Wildlife

I had actual wildlife today. A Sparrow, a Mourning Dove, and a Chipmunk all gathered under the tube feeder to hoover up the fallen seed. The Mourning Dove kept spreading its tail feathers to keep the Chipmunk at bay but didn't try to scare it off.

Then three Sparrows gathered on the feeder for a few pecks, long enough for me to take their picture.

Dad's rose is still blooming. None of the tiny buds are swelling yet but the flowers that are open seem to be hanging on.

And the mums are starting to really open. These coppery ones have the most flowers open. They're like a huge bouquet.

I decided to paint this afternoon but couldn't think of what to paint so I started out making swirls that I let touch each other. Once I'd gone through most of the colors in my little travel palette I realized that they kind of looked like flowers so I painted on some leaves and dabbed on centers. This looks like a little bouquet.

Out of the 20 Ways to Draw a Tree book I picked out herbs (looks like rosemary to me), a snail, a winter tree, a feather, an owl, and a daisy. I kind of like the way they all turned out. Today I'm not playing favorites.

I spent a lot of the afternoon reading my manuscript, still finding places that I missed changing to 1st person. I also found a scene that was out of order so I flipped that into its correct place in the time line. I love cut and paste, makes it so much easier to move things around.

I think I have all my things ready for my week at The Clearing. I'll pack my laptop and chargers tomorrow morning and then I'll be ready. I have high hopes for getting a lot of work done up there without distractions. See you a week from tomorrow.

--Barbara

More Birds

I was lucky enough to snap a photo of a female House Finch on the feeder. There isn't a lot of seed in there so she had to be selective.

The male House Finch landed on the round feeder and just as I took his picture he took off to join the female on the platform feeder. Tsk. But I'm showing him to you anyway since birds have been scarce. I saw a couple Sparrows and a Chickadee but they didn't stick around for long.

There's a full moon tonight and it's a supermoon. I managed to get a halfway decent picture of it but it looks bigger in person. There's a home football game tonight and I'll bet watching the moon rise was a big hit with the people on the west side of the stadium. Unless they had tailgated too heartily, that is.

I restarted drawing out of 20 Ways to Draw a Jellyfish today. I tried to pick cartoon-y versions and think I did okay. Except for the seahorse in the lower left. He doesn't look much like a seahorse.

I was driving LC and OJ around this evening and got caught in the Packer game traffic. I eased up to a stoplight and a crowd of people was standing there waiting for the game bus. One guy stuck his thumb out and grinned at me so I rolled down my window and said, "sorry, I'm not going that way." Another guy offered me $100 to take them all to the stadium. I declined. No way would they all fit in my little HHR. It was a fun and friendly exchange, though.

--Barbara

A Sign of Autumn

I stopped at Zambaldi Beer this morning. It was a brew day so DS invited me to come over. He was brewing Maple Brown Ale using maple syrup he sourced from his old Boy Scout camp. He makes a real effort to use local ingredients when he can.

Today's drawings are courtesy of 20 Ways to Draw a Butterfly. I planned to draw the last six figures but the pheasant in the middle got too big and the cardinal in the lower right filled in the available space. That leaves one more figure to draw before the end of the book and starting over again.

 

This evening I went knitting at KE's house. DM brought a pizza, KE had fruits & nuts, and I brought lemon bars. Unfortunately CS had to be out of town so we missed her. We listened to the debate on TV. It's too bad that they can't shut off the microphones of the people whose turn it isn't. They didn't answer the questions and talked out of turn and over each other. It wasn't a debate it was a free-for-all with name calling and everything. The most amazing thing was it was in the Reagan Library and there's an airplane in the building. I've heard of taking an ashtray or a towel when you leave a place but an airplane? That's gutsy. Maybe it's just a replica? Anyway I knitted on my Muchness scarf. It's getting longer.

I printed out critique copies to take to The Clearing next weekend. It was only after I had the 9 copies printed that I realized I forgot to put my name on there.  *sigh* I'll write it on with a pen.

--Barbara

A Bird!

I happened to glance out the patio door and there was a House Finch there! At first it was prospecting on the ground but then it flew up to the round feeder and sat there pecking at the seed for a minute. It didn't stay long and I guess it didn't spread the word that the feeders are filled because no more birds came. But I was glad to see him anyway.

On my walk I saw a really pretty leaf. There are a lot of fallen leaves on my neighbor's yard but this one on the street really stood out to me. It's all red except for the veins which are bright yellow. I don't know if I've ever seen a two-toned leaf like that before. It seems like the leaves are changing and falling early this year. Maybe because we've had so little rain?

I cracked open Seuss-isms and found a picture of a girl with ten cats on her head. I could only manage six cats on my drawing but then I'm no Dr. Seuss.

I think I found the piece of my manuscript that I'll take to The Clearing for critique. It's got a little action and has a couple POV shifts and that's really what I want some input on so I think it's a good choice. Now I only have to reread it to make sure and then make enough copies for everyone. Since I'm riding up with cda and have to cram all of my stuff into her SUV with her things I'm not bringing a printer. At least I don't think I am. I'll consult with cda to make sure that she's not relying on me to have one.

--Barbara

Packed

I spent the afternoon refining my Clearing packing list, then folding and rolling my clothes into my suitcase and filling my toiletries bag and stuffing that in too. I remembered to put in a windbreaker that doubles as a rain jacket. I put in mostly long sleeved shirts but put in one short sleeved one in case it gets warm one day or I can wear it as an extra layer if it gets cold.

From 20 Ways to Draw a Tree I drew a page of things--a fern, a pine cone, a leaf, acorns, a berry, and a snowflake. The leaf is the best. The pine cone and acorns look weird and the berry is scribbly.

I went up to the retaining wall looking for bees again today but didn't really find any so I just took a picture of the sedum and the perennial asters which look like tiny daisies.

After I finished packing I pulled out my watercolors and a fake succulent to try my hand at it. It didn't turn out too badly, if I do say so myself.

Today was a droopy day. I could have napped off and on most of the day. Don't know why, I slept all night last night, well, except for a couple bathroom trips but I went right back to sleep. Maybe it was all of the driving I did on Saturday and Sunday that tired me out. 

I finished my leftover pork fried rice for supper. I love Chinese takeout leftovers. Thanks again, Lala!

--Barbara

Not One

I had a good time visiting with the three other authors at yesterday's author book signing at Caramel Crisp Cafe & Books but didn't sell a book. We started outside under a tent but then it started raining and we were getting wet so we had to move indoors into a back room. Not many people came by because we were tucked in a corner and only one of us sold a book. I did deliver two copies of Island Dreams to the bookstore for their inventory but I'll only get paid when she sells them, same as the others. My next event is another local authors sale put on as a charity event by OtherWorlds Books & More in Sturgeon Bay early in November. Hopefully I have better luck.

After the book event I tootled on down the highway to Wauwatosa to visit my friend. We had a lovely visit today, talked about writing and publishing and spent a couple hours drawing and chatting. One of my three pages of drawings is all butterflies. I like it. We splurged and ordered Chinese for lunch. It was delish.

When I got home this afternoon I went out and filled the bird feeders. I've decided that I miss the birds too much. When I went up to put cobs of corn into the holders I saw a zillion bees on the sedum and the perennial asters (aka weeds) that are next to the sedum.

I tried to set my mind to working out my "not enough conflict" problem with my manuscript last night but got nowhere. Gah! It's so frustrating. My brain feels like it's turned off. Hopefully my week at The Clearing will turn it back on.

--Barbara

I Got Famous Today

Well, maybe not famous but my interview showed up on Lala's website today when her new site went live. (Click on the link, the colored letters, up there in the first sentence.) You find my interview in "People & Ideas." We worked together on it and it makes me sound almost like a real writer. You should probably read her stories too. They're in "Writing," of course. I love the cover of her book of short stories that's coming out in about a month. So colorful.

Yesterday's Dad's rosebud is today's Dad's rose. I realized today that as the flower opens the weight of it bends the stem so I didn't have to pull it down to take its picture. I tried to take a picture of the tightly closed bud next to it but it was just windy enough that the automatic focus went crazy and zeroed in on the roof soffit instead of the bud. Oh well. I'll catch it next time.

Under the roses are the mums and the bronze ones have started blooming too. They're more sedate than the coppery gold ones next to them but still pretty.

This little squirrel laid claim to the patio step today and defended it from all comers. A bigger squirrel came over and charged at it but this little guy wasn't backing down.

Did I watercolor yesterday? I don't remember but I did today. I followed the directions in the next exercise in my new book and laid down strips of color next to each other to let them blend on the page. Then I drew/painted a little bird below my watercolor rainbow strip. I like the colors and I like the bird.

I drew a few things out of Draw 20 Jellyfish--a sunfish, a scallop, and a scuba diver. I like the diver and the sunfish, the scallop is just kind of blah.

I didn't get any writing done today. I had a couple zooms that took up the afternoon and evening and I spent the morning admiring my interview on Lala's site.

Tomorrow a few of the members of the Green Bay Writer's Guild have an author event at Caramel Crisp Corner bookstore in Oshkosh. I know it sounds like a cafe and it is. They also have caramel corn which makes the whole place smell great, and one third of the store is a bookstore. As always, selling one book is my goal. Anything over that is a bonus. 

I won't blog tomorrow night, I'll be out of town, but I'll be back on Sunday probably with a lot of drivel.

--Barbara

Today It's a Bud

I went out this morning to check for today's Dad's rose and found only a new rosebud. That's okay, in a day or two it'll be another beautiful, velvety red rose.

This morning I got out my little watercolor palette and tried a tulip. I didn't put enough water on the paper so the paint didn't spread and blend as much as I'd hoped it would but I think it turned out okay.

Then after lunch I pulled out the drawing things and drew five things with wings--a griffin, a winged man, an eagle, a mythological bird, and a goose. They all please me about the same, I'm not choosing a favorite today. Some days I think I'm getting worse instead of better.

Most of the day I spent reading my manuscript trying to find a place to add in some trouble. I didn't find any which was monumentally frustrating. I broke out a few pieces that I might submit for critique when I'm up at The Clearing in 10 days.

My cleaner came today so my house smells nice and fresh and clean. She's a big fan of my books so she was excited that I have a new title and even more excited that I'm having audiobooks recorded. Witnessing her excitement bled away a little of my manuscript frustration.

--Barbara

Step One

Just before I came here to start blogging I checked my emails and I found the first Review Sample of the audio book of Horizon. I listened to it in amazement. It sounds like a real book. Then I approved it. I don't know what the next step is but Step One is complete. Eeeee! (doing the happy dance over here)

Dad's rose is continuing  to open a flower a day. Here's today's flower. It was up so high that I had to reach up and bend it down to take a picture of it.

I looked out the patio door to see the birdbath full of Sparrows just having a time all splashing like crazy. There had to be at least ten of them in there. I picked up the camera and as I got it ready they started to fly away one at a time. By the time I got the camera up and clicked the shutter this is all that were left. You can still see that they were enthusiastic about the whole thing.

First thing I got out my little travel palette of watercolors and turned to the next page in my sketchbook. I wanted to paint a flower today and I think it turned out pretty darned well.

I drew out of 20 Ways to Draw a Tree this afternoon. I couldn't resist drawing a lollipop tree, then a mushroom, a bird, and a stemmed flower. I like the bird the best because its feet turned out for once.

I started to reread my manuscript looking for a section I can print off and take to The Clearing for critique. I read and read and read and hardly anything was happening. I'm so bummed. I need to go back to the beginning and make things happen. Nobody wants to read a book where everything goes well most of the time. Nobody. Not even me. Well, rats.

--Barbara

More Leaves

I stepped out of the house this afternoon to take a walk, looked up, and here's what I saw. I was standing right on my front porch and there's this big swath of red leaves in the maple tree next door. *sigh* I'm ready for it to be cooler (although the next 3 days are supposed to be in the 80s) but I'm not ready for the rest of the accoutrements of autumn.

After my walk I sat down here and started to go over my manuscript again. I searched online for a way to switch POV without having to make a chapter break and learned that I can leave a gap and a little row of asterisks to denote the break in POV. so I started at the beginning and went through chapter by chapter and squeezed the scenes together with their little decorative breaks and shaved off 6 chapters. I saved it as rewrite 4 so now I've got to read through it to see if it makes any sense at all. This is challenging stuff.

This morning I got out my little pack of paints and a small brush and added a background to yesterday's still life. Aside from the smudge on the left side of the page I think it looks better.

Today's watercolor in my sketchbook is a bay view looking across at the horizon. Not bad for a 5-minute sketch.

The drawings today come from 20 Ways to Draw a Jellyfish and are a hermit crab, a scallop, a seagull, and a sea urchin. I like the sea urchin the best. Don't know why.

My Florida cousin NH texted me pictures of my grandparents' house from Indiana. It was great to see that the Ancestral Manse still looks pretty much the same. Her DD and SIL were in the area at a wedding and drove by to take some pictures for us. Thanks, you guys!

I went to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned today. They feel great but I purely dislike the process. All that scraping and scratching sets my nerves on edge. My copay was $2. Two dollars! You'd think the insurance would cover it all. Crazy.

--Barbara

Thanks, Dad!

Another one of Dad's roses bloomed today. I didn't remember this being such a rosy time of the year but I guess the rosebush likes the weather and the dearth of rain.

Near the roses one of the mum plants is starting to bloom. I don't know exactly what to call this color--gold or copper gold--whatever it is I like it.

One of my writing friends and her friend are up at The Clearing this week taking a watercolor class so I'm trying to paint every day too. This still life is pretty darned terrible. I should have painted the brownish table that the fruit was lying on. Maybe I'll go back and do it tomorrow or later.

From Things With Wings I drew a vulture, a puffin, a grasshopper, and a duck. I like the grasshopper the best because it's made of short lines and looks interesting.

I skimmed through the 1st and 3rd POV version of my manuscript and made a list of the chapters and the POV of each one. I found two that start out one way and shift to another rather quickly, too quickly to make a chapter break, so I have to figure out a way to make it work. I did a little online research and discovered that I can just make a break using dashes or asterisks when the POV changes and not have to have a chapter break. I'll think about it.

Once I had the chapter list finished I went out and took my little walk. I think maybe I'm getting a little better at it, not quite as winded quite as quickly as before. My legs still get tired but I figure that's because I sit drawing and writing so much. This morning I went to two grocery stores and tried to convince myself that walking around the perimeter of the big, superstore one counted as taking a walk today but I knew I wasn't doing myself any favors so I went out for a walk before supper.

--Barbara

I Found the Bees!

The coppery color sedum has started to change color enough that it's worthwhile sharing and when I went up to take its picture it was covered with bees. All of the coppery ones were filled with bees, the pink one wasn't. I wonder why. I don't care, I was just glad to see bees so busy and happy.

This Downy Woodpecker came to enjoy what's left of the suet cakes. I'm debating whether to refill the feeder since I'm trying to not feed the rat (if I have one) but I don't want the rest of the birds to vamoose. I wonder if a rat can climb up there and contort itself to eat.

The next page in my new watercolor book was an exercise in brush handling. She suggests using a dagger brush which is flat and tapered on one edge. I had a hard time making leaves with it. I'm blaming my brush because it's 1/8" wider than the one she suggested so I ordered the right size one from Amazon (of course I did). It'll come tomorrow. I'm sure that'll make a world of difference.

I drew the last seven things out of 20 Ways to Draw a Tree this afternoon. When I finished the first four things I thought there were only two left so I crammed them in and then discovered that there were actually three. That explains the tiny lemon outline in the upper right.

Then I read the Modern Daily Knitting blog post today and he was talking about watercolor painting in a sketchbook so I pulled out my little box of paints and a sketchbook and dabbled. It's not as good as his little harbor scene but it isn't bad. I like the sky and the hills in the back.

I took a little walk up to the corner and back today and have to say that I'm demoralized. I thought I'd get better faster but I still get winded too soon and my legs get tired. But I'll keep going. I have to be able to walk around The Clearing when I go there in a couple weeks.

--Barbara