Friday, June 29, 2012

Square Dog Friday...what we do for a treat

woof !
nice tall person whats me to say...
ish really hard to hold camerera chkikin' and play witf us
i say just play with us and put down camerera
mmm k ?

but then you wouldn't see thehamish and watson
whats to do ?

oh woe is me...

Whot happen here ?
gud dug thehamish should be firsh.
watson just sits tere
idoing all the hard wok yesh good dug thehamish shake hand and roll over
chkikin chkikinchkikin so gud  chkikin' strip gudgudgud gud !

chkikin strip gud !

yert !

chkikin'. . . parsnip
music. . . Sexy Boy,  Air

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

parley view parsnip... part deux


My Monday post had a link to The Weaver Of Grass.
And............. it didn't link !
Surprise !
So I will try again.
Be sure to read my Monday post
and see why there is a link and a drawing of a Fox.
It will not take long
I promise
really
promise !



cheers,  parsnip
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Monday, June 25, 2012

Parley View Parsnip...

Goodness what a month this June has been.
Everything that could go wrong has,  plus a hundred.
I have been so sick, lethargic, barley dragging myself out of bed, only because I needed to take care of the dogs.  Last week was especially depressing.
Sick and battling the government...
But...
On February 5th 2012,  Weaver Of Grass, who writes a fabulous blog about her life in Yorkshire had a post about winter and a fox.
A testament to her writing, the post and her poem has stayed with me.
As I read her poem I could see the fox and started drawing the hedgerow and the fox on a piece of scrap paper. I was at my computer and only had a pencil and a yellow ocher color pencil laying there so used what I had.
Sunday I sat at my worktable and decided to work on the drawing.
Anything to perk me up, I wanted to do something fun.
But...
I have come to the conclusion I need better paper at reach by my computer and learn not to take photos at night !


the four month old quick sketch

a wash of color

laying down the basic color

refining the colors

adding the dark shadows

a rather cheeky fox appears

a little clean up


and now I am done.
Thanks Pat I so look forward to reading your blog everyday.
Your poem inspired me.

sick . . . parsnip
music. . . Magical Beast Farm, Basiscape
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Monday, June 18, 2012

parley view parsnip... monsoon and a dog

My Monday post about what is going on around my Tucson home.

Early Saturday morning.
For weeks Tucson has been having great, although hot weather hovering around 105, no humidity and lots of blue sky with no clouds.
Our news and weather people speak of nothing but la ninas, la ninos water currents
dew points with hovering high and lows.
It's monsoon madness !
When you live in the desert, the hint of rain is number one on our summer important list.


So, after weeks of clear blue skies and high temperatures


waking up Saturday morning to see clouds being blown into the valley and surrounding mountains  was wonderful.

Clouds gathering over the Catalina mountains


 and being swept along

looking like reflections on water.

There was only a 2% chance of rain in the mountains but...

rain clouds building over the Rincon mountains

that moved in fast.

and then rain drops appear,

running down my window.

the storm moved away, leaving us with a lovely sunset.
It is early for the monsoon season but I hope this was a hint of rain to come.


Here is your pretty for the start of the week

some tiny flowers

placed in a small glass

and of course thehamish place in the studio work sink
getting a quick bath.
Don't know how pretty but he sure smells better !

monsoon. . . parsnip
music. . . Morning In Norkia,  Dolce Triade

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Friday, June 15, 2012

Square Dog Friday...

That time of the week again...
Square Dog Friday
Best day of the week
So lets woof it !


Watson loves to play tug. 

best game ever

pull Watson pull

oh no, maybe I have it now Watson...

or  thehamish steals it as usual...
woohoo i gots itsh now me gud dug hamish woohoo

chicken strip for good dog Watson...

and land shark thehamish rises up to capture his chicken strip

chkikin' chkikin'chkikin' gud


Cousin Waldie modeling his life vest in his gavel yard by a prickly pear cactus.
Is he waiting for the monsoon to come ?
Can we all say downpour and flash flood !
swim Waldie swim


clean square dog toys from the dryer

and here is your pretty for the weekend

lovely !

happy. . . parsnip
music. . . 10 Mile Stereo,  Beach Dream
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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

One wild and crazy Wednesday....

Picaas updated and took my blog button away ! 
Hello ? 
Picasa and blogger are connected so why did the new up-date take that away ?
So, several tries later I think I found a new way to load photos and write comments.
But with my luck, lets said "don't bet the farm on it"
The photos look small on my page so that will be something I'll have to work on.
WhooHooo !
 Son in Japan just logged in and took over my computer restored my blog button.
Hopefully this will post !
Thanks sleepytako !

 Vapor trails above the Catalina Mountains

 
Vapor trail being blown by high winds.

Ten baby quail resting in the shade of a orange tree, with Mum watching.

Every morning this Dove is waiting for me to turn on the fountain.  
I swear she  stares at the window till I turn on the fountain.
Cheeky little devil.

    It is hard to see Ms.  Blanding, yes I have named her.
She is drinking in front of the fish to the right.

   Evening shadows, the Palo Verde is aglow.

Setting sun turning the seed pods golden.
The breeze was blowing so they were shimmering in the air.

yert !

crazy. . . parsnip
music. . .  Six Days,  DJ Shadow

Strange side note. 
In Tucson's Didtrict 8 we had a special election yesterday to elect a replacement for  Congresswoman Giffords who is taking time off to heal.
As I left my home to go vote in 105 degree temperature  (I forgot to mail in my vote)  I realize that I was voting against the other person and not for the person I finally voted for.
What a huge mess our elections are !

Monday, June 11, 2012

parley view parsnip... Venus Transit



NASA has released a spectacular  3 minute video of the 6 hour Venus Solar Transit.
Between the different images and the great music my nerd/geek gene kicked in big time.
Every time I watch this, the images and music just rips into my heart with wonder and surprise.
And it brought back so many memories.

When I was in High School, one year my science class was given the opportunity to work on projects for the Science Fair.
It was extra work but just for fun I decided why not ? What a hoot !
Of course I picked something that had to do with stars.
I grew up looking at the stars. If you were lucky enough to grow up in Tucson, Arizona as I was, the clear night sky is overloaded with stars.

My Father who was working, at this time, at the Kitt Peak Observatories outside of Tucson and the Observatories in  Chile helped me research the calculating of  distant planets by reading the different color spectrum the planets projected. 
If I already hadn't decided on a career as a commercial artist, I would have picked space and the stars. I am not sure what field I could have worked in as my math skills are not the best but what a life that would have been.

After watching this video for the hundred time I think my favorite part is the ending where the music slows down and gets real quiet and you see Venus disappear into the night.
Brilliant !
Great job NASA, sign me up !
and of course...
Beam me up Scotty !

watching. . . parsnip
music. . . The Sheltering Sky,  Ryuichi Sakamoto

update...
I moved back to Tucson after 40 years away. The home I bought is on a small hill out in the country.
I don't have any curtains, so I can look out at the mountains and the sky.
The first few night I spent in the home I kept wondering why it is so bright outside ? Did I leave a light on ?
One  night I get up look around no lights left on but as I look outside it is so bright.
I walk outside and realize it is the moon shinning so brilliantly that it makes shadows like the sun and the stars, so many stars, million of stars filling up the sky.
I had forgotten just how clear the night sky can be and how beautiful.
I had lived for so long in cities and then next to the ocean in Laguna Beach, I realized with all the moisture, fog and city lights that I never really saw the moon and stars as I once did.
Isn't life grand ?

Friday, June 8, 2012

Square Dog Friday... thehamish vs the washing machine


so sad very very sad
thehamish very sad dug...
nice tall person mum said clean up toys
phiff...
what do little square black dugs know about cleaning up toys ?
no gud not gud


iam workin hard...
nice tall person mum said i hardly working
did she make a funny on me?

It's OK,  Hamish listen to me.
I know about this stuff.
Toys get dirty and nice tall person mum puts them in the the washing machine with soap and water.
They go round and round and get clean.

What... 

ARGHHHHHHHH ! ! ! ! ! ! !

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
i can see them but not get them
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Yes Hamish, it's fine,  see them go around getting clean !

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
no clean
need toy can't get them
arghhhhhhhhhh !
uhooooouooooo wait i see chkikin' strips ?


See Hamish,
 nice tall person Mum put them in dryer and now they are all clean, warm and dry.

yert !

uhooooooooooooooooooooo
toys !


gettoygettoy now toytoytoy toy now

yesh see toynownownownow gud toy!

see gud toy thehamish wants gud toy

cananna i have toy i gud dug hamish

whoooohooooo
nice tall person mum gives  toy now
murffffffff eurffffff murf

gud toy
gud play now
gud nice tall person mum !
we gone...

gud. . . parsnip
music. . .  Peter Gunn Theme,  The Blues Brothers
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