds have been a great source
of inspiration.

The Basket Cat

Ever since Polly was a tiny kitten she has
loved baskets. Here's a painting I made of her
when she was about 5 years old
in one of the kitchen counter baskets.
I actually did a series of drawing/paintings of
Polly and her buddy at the time, Pumpkin in
all of their baskets.
A few of the laundry basket cats can be seen
here. Pumpkin was the upsidedown orange (ginger)
cat!

I may post a few more in this post a bit later.

What are favorite spots for your kitties?

If the Basket Fits, Use It!

This afternoon, while Polly slept in the other room,

Brody was trying out Polly's basket once again.

It seems to be just right!

Who's Been Sleeping in My Basket?

One of Polly's favorite baskets is in the corner
close to the heater.

Someone's been sleeping in her basket.

Why, it's Brody! Very unusual
for him to venture into her territory.

Bliss

What could be better for an indoor house cat
than a sunny day and having her Dad
escort her outside and set her
down on the spot where the catmint grows,
and then rubs under her chin?

Gulls

Was a sunny clear day, someone fed
bread to the gulls and we were lucky enough
to have a front row seat.
( It was a comical situation for there were
people with their dogs also on the beach
in the vicinity of the bread.
The gulls were circling above the bread but were
afraid to land because of the dogs and the dogs
were eating the bread!)

The Chickadee and the Red Squirrel

This little chickadee was waiting for
the bird feeder to be filled this afternoon.

I startled the red squirrel when I walked out of
the studio and we just paused to study each other
briefly.

Nuthatch

As I was walking back to the house from the
studio this afternoon, I froze in my tracks
and gently turned the camera on and stood
in awe of this beautiful nuthatch on this
bitter cold windy day with the sun shining.

Evening, My Art Supervisor is Back

Ellie May has resumed her position in her
supervisor's basket to oversee my art work.
She is such a lovely, calm inspiration.
If you look closely you can see her two other
baskets alongside the windows where she observes
our house and the wildlife.

Will put the finishing touches on
the 2 pet portraits tomorrow.

How do your pets help with your work?

I know quiltcat gets much help with her
telecommuting work and her quilts with
her kitties, Sylvie, Louie, Fuzzy and Gingy.

Today's Projects

My projects for today are sitting right in front
of me on my work table...it's a cold, sleety, rainy
day...a good day to be inside working.

Ellie May, my supervisor, abandoned me to
the downstairs where she's settled in her
favorite spot in front of the heater.

Waiting and Watching

It's supper time for Polly and she is patiently
waiting in her kitchen counter basket for me
to open a new can of her one and only favorite
food.

Meanwhile, Ellie May has settled into
one of her window baskets to check out
the activity around the birdfeeder
beside the path...
it's a bit quiet at the moment.

I'm hoping some of their
ability to concentrate will rub off on me
so I can finish two pet portraits.

Our Resident Red Squirrel

I am always on the lookout for our resident
red squirrel. We have set out leftover apples
collected from our trees in the autumn for her
and she was enjoying this one yesterday.

In a blink of an eye, she scurried up into the
nearby pine tree to take cover.

One of my projects is to do a series of drawing/paintings
of these fascinating little squirrels.

Running for Joy

A warm day in Maine brought many running
to the beach for joy!

Happy dogs seemed to fly through the air!