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The dam a few days ago. I walked down closer to the water to get different views.

And then this morning.

And that shadow right before I left to do errands.

I did get a new bird stories page finished…sparrow and wren.

And so much fun trying out ideas for illustrating a story about Burke and Wills. Fun because owls have very limited movement for expressing themselves. Here is a page of Burke drawings.

Here he is falling out of the nest onto Wills’ back.

And a close up of him telling his mother he wants to stay with Wills.

Then I found a tree photograph I took of a possible doorway and drew the door in.

Burke and Wills will live in here for some time…maybe their whole lives together.

While working out drawings to go with a constantly evolving story I have noticed that graphite, though forgiving, has a limited range of contrast. Too many of my marks are too dark. And the choice of paper for the final drawings will have to be pure white. If not, then the scans will pick up the off white of the drawing paper and be hard to get subtle details copied. I learned this trying to copy my Stoat Story drawings for that book.

So I need a lighter touch than some of these drawings have. A new mechanical pencil will arrive this week to hold the delicate .2 mm leads that I have purchased. All drawings will likely be done with mechanical pencils to get the fine lines needed for such small illustrations.

The story is an intimate one of two beings meeting quite by accident and spending their lives together. I intend for these boys to have adventures as they grow old together. At one point they will get into a boat together. If one owl can sail off with a pussycat, surely Burke can ferry Wills across the river. Just thinking about what they pack in their food hamper makes me smile. Which reminds me, drawing the specifics of the interior of their house beyond that door is going to be a fun challenge.

So more to come as I keep up with the drawings around my thinking.

Friends in Australia are planning on finally getting to the conference put off by Covid for two years now. I shall miss being with them. Here is what I told a former student who told me he was attending the conference and thinking of making my savoury scones to take with him.

“Hi there. I am so happy to read that you are attending Grampians Textures. It is wonderful that it is happening again. Enjoy yourself and while there, please breathe it all in very slowly. Step into the bush, hold your arms at your sides and take this magic place deep into your lungs and hold it as long as you can. Listen to the birds, smell the trees, watch for a kangaroo and love it all. Have the spinach crepes at the Kookaburra, maybe with a beer. Drink a flat white in town. But most of all, listen to the laughter and chatter of all those around you who will be ever so happy to be there. Later, when you are far away, it will still be there inside a small bag of best memories.”

I hope he does this. I hope we all do this for special times that may not get repeated.

My realtor came today with her estimated asking price for my house. It is beyond my imaginings. Funny how we live in a place, love it, and never think of its value beyond being a great place to live. Lee would have been so thrilled.

I met with the builder this morning. Due to the freezing cold days, the concrete slab has not been poured. It is on the schedule for tomorrow morning. Yesterday I went to a property owners’ meeting and took notes of what all is on my soon to be new neighbors’ minds. It was enlightening. But what struck me the most was that I was the only woman there without earrings. Funny, the things I notice. I mentioned it to the builder who was also there and he laughed. Said it might have something to do with it being Sunday.

I also found out that my immediate neighbor to the right is a single man a bit younger than I am. Good, I might need a hand hauling my new garbage bin to the curb. His house will be finished sooner than mine so maybe I can drop in sometime.

Not much else new. It is Valentines Day and I stopped by the drug store to buy myself some new makeup and a small heart shaped box of chocolates. There were only seven pieces inside. I ate four for lunch. They are not as good as when someone else buys them for you and fewer in a box that size nowadays. But you know, it is seven more pieces of chocolate than I had yesterday!

Til later…..

Let’s start in my own yard. Late afternoon and sunset two days ago.

I will definitely miss some of this, but not the isolation of being here.

And the walks at the dam this week.

With my long cast shadow….

To the shadow of this morning at the Riverwalk. It was bitter cold.

And someone drew the sun to warm those of us passing by.

Once I completed the walk I headed straight to the Rare Bird for a lavender latte and a “cup of shame”….the failed attempts at making a donut.

I had not been here since a couple weeks before Christmas. It felt good to be inside. The pen sketch in the book was lousy. But I need to do one when in the Rare Bird because I told myself I would.

Last week I had coffee with my builder in a place that serves as his office and shipping center. It felt so good to be in there and hearing the mumblings of old men at a table nearby. I have missed the sound of men gathering. The way they greet each other, pull their chairs out, sip their coffee and talk in low tones. It will become even easier to drop by to listen when I move close by. Maybe June at the earliest.

My realtor comes by next week to tell me her assessment of my house here. So things are progressing at whatever pace is required. I am fine with it all and very lucky to be able to make these choices for my life.

A friend has been making flan from scratch. I like how it is a bit like crème brulee. These small ramekins were bought at a kitchen shop several years ago for the express purpose of making a lavender creme brulee for my art group. They looked like a color paint palette laid out on the table. Anyway I dug them out to try a packaged flan. First step, squeeze the packet of caramel sauce into the heat proof dishes.

Then boil up two cups of milk with the other packet and pour into ramekins.

Refrigerate for the amount of time required, run a knife around the edge, cover with plate and invert both.

I will have another one today and try to do a better job of getting it out of the dish. I think there is too much caramel sauce for the six dishes. So rather than lick the plate I will just squeeze a healthy amount into a spoon and eat up the extra that way if I do this again.

Now onto drawing. The Bird Stories Book now has a pair of Rufous-sided Towhees and a Cardinal with his feather.

And I am onto a new project for myself. Thanks to Rosemary in Australia and her love of the little owls in the Bird Stories Book, she suggested a story like Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussycat. I must say that I get the best compliments and feedback on my artistic and writing efforts from those friends down under. Anyway it made me find the poem and read all its absurdities again, especially the pairing of an owl and cat finding in each other the perfect one to spend a life with.

So, because I too love that baby owl and drawing him, I decided his companion will be a bunny. Bunnies are fun to draw. There is so much fur there! The trick is to draw the bunny and the owl in all the positions needed to bring a story to life. Yesterday I started with the bunny in my recently found old wrap around sketchbook.

I have decided to name them Burke (owl) and Wills (bunny).

The names, Mary and Sandy came to mind as Mary has to be my very best ever traveling companion. We did not have that much time together but it was an extraordinary time for both of us. She said it best when we parted, “Our only sadness is we did not meet soon enough.” I so agree. But those names won’t fit the adventures I am thinking for Owl and Bunny. Burke and Wills come close and pay a small tribute to where Mary and I met…Australia.

So today I contort Wills into more positions and then manipulate the limited movements of Burke. I will also use the sketchbook to write the story. I think they will begin their story with how they meet and decide to stay together throughout their lives. Aging them will be a fun challenge. Once I get the writing done and the illustrations to go with the writing I will find a book format to do a limited edition. That is the plan….always good to have a plan.

Til later….