A day in the life...

We were up and out early this morning....nice walk, then time in the yard....me sipping a nice cup of hot tea and a bit of bird watching....the pups exploring and sniffing. Nice and cool...in the sixties and sunny. Loving it!!

Still no let up at the gas stations I am thankful I really have no where to go. I work at home and have been more effected by the economy in general then the gas shortage. I have not encountered the long lines they are showing on TV for it seems I've gotten there when several of the surrounding stations actually had gas...pass again in a couple of hours and you will see these very same stations have no gas. I remember the lines in 70's (yep...that old)...although that was nation wide and this is just a couple of areas through the south east....simply put this gas shortage is due to bad government planning...with some help from Mother Nature (Ike).

Today finds me having to work a bit on the PC...then I will be turning my attention to my office. More specific just what to do with all of the pastels I have been collecting. I had so wanted to see how the pastel artist has her studio set up. My space is so very tiny and I am afraid is pretty full due to all things digital. To learn to use them correctly they must be laid out....so I will try to organize and make room. I am smiling as I type that for I am not a very organized individual.
Will take a few pictures of any progress made....and if time permits a little scribble with the pastels so that I can get into th swing of things.

The above image was actually taken last night and not during our walk or time spent in the yard this morning. Due to low light...iso was set high, shutter speed about 60.

Bird Watching...

The gas stations still either have no gas, or are putting limits on amounts purchased. Today was to be my first lesson to learn to work with pastels. An hour drive and with not knowing when we will once again have the ability to fill our gas tanks it was decided best to just cancel the appointment. Maybe will reschedule in the next few weeks. Since this gas shortage, the economy woes business has slowed down a bit....looks like I just may have some extra time on my hands to play around with pastels and some oil paint. I am thinking it will be a bit of a slow Holiday season. Please...when thinking of shopping support your local small business's whenever possible.

Rocky and I managed to have some fun without leaving our yard....a bit of agility, Frisbee and ball....then of course chewing on a few great sticks and then romping with his two best pals....of course my dentist does not allow me to chew on any sticks ;-)

I love to watch the interaction between the dogs...the way in which they communicate...their body language tells their tale. I have been thinking about adding another Golden to the pack. Poor Rocky...he so tries to play and rough house with the two little dogs and well....he is big and a bit too rough for them. So, we shall see if we find one that can fit into the pack. I am not in a rush....and the three get along so very nicely so I am not wanting to disrupt that.

Here we are late Sunday afternoon, Rocky at my feet taking a nap....life is just perfect ;-)

Lazy Day Sunday...

As this week gas was very hard to come by in the Atlanta area Rocky and I stayed close to home. Today...some of the local gas stations had a bit of gas...only allowing you to purchase $10.00 worth. I thought we needed a little trip...not too far from home. Sadly, upon arriving at the Lake I noticed soooo many cars....usually no one there during the week so I was pretty surprised. Noticed a few signs and smiled....there was a boat race going on. Too many people, too many children running about. Rocky is a bit on the shy side and while I work with him and socialize him I did not see the need to put him in such a crazy place and stress him out. Peoples reaction to a Golden is always friendly...too friendly for they all think all Golden's are out going and friendly....not so. Just like people each one is an individual with likes and dislikes. Rocky would prefer people to keep their distance and allow him to decide if they can hug, pet him. Dogs are sooo much easier to teach then people ;-)

So, we drove around and ended up at Starbucks ( I love the chi tea....Rocky loves a tinnnny taste of whipped cream)). A few people came over and had the time to allow Rocky to warm up to them...they got to pet him....he was rewarded with lots of praise for his friendly behavior....Good Boy ;-) In this shopping center they had a nice grassy area in the middle with lots of flowers and great thing to sniff and explore. Dogs are so easy....this was a wonderful adventure in his eyes....to bad we all cannot be like our dogs ;-)

If the gas stations actually get enough gas this week we will be heading back to the lake weather permitting. The water is always so very still.....if your lucky always a duck or two to help entertain Rocky...and me for a photo op is always appreciated.
Enjoy your weekend!!!!

Starbucks...

Today found Rocky and I hanging around the house. With the gas issues here in the Atlanta area I felt it best to be a little Conservative and stay close to home. The economy, lack of gas here in the Atlanta area...sign of things to come??? I am not at all sure about those that are running the country.
Pretty sure there is a web site with a list of stations that actually have gas for those without for it looks as though we are going into the weekend like this...although I have not yet listened to the news for the day.

So, while we stayed close to home we did manage to have some fun exploring...playing a game or two of fetch and of course photographing everything.

"You talkin to us"...

Yes....fall has come to the Atlanta area.
While I know many get a little saddened at this....I welcome it...as does Rocky. With falls arrival this week the temperature at night has dropped...come morning it is wonderful to get out and about. While the temperature during the day is still warm....signs of fall are all around us. The S.E is a bit slower to show the beautiful fall colors....but it is coming.
Our Catalpa tree is pretty bare with the leaves scattered across the lawn what leaves are left are yellow and brown....the pods that hang down are brown as well.

This was the first year that all three of our trees flowered....lots of pretty small white flowers. Also this was the first year that they had the pods....all three trees.



The leaves on the apple tree have also started discoloring and falling....and the tiny apples are scattered about. I thought for sure the squirrels would be eating these little morsels....all are left to rot until I rake them up. I did not plant this tree and must confess that my knowledge on fruit trees is...well I know nothing about them. Pretty sad too for this tree has taken root and has grown pretty fast. Each season I notice the buds, enjoy the tiny flowers and really have never taken care of it....it just grows. I will have to do a little reseach for it does not look healthy and the apples are so very tiny....not even sure if they are edible??

The Arrival of Autumn...

Earlier today I visited Different Strokes from Different Folks and saw the image of the week...a man sitting on a bench reading the paper. 

Feed the Birds...

Due to a hectic schedule our adventures have been roaming around the yard, me finding interesting things to photograph and Rocky finding ways to get me to throw the ball for him.
Of course he takes plenty of breaks to follow me around....occasionally going off on his own very pleased with himself for having found a great stick to make mulch out of.

I received an interesting e-mail the other day...why didn't I take Rocky to the local dog parks? There really are not any in the area....the closest would be Peachtree City. Been a few times to photograph a dog or two....also one in Atlanta. Now, during my visits I saw a few dogs exhibiting some behavior that went unchecked by the dogs person....also many of the dogs paid little to no attention to their person. Call me a control freak....I want to know the dogs people have control over them....while I do believe allowing your dog to be a dog, socialization and play are so very important to a dog....more importanlty is the relationship between dog and their person.

Here is the lone flower that was photographed....taken with a sigma zoom lens (the very same one used for the ones of Rocky at play).

Play Ball...

The thought of fall has me wanting to go out exploring....however it is still very warm here in GA. Since Rocky accompanies me on many of my travels I have to make sure there is plenty of shade and I bring water for both of us....neither of us likes the heat very much.

So...our Road less Traveled found me driving past the old Starr Mill in Fayette County this afternoon. I have been before when I first moved to GA. However, I was unsure if it actually still existed and was pleased to see that they have left it standing. Funny as we get older our memories....well let me just say I am not sure how I drove past it....thought it was actually on the corner....so turned and was very sad for I thought it was gone. Stopped to get a bite to eat and talked with a young woman who giggled saying I must have driven right by it. I drove back and there it was....not really sure how I missed it???



We wandered around, had a bite to eat and then just sat and watched the birds, the bugs before we got back in the car and headed home. We were the only one there until we were leaving when a couple of cars were pulling in.

It was a nice afternoon, once home a good play in the yard and then I sat for a minute and snapped a quick shot of Rocky and I....he seemed very interested in the sweet smell of the candy that I had in my mouth!.

The Starr Mill...

I have been wondering...just why is digital art looked upon as the ugly step child in the art world? While my venture into the art world is new...having just began my art journey a few years ago (almost 50 to boot)....and I am a self taught artist...oh yes....I can hear the moans and groans....I mean really just what is art and what makes an artist...or how to become an artist??

One day while working on a photograph in Photoshop I was very frustrated and remembered I had gotten Corel Painter bundled with some software...yep for free. I loaded it onto the PC and started playing and boy was I hooked. I was not at all into art during my younger years in school. Sort of backwards I guess for most people getting into Painter have an art background. I am now just developing a curiosity about other mediums. While I really do not think most think of Digital Art in a bad light....each year it is getting more and more popular.....a very good thing indeed ;-)

Art...or Not...

OK....just when your thinking it could really get no worse....I go and scribble something reallllly bad. OK, so there is a technique to this that cannot be mastered in a few tries....and I do realize this. However I did not think it could get any worse then where I started....but oh yes indeed...maybe I should change this blogs name to Bad Art ;-)
Tomorrow I'll practice some apples....blending, not blending....cross hatching, etc.
In a couple of weeks I have my private session and maybe just maybe she can point me in the right direction.

My attempt in blocking the background did not work.....should you blend, not blend??? The over all color here did not work so this is telling me more colors are needed. Also, once again my charcol sketch was good and along the way I am not really sure what happened. While I have read that soft pastels are very "forgivable"....not in my hands!

More bad pastels ;-)

Had a little bit of time to do a qucik little painting. Since I was busy this morning I am waiting on it to cool down a bit so Rocky and I can go on our walk...neither of us do well with the heat....we are ready for the fall weather and colors ;-)
For my quick painting I felt like a beach scene!!!!

Beach Scene...

Dirty Hands...

Rocky and my road less traveled kept us close to home this afternoon due to the passing storms. While I have yet to see rain....I heard the rumbling of thunder and saw a few bright lights in the sky. For both our safety thought it best to stick close to home. I do not like to be out and about when I notice lightning...pretty dangerous.


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Daylily...

So managed a few shots... Rocky was my look out.....I mean... he practiced our down stay while I was sneaking around the side of a house to get the shot of this lovely Hibiscus...there were just a couple left and it would have been a shame to not stop t photograph it. We shall see if we can't get out earlier in the day tomorrow.

Hibiscus...

Update 9-10-08: 

Photo of Jack...Now Paintings of Jack