Fish Sketchbook

Drawing fantasy fish is a relaxing pastime. Here is my fishbook.

unfinished

Needle in a haystack

The idiom "a needle in a haystack"

a needle in a haystack
something extremely hard to find ---It's pretty much a needle in a haystack because these fish are extremely hard to find.
Etymology: based on the idea that it is to almost impossible to find a thin sewing needle in a haystack (a very tall pile of dried grass)

I am constantly misplacing items, every day. I am not an organized person, and I have a lot of "stuff". My stuff is often missing, but eventually found, mostly when I have given up looking.

Last week, my son and my dad were undertaking the annual task of burning the dry vegetation off the asparagus patch. They used an old, old bale of straw to get the fire started.

Years ago, my folks operated a dairy farm and grew oats to feed the cows and used the straw for bedding. I was always happy to work with the straw bales, packing them in the barn, because straw bales are much lighter than hay bales. We would put hay in the mow for weeks, so when the short straw season arrived, it seemed so easy...It was one of those straw bales, left in the barn since the 1970's that was to start the fire on the asparagus patch.

As my son opened and started shaking out the old bale, my dad spied something red and shiny falling amongst the straw. It was a red crochet hook. Mine, I am sure. I do not remember losing it, But I do remember crocheting in the barn while waiting for the next loads of bales to arrive.. 40 years later..........hmmmmmm.

Eyes of a child

The first thing that my 16 month old grandson does when he visits my house is search for the "kitties".. He is a busy, busy, boy. Small for his age, he can get into tiny spaces where the cats like to hide.

After the cats have been harassed a bit, he looks for Grandpa. He really loves his Grandpa.

Invariably, the next thing he wants is "ousside". We have a big yard and he is an explorer. "Ousside" is a favorite word.



Last evening, just as it was starting to rain, before the storms, he was determined to be "ousside", asking over and over. I explained that it was raining, we needed to stay inside. Well, he is sixteen months old, the word rain means little to him. Finally I decided to take him onto the deck "ousside" and show him the rain, thinking that he would want to stay inside then.



He stood there, very still, letting the drops fall on his head. Then he turned his face to the sky, and let the rain fall on his face. He crinkled up his eyes when a drop of rain fell into them. A HUGE grin appeared..the the giggling began. He said "agua" and laughed and laughed. So did I.

Feather in a pickle dish

The day before yesterday, Friday, was lovely day. Today, like yesterday, it's raining and chilly.
On Friday, Dave and I took a short drive and visited a friends garden, and her sheep. Here are some photos.

This shrub is flowering quince, as mentioned in a previous post. We dug out a bit for our own garden.





I told you there would be sheep!

And lambs.

Upon our return home, it appeared that a bomb had been detonated just beyond our neighbor, the Tag Center.

It was only a controlled burn on the Horicon Marsh.

I found this pretty feather on the lawn. Anyone know what kind of bird it is from? I do not.

The feather looks equally pretty in my new pickle dish. Dave and I had earlier stopped at Bargains Galore and found some good stuff. Among other things, a jadeite pickle dish and a good, used recliner for naps on the sun porch.

Guess who used the recliner first? The chair was meant for cat naps, I guess.

Florida envy

I have a little bit of a tiny problem. I have Florida envy. I admit it. I know I could not live there, but another visit would be nice.
Yesterday, my daughter, Megan posted about having difficulty concentrating when she could see the ocean from her office. Then, last night, my faithful friend/customer/knitter/legal-go-to-person, Ann, reminded me that her annual trek to Florida is coming up soon. I have serious envy issues.
Isn't envy one of the seven deadly sins? I am done for.

Done for. Does everyone use that phrase? Or is a local/ family phrase? I am "done for" means-------that's it-----------finished-------fatal-----------

I digress. To combat Florida envy ,all that needs to be done is to take a look at Wisconsin in the spring. And spring is here! With gusto! Winter is done for.


Flowers from my friend Carolee's garden. Flowering quince. And many kinds of daffodils.

And my favorite weed/shrub. It smells so nice, sweet and spicy, I love to bring it inside. Even a small bouquet makes the whole house fragrant.

Take that, envy!

Spinning in the dark

Turn! Turn! Turn!

The Byrds and The Bible

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

As I age, I note the turning of the seasons prompt activities that repeat themselves year after year. I like to spin in the spring. I am almost compelled to make yarn.

Spring's evenings find me on my little porch, spinning away while the sun goes down. The light fades, but I keep spinning, my hand and feet working with the wool, no need for much illumination. Maybe it's instinct or just lots of practice, but I keep treadling and drafting. Making yarn, just spinning in the dark.

The dark doesn't stop us from going on with our lives. If we just practice in the daylight, when the light fades, we find the Light within.

signs of spring

Blogger doesn't seem to want to allow me to move my photos, so ,,,,,here are some signs of spring in no particular order.
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Emili with her annual safety poster,,,,,see here and here click on the links and scroll down to see how much she has changed.
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Grandmas hugging little boys when all the little one wants to do is get free and explore spring!

Ducks on the marsh

Muskrats, lots of them