tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50221589590436228752024-01-04T02:27:00.015-08:00Nature Drawing and Journaling Trips With Irene Brady, Nature Sketch/Journalist
Enjoy!Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.comBlogger221125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-5588390351916640842018-08-07T20:42:00.000-07:002018-08-07T20:42:00.045-07:00My Mastectomy and Other Amazing Things<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large; line-height: 19.9733px;">I Have Gone Flat.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;"> This is the word used to describe someone who has a bilateral mastectomy and elects to not have reconstructive surgery. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">My new flat look! I love it!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">At Dan's cabin</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have successfully navigated the months of May, June, July, and August since my last blog entry, and I wanted to get in touch and bring you up to date with all the amazing things that have befallen me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Cousin Shelly and I at Mt. Ashland</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I admit to having had a remarkably good time, given the circumstances for my trip to the US this spring (the mastectomy) having gotten a chance to catch up<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with old friends and neighbors during visits to their houses and during potlucks at Diana’s. </span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Diana, by the way, was my "cancer doula," providing lodging and taking care of me throughout this potentially traumatic experience, and making it, instead, an amazing and transforming adventure. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">My cancer doula, Diana</span></td></tr>
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</span></span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Other cool things happened, too. </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My cousin Shelly, who was traversing the Pacific Crest Trail, interrupted her journey to stop by Callahan's restaurant at Mt. Ashland for a cozy lunch with Diana and me. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Daniel, </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">my long-time friend and companion, </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">generously provided a little car for me to use, which made life easier as I worked my way through all the appointments, meetings, and other things related to major surgery.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmu_jwmMeFXfVoMEl7RPYXoMR5P9MKCZ_GkrC1vrFgl2VV8HSDA2evUQARnVtmWG6jngzcL_1_8-dGNPAn5eP2VG2gZSGIXcQA8OvFuZbYxTYfpy45JT0EfptUrCrFsxJ_cSmnCDhDeA-L/s1600/Libby-Before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="719" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmu_jwmMeFXfVoMEl7RPYXoMR5P9MKCZ_GkrC1vrFgl2VV8HSDA2evUQARnVtmWG6jngzcL_1_8-dGNPAn5eP2VG2gZSGIXcQA8OvFuZbYxTYfpy45JT0EfptUrCrFsxJ_cSmnCDhDeA-L/s200/Libby-Before.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGjm9RchCNxHOpo0j7YguKHlJmSo0p87T2QlhKSmMu6uoAE2xm9hayjpqcgWP9R9uHqO8PjvH7xuqGw0yHT2nETiFErtmVlQTpC-i2YNbqczACLaJAuryl7wJruXGRCi4qZDucUuwnL7is/s1600/Anna-Before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="396" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGjm9RchCNxHOpo0j7YguKHlJmSo0p87T2QlhKSmMu6uoAE2xm9hayjpqcgWP9R9uHqO8PjvH7xuqGw0yHT2nETiFErtmVlQTpC-i2YNbqczACLaJAuryl7wJruXGRCi4qZDucUuwnL7is/s200/Anna-Before.jpg" width="121" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Lunch with Libby (above) and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Anna (below).</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjc_Rxej3Vq2b2EV7ScR_01sEGSWd59-4bCIfvfv_UV_rZYZuUvnEeVkmHn8DSlX8KF0Og1Z9D0RPotoK5z5siob2UnYpFeOJEFPD4iGVnKBE2DZpyTS6LmW9r7blp08xIbehp3vgWg5MF/s1600/Celtic-Jam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="884" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjc_Rxej3Vq2b2EV7ScR_01sEGSWd59-4bCIfvfv_UV_rZYZuUvnEeVkmHn8DSlX8KF0Og1Z9D0RPotoK5z5siob2UnYpFeOJEFPD4iGVnKBE2DZpyTS6LmW9r7blp08xIbehp3vgWg5MF/s200/Celtic-Jam.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Friends creating Celtic Jam</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There were lunches and dinners with friends, a visit to Daniel’s delightful mountain cabin on his 4-wheeler, an afternoon and evening of Celtic music, sewing with Diana in her workshop, as well as a cloth dyeing workshop and shopping for fabrics, a visit to the beautiful Jackson County Extension demonstration gardens, an estate sale, John’s art show in Medford, and taking delivery of shoes, shoes, shoes (well, only 6 pairs, but it’s a great start!) for teens to wear for gym class here in Benque. </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If kids can’t afford gym shoes, they sometimes drop out of school because they can’t go barefoot or wear street shoes in the gym.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Several people were able to find extra walking/hiking shoes in their closets, and we took them with us to Idaho to pack up and send to Belize.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Around the first of June, a couple of weeks after my mastectomy (which was on May 18, commemorating the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, which, if you look at it in a certain way, was similarly the occasion of the removal of a conical lump) I traveled by car with Diana and John from Oregon to David and Marcia’s place in Eagle Idaho, near Boise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLHLViOh0pkmmYUroIH28PgP9LP0vdAowRsQ_4XlVCyvLNejsD50iO0tlyAJh6HpPJVAVipNYMfLVtOIWHj_-RMqlZ980x61_B9OaAyxqrm3tWQr0UbiLf93gk8k9U_HVJt1y6WeAR6l2/s1600/Davids-DiddlyBo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="851" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvLHLViOh0pkmmYUroIH28PgP9LP0vdAowRsQ_4XlVCyvLNejsD50iO0tlyAJh6HpPJVAVipNYMfLVtOIWHj_-RMqlZ980x61_B9OaAyxqrm3tWQr0UbiLf93gk8k9U_HVJt1y6WeAR6l2/s320/Davids-DiddlyBo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">David plays his Diddly Bo</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After depositing me there and staying the night, Diana and John went on to a family reunion in Nebraska, while I stayed to enjoy the company of my sibs, including David and Marcia, my sister Elsie, who lives nearby, and other assorted relatives. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">While there, I rested a lot, drank beer and talked philosophy with David, played with the gorgeous “diddly bo” he had constructed, and we worked together several evenings to install all the programs I needed into the computer Daniel gave me while I was in Oregon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> My old computer here in Belize was starting to sputter and stall, but with the new computer I can return to working on my sketchbook journal compilations, and other projects. </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdi1REoO4Nq6lHeFCZF_LZjyBGnDexfssQ82IcA3DH677YwiY991E5rMhwy2u1g8QTTWV8dBA9ZqsZDKsShjaveGSpsTYKdFjknn92F_GauB3B1kvzdAs6OtMNc54dCyzYaIund29H2lC/s1600/Marcia-AtWork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="528" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdi1REoO4Nq6lHeFCZF_LZjyBGnDexfssQ82IcA3DH677YwiY991E5rMhwy2u1g8QTTWV8dBA9ZqsZDKsShjaveGSpsTYKdFjknn92F_GauB3B1kvzdAs6OtMNc54dCyzYaIund29H2lC/s320/Marcia-AtWork.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Marcia painting dragonflies </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">on a silk scarf</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Marcia and I some lovely long chats, too, and I got to watch her producing one of her amazing painted silk scarves. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My final task of the six-week trip was to pack the donated shoes (freshly laundered!) and items I couldn’t get into my luggage into three big poly tubs to ship to Belize.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">David took them to the PO to mail to Texas, where they went on a container ship to Belize, then by truck to a nearby town here where I picked them up, finally, just last week.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Some of the donated shoes.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I recovered from the operation amazingly well and fast (my doctor was impressed), including the expected retention of fluids once the drains were removed. The fluid was drawn by the surgeon once in Oregon and once again by another surgeon in Boise (a simple office call each time).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that was the last time I saw a doctor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel great.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxQw6AwOg_haG6Lz2IQKHfPpCE-i_Bl8f9erWlnYrKhCqlUpp-KJbrUIx47gYyofiO0_FFopmAxWe9KtC9WfP9vAlCFhpX9k21s_JRjPPlf_Pg-Rk_BLS3n5AQj40BCJkp5gjPl4UiBr4/s1600/Shipped-Containers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="396" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxQw6AwOg_haG6Lz2IQKHfPpCE-i_Bl8f9erWlnYrKhCqlUpp-KJbrUIx47gYyofiO0_FFopmAxWe9KtC9WfP9vAlCFhpX9k21s_JRjPPlf_Pg-Rk_BLS3n5AQj40BCJkp5gjPl4UiBr4/s200/Shipped-Containers.jpg" width="131" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">my tubs arrived</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">You can almost see the house</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My flight home was on June 12, a little less than two months ago, and at this point, ten weeks after surgery, I feel close to completely healed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m doing all the things I normally would do, lifting coke cases with (empty) bottles into the pickup, hanging out the wash, putting things onto top shelves, sweeping the floor, doing minor landscaping tasks, and sleeping comfortably in all positions without pain or stiffness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> My friends and family were wonderful to visit, but It is lovely to be home.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSOkuN4vVU8GSD2vCvrOEmzl5aK0Hzol41icfEXgKknFLjr9TNhZYVvp4JT_5NAxiieje-t8sLL5UwgWnKuwKL-OA0OQ8qD2D0ks4AY4do8vnS6Xv_wQaRPCFSdub6UzHjdu7ExbpuOly/s1600/Me-PostOp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="396" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSOkuN4vVU8GSD2vCvrOEmzl5aK0Hzol41icfEXgKknFLjr9TNhZYVvp4JT_5NAxiieje-t8sLL5UwgWnKuwKL-OA0OQ8qD2D0ks4AY4do8vnS6Xv_wQaRPCFSdub6UzHjdu7ExbpuOly/s200/Me-PostOp.jpg" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Me, post-op flat</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A point of interest -- none of the doctors mentioned that the areas where Muriel and Janet (left and right breasts, respectively) had perched would be numb after the operation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I’d thought about it, I might have guessed, but I didn’t. In fact, I didn’t really do much research at all on my condition before the operation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided that I would live one day at a time as well as possible, and not focus on what was to come – and the best way to do that was to not know too much about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> That approach served me well, keeping me upbeat and disgustingly cheerful throughout the whole thing. </span>The numbness is just a cosmetic effect, and while it feels a bit peculiar, it has no bearing on how well or how healthy I feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Full-moon dinner cruise with neighbors <br />
on Laz's pontoon boat. $10 each.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">While I was in the US, my young friend José kept my house safe, and I returned to a clean, orderly, sweet-smelling home, compliments of Millie, who came in the day before I arrived to spiff things up to welcome me back. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now I’m back to my usual tasks, providing cokes and chips for the construction crew; doing the footwork for our Belize Scholarships program for the local kiddies; joining in on community celebrations – most recently, a full-moon cruise on the lake with Laz on his pontoon boat; and tying up loose ends with the Lights for Students program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Laz pilots the pontoon boat</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thanks to so many of you who made donations to my Lights for Students gig, nearly all of the local families with kids now have lights at night, and the children are consequently able to do their homework after dark so that they don't fall behind the town kids in their studies.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">sweet scholarship kids</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So now I have turned my efforts to creating a Study Center in my spare room so the kids who come to use the internet after school will have a comfortable and warm place to study.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If the “warm” concept puzzles you, keep in mind that with the high humidity here, a week of cloudy, rainy weather can have us shivering in our </span><s style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">boots</s><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> sandals. I often loan kids jackets and sweaters to wear home after dark.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So to launch the Study Center, I’m now trying to get money together for a 6’ folding table (you know, those nice durable plastic ones), four chairs, and a printer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My friend Jenny, who lives here at BIB, donated most of the cost for a computer for the kids, and we have that now, but a printer is essential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Freddy, my friend who is foreman on the construction crew, still owes me a couple of days work to pay off the cell phone I brought him from the US, so he’ll make me some shelves and help me wire the lights over the table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_W8tk5OdXdbGj_yQ-FPTQh0iCGRxpkxwx51hD4r0nTWgpxj9s3F7Zcjx3YfZ4mQNmEmxzs7wXSxFKEqmqJiWLAJ9_7net7-ZkBPd_Y2n8oT-ACuNn9E8l0xS6lkXpVXbT2diyLWXQQ5o/s1600/Leaf-Katydid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="659" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_W8tk5OdXdbGj_yQ-FPTQh0iCGRxpkxwx51hD4r0nTWgpxj9s3F7Zcjx3YfZ4mQNmEmxzs7wXSxFKEqmqJiWLAJ9_7net7-ZkBPd_Y2n8oT-ACuNn9E8l0xS6lkXpVXbT2diyLWXQQ5o/s320/Leaf-Katydid.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">This katydid looks exactly like a leaf and twigs.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I think another $700 should do the trick, so if you are one of the people who asked me to tell you what is needed here, there ya go! Any amount is welcome, and any money left over (if we get extra) will be used to buy printer ink, paper, and school supplies! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Jenny and I are headed to Spanish Lookout to buy the table and chairs next week, so if you're thinking of helping out, now is the time to do it. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">You can send donations via PayPal -- it's very easy. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">And hey, i</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">f a donation is not on your agenda, this paragraph wasn’t aimed at you.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> 😊</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Moving right along.....The latest event in my MIcasa saga (my teeny jungle shack) was somewhere between hilarious and horrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After ten weeks of neglect, I finally made it to my little house in the big woods, only to be greeted by an ominous termite trail leading out of the forest, across the veranda, and under the front door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiCopn4EflgOBiNkrkRDThHF-9NfRJ_dAZNy7g5Z43xuWvIcn3YWAe8zz-240uC_q6yxvJ7WX_QaSl9Y3idMve5XwsQ5MsBgMoiAwlCu0ieL6ApyUUb7WQB5Xr8vPfJhL4Dxto2ToaFT_/s1600/TermiteWings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1003" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiCopn4EflgOBiNkrkRDThHF-9NfRJ_dAZNy7g5Z43xuWvIcn3YWAe8zz-240uC_q6yxvJ7WX_QaSl9Y3idMve5XwsQ5MsBgMoiAwlCu0ieL6ApyUUb7WQB5Xr8vPfJhL4Dxto2ToaFT_/s320/TermiteWings.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Termite wings everywhere!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Opening the door, I discovered that </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">there had been a termite hatch inside, and </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">the entire inside of the house </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">was coated</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> with discarded termite wings (termites</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> ditch their wings after mating). Wings were on every surface and even clinging to all the walls.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">They are like tiny bits of cellophane, somewhat electrostatic, and elude clean-up efforts easily.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> But it wasn't only termites...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The entire interior space was swagged like a Halloween horror house with dusty gray spiderwebs, festooned from one end of the house to the other. My very first act was to get a long stick and wave it around in the air until it was swirled with webs and it was possible to walk cross the room without getting strands of silk stuck to my eyelids and lips.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Mouse nest under pot</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Then I noticed a chewed towel, and jute twine trailing across the room, and discovered, under an upturned pot in the dish drainer (my final cleaning act of the previous visit) a well-stuffed mouse nest made of bits of towel and jute twine, </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">and – oh NO! – heavy white string that could <i>only </i>have come from my hammock, which was hanging from a nail over by the door…..Aughhhhh!</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMKg0j3WO5awUs76QiJy5IgAmtcdI_lEAuD5QB6G5dcQY3pCPYG1FADgV8XlezLkcKSzRZya7fAylC87YR9C6syqckiyZJkerYM6KcBDkP6QlToIO27nOxnOHGEGjhHw159EfqRjxorO1/s1600/Rat-Bit-Hammock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1098" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMKg0j3WO5awUs76QiJy5IgAmtcdI_lEAuD5QB6G5dcQY3pCPYG1FADgV8XlezLkcKSzRZya7fAylC87YR9C6syqckiyZJkerYM6KcBDkP6QlToIO27nOxnOHGEGjhHw159EfqRjxorO1/s320/Rat-Bit-Hammock.jpg" width="219" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">my mouse-chewed hammock</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You can imagine how the next few hours </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">were spent. Since the hammock is where I relax after doing scrubbing or carpentering tasks, mending the hammock was high on my to-do list.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The mice had chewed off most of the support strings on both ends, and gnawed seven gaping holes in the body of the hammock. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Fortunately, I had a roll of nylon string used for carpentry jobs, and after <i>only </i>six hours of labor, my hammock was reassembled.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Every string had to be tied off, and the end support strings had to be replaced, but by the time I was exhausted from cleaning and scrubbing and dusting (and mending!), I had a hammock to rest in again.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But like I said, it was really kind of humorous, with no major harm done (except to the hammock) and it makes a great story.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
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</span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2H2tKqMPXYjpa93BQexZVDPFb3YWISUzwNkz_zuZ9H3K_GDK7_ZtNO64TRJQeJpNRxY5eNZeb6mAe03cqy9rbpaKkfXf1nwhdA6bgrY3FSauDFgpkyywg3MKjdVVJMS3GW9UKvAjjjZi/s1600/Heliconia-8-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="528" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2H2tKqMPXYjpa93BQexZVDPFb3YWISUzwNkz_zuZ9H3K_GDK7_ZtNO64TRJQeJpNRxY5eNZeb6mAe03cqy9rbpaKkfXf1nwhdA6bgrY3FSauDFgpkyywg3MKjdVVJMS3GW9UKvAjjjZi/s200/Heliconia-8-18.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Heliconia plant</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">However, I’ll try not to let ten weeks pass between visits again – the wildlife had every right to think I’d abandoned the place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Millie and I have been working on my landscaping here at <i>Casa de la Tierra </i>(yeah, yeah, I know, that sounds horribly pretentious, but in Spanish-speaking countries people name their houses). Right now it looks really pretty, with the wet season well begun and greenery flourishing. Here's one of my heliconia plants.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDkwFJW3daHcyrE66Zl5vVrOfmb3noMz1Bij6t8zI4o1xzwAXxvey4UBucRgIXCJV6ysX142alJ_Uk5cI4r3kl1d6oW2xaZvn5Kv67eufwlBdNCAdokVnzfazNkM_l0giCjz1kUGxvud-/s1600/Crayola-Cicada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="707" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDkwFJW3daHcyrE66Zl5vVrOfmb3noMz1Bij6t8zI4o1xzwAXxvey4UBucRgIXCJV6ysX142alJ_Uk5cI4r3kl1d6oW2xaZvn5Kv67eufwlBdNCAdokVnzfazNkM_l0giCjz1kUGxvud-/s200/Crayola-Cicada.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Crayola Katydid</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And of course, there is the usual parade of amazing insects – I’d never seen one of these Crayola Katydids until <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">José </span>spotted this one on a tree just off the veranda, then went down and caught it for me to sketch (nope, haven’t sketched it yet, but I took lots of photos and I PLAN to sketch it). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3tmrY-1qwUCWCJfRa1u3gTT9_tSyIR2pCZ3hQ263Fa8NC5CTXDW-qOCeTOh02RG4a8c0JUCGsoPMJ0L9H2ZFKOR8OKqjW-edfNtyFWfghLdJJ1xsAKxzawwhzRPd9LwDYp2WFUCUeE7pO/s1600/MyBananas-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3tmrY-1qwUCWCJfRa1u3gTT9_tSyIR2pCZ3hQ263Fa8NC5CTXDW-qOCeTOh02RG4a8c0JUCGsoPMJ0L9H2ZFKOR8OKqjW-edfNtyFWfghLdJJ1xsAKxzawwhzRPd9LwDYp2WFUCUeE7pO/s320/MyBananas-.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Wow! My very own <br />
bananas!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And LO! my banana tree is producing fruit! I asked Millie when to harvest the bunch (called “a hand of bananas”) and she said when all the leaves die, you chop off the hand of bananas with a machete, then chop the tree down (O horrors!). A new sprout at the base of the chopped-down tree will rise up to become a new tree in short order <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">(well, okay).</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All righty, enough blathering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of recent happenings in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if you didn’t, why on earth did you read this far?!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Big hugs for you, my friend! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Renie</span></span></div>
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Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-80372335867346264112018-04-12T18:00:00.000-07:002018-04-12T18:00:33.613-07:00My new relationship with Ramón<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">I've entered into a new relationship</span>.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;"> His name is </span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">Ramón. I really </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">didn't mean for things to get this serious, but maybe the time has come, and well.....here's the backstory....</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #f6b26b;">******************************************* </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">R</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">ising 80-100’ into the canopy
directly over my driveway, this year a large tree called the Mayan Breadnut or Maya Nut Tree, <span style="background: white; color: #545454; font-style: italic;">Brosimum </span><span style="color: #4e2c2a;"><span style="font-style: italic;">alicastrum </span></span>bore a LOT of fruit which plopped onto my truck and littered the ground until it got my attention </span> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The <span style="font-family: inherit;">wildlife appear to
relish the nuts, even when they’re green, peeling off and dropping the heavy
rinds all over the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Occasionally </span>a nut slips from their grasp and lands on my roof, crashing like a firecracker -- think of a marble, crashing on the bottom of a tin bucket from 80-100' up. Yup, that's about right. There is a Maya Nut Tree over my little M</span>icasa, out in the jungle, too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Here in the rainforest
you never know what’s blooming or fruiting overhead until the trees drop their
flowers or fruits, or some gluttonous forager loses a grip on its snack as it goes to pop it into its mouth. <a href="http://consejo.bz/belize/omnivores/omnivores.html" target="_blank">Possums,coatis, kinkajous, and other creatures</a> chow down at night, and howler and
spider monkeys, toucans, parrots, and other birds and mammals forage in the
daytime, so you can often pick up “clues” about overhead tree identities on the ground after their feasts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In early February I sketched a bunch of
interesting seeds/fruits/nuts that had fallen from the canopy onto my walkway.
The green fruit and shiny brown seeds on the right are the fruits from that tree, but at the time I didn't know what kind of fruits they were. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEc5Ppk1rzdelI0g1RZr-w1eOU06QNSpkUoU1F4ZJtJQdV0m8noDCeFXquhanCgVvnjDynTuiMsK5i2eAbISQwugj3IJMeLkKJI2bm0UiSHLqRaYdYzFcgjTY6fWwPgtdrEX8-s7BLJsMk/s1600/LeftoversOnTheTrailA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="891" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEc5Ppk1rzdelI0g1RZr-w1eOU06QNSpkUoU1F4ZJtJQdV0m8noDCeFXquhanCgVvnjDynTuiMsK5i2eAbISQwugj3IJMeLkKJI2bm0UiSHLqRaYdYzFcgjTY6fWwPgtdrEX8-s7BLJsMk/s400/LeftoversOnTheTrailA.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Now in early April, the fruits have
ripened, and the green peels have matured to a bright orange. They taste a lot like oranges, too. To make
sure they were edible, I first asked Belizean friends what they were called, then found them in my (excellent) book <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Trees-Belize-Kate-L-Harris/dp/0992758203" target="_blank">Trees of Belize</a></b>
by Kate Harris, then went online to find out if they’d poison me if I nibbled on them. They
won’t. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">And that was how I met and fell in love with...</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">my Ramón Tree. { <span style="color: red;">HA! Gotcha! Right?</span>} </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">I also discovered something else so interesting I thought you might
enjoy it, too. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">It seems that the leaves of the Ramón
Tree, named after the Spanish word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ramónear
</i>which means “to browse,” were a favorite choice for chicleros seeking food
for their mules. In case you don’t know,
the chicleros were the hombres who went out into the forest in the early- to mid-1900s
to <a href="http://www.new-ag.info/en/focus/focusItem.php?a=791" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">harvest the latex</span></a> from<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #545454;"> </span></i><span style="background: white; color: #545454;">the chicle tree <span style="font-family: inherit;">(</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>Manilkara sp.</i>) </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-size: x-small;">for use in making chewing gum. There are still some working chicleros. I actually know a chiclero (but his name is Erec, not </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">Ramón).</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="background: white; color: #545454;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="background: white; color: #545454; font-size: x-small;">Chicle has been
used as a chewing gum for a l-o-o-o-ng time-- as Wikipedia notes:</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #545454; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: xx-small;">“</span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">… </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_peoples" title="Maya peoples"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">Maya</span></a><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;"> traditionally chewed chicle… as a way to stave off hunger, freshen
breath, and keep teeth clean.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 107%;">” </span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-size: x-small;">You've heard of Chiclets, right? They're nearly pure <a href="https://www.gourmetsleuth.com/articles/detail/chicle" target="_blank">chicle latex</a>, sugar added.</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small; line-height: 107%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 107%;">Okay, so the
chicleros’ mules ate the Ramón leaves. Then, their appetites sated, they hauled the
bags of chicle out of the jungle to be sold in the markets. </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small; line-height: 107%;">I have a couple of chicle
trees about a hundred feet up the hill from my </span><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 107%;">Ramón
Tree<span style="background: white; color: #222222;">, crisscrossed with ancient chiclero slashes from which the latex dripped into the gathering bags.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">What
really snagged my attention, though, was reading that as the chicleros chopped branches
from Ramón trees for the mules, they’d often discover that the trees were growing up
from the tumbled stonework of Mayan ruins. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">The
archaeological record from Mayan sites shows that Ramón nuts were apparently a
dietary staple to the ancient Mayans, who ate the fruit and also boiled or
baked the dried and ground nuts, which have more protein than corn, as a major
part of their diet. Ramón nuts are still eaten in Quintana Roo (in Mexico) as
survival food.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">So, in
a Ramón nutshell, it appears that the Ramón groves discovered by the chicleros may
be descendants of old Mayan Ramón orchards. What makes it even more
interesting, is that <b>my</b> Ramón Tree is within twenty feet of the edge of what is
said to be an unexcavated Mayan site in Mayan Circle here in the ecovillage where I live. So maybe my Ramón tree’s
long-ago ancestor was planted by a long-ago Mayan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAQH33YLVr5-GTTuiNlA21KLCJ7nAz7eBTvUyar_hZPS7yvBNEW-DX3EoEeKdZXUj0oWfsVXKcG-8pbLpOaAzhu20rQ308Js5H099TXUnJiMtYmciZjm5MbxGaJ0lbUB6z1OCpWmwNW4Z/s1600/Ramon+Fruits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAQH33YLVr5-GTTuiNlA21KLCJ7nAz7eBTvUyar_hZPS7yvBNEW-DX3EoEeKdZXUj0oWfsVXKcG-8pbLpOaAzhu20rQ308Js5H099TXUnJiMtYmciZjm5MbxGaJ0lbUB6z1OCpWmwNW4Z/s320/Ramon+Fruits.jpg" width="300" /></span></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Anyway,
here’s what the ripe Ramón fruits look like. If you come to visit me in in April and
see a small orange fruit lying in the road (check the end of my driveway, just behind my pickup truck) stop and take a look. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will probably be a Ramón fruit. As you can see, it looks like a tiny orange with a stem. The seeds have a brassy appearance that's very distinctive.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #222222;">If it's a </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">Ramón fruit</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">, give
it a wash then nibble on the orange rind. It’s really tasty – citrusy and
sweet. Yum! I didn’t try eating a green one earlier this year, because </span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-size: x-small;">1)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small;"> I didn't know what it was then and I never taste unknown fruits, and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-size: x-small;">2)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small;"> I'm guessing that the green rinds (like the ones in my sketch) would be
horribly tart and inedible, and maybe taste like turpentine.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I hope you'll forgive me (and </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">Ramón) for trying to fool ya. It was irresistible. </span></div>
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Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-10596286779138908922018-02-12T16:32:00.000-08:002018-02-12T16:39:33.106-08:00Creating an Art Studio Where There’s No Room For One<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">How many times</span> have you heard people comment that
they’d love to practice their art if they just had a place to work. But even a
tiny dedicated space which won’t be disturbed (much) for other reasons can make
a fine work spot if you really want it to.<br />
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<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Many artists have fantastic studios -- huge, lots of storage
and workspace, marvelous lighting, a place for everything. I had a pretty nice one myself not so long ago. But when I built my earthbag house in the jungle in Belize, an art studio
didn’t seem important – my whole house could be my studio, I thought. '</div>
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But when I started “<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5022158959043622875#editor/target=post;postID=4768632301800250216;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=9;src=postname" target="_blank">being an artist again</a>” last
November, I began yearning for a specific place to leave projects out, where they wouldn’t be in the way.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSalZv_0Ux6lu34jqSwuGltK6DKsN6t2FRXPktmg10PveGumEpMn5n5OfNoRy8e-rRHSwtuHlG-1HulI7p4FTzVB1RgHB3Gsi7eJHhs8qWUxafOtOomIWSriYCQj_4savay9nFTwevf4Dd/s1600/TheLoftFromBelow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="374" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSalZv_0Ux6lu34jqSwuGltK6DKsN6t2FRXPktmg10PveGumEpMn5n5OfNoRy8e-rRHSwtuHlG-1HulI7p4FTzVB1RgHB3Gsi7eJHhs8qWUxafOtOomIWSriYCQj_4savay9nFTwevf4Dd/s400/TheLoftFromBelow.jpg" width="226" /></a>The only place I could find to
set up even a tiny space permanently was my loft, and it was already in use
storing empty suitcases, Christmas ornaments, off-season clothes, and similar
odds and ends. But it would have to do, so I set to work.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>MAKING ROOM:</b> </span> The
first problem is that it’s L.I.T.T.L.E. One wall is 7’ long, the other is 5’, and the remaining wall, 18” high, curves out
over the living room leaving a floor space looking like one fourth of an
elongated pie. A 22” wide staircase eats
up nearly two feet of floor space along the 5’ wall. Like I said, <i>little</i>. <o:p></o:p><br />
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But, ever hopeful, I started shifting things around. Since I
didn’t want to see my junk poking up above the 18” wall from the living room
below, I couldn’t just pile things up to the ceiling. But by stuffing all the Christmas ornaments
into an empty suitcase and consolidating some other boxes, I was able to open
up a space about 3’x4’.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">SEATING:</span></b> On the
veranda I had a canvas camp chair that was threatening to rip and/or collapse if
someone large or squirmy were to sit down hard in it. With care, I can get a few
months more life out of it, and it’s very comfortable – a lot better than a
stump, a rock, or the cross-legged pose I assume while out sketching in nature. It fits perfectly into the cleared space. We're on our way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijHaZFvlGTk5ZDtpfg5D7pBr0obCxVyONzzEuwgryaRv3IvC3RI1VXBX8IfFQbW39K6GdyyBlNhciSJ0yKT9K25iB0-ME13-bc-PJzSX0VEsA-SJRNUETd4onqxM3SxDeJJJHIJtJaRLSz/s1600/ViwFromMyLap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijHaZFvlGTk5ZDtpfg5D7pBr0obCxVyONzzEuwgryaRv3IvC3RI1VXBX8IfFQbW39K6GdyyBlNhciSJ0yKT9K25iB0-ME13-bc-PJzSX0VEsA-SJRNUETd4onqxM3SxDeJJJHIJtJaRLSz/s400/ViwFromMyLap.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: blue;">WORKSPACE:</span></b> a flattened cardboard box makes a sturdy table
top over a poly tub holding off-season clothes. Some 1/8” thick wall paneling
cut into lapboards and table tops makes sturdy surfaces to draw or set things
on. One 12”x18” piece of paneling makes a good lap board to work on – it’s lightweight,
maneuverable, and fits within the arms of the chair. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGHkwa6Pen-5X8OPAH6EAqXmDvtnHwhbUWNwYa1ZbDD7eeciHqWSmYonwep1KV4x_YIWeurzHSD9dNWM3kBSGojitIKKLUwFXT9JanttGkAt_jQJli97blE8XTVDF0QLkXqWJ2x-Cpvop/s1600/SkylightLight%2526Vent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="441" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGHkwa6Pen-5X8OPAH6EAqXmDvtnHwhbUWNwYa1ZbDD7eeciHqWSmYonwep1KV4x_YIWeurzHSD9dNWM3kBSGojitIKKLUwFXT9JanttGkAt_jQJli97blE8XTVDF0QLkXqWJ2x-Cpvop/s320/SkylightLight%2526Vent.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: blue;"><b>LIGHTING:</b></span> a translucent
skylight directly above offers perfect diffused light in the daytime, and while I haven't used the studio yet on a hot day, there is a screened roof vent near the skylight so heat <i>should</i> go right up
and out – but that remains to be seen.<br />
<br />
At night, the spotlight that was
formerly trained on my lion door (which is now under the loft) shines right onto the lap
board on my lap. I may add a gooseneck lamp to shine on sketch subjects at
night. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUU2NbZFyqnrENqcXBMK34LsMTbLL11uM0hGFGz97gt-uMHkR5yElyOttTV31GQJ7QeN4PJqpc2seGJyuusKrL1eR3xrNTyAw79j7isbRfH2phLDSIn3pb2eaZvcSAxhImpFrdLNW5e6R/s1600/StudioUpstairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="891" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUU2NbZFyqnrENqcXBMK34LsMTbLL11uM0hGFGz97gt-uMHkR5yElyOttTV31GQJ7QeN4PJqpc2seGJyuusKrL1eR3xrNTyAw79j7isbRfH2phLDSIn3pb2eaZvcSAxhImpFrdLNW5e6R/s400/StudioUpstairs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: blue;">TOOLS &
SUPPLIES:</span></b> My art supplies are in a
tiered artist’s toolbox which remains open and serves as storage and shelves
for watercolor pencils, ballpoint pens, water brush, rag, water can, scissors,
and a few other things I use for sketch/journaling.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">SOUND SYSTEM:</span></b> a 3”x 3” Bluetooth speaker picks up a signal
from the wifi below to play music I select from the internet, a splendid bit of
hedonism to my mind.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAr7U_7y8XvuAOGppMeTHmPyQWQh1yqrlO2gKbcOOKzUxoAJyCmeYkmD7-Akalo0wwjLabKBXyXoOmhH1x88s0kkYO9jxXCIlbg8d-YdGzyxQzY8h5ko3z1wUQtUuVm4_eomrqybCl9iW/s1600/Floorplan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAr7U_7y8XvuAOGppMeTHmPyQWQh1yqrlO2gKbcOOKzUxoAJyCmeYkmD7-Akalo0wwjLabKBXyXoOmhH1x88s0kkYO9jxXCIlbg8d-YdGzyxQzY8h5ko3z1wUQtUuVm4_eomrqybCl9iW/s1600/Floorplan.jpg" /></a></div>
It looks more or less like this, drawn on a 1” grid so
each little box is 1 square foot. The black outlines are the junk, under all
little table top boards and the art box.
I’d estimate the whole loft is about 25 square feet, while actual bare
floor space is about 12 square feet. I
may put up some shelves at some point, which would expand the space
considerably.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Someday I may find another place for the junk, but until
then, this works fine. I know, because I sketch/journaled the tapir bone page there last week. I’ll detail that in the next blog entry.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It has some good
points, for sure. No one is going to be casually walking through, I can duck and hide if I don’t want company, and I can’t possibly complain that it is
too big to keep tidy. But best of all, <i>I've been using it</i>, and my only complaint is that I can't get to the door downstairs very quickly when company comes. I'd say that's a pretty minor complaint.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
So if you've been thinking you don't have enough space to set up your studio, I hope this has given you some inspiration.<br />
<br />
And just in case you are telling yourself "Well, pooh on you, I don't even have THAT much space!" take a look at the "desk" where I did about half the illustrations for my first book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Horses-Ponies-Irene-Brady/dp/0395240506" target="_blank">America's Horses & Ponies</a>, when I had only a bed to sit on. At night, I'd hoist it up to the ceiling so I could sleep underneath it. In the sketch below, I show it both lowered and raised. Where there's a will, there's usually a way.....<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjndEiRBiHOH2aE13d03EbAX1_173C6szbBBJDFPkUX-swgubiR2BveFQxrRnVymHsIVDgg04-HUrfYBv_HBjCJV3lyN-feiitq_9oC1KR5Z2MS-DDRbl1Z0GMhq6Sp5ShQum_eLh9Qg8K_/s1600/Tinier+studio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1424" data-original-width="1600" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjndEiRBiHOH2aE13d03EbAX1_173C6szbBBJDFPkUX-swgubiR2BveFQxrRnVymHsIVDgg04-HUrfYBv_HBjCJV3lyN-feiitq_9oC1KR5Z2MS-DDRbl1Z0GMhq6Sp5ShQum_eLh9Qg8K_/s400/Tinier+studio.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-8864255991221731532018-02-03T18:26:00.002-08:002018-02-03T18:26:48.154-08:00Raising a Jaguar<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-ZQTeyT85eB-Z2WaCH3Gh_KSWgFwkwlCpAigadYauR665vgxKHuawJKsED6xrDO5r-dHdEUPWho5v3EKIfTKVZMtgJLAP_s47MPSiGMvXFhsiYe3e51AaPvolhCOewMO2WGn4krf9c1R/s1600/BlankWall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="413" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-ZQTeyT85eB-Z2WaCH3Gh_KSWgFwkwlCpAigadYauR665vgxKHuawJKsED6xrDO5r-dHdEUPWho5v3EKIfTKVZMtgJLAP_s47MPSiGMvXFhsiYe3e51AaPvolhCOewMO2WGn4krf9c1R/s200/BlankWall.jpg" width="148" /></a><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">As promised post before last, </span>here's the
pictorial history of the making of the jaguar mural. It took me from April to December, start to finish.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />As the final image to complete the set, I had planned to do a really stunning Mayan depiction of the Serpent God, which
would welcome visitors to my house.<br /></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9TIcKMX_i_Tu-bXKyTVCvVlw3rt5DyCnVF397vzJuAzwOXMzh5pnlmiKRZKL0zeNnr8UrBN-x8FbCzBqSNN216SoqW0lDKxvYnXWo9aG6mQ7m8JBHNg4Qt5u3Ya7-pqOMtKDD-B-kXIm/s1600/1Quetalquatl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="635" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9TIcKMX_i_Tu-bXKyTVCvVlw3rt5DyCnVF397vzJuAzwOXMzh5pnlmiKRZKL0zeNnr8UrBN-x8FbCzBqSNN216SoqW0lDKxvYnXWo9aG6mQ7m8JBHNg4Qt5u3Ya7-pqOMtKDD-B-kXIm/s200/1Quetalquatl.jpg" width="152" /></a>But after much thought, I decided that I wanted to welcome
people with something of my own, something that spoke to why I am here in
Belize -- to live in the tropical world with its amazing flora and fauna -- and while a Mayan representation would be really cool, it would be
something Mayan which I duplicated on the wall. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Instead, I wanted the welcoming image to warmly greet people on my behalf, so I
finally settled on a life-size realistic rendering of a jaguar, a potent figure
in Belize life.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHyh1GzhR0oZdv0vYvsJ0HwFFskLODOosdEVd6XaY-60gkTxGBFi51S11J2m_FkvILnOqi8raSlmwKd44CI2cI-fKJrwAjgC8KDU3Jien11NbAyuI0_8YKIo3M1Iy7I8SGqAlrwXUeNil/s1600/AtWork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="792" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHyh1GzhR0oZdv0vYvsJ0HwFFskLODOosdEVd6XaY-60gkTxGBFi51S11J2m_FkvILnOqi8raSlmwKd44CI2cI-fKJrwAjgC8KDU3Jien11NbAyuI0_8YKIo3M1Iy7I8SGqAlrwXUeNil/s320/AtWork.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<o:p></o:p>I went online and found a photo of a jaguar which looked kindly, welcoming but also protective, and graphed it as I had graphed the Mayan figures. Soon had a handsome jaguar penciled onto the wall (for more about that process, go <a href="http://naturejournaling.blogspot.com/2017/11/mural-painting-tutorial-and-sketch-2.html" target="_blank">here</a>.) </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_JoMGXeTpU2lmdlMHDo6FJvMYclb08e0IfnKiAjy6WZ4GnGCp3xLXSQ-zfXm5jMAPE9LNesHRFW4KCb1zjNbgACOUmzwr81ZbWPq-E9Uzala6ihC2fP_IWam_gEqDha1lorlWtCdnYlK/s1600/JaguarGraphed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="723" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_JoMGXeTpU2lmdlMHDo6FJvMYclb08e0IfnKiAjy6WZ4GnGCp3xLXSQ-zfXm5jMAPE9LNesHRFW4KCb1zjNbgACOUmzwr81ZbWPq-E9Uzala6ihC2fP_IWam_gEqDha1lorlWtCdnYlK/s320/JaguarGraphed.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this is the photo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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All of the previous Mayan figures had been painted with
vinyl outdoor paint on the cinnamon-colored natural clay walls of the house,
but I’d discovered that the walls needed to be stabilized lest the paintings
flake off within a few years. So I had painted (or rather, Freddy, my Sunday
worker and I had painted) the house a lovely cream color, working carefully
around the Mayan paintings<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuyPHpdt3kKtfWyz9P5N_hbWS-4GTq3OJ9m8LFhL9-VZfOUZL6eeP5yIIl6Ve2fmK0Jwz-45h4c1fhvAZ0Ucub1glBGtpbZU6eea6TNskrw63JPL4ikSfkxAZN_ysiiiftZ4CPcx7XWpVt/s1600/PaintingTheHouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="594" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuyPHpdt3kKtfWyz9P5N_hbWS-4GTq3OJ9m8LFhL9-VZfOUZL6eeP5yIIl6Ve2fmK0Jwz-45h4c1fhvAZ0Ucub1glBGtpbZU6eea6TNskrw63JPL4ikSfkxAZN_ysiiiftZ4CPcx7XWpVt/s200/PaintingTheHouse.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
then varnishing the figures themselves. all of the Mayan figures were finished, but since I hadn't yet begun the jaguar, I had Freddy paint over the large area
where it would be before I drew it, stabilizing the wall and giving me
a lovely, solid soft cream base for the painting.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFq08p_zvglmZXoo6YGJ38Etqb8CGokmkXeSzTGeihMyo-TJBo3zQhcQ_Y-tK_LpTNSL1O4s3XoRgnyx18eXDqLnFvoc-wDDQ2un26WwM1vlRD10CvfLzERz56r4BYnZLuEuvftQyE7rgc/s1600/SkyBandColors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="594" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFq08p_zvglmZXoo6YGJ38Etqb8CGokmkXeSzTGeihMyo-TJBo3zQhcQ_Y-tK_LpTNSL1O4s3XoRgnyx18eXDqLnFvoc-wDDQ2un26WwM1vlRD10CvfLzERz56r4BYnZLuEuvftQyE7rgc/s200/SkyBandColors.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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The sky band, the colorful Mayan ribbon that connects all
the figures, had two colors, cinnamon and ochre, which combined with the cream
house paint could recreate the basic coat colors of the jaguar. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uqPmjWX176PfZYkUe0QDxj9seiSWrFNE0x99ALrJvByoVdDeb4cGf1V05_VSE08zPUXlYAyxRpThsnTs3CL0y-5exN1SmxIHOJFS-OSOZRppW98KHL_JdRVFdLuqiUnjQ_5pCVJNQZi7/s1600/JaguarAsCougar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="528" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uqPmjWX176PfZYkUe0QDxj9seiSWrFNE0x99ALrJvByoVdDeb4cGf1V05_VSE08zPUXlYAyxRpThsnTs3CL0y-5exN1SmxIHOJFS-OSOZRppW98KHL_JdRVFdLuqiUnjQ_5pCVJNQZi7/s200/JaguarAsCougar.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
So using the
house paint as a base, I mixed in cinnamon and ochre and began applying color to my pencil outlined jaguar image. To my astonishment painting the jaguar the base color without any spots produced
what appeared to be a North American <a href="http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/cory_amy/adaptations.htm" target="_blank">cougar</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHnUUgYOgJ_zgn5IH6J71ue4kq0YaApa0zZIhQTYLIGx9YgehyXNPrnkhbA7XCw3HnWPTk6H8YrLbBqpf_rQ37MjY32asMdqFgCkG5u7prmNrKOupMe3SLkKbY3JdqkPxqoW-a8u_6oqe/s1600/GreenEyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="609" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHnUUgYOgJ_zgn5IH6J71ue4kq0YaApa0zZIhQTYLIGx9YgehyXNPrnkhbA7XCw3HnWPTk6H8YrLbBqpf_rQ37MjY32asMdqFgCkG5u7prmNrKOupMe3SLkKbY3JdqkPxqoW-a8u_6oqe/s200/GreenEyes.jpg" width="175" /></a><br />
Spots really do mess around with perceptions.<br />
<br />
The jaguar’s eyes came next. I always finish the eyes first thing so that
whatever I am drawing will come to life as soon as possible. Jaguars, like house cats, have
variable eye coloring, anywhere from golden yellow to jade green. I used the green from the skyband to give my jaguar a penetrating gaze.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5MhCGFBsePAVuZQia4NshuXOUaIYFFMf3LKM3sb4IlC1boslVDLKRrTWFPFDsUivthTfSamofIPiEbo36yYjzBU2ZGzDHz6Hda6ZTJKCP2aHLg2ItBLNJkshGe2x_TCNhkElieLa_eLgk/s1600/BeginningSpots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="462" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5MhCGFBsePAVuZQia4NshuXOUaIYFFMf3LKM3sb4IlC1boslVDLKRrTWFPFDsUivthTfSamofIPiEbo36yYjzBU2ZGzDHz6Hda6ZTJKCP2aHLg2ItBLNJkshGe2x_TCNhkElieLa_eLgk/s200/BeginningSpots.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
Adding the
black rims to the ears reduced the cougar similarity, as cougar ears don’t have
black rims. As soon as the tawny undercoat had dried I penciled in jaguar
rosettes.<br />
<br /></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Every jaguar has its own spot pattern, plus rosettes on their sides -- small spots
encircled by a ring of spots, so I didn’t worry too much about making my spots
exactly the same as those on the photo. In fact, I changed things around to
make it distinctly my own, while still being true to typical jaguar markings. Soon the jaguar itself looked calmly down
from the wall.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppzz5Gg9ipuAO-YKN-CGYNXHskppbMdMtcHn65S-CdrDX_6A36kXDO0phJVM3ByYwnUbB35b1wFA1as6G6hkos4eNVprVjQuJWVE_OYyoFXPBR0V0bOZ9OD7aCe2Kk46tYGCgQEkRahWC/s1600/WholeCatFlat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="891" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppzz5Gg9ipuAO-YKN-CGYNXHskppbMdMtcHn65S-CdrDX_6A36kXDO0phJVM3ByYwnUbB35b1wFA1as6G6hkos4eNVprVjQuJWVE_OYyoFXPBR0V0bOZ9OD7aCe2Kk46tYGCgQEkRahWC/s640/WholeCatFlat.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
At first, it was one-dimensional, as I didn’t do any shadows
or shading on it. I let it rest for a while,
watching it as I would leave and enter the house over the next few weeks,
trying to decide whether to leave it flat or give it a 3-D effect, and finally
I concluded that I couldn’t stop half-way. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoYiBriBuLqbxLfCKjjrrzRsjo7RDQ3-iO_gMR6YzxkVdL8GRQ7FJOW-dxWkjqfEfMx7GMjVYZK_AqPVxOCpXiGO2XwaonocKpOzD9noB5uqtlJDEA0T-PQJwK3f7sjgEWrYh8fLQfttl/s1600/Shaded.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="792" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUoYiBriBuLqbxLfCKjjrrzRsjo7RDQ3-iO_gMR6YzxkVdL8GRQ7FJOW-dxWkjqfEfMx7GMjVYZK_AqPVxOCpXiGO2XwaonocKpOzD9noB5uqtlJDEA0T-PQJwK3f7sjgEWrYh8fLQfttl/s400/Shaded.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7i1i9MfzsyUAL9VXMfUELGSqT-uGOFv5YCUVdgeC5VBc0u7LK_z2VILNv3kyym3fdmWwPqPw36EfxJDfKI2xeDrpIp5plgyY-sfrltJrfq7ypA5WqxuUHqR0xRbIhhyphenhyphenqP6UIVB2MmjZ2/s1600/Whiskers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="260" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_7i1i9MfzsyUAL9VXMfUELGSqT-uGOFv5YCUVdgeC5VBc0u7LK_z2VILNv3kyym3fdmWwPqPw36EfxJDfKI2xeDrpIp5plgyY-sfrltJrfq7ypA5WqxuUHqR0xRbIhhyphenhyphenqP6UIVB2MmjZ2/s200/Whiskers.jpg" width="112" /></a>Using a
dry-brush technique – which simply means dipping the brush in paint then
scrubbing much of it away until when you apply it to the surface it doesn’t
leave a solid swath but more of a misty shadow effect – I shaded the body until
it finally looked about ready to come down off the wall to check out visitors. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Then I added the jaguar’s bristly white whiskers. </div>
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<br />I finished the sky band that connected the jaguar to the rest
of the house’s Mayan images, curving it around under the jaguar’s paws as
though it were on a curved surface to lend depth to the mural.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg848ZJSWC97ovtAHwIx1SWqaubbfJIQuV4XgkKgwcaTcDewmxAacTfQpUGOVi4HJgkmex7Dsp1S3ggS4hqCIZiUUB_DwJtsCxFkVKyfjIVqySZsKBbxL9GdcoL6pw_tfHVGjms_ZBRk3y8/s1600/Done.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="792" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg848ZJSWC97ovtAHwIx1SWqaubbfJIQuV4XgkKgwcaTcDewmxAacTfQpUGOVi4HJgkmex7Dsp1S3ggS4hqCIZiUUB_DwJtsCxFkVKyfjIVqySZsKBbxL9GdcoL6pw_tfHVGjms_ZBRk3y8/s400/Done.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I didn't get around to painting the rock the Jaguar was presumably perched upon until just before Christmas, also adding a
jaguar glyph I had sketched at the Gran Jaguar temple at the Tikal
archaeological site in Guatemala in 2016. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8j8lGNLmUqmq5BrprbIIo3aeFdqB4oz6SEOi_YlcEO9HpKT-ppkrZBfck4D3Yn5a3rLqU09dGON7WYkP0SfqdCOaMmJcPXGVGe4N7fIYOpga-MFS2mK8jH9L741PE-i-YA-HFznsHBIhc/s1600/TikalGranJaguarRuin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="840" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8j8lGNLmUqmq5BrprbIIo3aeFdqB4oz6SEOi_YlcEO9HpKT-ppkrZBfck4D3Yn5a3rLqU09dGON7WYkP0SfqdCOaMmJcPXGVGe4N7fIYOpga-MFS2mK8jH9L741PE-i-YA-HFznsHBIhc/s200/TikalGranJaguarRuin2.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
I figure it took me about forty hours
from start to finish.<br />
<br />
The jaguar is approximately life size, and I feel he is a gentle
guardian, checking out visitors to make sure they have good intent before
letting them pass. I have discovered, though that he can apparently make
himself invisible. When people come to
visit, I usually greet them at the edge of the walkway, welcoming them and
inviting them in. With their eyes on me,
they pass so close that he could reach out and pat them as they enter, were he
so inclined. If they DO see him, they always stop to admire him, so I know
whether or not he is wearing his invisible cloak. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyew3T8FRpAUwrLFioWbGREMHvNRV4y3Cg66RJRbxE5j5dT6YOodJeViJjJzXhtfb3IaM4TdV5utBycL6GQCWUACVwBhKgAMl6d2QGyTD0hU6jTRJwe6iQZcESJ4KLWqB_cCFWZvgb60T/s1600/HeadShot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="572" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyew3T8FRpAUwrLFioWbGREMHvNRV4y3Cg66RJRbxE5j5dT6YOodJeViJjJzXhtfb3IaM4TdV5utBycL6GQCWUACVwBhKgAMl6d2QGyTD0hU6jTRJwe6iQZcESJ4KLWqB_cCFWZvgb60T/s320/HeadShot.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
<br />
Being a bit of a mischief
maker, I ask ones who <i>didn’t</i> stop if they saw the jaguar on their way in. Guests who had their eyes focused on me
instead of the big cat look at me in puzzlement, so we return to the entrance,
and they are amazed to see the VERY visible and imposing jaguar gazing down at
them. It’s a kind of magic.<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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The murals are finished now, although the Belizean kids who
use the veranda for a study hall have been urging me to paint a jungle behind
the jaguar. I have to admit, it would create an amazing entrance, but it would be a huge task and I think I’ll rest on my
laurels.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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I have some other things on my platter, such as working in
my sketch/journal; adding amenities to Micasa, my little retreat in the jungle;
and lighting up neighborhood houses.
This last project is being very rewarding and maybe in my next post I
will show you what I’ve been up to. You’ll
be particularly interested if you helped me out with the project when I was in
Oregon last summer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Until next time… <o:p></o:p></div>
Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-46458662088872623152018-01-22T09:07:00.000-08:002018-01-22T09:08:38.262-08:00The Birth of a Graphic Image<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">TaDA! Behold, the Turnip-tailed Gecko! </span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;">(click image to enlarge)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPDSyx233GLVxtqI2qQxFFW3eQHTnd-v3MPUphB9BrVBtdVg0bJfocQI5XoAZfu1I1g3DYqpZvcavh_vUpC4rkfgEikG_hf4eG1k9Dmqt1G7CTT9nK7TUqB705XtKZxex8jnMvfc1XyjB/s1600/Turnip-tailed+GeckoColored%2526Improved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="891" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPDSyx233GLVxtqI2qQxFFW3eQHTnd-v3MPUphB9BrVBtdVg0bJfocQI5XoAZfu1I1g3DYqpZvcavh_vUpC4rkfgEikG_hf4eG1k9Dmqt1G7CTT9nK7TUqB705XtKZxex8jnMvfc1XyjB/s400/Turnip-tailed+GeckoColored%2526Improved.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you've ever wondered about the process of getting artwork ready for reproduction online or in a book, read the rest of this blog entry. If you haven't, well, co ahead if you don't have anything better to do. Just sayin'.....</div>
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<br /></div>
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For people who aren’t practicing artists or designers, or are not comfortable messing around with graphics programs, scanning or photographing their art is the <i>final</i> step before posting it to the blog. They post it as-is.</div>
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<br /></div>
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A scanner usually gives better results, but if a scanner isn’t available, it is possible to make do with a photograph. But unless lighting conditions are excellent, a photograph may not produce a very good image, and it may not be true to the original by a long measure.<br />
<div style="background: #F7FFCE; border: solid 5px #aaaaaa; font-size: 14px; margin: 40px; padding: 30px; text-align: justify;">
The process that happens to photos or art between the production by the artist and the publication online or in a book can be compared to what happens to a musical performance before it is released to the public. The original performance is given, then an audio engineer mixes results from several microphones, adjusts the volume, bass and treble, speeds it up or slows it down, dubs in instruments or vocals, adds various effects and generally changes the overall sound of the music before it is released to the public. And oh yes, often the original music was electronically produced, not performed with traditional instruments. The public praises the composer, artist/s and conductor, but the contribution and skill of the audio engineer goes unnoticed. Alas, such is life.<o:p></o:p></div>
What happens to art is similar to the audio-mixing process noted above. A lot of things can be done to make the captured image truer to the original art, and sometime things are done to make it better or different. When I post art or photos, I usually at least improve the color/lighting. Look what a difference just raising the light level in a graphics program can make in a photo:<br />
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYvSezENgA9BF0wrcX3nCe1rZY2EcrE7gCJrnya57BlNcvtMRsneeK0X863-Cn2G6gSDGyYZKsGb-Vhyhq9_VXloWnzSkqjqb43JbU_zgNS9zW5rmEsWofyAt2riZ0Hh1SNJbCBC5PD7c/s1600/TweakExample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="284" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYvSezENgA9BF0wrcX3nCe1rZY2EcrE7gCJrnya57BlNcvtMRsneeK0X863-Cn2G6gSDGyYZKsGb-Vhyhq9_VXloWnzSkqjqb43JbU_zgNS9zW5rmEsWofyAt2riZ0Hh1SNJbCBC5PD7c/s400/TweakExample.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXUZtcEdyyYozsMkOtknQRszNFhjnEgtwI4JCqtwhJ6QYyn7AKd9hEhyphenhyphen1wk9wgOQ5HPlDzThTX4UZBtXOZdxPIugeR2dC7S_qNLYm5dJnwidpF51b1du5B4-U7dIcsD2gPoDdfRS4MWah/s1600/ExampleOriginal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="296" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXUZtcEdyyYozsMkOtknQRszNFhjnEgtwI4JCqtwhJ6QYyn7AKd9hEhyphenhyphen1wk9wgOQ5HPlDzThTX4UZBtXOZdxPIugeR2dC7S_qNLYm5dJnwidpF51b1du5B4-U7dIcsD2gPoDdfRS4MWah/s400/ExampleOriginal.jpg" width="223" /></a></div>
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<br />
Here in my kitchen, I was trying out a recipe for avocado toast on my comal (ko-MALL), a flat slab of aluminum or steel commonly used here in Belize for toasting, heating, and frying. <span style="color: red;">With the aid of the graphics program</span>, I made the sun shine outside and turned on the light in the kitchen so you can see everything and sense the warmth of the room. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So if my scanner is not working and I photograph one of my sketches, it can look pretty bad at first, like the first image of the gecko here, and I have to do a LOT of things to make it finally look the way the sketch actually appears in my sketchpad. It may take me an hour or two of adjustments to reach a point where I am satisfied that I can’t improve it further. <br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCUsXSAFnDsjD4ppnEKuZFiKvuAR25b1adKxdTzbeT9wBHB8WAmPGFHWEaJyfM6Zlik0deBE4jTO5kHauSo7AWMO8NILgxpf9Wb_0fJqCxYwkjPf2_jwuek22XtDGOS2gNMni2PdSylmf/s1600/The+original+scan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCUsXSAFnDsjD4ppnEKuZFiKvuAR25b1adKxdTzbeT9wBHB8WAmPGFHWEaJyfM6Zlik0deBE4jTO5kHauSo7AWMO8NILgxpf9Wb_0fJqCxYwkjPf2_jwuek22XtDGOS2gNMni2PdSylmf/s400/The+original+scan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Here are the steps, in the order that I do them:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: blue;">rotate the image until it is level</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">crop and remove the coil because it would take a lot of work to make this one look good. I'll replace it later.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">lighten the entire image globally</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">cut and remove most of the darkest garbage </span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">resize – if I am making a series, the pages all need to be the same size.</span></li>
</ul>
Now it looks like this:<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAI48Hw_CRFiQCaL0zjRGGHzntglgkAqjEX3SX3kI02txSBuzWI_4iMAQRJ8PXNKv5uXJiJy4qqaAUxIv5pOCeWU63VDLDg_G4u_J9PXA-4E1iPgS_F7EEsreNMDDOBw6dyWlG5V_8r250/s1600/Gecko+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="1600" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAI48Hw_CRFiQCaL0zjRGGHzntglgkAqjEX3SX3kI02txSBuzWI_4iMAQRJ8PXNKv5uXJiJy4qqaAUxIv5pOCeWU63VDLDg_G4u_J9PXA-4E1iPgS_F7EEsreNMDDOBw6dyWlG5V_8r250/s400/Gecko+1.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
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Keeping an eye on the colors to make sure I don’t lose anything, I:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: blue;">apply a Gaussian blur filter to the entire page with a radius of .5 pixels. This smooths out lines and softens the look slightly. This is important because some pixels disappear from light areas during adjustments, creating rough edges, but with the slight blur, any additional changes will work better.<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">hand darken (burn) and lighten (dodge) various areas to make the image even-toned<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">globally adjust the contrast levels of everything – the highlights, the midtones, and the shadows for the entire image, then hand dodge or burn areas that need more individual change<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">select all the text with the lasso tool and desaturate it to remove any color, then increase the shadow and midtone levels until the text is strong and black<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">hand dodge for highlights and burn to strengthen shadows and color tones<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">again until all the paper is white, all the text is evenly dark, and I haven’t lost anything important from the colors of the image<br />
</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">paste on a cleaned-up version of the sketchbook coil. I paste this same coil image on each of my sketchbook pages since they are a set.</span></li>
</ul>
Now it looks like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHS-xhZt8GMzh5VfOGSSoIff-uAT5MPQHfSAxvFRCOT3BY_J9XZBOprPyI5Hybp8FhOHlQqoGMX_zuIcGvrlu8Y1laIBQ9_Lfm1XZC6MvhAAHav5J9AqyNMsfvhn-S65doWoGr8GX_Hk6T/s1600/Gecko+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="1600" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHS-xhZt8GMzh5VfOGSSoIff-uAT5MPQHfSAxvFRCOT3BY_J9XZBOprPyI5Hybp8FhOHlQqoGMX_zuIcGvrlu8Y1laIBQ9_Lfm1XZC6MvhAAHav5J9AqyNMsfvhn-S65doWoGr8GX_Hk6T/s400/Gecko+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The paper and text look pretty good, but the drawings aren't right yet, so I warm up, cool down, and slightly shift the color of the entire image. Then I make final improvements and corrections to the original. <br />I decide to:<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: blue;">select everything and reduce the size of the sketch to fit on the page better.<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">move the gecko’s foot and text in the lower left corner higher up on the page for better balance<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">put highlights in the eyes<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">clone markings on the gecko’s top side to closer resemble the original colors<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">continue to adjust color lighter and darker, more and less constrasty, adding cloned color markings where needed<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">remove speckles, erase some extra lines, shorten a front toe, correct text, and replace or improve some letters which were poorly executed.<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue;">add a 2-pixel stroke around the sketch page to outline it.</span></li>
</ul>
and I’m done. <o:p></o:p>If you compare the last two images below, you’ll see where I’ve<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnY_BlMQ5ckSEsCzdVCFqQ738U4_GEWP8jLzh6thsDekk4k5eKoHYiqyO8eo0Ks-EsId7449jFMVS9kGbvhepR-LLSyJF9Uf_x4-wXQWymBrCOq593pNF951mLePM9mMs7IQgKHRgVy5a/s1600/Turnip-tailed+GeckoColored%2526Improved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnY_BlMQ5ckSEsCzdVCFqQ738U4_GEWP8jLzh6thsDekk4k5eKoHYiqyO8eo0Ks-EsId7449jFMVS9kGbvhepR-LLSyJF9Uf_x4-wXQWymBrCOq593pNF951mLePM9mMs7IQgKHRgVy5a/s1600/Turnip-tailed+GeckoColored%2526Improved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="891" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnY_BlMQ5ckSEsCzdVCFqQ738U4_GEWP8jLzh6thsDekk4k5eKoHYiqyO8eo0Ks-EsId7449jFMVS9kGbvhepR-LLSyJF9Uf_x4-wXQWymBrCOq593pNF951mLePM9mMs7IQgKHRgVy5a/s400/Turnip-tailed+GeckoColored%2526Improved.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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edited and improved the original to make it more accurate, tidier, or create a better design. Like the orchestral recording, things have been changed and improved. In this case, it’s my own personal effort that changed my own personal art, and I’m glad I didn’t have to ask a technician to do it! Here's the previous step next to the final one so you can compare.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLBhmxOokju0X08rrZVtGyJFbuvXOdkrVABeHCl2HMzGrEprN75HJwyoS6UuAXvL3WMn8QgdI5eaPsrd_xe4biBPVPMMl-YQpROfcg04gsNDn29zdXdhEWjBYcEKC5Kmp0KVDgXvibzsuE/s1600/Gecko+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="1600" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLBhmxOokju0X08rrZVtGyJFbuvXOdkrVABeHCl2HMzGrEprN75HJwyoS6UuAXvL3WMn8QgdI5eaPsrd_xe4biBPVPMMl-YQpROfcg04gsNDn29zdXdhEWjBYcEKC5Kmp0KVDgXvibzsuE/s400/Gecko+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Everything I’ve changed is something I would have done on the original if: a) I could erase the ballpoint pen ink I use in this moist climate, b) I got everything perfect the first time around. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Since I'm the technician (YAYYY!) I get a do-over. Can you find the toe I shortened? Also notice my notes say the gecko had only four toes on the rear feet, but I later realized there were five. Highlights on the eyes make them look a whole lot livelier.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A <i>scan</i> is usually more accurate than a <i>photo</i> in producing the image, so it won’t be necessary to do so much tweaking to a scan to bring the paper up to white without also losing the color and shading in the drawing. But no matter how you upload the art, there are <i>always</i> things that need to be adjusted to accurately represent the original.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fortunately, I think all this twiddling is fun. Go figure.</div>
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Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-12267302028336369752018-01-19T16:11:00.000-08:002018-01-19T16:11:50.511-08:00New Sketches from my New Studio<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">It’s been cold here</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> for the last few
weeks, colder than I remember it being in the last three years, and it
sometimes makes it difficult to do more than wrap up in a fleecy blanket in my
armchair and read. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’m hoping {<a href="https://inhabitat.com/wilson-solar-grill-stores-the-suns-energy-for-nighttime-fuel-free-grilling" target="_blank">these folks</a>} (click on the link) </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">will soon
get their solar grill to market and maybe between grilling gibnuts and chugging cervesas I can blow a fan across the top of the grill and heat my house during the
several weeks of “winter” here.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s
amazing how cold 63° can feel in an unheated house if there is no place to
occasionally warm up </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>[blows on fingers, twitches blanket over legs]</i>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMA5W-nE_ZjYwzauecyGZJh1Pvq78J0V03QVbLSNj_q1PiSxmSmKMYj_ehesaE0jXaNgcY58x927JCDUQSc1YwJOwi9vg5KWQI1Ke-W_vQZKBxzw69Wez9VPRJ-Dweq1WTb9roSPTVn2lQ/s1600/LoftStudio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="749" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMA5W-nE_ZjYwzauecyGZJh1Pvq78J0V03QVbLSNj_q1PiSxmSmKMYj_ehesaE0jXaNgcY58x927JCDUQSc1YwJOwi9vg5KWQI1Ke-W_vQZKBxzw69Wez9VPRJ-Dweq1WTb9roSPTVn2lQ/s320/LoftStudio.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Those of you who
are experiencing sub-zero temperatures, wind, snow and Frozen Nozes are likely
chuckling disdainfully at my so-called “problem.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I
understand. I would probably be doing the same if I were </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">way up north </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">listening to such a
lament from someone down here in balmy Belize.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Go ahead. Mock
me.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I can take it. But I’m shivering </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">nevertheless</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFnEDLLf8B2_ubOGucvKxEdFRV3-ABkaNsLnCC2eSOy5rTM9PPyrIVcq51FHvxsd9hxlTVTxhRZrnqYo2rNBEBzlkflFRLdkc1B1bmFlyyTCnPF_NDtOZDkInaSd2QvHh3rIC4bsrmfp14/s1600/MicasaEasel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFnEDLLf8B2_ubOGucvKxEdFRV3-ABkaNsLnCC2eSOy5rTM9PPyrIVcq51FHvxsd9hxlTVTxhRZrnqYo2rNBEBzlkflFRLdkc1B1bmFlyyTCnPF_NDtOZDkInaSd2QvHh3rIC4bsrmfp14/s320/MicasaEasel.jpg" width="180" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">However, that being the case,
and not to put too fine a point on it, I am pleased with the new art studio I have created up
in the loft of my earth bag house. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It is a relatively warm spot with unbeatable lighting both day
and night, being directly under a skylight (which is three feet overhead) for daytime art and
with spotlight lighting (originally meant to spotlight the lion carving on the bathroom
door before I put the loft between the two) which is a perfect light for my
sketchbook work after dark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjP2f-3lmF9QwDng9haQcECdpmlD3rw3YKVsLli1hvLPqiLgtsysYcwUvdkJRe6HEGrH1KewkPkwrPE8LiFWtRq7dW7RsHTyqZEM7L5aB3dpjMiW5W9v1CsfQz0SurlF3ULJtq8OKRyVkd/s1600/BurgundyFungus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="891" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjP2f-3lmF9QwDng9haQcECdpmlD3rw3YKVsLli1hvLPqiLgtsysYcwUvdkJRe6HEGrH1KewkPkwrPE8LiFWtRq7dW7RsHTyqZEM7L5aB3dpjMiW5W9v1CsfQz0SurlF3ULJtq8OKRyVkd/s400/BurgundyFungus.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And so, I
have finished two more sketches, the Cecro</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">pia Trunks and the Fungus. I did the initial fungus ink drawing at
Micasa in the jungle in November, using a tree stump for an easel on my
veranda. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I finally got the color onto
the sketch last week. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">In retrospect, I
don’t think this is a bracket fungus, as bracket fungi tend to make “shelves,”
more like the one I sketched in my Oregon woods in 2011, shown here.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9ebUpeMQObTRpsO5v9mfyypJ7jWxlOLkbXGwl2pORdB9Y3wRLVfl9HjV59x6RwHkt7-nwWgZ-zjyVp4g_ZPrGcIk7SUSgr_QgmoaeAAlQrbiG6BQIj_AiAQxnRCtt-RfjyADj52qj2Ve/s1600/BracketFungus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="290" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9ebUpeMQObTRpsO5v9mfyypJ7jWxlOLkbXGwl2pORdB9Y3wRLVfl9HjV59x6RwHkt7-nwWgZ-zjyVp4g_ZPrGcIk7SUSgr_QgmoaeAAlQrbiG6BQIj_AiAQxnRCtt-RfjyADj52qj2Ve/s320/BracketFungus.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">So I’ll have to get creative and paste a
piece of paper with a more accurate descriptive name over the word “bracket.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Alternately, and probably more simply, I could fix it in Photoshop. We'll see.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ICgQX_I_KjeIjSoG_ytypxzB5AwTal1e1KbZnaU8hEfwKTBoM8cu9HFgq8_AxtIvY6fJP37IDsS3yuSBIoiv-hdj13XfEp3mQDZh6wNCiWUPQrLr8Psa7Q8Mti1vRbpirBRNcaO1u8yw/s1600/1CecropiaTruncks11-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="891" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ICgQX_I_KjeIjSoG_ytypxzB5AwTal1e1KbZnaU8hEfwKTBoM8cu9HFgq8_AxtIvY6fJP37IDsS3yuSBIoiv-hdj13XfEp3mQDZh6wNCiWUPQrLr8Psa7Q8Mti1vRbpirBRNcaO1u8yw/s400/1CecropiaTruncks11-17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Cecropia Trunks sketch got colored, too, and here's how it looks now. It turned out to be more complicated than I expected, but I managed to do a serviceable job.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ICgQX_I_KjeIjSoG_ytypxzB5AwTal1e1KbZnaU8hEfwKTBoM8cu9HFgq8_AxtIvY6fJP37IDsS3yuSBIoiv-hdj13XfEp3mQDZh6wNCiWUPQrLr8Psa7Q8Mti1vRbpirBRNcaO1u8yw/s1600/1CecropiaTruncks11-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ICgQX_I_KjeIjSoG_ytypxzB5AwTal1e1KbZnaU8hEfwKTBoM8cu9HFgq8_AxtIvY6fJP37IDsS3yuSBIoiv-hdj13XfEp3mQDZh6wNCiWUPQrLr8Psa7Q8Mti1vRbpirBRNcaO1u8yw/s1600/1CecropiaTruncks11-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When I compare it to the bracket fungus I did when I was sketching daily in 2011, though, I can see that I need to practice to get up to my old speed. You'd think it would stick with you, but it's easy to forget little tricks and things one does to create effects. I'll have to relearn them.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">On a slightly different note, back in 2013, during the vacation trip
wherein I decided I wanted to spend the rest of my life in Belize, I made
sketches along the banks of the Macal River about five miles south of here
where I stayed at a resort for about a week.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It was my second stay there, the first one being celebrated in my
sketchbook </span><a href="http://natureworkspress.com/Belize--Beach&JungleAdventures.html" style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">“Belize – Jungle & Beach Adventures.”</a><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">My life shifted gears at that point as I decided to fling caution and
old age to the wind and change my entire life by moving here. As a result of the following chaos, I never
finished or uploaded those sketches – or any later ones done here in Belize – to the web
for people to purchase and enjoy. And now I am debating…..should I go back to
these uncolored sketches and finish them to make a new Belize offering? Then keep going with more?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTu7njSuughFLJgEjAXHc6HO_WPget3u5qUPfMrVuQHq_ViU9sWAvXjqdtEgkkvbm6NFLi-01IkRRPito_njt6fCEjZJuRBoKg-ksRl0BszUO6OUnngcsgxE2h-3n9WsmbXNRkLbgY7te/s1600/BirthdayParty4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTu7njSuughFLJgEjAXHc6HO_WPget3u5qUPfMrVuQHq_ViU9sWAvXjqdtEgkkvbm6NFLi-01IkRRPito_njt6fCEjZJuRBoKg-ksRl0BszUO6OUnngcsgxE2h-3n9WsmbXNRkLbgY7te/s200/BirthdayParty4.jpg" width="166" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I could start a series such as: “Belize – Along the Macal River” or “Belize –
Sketches from my Jungle Cabin” or “Belize – Some Rainforest Wildlife” or “Belize
– Orchids & Palm Trees”, or “Belize – A Mayan Healing Herbarium” stuff like that that. What do you think? Do you think anyone would be interested? And if
not, should I just do them anyway for my own entertainment? Feedback, please????<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">My last (74<sup>th</sup>) birthday was spent at Micasa, which I
mentioned briefly in the last blog entry, although I forgot to mention the
lovely surprise birthday party Millie and the Riveras, my extended family, gave me before I left. It was a complete surprise, and it made me feel very warm and beloved. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimd4ExEqmAQ-sv9qloYTIeK8XERwEc4vKPUWshMifXPHU6TnDgsfKsm9jygyN3JB73H5ohzb0B7oEFXpgVtMsN3bzWAB6QDiOAlRgK5bc362ESNJUAERZMcnUd-4DYPr7nGR6xt-5G_OoR/s1600/HangingShelvesMicasa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="441" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimd4ExEqmAQ-sv9qloYTIeK8XERwEc4vKPUWshMifXPHU6TnDgsfKsm9jygyN3JB73H5ohzb0B7oEFXpgVtMsN3bzWAB6QDiOAlRgK5bc362ESNJUAERZMcnUd-4DYPr7nGR6xt-5G_OoR/s320/HangingShelvesMicasa.jpg" width="178" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Up at Micasa I managed to get a LOT done – I
posted {<a href="https://www.facebook.com/irene.brady.96/posts/1580661358684172" target="_blank">a video</a>} of some of it on Facebook. I had measured the spaces for the shelves on
my previous visit, bought the wood, and had Freddy cut them to length for me on his Sunday
work day since they’re dense, heavy hardwood and I didn’t want to spend all my
time at Micasa sawing them with a handsaw.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Nacho, Darwin and Estuardo had to haul the planks the last 500 feet on their
shoulders because the road was impassable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Putting the shelves up by myself was
a challenge since they’re so heavy. I screwed the shelf braces onto the shelves first,
then propped each shelf into place with miscellaneous boards, broom handles,
whatever, while I screwed it to the wall.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It felt really good to get things off the heap on the table and up onto
shelves.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">With the shelves up, I moved on to put shelf paper on the kitchen counter. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglf-1v9P9evkEPeQ0EYPal9ZRlZ50iR8j4COcZM8q2DYF_C99-KjPZ1-EjYnUBsxakwoT1QHO8cPUL_F5sE2KFvsFYH-4HMtxGfbbXAahPCVmoPRZZD_hvqOygLBR8RbVliDW6_CXJ2ksD/s1600/CountertopMicasa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="1056" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglf-1v9P9evkEPeQ0EYPal9ZRlZ50iR8j4COcZM8q2DYF_C99-KjPZ1-EjYnUBsxakwoT1QHO8cPUL_F5sE2KFvsFYH-4HMtxGfbbXAahPCVmoPRZZD_hvqOygLBR8RbVliDW6_CXJ2ksD/s320/CountertopMicasa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tiles would be nicer, of course, but I am now on a strict budget, having spent all my loose cash and beginning my life of austerity on Social Security. I just wanted to cover up the raw wood and make it washable. I'll be interested to see how well shelf paper holds up on a kitchen counter.... Gotta say, it made washing off the possum footprints super easy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The curtains add a bit of a
domestic touch, softening the roughness of the chainsaw-cut planks.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Dontcha think?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnvxOajUvnH4eNowgE-d60llU95D6vf0WGhPbTT3fDQ6eRsH3YinMhc_oGBS-d1W0p00oqMy9lj7AtgsWFJafuMhAvkZzWyVWAzMMoNA6Uwu3MPCt9h5Q2AC3rRfsTvjX-SEG7BClTdiH/s1600/NewShelvesMicasa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1125" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnvxOajUvnH4eNowgE-d60llU95D6vf0WGhPbTT3fDQ6eRsH3YinMhc_oGBS-d1W0p00oqMy9lj7AtgsWFJafuMhAvkZzWyVWAzMMoNA6Uwu3MPCt9h5Q2AC3rRfsTvjX-SEG7BClTdiH/s400/NewShelvesMicasa.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px;">One of the things that interests me is: how much "stuff" and "polish" does one need to live a comfortable, satisfying life. What difference does it make if the walls are painted, or whether the kitchen counter has tiles or shelf paper on it, as long as it's clean. I do like nice things, but how much do I NEED them? (Probably only as much as I "need" them to impress other people.) Still, if I can also make it pretty..... as well as serviceable and please </span><i style="font-size: 16px;">myself</i><span style="font-size: 16px;"> ... that's a fine goal, I'd think. Serviceable. That's the keyword.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFZSRx95Jdyk2irFnGZwymA0K9skQTw6XsveE2Z6W7OebmJY5yXzIhpMAujSEVbPG080MksbV4uYfXNueTZk2309n81v_ryFnMF0_SEkaSyedDSgf3og1a1VzpUncN4mQA8siqeF0djDE/s1600/Micasa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="522" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFZSRx95Jdyk2irFnGZwymA0K9skQTw6XsveE2Z6W7OebmJY5yXzIhpMAujSEVbPG080MksbV4uYfXNueTZk2309n81v_ryFnMF0_SEkaSyedDSgf3og1a1VzpUncN4mQA8siqeF0djDE/s320/Micasa.jpg" width="309" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Micasa, last September. I'll take a new picture.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Next visit, I'll put up more shelves, install the rocket stove Nacho made for me, put screens over the possum cracks, and get the solar
panel and battery connected to the lighting system I installed last time.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> My tall ladder is the problem. I keep hauling it back and forth from this house to that house in Nacho's pickup, but it always seems to be at the wrong house when I need it. The road is still next to impassable, so I can't just go fetch it when I need it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Still, things are moving along nicely.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s been nearly three weeks since my last visit, and I think it’s
time for another trip to the woods and <i>mi casa</i>, Micasa.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">p.s.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Next entry, I’ll show you the finished jaguar
art at my earth bag house entrance. Maybe.</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></div>
Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com0Mollejon Rd, Belize16.97082826115652 -89.05375957489013716.967031261156521 -89.058802074890139 16.974625261156518 -89.048717074890135tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-56407822254979500332018-01-06T08:57:00.000-08:002018-01-06T08:57:12.702-08:00A Cacao Pod Mini-adventure<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Sooking Cacao Beans.</span><br /><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUz8I5Z-6kB8bkL5zvDdld_pc5Ah-8WA4YpeuuQKXndKeLHHll_oEqiwoB8MDT2etaI6zz-PDbjdMUdUZgMm-IApiNj023eQK6LLOHnlwTN3xhjE_T3RGHFMbKEb0TOkflql5YSICjHzW/s1600/CacaoPodWhole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="863" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUz8I5Z-6kB8bkL5zvDdld_pc5Ah-8WA4YpeuuQKXndKeLHHll_oEqiwoB8MDT2etaI6zz-PDbjdMUdUZgMm-IApiNj023eQK6LLOHnlwTN3xhjE_T3RGHFMbKEb0TOkflql5YSICjHzW/s320/CacaoPodWhole.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last Wednesday was our weekly Garden Share Day in the milpa at Better In Belize,
the ecovillage where I live, and there were cacao pods on the share table, so I
brought one home to my little earth bag house. In case you didn’t know, cacao pods are the source of chocolate
in all its many guises. Here’s the pod, about eight inches long, and a brilliant shiny yellow. It grows from the trunk of the cacao tree – I have been watching a crop of them ripen from green to yellow in the milpa for some time now. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjbQj_4wlzjEtPKDfyPnlfigaiDrqcW-pQD8UogXwrIuvR8vAcSWHNH5s70dR4U6i7JK1aihsZgl0_cUf2vAmUB9p07SZhQwTmeqTR4TvrkoOXZ48DKjIGg1VrmFhnQ38dmuEsv6mwKSt/s1600/GreenCacaoOnTree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="459" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjbQj_4wlzjEtPKDfyPnlfigaiDrqcW-pQD8UogXwrIuvR8vAcSWHNH5s70dR4U6i7JK1aihsZgl0_cUf2vAmUB9p07SZhQwTmeqTR4TvrkoOXZ48DKjIGg1VrmFhnQ38dmuEsv6mwKSt/s200/GreenCacaoOnTree.jpg" width="121" /></a></div>
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When my friend José came today to
use the internet I asked him to educate me about cacao matters. José is Belizean, and one of my go-to persons for advice and information.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Well, first you split the pod with your machete,” he said,
“then you open it up and the cacao beans are inside…” </div>
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“Will you show me?” I asked,
fetching my machete for him. And so began my cacao pod education.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoMke4pSyVajxMCQ9fCGcVOq60JUB0aP_KK66Dx6qPPZy9leK1RfILX_B5j-WQyP8Y69yeJxpvyGbhxESXuAy-mB5qQYgjtm1knFo7_11UBGrflgFQWpLn7bU033oQjTDOdeRexOdIInI/s1600/CacaoSeed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="528" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitoMke4pSyVajxMCQ9fCGcVOq60JUB0aP_KK66Dx6qPPZy9leK1RfILX_B5j-WQyP8Y69yeJxpvyGbhxESXuAy-mB5qQYgjtm1knFo7_11UBGrflgFQWpLn7bU033oQjTDOdeRexOdIInI/s320/CacaoSeed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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José opened it carefully, first slicing down its length with the machete
to open up a crack, then prying it apart with both hands to reveal the cluster of beans inside, each enveloped in a juicy, sweet, rose-scented silver-white jacket. I caught the rose scent as soon as the crack
widened upon opening. </div>
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“Taste one,” he
said, passing the pod to me. I shivvied one of the beans out and popped it into my mouth,
sucking and tonguing it. Heavenly! </div>
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“Help yourself,” I motioned for José to enjoy
them, too. We talked for a while about
the next steps in cacao culture as we popped and sucked the beans, and since
José’s mom used to work on a cacao plantation in Guatemala, I expect he knows what he’s talking about. </div>
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He told me the
beans are removed from the husk, sucked if you wish (the sucking isn’t <i>necessary</i> if you are harvesting a lot of
them), then they’re spread out in the sunshine to dry if they're to be shipped off to the chocolate factory. We had a good laugh imagining
a production scenario where every bean needed to be sucked clean before drying
-- “Hurry! Hurry! Suck faster! Faster!”</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_HmzWiLhKE7BTKsg9jeeQHCfa4o9rUPME1-apepEi3IUZWPxTF4tSWA4PCVn1CIU3D7PGujtZ13NZW-t74aPu_XdJje9abfXiQCBAegrwxZLrvMJ50c5gwnk80HxeuqaTZzwHaTwTI27/s1600/SookingIt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="356" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_HmzWiLhKE7BTKsg9jeeQHCfa4o9rUPME1-apepEi3IUZWPxTF4tSWA4PCVn1CIU3D7PGujtZ13NZW-t74aPu_XdJje9abfXiQCBAegrwxZLrvMJ50c5gwnk80HxeuqaTZzwHaTwTI27/s320/SookingIt.jpg" width="227" /></a>I’m sitting here plucking the slick, gooey beans from the
husk as I write, sooking and sighing with pleasure then ejecting each now
nearly naked inch-long bean into the empty half of the husk after the goodness
has been sooked off. There’s not a lot to sook, but what there is, is
delicious. “Sooking” by the way, is an old Scottish word I have a
fondness for. It sounds so much more, well, <i>sucky</i>,
than the word “sucking.”</div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdoThKRp3cm0-dBhTHNr8J85-VOacOs79NQpdo6HzS58CS1_QpPCcvuTqAnhmP6HKETYNyyDeD1ALLFxsVXZF-l5ETIJ2dJf-fuERze7pfqVgfp_AsZqxE8Bfr8DLMt6ZpkdflduVVaYW/s1600/SavingSeeds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="587" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdoThKRp3cm0-dBhTHNr8J85-VOacOs79NQpdo6HzS58CS1_QpPCcvuTqAnhmP6HKETYNyyDeD1ALLFxsVXZF-l5ETIJ2dJf-fuERze7pfqVgfp_AsZqxE8Bfr8DLMt6ZpkdflduVVaYW/s320/SavingSeeds.jpg" width="237" /></a>Tomorrow, on José’s advice, I’ll put the cacao beans out on
a plate in the sunshine to dry so that they won’t rot or get moldy. When dry,
they can be planted by simply poking them into the soil in the rainforest, or they can be
started out in grow-bags like any other nursery crop. </div>
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“Hey, José,” I call out from my
computer. “Do cacao trees like sun or shade
better?” <o:p></o:p></div>
“They like to grow in shade,” he responds from where he is surfing the web out
on the <br />
veranda. A moment later he adds,
“with a little bit of sun, too.” <br />
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I think I will plant
a bunch of these at Micasa, my jungle retreat, and someday (about four years, I believe) I shall pluck a pod
from one of my trees and make up a cup of steaming hot, sweet, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfrWPtjVuWU">homemade-from-the-get-go
cocoa</a>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And when my coffee plants also
have a bit more age on them, maybe I’ll add a little of my home-grown, roasted
coffee bean essence for a homemade-from-the-get-go <i>mocha</i>. Oh my! The
possibilities are endless.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
[Later: there were
sixty beans in that pod. I shall have a veritable chocolate ORCHARD! ]<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-42541039297288185922018-01-04T18:46:00.000-08:002018-01-04T18:46:07.791-08:00Christmas 2017 -- Making Tamales<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Happy New Year! </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwMFYvCWq3T9m_jHGH2X9wHjixgEFuA8sUz3BoFxMrzv8_dUdgx9mG7pBBkFipkfZ8N8rJyeVF2eZAdUmmbjnIGlWohETuQ_EbIDV9PcXNM1FwcSwqXjR0TgvkrvgpZWQ2VqJbsTcAWFd/s1600/1BananaLeaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="657" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwMFYvCWq3T9m_jHGH2X9wHjixgEFuA8sUz3BoFxMrzv8_dUdgx9mG7pBBkFipkfZ8N8rJyeVF2eZAdUmmbjnIGlWohETuQ_EbIDV9PcXNM1FwcSwqXjR0TgvkrvgpZWQ2VqJbsTcAWFd/s320/1BananaLeaves.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">banana leaves prepared for tamale wrapping </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last year I shared the narrative of my Christmas festivities with people on my mailing list (I know, I know, I am incredibly old-fashioned in these days of Snapchat, Facebook, etc., but I really LIKE the easy-going ramble of email and blogging) but people who are now reading this blog may not have seen last year's Christmas celebration, so I'll share the pictures of this year's good times which I enjoyed with my Rivera family and friends.<br />
<br />
It's a tradition in Belize to celebrate Christmas with tamales. Grinding the corn for the tamales, preparing the ingredients to put in the tamales, wrapping the tamales, steaming the tamales, then eating them and taking some to share with neighbors who might not have a large family with which to enjoy such festivities. We did all those things. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluNOZ29Yuok_EPsgoZ7zYsT8oaKAia1oPc0MaD4Un0MUQUdrmMQGtDGvROYjmZZ5oCCGweZGr6yJj1SsHwBvMV0_v_SKMUzwNn_AXH74tu0jHHW4hkqb8D33s7Bilg43zQEeL6VsCK2NF/s1600/CookingTheTamaleMasa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="622" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluNOZ29Yuok_EPsgoZ7zYsT8oaKAia1oPc0MaD4Un0MUQUdrmMQGtDGvROYjmZZ5oCCGweZGr6yJj1SsHwBvMV0_v_SKMUzwNn_AXH74tu0jHHW4hkqb8D33s7Bilg43zQEeL6VsCK2NF/s320/CookingTheTamaleMasa.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nacho and Nora prepare the masa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
By the time I arrived at Riveras' house at 8:30am on Christmas Eve Day, the banana leaf wrappers had already been cut and held over flames to soften them, and Yesenia a neighbor who had come for the day with her little girl Caroline, and Gaby, the only girl in the Rivera family, were cleaning smoke off the leaves. So I cleared a space on the outdoor kitchen table and joined in with the task with a damp cloth. <br />
<br />
As we were finishing, Doña Nora and Don Nacho returned from Benque in the truck with a five gallon bucket of the masa, corn flour made from corn they had just taken to town to be ground at the tortilla factory (a little tienda in Benque with a grinding mill).<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVYak9C_D_rk93kCY-8VocsYG3YoXEnUyLOUO4lr0jDu74t3ZAoWP3IvKW_IS4OMnQcM4GmUpl5pcY9-o2dBA99WGZaRY_WVwuzSr0g5RQ8h3SSin0uB187VZeQoFtxnhqQCbgjCr-r-V/s1600/KevinStirsAtFirst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="891" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVYak9C_D_rk93kCY-8VocsYG3YoXEnUyLOUO4lr0jDu74t3ZAoWP3IvKW_IS4OMnQcM4GmUpl5pcY9-o2dBA99WGZaRY_WVwuzSr0g5RQ8h3SSin0uB187VZeQoFtxnhqQCbgjCr-r-V/s320/KevinStirsAtFirst.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin stirs the masa as it thickens</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We mixed the masa with water in dishpans, squishing it between our fingers until it made a slippery gruel, then Nacho poured it into a cauldron and added water while Nora stirred. Then they put it over an outdoor cooking fire to thicken under Kevin's vigorous paddling. <br />
<br />
When it was properly thickened, José was set to stirring the home-made tomato sauce over the fire while four of us -- Nora, my friend Millie who lives with the oldest Rivera son Oscar, Gaby and I -- set out piles of banana leaves, chicken and pork chunks, the masa dough, and the tomato sauce when it came off the fire. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XP28l2LcqbblCid4Ohmkzv-g0U3UnKx-nbO48CvmG_nh18yU8AwZ4n_3fZDeSCxEXkaRlkfFWIpVGBxEhyphenhyphenZvSbgjNzpdpshHuZufNqxnO2g4j64hyphenhyphenzvfvBMOSXwwdXS8h1TK2OTUbiO-/s1600/JoseStirstheSauce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="680" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XP28l2LcqbblCid4Ohmkzv-g0U3UnKx-nbO48CvmG_nh18yU8AwZ4n_3fZDeSCxEXkaRlkfFWIpVGBxEhyphenhyphenZvSbgjNzpdpshHuZufNqxnO2g4j64hyphenhyphenzvfvBMOSXwwdXS8h1TK2OTUbiO-/s320/JoseStirstheSauce.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jose cooks the tomato sauce</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
First, a large spoonful of masa dough was patted onto a double layer of banana leaves. Then a piece of chicken or pork was pressed into it and a spoonful of sauce was ladeled over it.<br />
<br />
Nacho had to teach me again how to wrap the banana leaves around the tamale so no sauce could escape and no water could enter when they would be later steamed. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjFEwuZYani5IZRvyJf_NGE__Y95fQTpvGqkNL3FMExhfNgWnvBfuDfdkpY5uNs7ZYh_Vnp1RPMPy17s3NKYk_kAx0kFyPUigjiEuaQpuSw7mO8zdnCF5pfGTZnxoCruf-anyvvM7n6DX/s1600/FamilyProductionLine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="891" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjFEwuZYani5IZRvyJf_NGE__Y95fQTpvGqkNL3FMExhfNgWnvBfuDfdkpY5uNs7ZYh_Vnp1RPMPy17s3NKYk_kAx0kFyPUigjiEuaQpuSw7mO8zdnCF5pfGTZnxoCruf-anyvvM7n6DX/s320/FamilyProductionLine.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's fun working together. That's me on the right.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Soon my fingers recalled the dance from the many tamales I had made last year, and we all spent a couple of hours spooning, scooping, patting, folding, and piling our finished tamales on the table to be snatched up by Kevin, the tamale-runner, who stacked them in a big tub to await their debut in the giant cauldron, which would soon be emptied of masa, scrubbed out, and filled with tamales for steaming. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7VcNslzOvORr743jajSSyr-wqXw891e3DM9qkWj4HKtQMyEJgs4TJZsID04gIyWhyug-VzLmTGbAbUEAKFMwiuH_xAmLKjX_WiFYyJzNbsYLIj7qOdvN1mRxpdaAqo2KH3KEJQdQWfWw/s1600/TamaleAsSpectatorSport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="648" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7VcNslzOvORr743jajSSyr-wqXw891e3DM9qkWj4HKtQMyEJgs4TJZsID04gIyWhyug-VzLmTGbAbUEAKFMwiuH_xAmLKjX_WiFYyJzNbsYLIj7qOdvN1mRxpdaAqo2KH3KEJQdQWfWw/s400/TamaleAsSpectatorSport.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tamale making as spectator sport</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was a warm, fun time, with laughter, joking, an occasional "Ooops!" when a banana wrapper would split and need repair or replacement before being carried away by Kevin. This was Gaby' first year making Christmas tamales, as last year she just watched. It IS a bit of a spectator sport as you can see here. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuu5nXa_WmEI10HDHGKif-l5GRkzPw9y74QR8ApkvY5HuThOVKafUJkL8_oI_c6_J-F5oybrdjyyupsI3hYHpu7nmRVx2gIawNLFIc6B3lTxysQFbc5q_fLcesTp2ODeXcDw5M7BAtUAN/s1600/SharingWork%2526Stories.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="1188" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuu5nXa_WmEI10HDHGKif-l5GRkzPw9y74QR8ApkvY5HuThOVKafUJkL8_oI_c6_J-F5oybrdjyyupsI3hYHpu7nmRVx2gIawNLFIc6B3lTxysQFbc5q_fLcesTp2ODeXcDw5M7BAtUAN/s320/SharingWork%2526Stories.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Total immersion is a great way to learn Spanish<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was a lovely sunny day, in the 70s, perfect for our energetic activity on the wooden table next to the clay cooking fogón where Nora and Gaby prepare family meals. My Spanish is still rudimentary, but now and then I understood an entire sentence, which was a great pleasure to me.<br />
<br />
That night, we feasted on the perfectly cooked tamales, and after dinner Nora, Millie and I carried a stack of them to Millie's father and stepmother, who live about half a mile down the road, then stayed to chat an hour or so until Nacho came to find us. We walked back to Riveras by the light of a half moon, accompanied by cricket chirps and a couple of refrains of <i>Feliz Navidad</i>.<br /><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNEaACVnWPNNfHbUawes7giNq_toNPW7vFQ57uQpHle9XCJTmEV0st-g-yFJRrl-iUOSkCEtsdPCyRIJ2O9g3eFI9G9pBvxfipLX0tR3mDl7Ha5fzmU9Ew4LXtpRyvrxrmNP6dVyxD5zo6/s1600/TamalesInThePot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="739" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNEaACVnWPNNfHbUawes7giNq_toNPW7vFQ57uQpHle9XCJTmEV0st-g-yFJRrl-iUOSkCEtsdPCyRIJ2O9g3eFI9G9pBvxfipLX0tR3mDl7Ha5fzmU9Ew4LXtpRyvrxrmNP6dVyxD5zo6/s200/TamalesInThePot.jpg" width="165" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrapped tamales, ready to steam</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I particularly enjoyed the tamale delivery, because it was the first time I had been able to see how my <i>Lights for Students </i>project lights up a family's house at night (I have been purchasing and installing solar lighting in the homes of neighborhood students so they can do homework after dark, and the entire family benefits from this project -- maybe I'll do a blog about that later). <br />
<br />
All in all, it was a lovely day. We ate tamales the next day, too, Christmas, but it seems that most Belizeans celebrate Christmas and New Years Eves, for the most part, and just eat and socialize on the actually holiday. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNjWjkoDWk6l7fOssqMPkuOJIyHm2X_p1MM9Jncy1fMT2ZoVbVjgAYvUltwVyP_84mkT6Dlz381yD7IyD3JjxCuFSa0i1xM6ftVZ7o6_4kA-yfJZFFTv4g_Av-mgJiusQFbBgoA8kLE8U/s1600/38Micasa7-27-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="522" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigNjWjkoDWk6l7fOssqMPkuOJIyHm2X_p1MM9Jncy1fMT2ZoVbVjgAYvUltwVyP_84mkT6Dlz381yD7IyD3JjxCuFSa0i1xM6ftVZ7o6_4kA-yfJZFFTv4g_Av-mgJiusQFbBgoA8kLE8U/s200/38Micasa7-27-17.jpg" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Micasa, my little jungle house</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So that was my Christmas. A few days later I spent my 74th birthday solo (by choice) at Micasa, my tiny Belizean house in the jungle which I had built this summer, and which I am still working on -- shelves, curtains, stuff like that. <br />
It's gradually becoming my second home, with a few little adventures along the way -- like this one which I journaled my last morning there: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9htUJwtDHuAfSv8sjNYIS3CrzTpMmzFzhgh4kdvqx7QcECcuRPIRZ5fFUhuiwDsjSmL5GI_SzS9S_zzpT9rd3PlPTUf_30cXVmNS6223EmEwdoK21k2PsI9EnIROz-88zN2mLcHJ5Ebl/s1600/PossumAtMicasaSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="957" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9htUJwtDHuAfSv8sjNYIS3CrzTpMmzFzhgh4kdvqx7QcECcuRPIRZ5fFUhuiwDsjSmL5GI_SzS9S_zzpT9rd3PlPTUf_30cXVmNS6223EmEwdoK21k2PsI9EnIROz-88zN2mLcHJ5Ebl/s640/PossumAtMicasaSmall.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I'll blog my progress with Micasa later, too. <br />
<br />
And with that, I leave you with my fine memories of 2017 in the Belizean jungle, and with hopes for many more good ones in 2018 for us all. Happy New Year!<br />
<br />Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-35238410684071122492017-12-08T13:42:00.000-08:002017-12-08T14:16:35.401-08:00Adding Color to the Wasps! I DID IT!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TKpLG83ajk84h20N3Xt7SV5frRvYA6qqHlb5v9MxDPRem-CjpFjA8wHTobfflYkQxRUA3GMgwJdu_pt9m0OlpL1jEPE004KaUjHmJdYIIY03jeGyLwQlMIT_B-B-iLBE82F3gtKMOkc3/s1600/OverTheBlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="322" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9TKpLG83ajk84h20N3Xt7SV5frRvYA6qqHlb5v9MxDPRem-CjpFjA8wHTobfflYkQxRUA3GMgwJdu_pt9m0OlpL1jEPE004KaUjHmJdYIIY03jeGyLwQlMIT_B-B-iLBE82F3gtKMOkc3/s320/OverTheBlock.jpg" width="184" /></a><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am now officially past my "artist's block," </span><br />
<b style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">thanks to you</b><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I expect to be adding more entries from time to time, so </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><i>if</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> you want to know about it, put your email over there in that box to the right so you will be notified. Just in case you didn't do it before, you may have missed the second entry I made, a couple of weeks ago (this is the third one). If so, just scroll down.</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's the wasp drawing with color added. It's a lot easier to understand what's happening, isn't it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0e3ahZ3DmdfuDYa6R4bEYE7hYyKryqFJdCjp8PuL1vGoI2_Ld8ToDFzhLoWJ3NfN0SgApbZJrfPWWdd4O7cgb4tPyFzB4bXPQ2OVr6kJAEiRw-27PY3EGdJ8fvON8zTtjEmxDTLc5CVag/s1600/Wasps%252CColored.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0e3ahZ3DmdfuDYa6R4bEYE7hYyKryqFJdCjp8PuL1vGoI2_Ld8ToDFzhLoWJ3NfN0SgApbZJrfPWWdd4O7cgb4tPyFzB4bXPQ2OVr6kJAEiRw-27PY3EGdJ8fvON8zTtjEmxDTLc5CVag/s400/Wasps%252CColored.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Check below in the previous entry to see what this drawing looked like before color was added. I also wrote in that entry about how I painted the mural on my house walls -- lots of pictures.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRh6UXJnfC6a-vl3pkWmGtRffhhrnyJQBzHb9Qx4poEzM_8oUylsIpPXMxSnKiVI1bGco3ofKkCb5mLCMkwLhcH9FVlJ9TL6Any_oHjmJ9RksldemUC8Xy7peA0S6Flg0z2ni2F9tcBU25/s1600/MacalFieldMay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRh6UXJnfC6a-vl3pkWmGtRffhhrnyJQBzHb9Qx4poEzM_8oUylsIpPXMxSnKiVI1bGco3ofKkCb5mLCMkwLhcH9FVlJ9TL6Any_oHjmJ9RksldemUC8Xy7peA0S6Flg0z2ni2F9tcBU25/s320/MacalFieldMay.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macal in May. Now it's 8' tall.<br />
That's Nacho's thatched hut where<br />
he stays when we go out to El Rancho.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Stay tuned. I'll be adding color to the cecropia drawing (my first one), and also
to a drawing I just finished this week out at Micasa, my little house in the jungle </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">at El Rancho</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">. I finally was able to get there after seven weeks of the road resembling a turtle pond (complete with turtles) and pretty much impassable. When at last I arrived, I fulfilled my vow to make <i><span style="color: red;">at least one sketch</span></i> during each visit. </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(Hint: this latest one is a fungus). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And they're improving the road -- there's a crop of <a href="http://elpilar.marc.ucsb.edu/trail/documents/plants/macal.htm" target="_blank">macal</a> out there that's due to be harvested in January! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hasta mas tarde! </span></span>Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-63384229385240013462017-11-25T11:57:00.000-08:002017-12-08T13:43:25.961-08:00Mural Painting Tutorial (and Sketch #2)<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhU6N2NwBEL_rZzcXDxeGVtrE37y04PSk7sw4n_WjeOgj1ZLi8vEUHu0Px4tHGvNvYaMih98TsXke734BNwkAP-alxXU6TCn4T1P1pJeIoPHQkF5X2o-kVNrFWghgB0w7_z9HBCN1yNzk/s1600/WaspsNov21-17W.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="792" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhU6N2NwBEL_rZzcXDxeGVtrE37y04PSk7sw4n_WjeOgj1ZLi8vEUHu0Px4tHGvNvYaMih98TsXke734BNwkAP-alxXU6TCn4T1P1pJeIoPHQkF5X2o-kVNrFWghgB0w7_z9HBCN1yNzk/s400/WaspsNov21-17W.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Onward with my quest </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">to restart my sketch journaling</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">while balanced daintily on a 6’ ladder. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Where am I on my journey to Restart My Journaling? Well....</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">I hav</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">e actually gotten out my watercolor pencil box. It is lying on the desk. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFlIXb8mHrTqJ4FM7muOEbdOZXrY4b_aBucITisjTtsMuqRCqlV5rMQlqDRr2aCEROf1aPT2MX7aU3yZZkCeGTe297qnVukeEJXrdViAVEJ1BgfqO_O0QEFkzRP7MGEjNos8pShRZrjMA/s1600/WaspNextFromLadder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFlIXb8mHrTqJ4FM7muOEbdOZXrY4b_aBucITisjTtsMuqRCqlV5rMQlqDRr2aCEROf1aPT2MX7aU3yZZkCeGTe297qnVukeEJXrdViAVEJ1BgfqO_O0QEFkzRP7MGEjNos8pShRZrjMA/s320/WaspNextFromLadder.jpg" width="197" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A ladder got me really close</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbf2v66TGvb_uU1-0_FDWgh6eTPF4qi6_fYGTDwFNPC8pTCEDEOjn0DlJLfFxR_iduMnimZHN4nVjyJtv9O2NL7JzBPDbd2k9gRaZgjO5GnC5y-TqaiYl9mb9wv0ptqoU1aryjMI3BSHw/s1600/WaspNest11-21-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="884" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbf2v66TGvb_uU1-0_FDWgh6eTPF4qi6_fYGTDwFNPC8pTCEDEOjn0DlJLfFxR_iduMnimZHN4nVjyJtv9O2NL7JzBPDbd2k9gRaZgjO5GnC5y-TqaiYl9mb9wv0ptqoU1aryjMI3BSHw/s200/WaspNest11-21-17.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">nice, calm wasps</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have not opened it yet, but I will, because this sketch is a little confusing in black and white.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But color will improve it, and what better way to jog my hand to apply the color than to tell you about my intentions? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I’ll scan in the colored drawing when I get it done. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hold my feet to the fire, my friends!!!!!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: x-small;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: x-small;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;">+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: x-small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKLjEM2maa-RV4EI9H96vtWDA8G2we2NM5FuFmmihvcD9IqkJ0EdMRfi1Q3n5ohBUzmwQy45v4UbG5CLIqbdRr6GprVrtIShNEQ3RWIhyphenhyphenyvBLbzTzA7y3t67dvn9-h-jd9ubRHv5bpu1A/s1600/MayaHousePanoramaSmallb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="1021" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKLjEM2maa-RV4EI9H96vtWDA8G2we2NM5FuFmmihvcD9IqkJ0EdMRfi1Q3n5ohBUzmwQy45v4UbG5CLIqbdRr6GprVrtIShNEQ3RWIhyphenhyphenyvBLbzTzA7y3t67dvn9-h-jd9ubRHv5bpu1A/s400/MayaHousePanoramaSmallb.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">a panorama photo of my house mural about half-way <br />done,</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">before the house was re-painted cream.</span></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Okay, now, I promised in my November 11 blog that I would do step-by-step tutorial on how I painted the murals on my house walls. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you aren’t into details, this one may be a
bit “much" and you can stop here. But if you’ve ever wondered how the heck one gets that art from a
sketchpad up onto the wall, read on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "comic sans ms";"><o:p><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’d gotten a little experience at mural painting on the walls
of the North Mountain Park Nature Center in Ashland, Oregon a few years back,
so I was intrigued by the invitingly blank walls of my new Belize house. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhui5eSmMTVuVKn0XNDHVgoi8XbIb9vCc600UdqE8r1Eu4jydkL8Ffkh6d_RJ_CyimMa_F2G7mO7mIMGYvmCYLoMCgcQs3vmLWpa8QI9tqFKxH0wAcwgulp0oiOI8FuVaJByGmqNV6qDZJx/s1600/MayanBalPlayerBas-Relief.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="252" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhui5eSmMTVuVKn0XNDHVgoi8XbIb9vCc600UdqE8r1Eu4jydkL8Ffkh6d_RJ_CyimMa_F2G7mO7mIMGYvmCYLoMCgcQs3vmLWpa8QI9tqFKxH0wAcwgulp0oiOI8FuVaJByGmqNV6qDZJx/s320/MayanBalPlayerBas-Relief.tif" width="238" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">a Mayan ball player</span></td></tr>
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<v:imagedata o:title="Maya bas-relief" src="file:///C:\Users\IRENEB~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
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</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My earthbag house, which I have cunningly named <i>Casa de la Tierra</i> (House of Earth)
is actually built on an old Mayan terrace, next to a completely buried
(it is said) Mayan temple ruin, so obviously the most appropriate decorations
would be Mayan in nature. I wanted them to look authentic, so I nosed around on the
internet to see if I could find some good subjects. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1cZehspz9xOoMKPESUduthoyhSBkKmhNlhRuO90Obp9wL-pMzRyQQdV7NkDEh0p2TmF26hoehPEi8RsfHecorFvrTvfwS6rn2rTvxyag8DxvLOcP2KrJHaQZSOg-9vjiNYAc9_S7Gfzm/s1600/mayanQueenwithVictim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD1cZehspz9xOoMKPESUduthoyhSBkKmhNlhRuO90Obp9wL-pMzRyQQdV7NkDEh0p2TmF26hoehPEi8RsfHecorFvrTvfwS6rn2rTvxyag8DxvLOcP2KrJHaQZSOg-9vjiNYAc9_S7Gfzm/s1600/mayanQueenwithVictim.jpg" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_fgYVvn3PHQY2mABUbzIWmvUauwGBlD1SbbQjzRmneQk7t_wpWgOl15ZOsf9yXtr5KLUjX1qvP-1q8y-NEONgKduRgXj7BHhkcyauUbWGA4GA8BZ14N1Nm8TtOfabmOdXpqeMC210IiB/s1600/ChilamBalamJaguar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="177" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_fgYVvn3PHQY2mABUbzIWmvUauwGBlD1SbbQjzRmneQk7t_wpWgOl15ZOsf9yXtr5KLUjX1qvP-1q8y-NEONgKduRgXj7BHhkcyauUbWGA4GA8BZ14N1Nm8TtOfabmOdXpqeMC210IiB/s200/ChilamBalamJaguar.jpg" width="138" /></i></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Chilam Balam texts of Chumayel</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My research turned up ancient figurines, hieroglyphs, wall
paintings<i> bas-reliefs</i> carved into stone <i>stelae</i> (like this one of </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lady Wac-chanil-ahau
standing atop a bound captive warrior), plus painted or inked <i>codices</i> –
bark-paper books the Mayans created around the 1100s. Some were pretty
gruesome, so I avoided those. Others, like this winsome little jaguar tickled my funny-bone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With lots of
subjects to choose from, I picked out several for my mural, looking for
drama and detail and avoiding modern interpretations (as far as I could tell)
with which the internet is flooded. I decided to copy them almost exactly to
keep them authentic-looking. <o:p></o:p></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="437" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_tW-kRMSAIWoEidhbSmf-4aApPcLb9eCyB9YHdl58yVWhC1A9nSy-9VGCxFikk0divOJ8B1ickXvzOvktmZaBDuxCvbszfj6hTb-ne_wM5HlvPOe6WTBb2PifZqwy8-gvtqqbfPhYPu3/s320/QuetzalcoatlFeatheredSerpent.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="269" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">feathered serpent god and supplicant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<v:shape id="Picture_x0020_4" o:spid="_x0000_s1036" style="height: 150.3pt; margin-left: 0; margin-top: 2.9pt; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-relative: page; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-relative: page; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 114.9pt; z-index: 251668480;" type="#_x0000_t75">
<v:imagedata o:title="" src="file:///C:\Users\IRENEB~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.png"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
<w:wrap type="square">
</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I originally planned
to make the serpent god, a really stupendously magnificent being, the first
thing you see as you come up the walk to the house. I even had it all graphed
out and ready to transfer. But after a
few months of thought (you shouldn’t rush such things) a benign realistic jaguar began to
manifest itself, because really, the jaguars have a wonderfully strong presence
here, they, and the other wildlife, are some of the main reason I chose to live
here. I wanted to honor that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<v:shape id="Picture_x0020_5" o:spid="_x0000_s1035" style="height: 107.4pt; margin-left: 0; margin-top: 58.2pt; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-relative: page; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-relative: page; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 523.8pt; z-index: 251669504;" type="#_x0000_t75">
<v:imagedata cropbottom="3100f" croptop="4529f" o:title="" src="file:///C:\Users\IRENEB~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image007.png"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
<w:wrap type="square">
</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ready to begin
muraling, I took photos of my house walls (not so easy on a round house!). I joined them together in Photoshop and
created a flat view to use as a template with correct proportions (I could have
just sketched out the plan, but I was having fun in Photoshop). <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HDyQ-AbFmZxQAWdFu6aRuVLQhDH6P6pIoN4FA1AywomNjbdC3gxWLul5TWy6LY4ZSAnT9ntdLDX0Q1EtFa-A6SuXjjkkPrI8yGe0sP5l9tvxdwCC2NlGNGoSWygTxfP8BdW-vdpe2fJA/s1600/HouseWallPlan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="1600" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HDyQ-AbFmZxQAWdFu6aRuVLQhDH6P6pIoN4FA1AywomNjbdC3gxWLul5TWy6LY4ZSAnT9ntdLDX0Q1EtFa-A6SuXjjkkPrI8yGe0sP5l9tvxdwCC2NlGNGoSWygTxfP8BdW-vdpe2fJA/s400/HouseWallPlan.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">this plan is called a "cartoon" by muralists</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On the house, I measured and recorded every wall space, the distance
between windows, and the distance from the floor to what would be the bottom of
every image. Then, in Photoshop, I superimposed a transparent grid sheet over
the plan, sizing it so that each square represented one inch. Then I “pasted” a
mural image into each spot onscreen.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjFhhBnkQ8aCCEwxTSB0_gJwId797EgX2Vkfc33d4gX_MulVMHDCnuTXFzJtF8DuDkibe-7Q0UsIplXTcqomRZbw1k06_3qP5ghFWEr3K7HWWnzx0IIZeVj4HFrliRgxtY4dtoY4u7xdl/s1600/Measurements.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="569" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjFhhBnkQ8aCCEwxTSB0_gJwId797EgX2Vkfc33d4gX_MulVMHDCnuTXFzJtF8DuDkibe-7Q0UsIplXTcqomRZbw1k06_3qP5ghFWEr3K7HWWnzx0IIZeVj4HFrliRgxtY4dtoY4u7xdl/s400/Measurements.jpg" width="286" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">my 8½x11" working cartoon</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<v:shape id="Picture_x0020_11" o:spid="_x0000_s1034" style="height: 392.55pt; margin-left: 0; margin-top: 41.6pt; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-relative: page; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-relative: page; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 282pt; z-index: 251666432;" type="#_x0000_t75">
<v:imagedata o:title="" src="file:///C:\Users\IRENEB~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image008.jpg"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
<w:wrap type="square">
</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now, with subject choices
made, I created a fresh 8½” x 11”</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> .jpg file for each image and superimposed a transparent grid on THAT so that every inch grid line on the house wall plan corresponded with the inch markings on my printed-out paper grid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On the paper grid (my "cartoon"), I counted squares and wrote down
measurements (in red on the ballplayer figure here) to correspond to
measurements of the actual wall. That done I slipped the gridded diagram into a
plastic sheet protector to keep it from getting wet or dirty – I didn’t want to
have to re-count all those measurements.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Time to transfer! Using a
#2 pencil, a yardstick, and a kneaded eraser, I measured the wall up from the
floor and in from the window to find the outermost point of the ballplayer's toe (27” up and
4” in from the door frame –<span style="color: red;"> see the red arrow on the cartoon</span>) and made a dot there. Then I located a distinctive spot a few
inches up, at the edge of his anklet (34” up and 7” in) and put a dot
there. I kept working, finding important
points on the drawing, measuring VERY carefully. </span></span></div>
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<tbody>
<tr>
<td><!--[endif]-->
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<div align="center" class="MsoCaption" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<!--[if !mso]--></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><v:textbox inset="0,0,0,0">
<!--[if !mso]-->
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</w:wrap></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwnXxA6TEGPuKSSwb202OlglcZHIdjb6T2BIQqIMBQvcLM5z4VDnHddKS-m_2hycdWkDCFQ_yzcfekd5yCVwwPUByMsHPa1YtkiHN27IvMcfeLZfVkU2E-WMIn96wnr2VILs2qPazhIn7-/s1600/PencilOutline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="369" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwnXxA6TEGPuKSSwb202OlglcZHIdjb6T2BIQqIMBQvcLM5z4VDnHddKS-m_2hycdWkDCFQ_yzcfekd5yCVwwPUByMsHPa1YtkiHN27IvMcfeLZfVkU2E-WMIn96wnr2VILs2qPazhIn7-/s320/PencilOutline.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">the ballplayers feet, pencil outline</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<v:shape id="Picture_x0020_8" o:spid="_x0000_s1032" style="height: 143.05pt; margin-left: 333.5pt; margin-top: 8.35pt; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-relative: page; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-relative: page; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 191.95pt; z-index: 251664384;" type="#_x0000_t75">
<v:imagedata o:title="" src="file:///C:\Users\IRENEB~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image009.jpg"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
<w:wrap type="square">
</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Finally, I had a dot-to-dot
outline. I went back and added some dots.
Then checking back and forth frequently, I sketched the outline, erasing when I
goofed, redrawing again, and re-checking measurements if something looked off.
It is much easier to draw the outline with all the dots to aim for (I’ve
enlarged the dots on the ballplayer grid so you can see them) than to try to do it freehand. <o:p></o:p></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I didn’t put all the details in this pencil outline on the wall. I
added those later when I was actually painting it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKIKIh7E-FLQTSvuaQjOYGv_FAkwHm2-LdlCH3D3xm4bl-_oujuPdOW69ithdoYzdbn6lZibLn_CgOOkVGR7lt6yURtgW1acOO9o8BwhKV1YhV5fopzypq2zq7O9OVbdY06DuunzJKcQ-/s1600/MayanBalPlayerfinished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="597" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKIKIh7E-FLQTSvuaQjOYGv_FAkwHm2-LdlCH3D3xm4bl-_oujuPdOW69ithdoYzdbn6lZibLn_CgOOkVGR7lt6yURtgW1acOO9o8BwhKV1YhV5fopzypq2zq7O9OVbdY06DuunzJKcQ-/s320/MayanBalPlayerfinished.jpg" width="241" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">the ballplayer, checking out my cleavage</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At first, I thought I would color the figures, but after looking
at the black outlines awhile, I realized that the simple black outlines looked elegant and that adding all the colors might make the mural too overpowering.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But it did need <i>some</i> color, so studying Mayan drawings online I found
a motif called a skyband, a horizontal element which supposedly was used as a division
between the natural and the supernatural worlds in Mayan mythology. It’s
usually brightly colored in Mayan paintings, and I used it to connect all the
murals into one continuous design. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0crGTD1w4UQya7sBLiLUjdgybSIYNdfozzTTsA2BeCJlSN4wPZY_gj1bxqAV3dpg2vkyr552RYb5fGcv3pyovxrPgwrvJ6UqU1UUIka9-wkJnEs8UTWOfM4X44CVjKQC2sX6F5S55dQNH/s1600/Skyband.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="354" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0crGTD1w4UQya7sBLiLUjdgybSIYNdfozzTTsA2BeCJlSN4wPZY_gj1bxqAV3dpg2vkyr552RYb5fGcv3pyovxrPgwrvJ6UqU1UUIka9-wkJnEs8UTWOfM4X44CVjKQC2sX6F5S55dQNH/s320/Skyband.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A short section of Mayan skyband</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">With the ballplayer
outlined in black paint, I penciled in then painted a section of skyband in the
colors that seemed typical to many Mayan paintings: teal green, cinnamon, a
darker red-brown, light yellow, and yellow ochre (back to the paint store in
San Ignacio!).<span style="color: white;"> </span>Just for the record,
the mural paint I’m using is Comex Vinimex, pintura vinil-acrilica premium,
interiores/exteriores, satinado, which is pretty easy to translate:
Interior/exterior vinyl-acrylic, satin finish house paint.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qwNECRNtSXZEppYx85ys_c7wbKjpcyUBY0cztxgf3OPQ7UdTYKPzIwWYRAY11EGMp70DRFFIDGLVFvV-bal86j4lYqRmWFZpi-v-zutPUhOa3n8TTofxVFZRAkc3TTnxW4WXfyw0NEr4/s1600/glyphs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="193" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qwNECRNtSXZEppYx85ys_c7wbKjpcyUBY0cztxgf3OPQ7UdTYKPzIwWYRAY11EGMp70DRFFIDGLVFvV-bal86j4lYqRmWFZpi-v-zutPUhOa3n8TTofxVFZRAkc3TTnxW4WXfyw0NEr4/s200/glyphs.jpg" width="112" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">glyphs</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL8RY6Ndc0L-mQmmqx00w9e_51bxziwbl_ceJnMdwXeADbg09bbn-bUfps-UWc2ldY5D5_17qGKcfodk8U2HJFRZWq6AKrqbWkddvuO0ws5nRi8u5Kn3bGwxWKqbue-tDT6Sxi4j4PjvCl/s1600/1IxchelCartoonla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL8RY6Ndc0L-mQmmqx00w9e_51bxziwbl_ceJnMdwXeADbg09bbn-bUfps-UWc2ldY5D5_17qGKcfodk8U2HJFRZWq6AKrqbWkddvuO0ws5nRi8u5Kn3bGwxWKqbue-tDT6Sxi4j4PjvCl/s320/1IxchelCartoonla.jpg" width="172" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ix Chel, holding Moon Rabbit</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Over a period of several months, I penciled in, then painted outlines
for the rest of the figures, plus some fascinating glyphs like these at left (I’ve no
idea what this one means. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Maybe “Your grandma was a howler monkey!”? Fortunately, few other people can read them either,
so I’m probably safe.) I continued the skyband as I worked my way around the
house toward the entry, completing Ix Chel, the moon goddess holding the moon rabbit (did you know many people don’t see a Man In
The Moon? They see a Rabbit!). </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then I added that whimsical jaguar with a lotus on its head
(jaguars often swim, coming up draped with pond -- or lotus -- weeds). </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6fn5Yt14431gs-V7ukiCR1dBpo97NrRLlJPekIQTTQdzSb8oCPV5WYHBo-Hw0rFFaeNOrp1iCcBQ4Kcvsl32gk5wtI5M_m7HmjTD8wIOSDy_VhNRcBDdJ05LG0khqoMDs1ZBjRUCu8Qs/s1600/1queenBW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="417" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6fn5Yt14431gs-V7ukiCR1dBpo97NrRLlJPekIQTTQdzSb8oCPV5WYHBo-Hw0rFFaeNOrp1iCcBQ4Kcvsl32gk5wtI5M_m7HmjTD8wIOSDy_VhNRcBDdJ05LG0khqoMDs1ZBjRUCu8Qs/s400/1queenBW.jpg" width="150" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Lady</span><span style="text-align: start;"> Wac-chanil-ahau</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKuO0z-0EaNxmDIpIAlmjqb0youSl4c8fM5Yhb1qoA2hHOeAffzsb4owgjx7nHaHkQArt20JGAUG8yTLDMEUU5AS-j4QJi2KT1eErihO0a4ZNNGP5n8WuurQIsn3MIYDVxeabfiCCf0vG/s1600/MayanJaguarBW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="491" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKuO0z-0EaNxmDIpIAlmjqb0youSl4c8fM5Yhb1qoA2hHOeAffzsb4owgjx7nHaHkQArt20JGAUG8yTLDMEUU5AS-j4QJi2KT1eErihO0a4ZNNGP5n8WuurQIsn3MIYDVxeabfiCCf0vG/s200/MayanJaguarBW.jpg" width="100" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">jaguar figure</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lady</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Wac-chanil-ahau with
her basket of offerings (but without her doomed captive!) came next. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<v:shape id="Picture_x0020_15" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 222pt; margin-left: 313.8pt; margin-top: 3.6pt; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-relative: page; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-relative: page; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 222pt; z-index: 251677696;" type="#_x0000_t75">
<v:imagedata o:title="" src="file:///C:\Users\IRENEB~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image015.jpg"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
<w:wrap type="square">
</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One other thing
happened before the mural was done. When I’d finished with the Mayan parts, I
saw that I was having a problem with the natural red clay wall surface crumbling off,
sand-grain by sand-grain. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I realized that my murals were destined for a short
life unless I took measures. So I
painted cream-colored house paint carefully around each figure while Freddy, who has been working at my
house to pay off the price of items brought to him from the US, painted the
rest of the house. </span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgws7PWNA4GFznlCrb1_7m8NSjQmVwDSXJRdORIoHzR3uZHYkqm1btCrlwcYF5PI2jHaCt6ywopPOmXrVDfSJeZ0E4ph_UOjIjcFXkiaaLx9CtlZe2b1XdNgzDJqU3n1IP6B9VwK1gzUfLs/s1600/HousePaintBallplayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="528" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgws7PWNA4GFznlCrb1_7m8NSjQmVwDSXJRdORIoHzR3uZHYkqm1btCrlwcYF5PI2jHaCt6ywopPOmXrVDfSJeZ0E4ph_UOjIjcFXkiaaLx9CtlZe2b1XdNgzDJqU3n1IP6B9VwK1gzUfLs/s200/HousePaintBallplayer.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">house-painting in progress</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That stabilized the walls around the
figures, and I then varnished the figures themselves to glue all their little sand grains to the wall.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";">Only then did I paint the jaguar on the cream-colored wall, using
the same grid and dot technique. Jaguar spots were applied free-hand. Here’s my feline friend, </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">the life-size jaguar in full color, who now greets visitors with his inquisitive and riveting gaze.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">I
still need to paint the rock he is perched on. The skyband will continue around
the rock to be covered by his front paws. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUF2sAORoig4O8-Dk0vwWBgrq4tMVNla2oLzbodv9oOurRnOarWRXImzYFcH2ChQS66yz93q43E4OU23f0sZvyBGCEO8CV7qt81E0m-PmBceOkPnhDhSYIWM525jwefvSmubV1dkO_4y6/s1600/JaguarMuralUnfinished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="648" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUF2sAORoig4O8-Dk0vwWBgrq4tMVNla2oLzbodv9oOurRnOarWRXImzYFcH2ChQS66yz93q43E4OU23f0sZvyBGCEO8CV7qt81E0m-PmBceOkPnhDhSYIWM525jwefvSmubV1dkO_4y6/s1600/JaguarMuralUnfinished.jpg" /></a></span></div>
</div>
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<v:imagedata o:title="" src="file:///C:\Users\IRENEB~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image016.jpg">
</v:imagedata></v:shape></span><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The jaguar is a powerful god in Mayan
mythology, so to my mind, he guards the entrance and graciously protects all
within.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SO! Now to show you the whole series, finished (including the guardian jaguar above) in the order in which they appear from the front door to the entrance, where the guardian jaguar dwells:</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQRCC7xZFutWwddEglJj9JshQNrWK096lsa9rvueqyXT-eVJ7Cow9tZGm4tunuSC4IuLi7iDpfyrinilwSPb0UBfwAW7VzAZVPyK_w7_4to42ISSrZXw7XTsS2K951YqAdgbs7bpxvcmT1/s1600/IxshelMuralFinishedSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="493" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQRCC7xZFutWwddEglJj9JshQNrWK096lsa9rvueqyXT-eVJ7Cow9tZGm4tunuSC4IuLi7iDpfyrinilwSPb0UBfwAW7VzAZVPyK_w7_4to42ISSrZXw7XTsS2K951YqAdgbs7bpxvcmT1/s320/IxshelMuralFinishedSmall.jpg" width="225" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTK5iufgfl_a5_rqU2z7Jg1pCV-K_6iXmz6VZQHnvRZTBwHsHxLfJdp4o7org0nW6XfWqO6B49U6PyWKF5wXLJ1TD2h3x_89s6ZfR2oLWry2Dcjajlt0xP8JC-WigX5tZOlmJox34IMYcC/s1600/MuralBallPlayer2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTK5iufgfl_a5_rqU2z7Jg1pCV-K_6iXmz6VZQHnvRZTBwHsHxLfJdp4o7org0nW6XfWqO6B49U6PyWKF5wXLJ1TD2h3x_89s6ZfR2oLWry2Dcjajlt0xP8JC-WigX5tZOlmJox34IMYcC/s320/MuralBallPlayer2.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVoO59Qiit6U55AP5jvxSxXsALjFlz41WNyc_wycfGQzZAKPqJCGZoEEolIKUjGAMaaH_LH_g6Aso7uRXsui0DMxh5exqCfmYGa9Ma5ycte54HjYgq9W7WbL19X2O_ThCMpyi7l7TYsOi/s1600/MuralGlyphs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="607" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVoO59Qiit6U55AP5jvxSxXsALjFlz41WNyc_wycfGQzZAKPqJCGZoEEolIKUjGAMaaH_LH_g6Aso7uRXsui0DMxh5exqCfmYGa9Ma5ycte54HjYgq9W7WbL19X2O_ThCMpyi7l7TYsOi/s200/MuralGlyphs.jpg" width="112" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOO1tPNTshy7x94XDSVg8dfU9y7n5XcKYAwDIuvOHAfZA8ceoyBK5Ce91A-mWFaQk7bRJzMSRChOANSIzW159hfK5iWMVSXBGp8t8n9AaWJvPyHjCYYblRvDzGOE5mHpfFLJfPxpnktx_/s1600/JaguarGlyphMuralFinishedSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="405" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOO1tPNTshy7x94XDSVg8dfU9y7n5XcKYAwDIuvOHAfZA8ceoyBK5Ce91A-mWFaQk7bRJzMSRChOANSIzW159hfK5iWMVSXBGp8t8n9AaWJvPyHjCYYblRvDzGOE5mHpfFLJfPxpnktx_/s320/JaguarGlyphMuralFinishedSmall.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-RwSim4ixMep-sKehSxnUYyLcq6CCP3MW_A7wGY-nANGOBmtx1LcmeVWYcgwsEgamppWMKAFRZ1XyVPEYpowH5IlbIkUxu78WEBnA_CUUvW8kLD-kRZ8sypLQEOrUwJy6lHUMkmkUUVy/s1600/ThequeenSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1053" data-original-width="548" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-RwSim4ixMep-sKehSxnUYyLcq6CCP3MW_A7wGY-nANGOBmtx1LcmeVWYcgwsEgamppWMKAFRZ1XyVPEYpowH5IlbIkUxu78WEBnA_CUUvW8kLD-kRZ8sypLQEOrUwJy6lHUMkmkUUVy/s320/ThequeenSmall.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So there you have it -- "How I Painted My House Murals." </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That’s my story,
and I’m stickin’ to it</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Hasta mas tarde</i> - until later!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-5660718600340377212017-11-17T16:24:00.000-08:002017-11-17T16:26:30.799-08:00 It Started Two Days Ago...<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">“It’s time,” I said to
my hand. “Pick up the sketchbook.”</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“uh-uh!” my hand crept
behind my back.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“Pick it up.” I said
sternly. My hand slowly, slowly, emerged and picked up the sketchbook
gingerly. </span><i><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Yes! I thought. This is working! </span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br />
“And the pen,” I continued. “Sketching won’t happen without the pen.” I
watched my fingers reach out and wrap around the pen. Squinting at them, I thought
I could feel my new </span><span style="color: #333333;">determination to draw </span><span style="color: #333333;">getting a grip.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">“Out to the veranda,”
I directed my reluctant self. It was a struggle, but with the sketchbook
and pen in hand, my resistance was losing its hold. I softened my tone a bit. “You can do
this. You used to do it all the time. It’s gonna be fine!” </span><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: xx-small;">Really? Really can I start up again after more than two years?</span></i><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiIHOVTWhiKBGLjDVxXABqpeuJJpiMVyAvKScXG1aAnwJlyFl2qDPWDcPUvba-Z92e-5glJRyTWL9gCcz0sZ333T2uL98rundKraYwA5owmIJ0YXPmAT3ABDn3cGl2A9OBuUm3AQ8y38A/s1600/1HammockChairForSketching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="385" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiIHOVTWhiKBGLjDVxXABqpeuJJpiMVyAvKScXG1aAnwJlyFl2qDPWDcPUvba-Z92e-5glJRyTWL9gCcz0sZ333T2uL98rundKraYwA5owmIJ0YXPmAT3ABDn3cGl2A9OBuUm3AQ8y38A/s320/1HammockChairForSketching.jpg" width="204" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We
(my mind, my body, my hand, my determination – the whole package)
walked out and sat down in my hammock chair on the veranda overlooking my rainforest yard. There, a few feet directly in front of me were two
cecropia (see-CRO-pee-uh) trees, with their bamboo-like hollow sections
and gorgeous umbrella-like 2-2½’ broad leaves. One was skinny and scarred, the other was fat and saucy. Maybe I'd just do the trunks. Perfect subjects, stationary,
hard to mess up – mostly straightish lines. Not too ambitious for this first try. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">I
sat down, opened the sketchbook to the first empty page after my July 7, 2015
sketch of a Giant Red-winged Grasshopper and hesitantly sketched the first bit
of outline. </span><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: xx-small;">Okay, that's a start... </span></i><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKliC9D0VYXnM7eA4HC_Nf1YVHSGHpr54TitEHzYuxIcqVmdy7BQXD4KljudtXz8_YPajyX6ExLC_gn9AhAxBZEfeX5B-9KS-dwofM3-7m3-xqdc8YZGxnZpXJt-s9omg9h7YhKyT7ZJD/s1600/2Beginning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="719" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKliC9D0VYXnM7eA4HC_Nf1YVHSGHpr54TitEHzYuxIcqVmdy7BQXD4KljudtXz8_YPajyX6ExLC_gn9AhAxBZEfeX5B-9KS-dwofM3-7m3-xqdc8YZGxnZpXJt-s9omg9h7YhKyT7ZJD/s320/2Beginning.jpg" width="234" /></span></a><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">I took a sip of
coffee, made a few more tentative marks with the ballpoint pen. </span><span style="color: #333333;">I watched a
</span><a href="https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/species/motmot" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank">blue-crowned mot-mot</a><span style="color: #333333;"> flicking its tennis-racket tail in a tangle of leaves a
few yards away. </span></span><i style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Stop procrastinating!</span></i><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I drew a bit more, and finally, at last, I settled down to
my first sketch-journal drawing in more than two years.</span><i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> <span style="color: #6aa84f;">Ahhhhh....</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Things were a little
shaky at first. My lines were not clear and concise, my attention wandered when
it needed to focus, I seemed to have forgotten movements that once were easy – all things that I hope will improve with practice. I was using a pen since using a
pencil here is not an option. In the tropics the high humidity makes the sketch paper soft, and a graphite stroke that would be black and forceful in a dry
climate leaves only a soft gray line on damp paper, so shading is next to impossible.
The pencil stroke indents the paper as well. Forget trying to erase, as
that destroys the damp paper immediately. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKKJvpCAywEzt1E1Sn6FvxDth4FqUrnvquG_0nmp8ml73pfvmkmqZrtU4Yj3QWyPh3fMKCnVv6ief-ZPSVHeD1xqVoJW-RY_X3MVFZI6eSK1TvHixs7tL717t0SxrLlSbRP0U2NlSBOm3/s1600/20171115_143212a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1600" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKKJvpCAywEzt1E1Sn6FvxDth4FqUrnvquG_0nmp8ml73pfvmkmqZrtU4Yj3QWyPh3fMKCnVv6ief-ZPSVHeD1xqVoJW-RY_X3MVFZI6eSK1TvHixs7tL717t0SxrLlSbRP0U2NlSBOm3/s400/20171115_143212a.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I started the drawing
on Wednesday afternoon, day before yesterday, but I had other obligations
Wednesday night and Thursday, so I only was able to return to it this morning,
which is good, actually, because after a day without looking at the sketch I could see
that the design was pretty skimpy and it needed something to anchor it and to
make the page more interesting. So walking out into the yard, I found a young
cecropia top to sketch into the upper right corner. Ah! Much
better.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RJsuHueBMf2KnU3KMbT4uma0gBEkx_2SDp6sA5lOdsy2KlNdewbpqZqzGLsbznXjvN1elhgmYRqN-lReuIY9LPtxueju5sNAa6KXWDSRttz5XWv3fyKvSbANn0jNfaZhqHCMFfQ1gfOz/s1600/20171117_103508a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RJsuHueBMf2KnU3KMbT4uma0gBEkx_2SDp6sA5lOdsy2KlNdewbpqZqzGLsbznXjvN1elhgmYRqN-lReuIY9LPtxueju5sNAa6KXWDSRttz5XWv3fyKvSbANn0jNfaZhqHCMFfQ1gfOz/s400/20171117_103508a.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Next
I added a title and some things I know about cecropias. The page is not as good as it
would have been when I was sketching steadily a couple of years ago, but it’s
good enough to tell me I haven’t lost the ability to draw (I was
wondering). </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and finally...here it is</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaDasZvK9xpIUelWLtVofUoMv_ma96DfX5xUGH922NgSOM4TxsnkCtSgFYJNS2UBOQxVBZ5MyYMwivpynBvv42RPpMu86NjPG8TtHJFGJtXVwcOqSEDEBSOUelNxfpBCUbX58iinEiq7Y/s1600/20171117_113838a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1600" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaDasZvK9xpIUelWLtVofUoMv_ma96DfX5xUGH922NgSOM4TxsnkCtSgFYJNS2UBOQxVBZ5MyYMwivpynBvv42RPpMu86NjPG8TtHJFGJtXVwcOqSEDEBSOUelNxfpBCUbX58iinEiq7Y/s400/20171117_113838a.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Below are some photos
of what I was sketching. I always try to take photos in case I can't get back to the
original to draw for some reason, such as: it starts to rain; my subject
runs away, rots, or otherwise changes or disappears; daylight ends; or I
want to work on it or add color later. Maybe I'll add color to this one later.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgybwD6cvMLJF3f2f8Gy-6a7dOiCk-Ldg7wh8bc9-Gkz59IsPZ_HeQg8i8k2tnn2E-b6dJ98UZ-GFVKJGf020IAkdo0kYhwRnyEDOf_89w1r-5ntkCTZqXEdUX-i0S0pNxKaooFAv5WNh/s1600/combo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="628" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgybwD6cvMLJF3f2f8Gy-6a7dOiCk-Ldg7wh8bc9-Gkz59IsPZ_HeQg8i8k2tnn2E-b6dJ98UZ-GFVKJGf020IAkdo0kYhwRnyEDOf_89w1r-5ntkCTZqXEdUX-i0S0pNxKaooFAv5WNh/s400/combo.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">left to right: 2" cecropia, 4" cecropia, new cecropia leaves</span></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I want to thank Carol for commenting that she
hoped I would be able to start up again and continue on. </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">Carol, this
sketch/journal page is dedicated to you. Thank you! Thanks for giving me
a specific goal and a reason to get it done. </span><span style="color: #333333;">I told myself I
didn’t get to answer your comment until I had created something in order to show you that I
was serious about starting up again. It worked.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Maybe this will give
you a nudge as well, since you said you’ve been finding it difficult to keep
sketching without a cheering section. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Shall we keep
going? I'll watch for yours if you'll watch for mine. Anyone else
want to join us?</span></span></div>
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Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-47686323018002502162017-11-11T12:09:00.000-08:002017-11-11T12:09:39.262-08:00Back In The Groove<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">After a long pause,</span> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I've made my way back to my blog with hopes that I'll find some of the people who used to visit way back in 2014. I've lost contact with so many good people -- I'd love you to join me again on my adventures.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This being 2017, a lot has gone past which may never get recorded, but a lot of cool things have happened, such as moving to Belize, building and moving into my earthbag house, painting murals of ancient Mayan art and a life-size jaguar on its walls, and dipping deeply into the lives of my Belizean neighbors here in western Belize, a few miles from the Guatemalan border and ten miles on a rocky, rocky road south of <a href="https://www.google.com.bz/maps/place/Better+In+Belize,+Eco-Community/@17.1419324,-88.9949124,8.15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x8f5e6bcfc2519a41:0x27e6956a19237d45!8m2!3d16.9917239!4d-89.0479231" target="_blank">Benque Viejo del Carmen</a> in an intentional neighborhood called Better In Belize.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Zwyh65XzYq71yvhZc5BAlcV5qAF13IbARhp0j6zXU7i62B-PBU1AiJgIiqAScE4RWaMfn2v1vuyXMFIYTI-UQ8qAGfPhqJUc_dDZyurOGtVhmXW6ILS-F1q0IlpWAKjmEIhy0zys_ylg/s1600/8OnTheMarket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="570" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Zwyh65XzYq71yvhZc5BAlcV5qAF13IbARhp0j6zXU7i62B-PBU1AiJgIiqAScE4RWaMfn2v1vuyXMFIYTI-UQ8qAGfPhqJUc_dDZyurOGtVhmXW6ILS-F1q0IlpWAKjmEIhy0zys_ylg/s320/8OnTheMarket.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my house in Oregon, now sold to other <a href="http://www.backroadsproductions.com/" target="_blank">artists</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In my old life, in southern Oregon, I was a wildlife illustrator, writing and illustrating nature books for kids (you can get a glimpse of them <a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/" target="_blank">here</a>), making art for interpretive signs on forest trails and for nature centers, teaching drawing and painting workshops, and other stuff. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I also did a lot of sketch/journaling not only the amazing <a href="http://natureworkspress.com/SitSpotAlbum9-1--15.html" target="_blank">natural habitat around my house</a> in a douglas fir/madrone/ponderosa pine forest, but for several years I also traveled to a different tropical place to experience the wonders of nature there, too. Then I scanned in my sketches and notes to create <a href="http://natureworkspress.com/IrenesTravelJournals.html" target="_blank">downloadable how-to sketchbooks</a> for people wanting to create their own.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fpmzCY7FdVVOddjohBYAeKBEIPfFjrKVW3zjsYVIh5Q4t6inrCa6AGXgHvooIXY3tmg-u-lU7bZDOKHhGmCyUEERTMlfHEEA8g8IiAZdr8LxrQQevV_NDAl6gIl93mfGBqervU1n90O6/s1600/CasaDeLaTierraJuly2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fpmzCY7FdVVOddjohBYAeKBEIPfFjrKVW3zjsYVIh5Q4t6inrCa6AGXgHvooIXY3tmg-u-lU7bZDOKHhGmCyUEERTMlfHEEA8g8IiAZdr8LxrQQevV_NDAl6gIl93mfGBqervU1n90O6/s320/CasaDeLaTierraJuly2017.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casa de la Tierra -- my house</td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Actually, you can find out about a lot of that stuff by reading the older posts. Enjoy! I myself can really get lost in them -- they're so old, it's almost like reading about someone else.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5EFzTnHbBBJ1-ok1sSHlg8ITqEhYyyFgPIvU3qSm3twLQt4JndTUcd9i-W0PNXPPKxmUvlGMVtC1p0gs3nv85gUBOfaXnpCcsWhXcOusxwt4qZJj8CGwkr7kekMKYY5oceYYFrF9k44Ag/s1600/MeInMyHammockChair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="427" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5EFzTnHbBBJ1-ok1sSHlg8ITqEhYyyFgPIvU3qSm3twLQt4JndTUcd9i-W0PNXPPKxmUvlGMVtC1p0gs3nv85gUBOfaXnpCcsWhXcOusxwt4qZJj8CGwkr7kekMKYY5oceYYFrF9k44Ag/s320/MeInMyHammockChair.jpg" width="233" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">That's me, sitting on my veranda</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So here I am, living in the rainforest in Belize in an earthbag house. The weather here in the Maya Mountain foothills is very gentle as a rule, with daytime temperatures ranging from 65</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">°</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> to 85</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">° and night-time temperatures never getting below about 55°. The weather is divided into rainy and dry seasons, which means it is a great place to experience a multitude of fascinating creatures all year round. </span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJNpMseBBeERYhNiDhep-_Vqf5lR_6e2lf1a6lNqLKiQnehQc_9WzWHjDY2-4o1N7XvuxqMpM16p3MoZ4VWYw36fRnPUNCTGf7pDSKNvdflKB1YBS1lFvzPk7CtMOfx6-ivLtt63hZ_c0/s1600/MuralBallPlayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="372" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJNpMseBBeERYhNiDhep-_Vqf5lR_6e2lf1a6lNqLKiQnehQc_9WzWHjDY2-4o1N7XvuxqMpM16p3MoZ4VWYw36fRnPUNCTGf7pDSKNvdflKB1YBS1lFvzPk7CtMOfx6-ivLtt63hZ_c0/s320/MuralBallPlayer.jpg" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mayan ball player</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BrubjB_AP-CkXHWXD6sCCDEkWLySE7HL7tag7IJdaM536s971oTX341rUxuPNnRjHCzx5B4Z4gqBeC5ljUc9tLgzeTmSufU4YDIAr_y0IR_Pbi4C6Wz5HdzlF39VfWKzWQF281gUokuK/s1600/JaguarMuralUnfinished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJNpMseBBeERYhNiDhep-_Vqf5lR_6e2lf1a6lNqLKiQnehQc_9WzWHjDY2-4o1N7XvuxqMpM16p3MoZ4VWYw36fRnPUNCTGf7pDSKNvdflKB1YBS1lFvzPk7CtMOfx6-ivLtt63hZ_c0/s1600/MuralBallPlayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It's taken me a couple </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">of years to get everything sorted out, what with building then furnishing the house on a budget, painting those murals, and most recently, creating a little Belize-style hideaway for an even more intense experience in the jungle, with more subjects to sketch and journal about.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I have been trying to make myself a part of the Belizean community by learning Spanish well enough to talk to neighbors </span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">who don't have English, then by becoming a go-to resource by creating a Wi-fi hot spot for </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">neighborhood folks who have cellphones but no signal, and for kids needing a place to study with access to the internet and also occasional printouts of items from the web. It's been a real change for me, this hermit who used to live in the woods and see another human maybe once a week.....and I'm loving it.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BrubjB_AP-CkXHWXD6sCCDEkWLySE7HL7tag7IJdaM536s971oTX341rUxuPNnRjHCzx5B4Z4gqBeC5ljUc9tLgzeTmSufU4YDIAr_y0IR_Pbi4C6Wz5HdzlF39VfWKzWQF281gUokuK/s1600/JaguarMuralUnfinished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="648" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BrubjB_AP-CkXHWXD6sCCDEkWLySE7HL7tag7IJdaM536s971oTX341rUxuPNnRjHCzx5B4Z4gqBeC5ljUc9tLgzeTmSufU4YDIAr_y0IR_Pbi4C6Wz5HdzlF39VfWKzWQF281gUokuK/s320/JaguarMuralUnfinished.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jaguar painting on my house wall</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As well, I deliver cokes and chips to the Belizean construction crew building houses here six days/week. I've made some good friends among them</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #666666;">But I am not surrounded by a...well, a support group of people who enjoy </span><span style="color: #666666;">investigating </span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">nature through art and writing, desire to be artists, or even have any particular interest in what I am doing. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkB2z7nvRxcFgDv7MbkZn9sysJlx-9Yll2JHm5YuTnbN_ck1-ewQyhQTcevQJr0gJAjtXvgBFDnZ-OF5x2yAvwbXJWAeWSQaQhRlNzCxmZ9juZyxU9jq6lTQ3VK_GBerdSTc3C4KLsVyb/s1600/TigerGrasshopperBlog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="820" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkB2z7nvRxcFgDv7MbkZn9sysJlx-9Yll2JHm5YuTnbN_ck1-ewQyhQTcevQJr0gJAjtXvgBFDnZ-OF5x2yAvwbXJWAeWSQaQhRlNzCxmZ9juZyxU9jq6lTQ3VK_GBerdSTc3C4KLsVyb/s320/TigerGrasshopperBlog.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span>Giant Red-winged Grasshopper</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As a result I've pretty much stopped working on my sketch/journaling, much to my dismay. It's a brick wall I can't seem to get over or around, so I'm thinking that rejoining my blog again will help me find a community of people who love nature and art as I do, or at least will appreciate or be interested in what I'm working on and will let me know. This grasshopper was the last sketch I produced, around the time I stopped blogging in 2014.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Why should you come back to visit this blog?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6TJYIFisaYYKiMCVwpZlhxjAjZ_EjNmaXWFnAvfgqkIMOL6OYYKJpUINVpRD0jBPvdKAvrok08FwkjZxFLyDSmwGDYOQCLlox_U6-aiO01yxYZSW1NAE6aPIJbGWEKZTQ9X5D7bDqXzmL/s1600/38Micasa7-27-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="522" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6TJYIFisaYYKiMCVwpZlhxjAjZ_EjNmaXWFnAvfgqkIMOL6OYYKJpUINVpRD0jBPvdKAvrok08FwkjZxFLyDSmwGDYOQCLlox_U6-aiO01yxYZSW1NAE6aPIJbGWEKZTQ9X5D7bDqXzmL/s320/38Micasa7-27-17.jpg" width="309" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Micasa, my Belizean-style hideaway in the woods</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm planning:</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666;">a step-by-step tutorial on how I painted the murals on my house walls</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">an overview of details of building and furnishing an earthbag house</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">to share my sketch/journaling </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">to show how my Belizean hideaway in the jungle was built</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">to share the joy as I bring solar lights to my neighbors' houses and </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">to answer any questions you might have about the flying leap I took to transport myself from 20 wooded acres and a lovely little house in Oregon, USA to .9 acres and an off-the-grid earthbag house in an ecovillage in Belize. </span></li>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I hope to see you soon. Please come and leave a message? Introduce yourself and let's have a conversation!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">renie</span><br />
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Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-40194713421002681882014-10-05T15:20:00.000-07:002014-10-05T17:35:51.663-07:00Snowbirding in Belize<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzcF51zmfQj1tRI6TsLAHK8G45lRnBszYPzXC-RoQTndQIB3yMXSHtQKHmwi-7p0WYy93iGs_ekJP5w3Oh9o6Jncn5IEUwp08ZYUyhraU0iRIDPCZPpQdWtuD6qkF0eOHmdWhA01yCsfN/s1600/6HowlerMonkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzcF51zmfQj1tRI6TsLAHK8G45lRnBszYPzXC-RoQTndQIB3yMXSHtQKHmwi-7p0WYy93iGs_ekJP5w3Oh9o6Jncn5IEUwp08ZYUyhraU0iRIDPCZPpQdWtuD6qkF0eOHmdWhA01yCsfN/s1600/6HowlerMonkey.jpg" height="200" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Howler Monkey descending </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">It's about time</span></span> to finish the saga I began earlier this year. I started to tell you about it <a href="http://naturejournaling.blogspot.com/2014_05_01_archive.html" target="_blank">here</a> in May, and I was planning to update it within a week or two with ongoing events, but that was May and this is <i>October.</i> Oh MY! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Since it's probably been awhile since you read it.....I'd started to tell you about my decision to Snowbird in Belize, and the incredible chain reaction that set off in my life (okay, NOW go back and read it if you have a minute ;o}</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">+o+o+o+o+o+o</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">+o+o+o+o+o+o</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">+o+o+o+o+o+</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYiY2Aq0-ThrHrd0__fniU3_ro3Mzzpb6oMzMQr2J1FIFHwUskvNXbr5KVc1qrnf1RubUhQY5baVTmgCL2xv-Zy4O2y8CfW5IV_4jhlorUf1O6CgmqbJ7Z9uPzivJTsBYKpTQMOIBr1kR6/s1600/4LushJungle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYiY2Aq0-ThrHrd0__fniU3_ro3Mzzpb6oMzMQr2J1FIFHwUskvNXbr5KVc1qrnf1RubUhQY5baVTmgCL2xv-Zy4O2y8CfW5IV_4jhlorUf1O6CgmqbJ7Z9uPzivJTsBYKpTQMOIBr1kR6/s1600/4LushJungle.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The road past my door-to-be </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Upon returning from my Christmas vacation and my visit to Better In Belize, the intentional community I wanted to build in and move to in Belize, I pondered how on earth I was going to pay for the property. I didn't have enough savings in the bank to do it; I didn't want to mortgage my house and make payments on <i>that</i> for rest of my life; and I finally concluded that the only way to swing it would be to take the plunge and sell my little house in the big woods.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhup-EGOMhBkzryUlwjVrWyDbnD9sMR9oGTXgnbu2bcVOn3ynugtBP3GR-PoUJqYOs3IhgV8yQcJMDup8MHlNnoQCDVbHY0gvViGrt0BdNYWaNBTZyrKk3vpdi6BnWYgGcRElu6Ufx0T24M/s1600/8OnTheMarket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhup-EGOMhBkzryUlwjVrWyDbnD9sMR9oGTXgnbu2bcVOn3ynugtBP3GR-PoUJqYOs3IhgV8yQcJMDup8MHlNnoQCDVbHY0gvViGrt0BdNYWaNBTZyrKk3vpdi6BnWYgGcRElu6Ufx0T24M/s1600/8OnTheMarket.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">my little house in the big woods</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Now, I love my Oregon woods and its creatures, and my little house suited me well. I mean, just check out this year-long <a href="http://natureworkspress.com/SitSpotOpeningPage.html" target="_blank">sketch/journal</a> I did there in 2012!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But for some years now I had found myself sinking into a sedentary old age, swaddled in long underwear through the long, cold winters grudgingly warmed by a wood stove. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDqXzTVmULbhmKUYXveXTcPFV_VSZxGdp5aM_qsP0wPuy1iuxiNGNs244s8NgPP4Z5BcaYeuvLaNSXO0RAS4CeMf5adQHr63_WkUrZLdG2iBJrBeoos1162t-xIW78oeCSMzX8si2QGnp/s1600/7TheWoodpile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhDqXzTVmULbhmKUYXveXTcPFV_VSZxGdp5aM_qsP0wPuy1iuxiNGNs244s8NgPP4Z5BcaYeuvLaNSXO0RAS4CeMf5adQHr63_WkUrZLdG2iBJrBeoos1162t-xIW78oeCSMzX8si2QGnp/s1600/7TheWoodpile.jpg" height="200" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">fetching firewood—blechh</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It gets really tiresome to fetch wood and keep the home fires burning, and only yearly trips to the tropics made it bearable. Why not make the leap? I'd been considering it strongly for YEARS!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So <span style="color: red;"><b>January </b></span>found me putting my house on the market and showing it for a whole three days before it was snapped up by a sculptor/videographer couple, just the perfect buyers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>February</b></span> was an incredible stew of packing, planning, organizing and executing. I would live in Belize for the coldest six months of the year, but I plan to live here in Oregon for the other six months, so I needed a residence. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyGVXIl3TFBk8cSRFLUKwnHLUqKQw7-qKsWoygUkbcNHvWOV5ReIo6j7ZWD8ypziGpIu5sFlLcoSbS9q1hNCmSaUklLxeZo575p502FAew-yitx29uuOWqmJ5zs1jvM9D_VK4-viYwINmK/s1600/9Storage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyGVXIl3TFBk8cSRFLUKwnHLUqKQw7-qKsWoygUkbcNHvWOV5ReIo6j7ZWD8ypziGpIu5sFlLcoSbS9q1hNCmSaUklLxeZo575p502FAew-yitx29uuOWqmJ5zs1jvM9D_VK4-viYwINmK/s1600/9Storage.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">35 years of "stuff" in storage</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My first idea was to buy into a tiny community just up the road from my house, but that fell through due to zoning problems. Still, the idea of a self-contained movable home was born. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Plant Oregon, where I weed in summers</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;">March</span></b></span> came, and Daniel, at </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.plantoregon.com/pilot.asp" target="_blank">Plant Oregon</a>,</span> the nursery where I weed most afternoons in the summers, offered me the use of his cabin, which he wasn't using, until I could get things straightened out. I accepted gratefully, because I had to be out of my house by the middle of March, barely six weeks after making my decision to sell and a month after the sale was finalized! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOycKK1sXiLAFW4tDjuTCOyNWcLWNwpwYPIqFKGxeTwtcqITmnnDXbboetkf4mv-i5cxaB2RSc9r-44hjozmby1BYnO8vopIQrA-1zroF1jJfFo5FcGca8CBo1NxA0wnilDJWxi2-K6bpJ/s1600/10Moving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOycKK1sXiLAFW4tDjuTCOyNWcLWNwpwYPIqFKGxeTwtcqITmnnDXbboetkf4mv-i5cxaB2RSc9r-44hjozmby1BYnO8vopIQrA-1zroF1jJfFo5FcGca8CBo1NxA0wnilDJWxi2-K6bpJ/s1600/10Moving.jpg" height="320" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sorting, storing, hauling, selling.... </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Imagine excavating, sorting, pitching, storing, giving away and/or moving 35 years worth of belongings in six weeks! I vacated into Dan's Cabin </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">at the nursery</span>, settling as comfortably as possible into temporary quarters, and weeding to keep my brain from exploding.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the meantime, I deposited the payment for my house and land, and I was negotiating buying my lot in Belize, discussing house plans with my Belizean builder, and looking at <a href="http://moleculetinyhomes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tiny Homes</a> to live in here in Oregon. It finally dawned on me that although Tiny Homes are darling, and speak to my Hobbity soul, they are <b>REALLY</b> SMALL and they are very expensive if you don't build them yourself. Since I'd be building a house in Belize, I didn't want to also be building a house in Oregon—I wanted something quick, simple, less expensive, easy maintenance....ah......a <a href="http://www.purplewave.com/cgi-bin/mnlist.cgi?130822/E7600" target="_blank">5th Wheeler</a>. They're quite a bit "glitzier" than really suits me, but they have lots of room, are low maintenance, and I knew the price of a used one would beat that of a Tiny Home by a huge margin—maybe only half as much!</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-iDWjA5YktEGWP6Hn-tP-ePNBnSaGUN9w4k9rS3xUVwMhuWXpkNN4nD5iajij7Yovx7XHnbmILL-ciTVoKOc8OjQ1k4udYnZRZFhW1rBz9k-kupWghFw8W4bSmsRJbmq4iELyGowPFbb/s1600/11SketchJournalFront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-iDWjA5YktEGWP6Hn-tP-ePNBnSaGUN9w4k9rS3xUVwMhuWXpkNN4nD5iajij7Yovx7XHnbmILL-ciTVoKOc8OjQ1k4udYnZRZFhW1rBz9k-kupWghFw8W4bSmsRJbmq4iELyGowPFbb/s1600/11SketchJournalFront.jpg" height="165" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My house plan- 1075 sq/ft</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So I started looking for one of those that I liked, and at the same time I began the house plans for my house in Belize. I</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">n 1980 </span>I designed and built my little house in the woods, so I knew how to design a house and draw house plans, and I know what works for me and what doesn't, so this was very doable (and a lot of fun). And my builder was interested in building an <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=earth+bag+home&client=firefox-a&hs=XPu&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=XqwxVNWYB8exogSol4DACw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1267&bih=579&dpr=1.25" target="_blank">earth bag house</a>! Serendipity! </span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSxxfeL_FTuDuma2ArM4b8zy0HZGvj4MfhqvUDFP06B8_c1Zrskv8zm7rMCZo7wYGXlXJcQJUIsu4sOHB2eNOX-35jWJWR28nEJiqerfHRolR_02ug_Zm6eq97m456I5qWXrmPCIMp6Ze/s1600/11-5thWheeler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCSxxfeL_FTuDuma2ArM4b8zy0HZGvj4MfhqvUDFP06B8_c1Zrskv8zm7rMCZo7wYGXlXJcQJUIsu4sOHB2eNOX-35jWJWR28nEJiqerfHRolR_02ug_Zm6eq97m456I5qWXrmPCIMp6Ze/s1600/11-5thWheeler.jpg" height="141" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Delivering my home to its spot</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>April.</b></span> Finally I found a good 5th Wheeler at a price I could afford (less than $20,000) and a friend offered me a place to settle, complete with water, electricity and sewer. </span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6l8UnM4t6LZd7NaEbuMlezmYsF1Xvik27oGVa1O1W6V3RQyI3R3Nuh4-WPv5YqRuFXD5pw5-WBKUV-2mzIqgtFH204gNjwwqU_7EnzRaFJDjSnPvhmDbNm3V3RO57PR1pyqhEm1EWDL8/s1600/13SellingBooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6l8UnM4t6LZd7NaEbuMlezmYsF1Xvik27oGVa1O1W6V3RQyI3R3Nuh4-WPv5YqRuFXD5pw5-WBKUV-2mzIqgtFH204gNjwwqU_7EnzRaFJDjSnPvhmDbNm3V3RO57PR1pyqhEm1EWDL8/s1600/13SellingBooks.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">packing a shipment of books</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It was 30 miles from "home" but actually, to tell the truth, I was "homeless" now, so I jumped at the chance. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the meantime I
started thinking about selling the printed part (books) of my business,
<a href="http://natureworkspress.com/" target="_blank">Nature Works Press</a>, because there would no way for me to fill orders from
Belize. Besides, it is time to "retire."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I decided to keep the sketch/journal
e-book part of the business, and in fact even grow it. But I needed to
find a home for the book end of it. So I put out feelers on a self-publishing forum. </span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3osO885tJo-1qIFuQrtk72nm02a4WYlPaxLoyt7M30gRh8COs0xuVQ8NizF0NFCP8zx9minUmAjdxDrNQEJvHONXy9NmndQr8Ej9g0eSq1Tfba4MguJaOABJ-iUC7zMpx8kR1uhpNlVZI/s1600/14MyView.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3osO885tJo-1qIFuQrtk72nm02a4WYlPaxLoyt7M30gRh8COs0xuVQ8NizF0NFCP8zx9minUmAjdxDrNQEJvHONXy9NmndQr8Ej9g0eSq1Tfba4MguJaOABJ-iUC7zMpx8kR1uhpNlVZI/s1600/14MyView.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">the view from my veranda-to-be</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Life was chaotic, with belongings scattered all over the place: in two storage units in a nearby town, a stack of stuff in an empty building at the nursery, and the rest in Dan's Cabin, and I needed to return to Belize to begin the building process with my builder. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So in<b><span style="color: red;"> May </span></b>I returned to Better in Belize for a week of reconnaissance, conferences with Jorge, and to just sit (and sometimes sketch) on my building site for hours at different times of day to make sure I had planned everything correctly.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCNuo4bn9R0ehOiqChiQ-1Cp5tBiTJmq77W0_K4FsMDom9t830ArwpG7SawbVaU_9yHWZiV1EpQyJxW3oBD6IOf6ut0eH8BTUER9mEVf_GOaAalebvnaB3B_LDb5jogj8_Y9C9EiZV0O6/s1600/5FrogSketch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCNuo4bn9R0ehOiqChiQ-1Cp5tBiTJmq77W0_K4FsMDom9t830ArwpG7SawbVaU_9yHWZiV1EpQyJxW3oBD6IOf6ut0eH8BTUER9mEVf_GOaAalebvnaB3B_LDb5jogj8_Y9C9EiZV0O6/s1600/5FrogSketch.jpg" height="130" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Black Orchid and frog in my yard</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It was a wonderful interlude, with my dreams taking shape and focus to the accompaniment of crickets, cicadas, frogs (and a visit with a nearby tarantula clasping her egg sac). </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zXCvnu91xYX7yvf2ERb5onnRkhOrEm2sclndaeElj9Hey-krPEUKzd2QoQKNSmStDc-4aa7s71uStH5sUSe381cys8rLecPJu4nBAVRIjs_x3v5SyPJoq31eW7p0DlApVrt_EbgfenNY/s1600/18Tarantula&EggSac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zXCvnu91xYX7yvf2ERb5onnRkhOrEm2sclndaeElj9Hey-krPEUKzd2QoQKNSmStDc-4aa7s71uStH5sUSe381cys8rLecPJu4nBAVRIjs_x3v5SyPJoq31eW7p0DlApVrt_EbgfenNY/s1600/18Tarantula&EggSac.jpg" height="153" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Mama tarantula with 2" egg sac</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I had to sit outside the tarantula's entrance for more than an hour before she worked up the courage to come out this far, and the twitch of a finger sent her scrambling back inside. I don't think I'll be afraid to live with tarantulas in the dooryard. They're real wusses.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FoYJjCSx-QTOF_JW4dpxs9Bh3wY4CPaFxQtnyGMCbTltt530JRfKxnX-HR9DOzqpt_Xp2HBYUzVNdXrx6oICFO3H3YxlAZuVrtqrFwtIC0Mk1qMGQqItpZia7Ydwyor8c0ZNPZCVAhHQ/s1600/15Jorge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FoYJjCSx-QTOF_JW4dpxs9Bh3wY4CPaFxQtnyGMCbTltt530JRfKxnX-HR9DOzqpt_Xp2HBYUzVNdXrx6oICFO3H3YxlAZuVrtqrFwtIC0Mk1qMGQqItpZia7Ydwyor8c0ZNPZCVAhHQ/s1600/15Jorge.jpg" height="200" width="123" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Jorge, my Belizean builder </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I was pleased to find that I liked Jorge and that we could work together as we prospected around San Ignacio, Belmopan and Spanish Lookout for building supplies and appliances, and outlined my earth bag house with spray paint on the building site. Jorge is looking pleased in this photo because he had just rescued the orchid (by his left arm) from a fallen tree and replanted it in the hollow stump he's leaning on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But arriving back home in Oregon, it was time to reconvene my old life and wait for things to settle down since my house wouldn't be finished in Belize until autumn. Jorge promised to send me pictures taken with his iPad or cellphone throughout the project. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlB9JM_WYf2Tamt97kbFu0eexx67VR8VkJUuQh1hF-lEsPM3YWv5T4bO2j6y8OfT8DUohsrDlp28Odcg_FyvhX1n5btIWG4U1G8RSYNx0WW22Tf3zVVIqNlq1jmQM9QbOgGdUrklZcb-vN/s1600/17Project3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlB9JM_WYf2Tamt97kbFu0eexx67VR8VkJUuQh1hF-lEsPM3YWv5T4bO2j6y8OfT8DUohsrDlp28Odcg_FyvhX1n5btIWG4U1G8RSYNx0WW22Tf3zVVIqNlq1jmQM9QbOgGdUrklZcb-vN/s1600/17Project3.jpg" height="169" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Lava Butte illustration</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">All spring and summer, while this was going on, I was also working on
several illustration projects that would appear in nature centers and
national forests in Oregon. </span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I did a couple of blog entries about the making of this Lava Butte illustration, then after that I created the Benham Falls and the Benham Bridge illustrations here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">These were all done at Daniel's Cabin, while the rest of my life swirled about in in total disarray. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ff1Xxbw8sCS29FKpfbPz5pqpNT7M5Av_fQWU8vhZUepjrsp-JtzkuVjb7hEmDjkL7TS-aOYwJSzzl6ishBGfnMvDFwxdSEkhIx07zA9MKfLYxIlUVK9FF2eRSCNZzf7RARJgYoB-JHYr/s1600/17Project2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ff1Xxbw8sCS29FKpfbPz5pqpNT7M5Av_fQWU8vhZUepjrsp-JtzkuVjb7hEmDjkL7TS-aOYwJSzzl6ishBGfnMvDFwxdSEkhIx07zA9MKfLYxIlUVK9FF2eRSCNZzf7RARJgYoB-JHYr/s1600/17Project2.jpg" height="200" width="170" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Benham Falls illustration</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvnLA1SdpgUh1KS08Ulo5pS6C4saIVsgdU7Xv46LM3-wtx3ZijO5EwUNS5hruw4GtbKezuz-9Ya8eGITmPcrSkD6hFKLStG7L6JMc7TOMcZl6rWq5SzNKQINtLG70uAXfLogaHqIZ2DQje/s1600/17Project1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvnLA1SdpgUh1KS08Ulo5pS6C4saIVsgdU7Xv46LM3-wtx3ZijO5EwUNS5hruw4GtbKezuz-9Ya8eGITmPcrSkD6hFKLStG7L6JMc7TOMcZl6rWq5SzNKQINtLG70uAXfLogaHqIZ2DQje/s1600/17Project1.jpg" height="176" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Benham Bridge illustration</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's kind of amazing to me that anything at all could have come out of the astonishingly convoluted quagmire of my overloaded brain, but there they are. And there was also a huge illustration (40" high) of a Ponderosa Pine which nearly ate my laptop awhile ago when I tried to convert it into a JPG so I could post it here, so it's not shown. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>JUNE</b></span> </span></span>To relax my brain a bit, I drove to Idaho to visit my brother David, who helped me sort out details with regard to the change from Microsoft XP to Windows (Why did they change? XP was a GREAT operating system!), showed me how to use Skype (which will be my only telephone in my off-grid community), helped me upgrade some programs, including Quickbooks and Photoshop, with which I run my business, helped me sort out my laptop and tablet, and showed me how to download ebooks to read on a Kindle program, and just generally soothed away a lot of the angst that had been building up. </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbmXhz6qh_hQCQN9pEVGKLHnKcVPyOBsseh0VhehgBgEunwL5A3ixGzLiG_QSd1mnJ4rBTaz8E8OlldKNCr1sZ4jjx1viVAWqLrY-_RvGtvgqQMJQGb5LL-jpzj-9NNAWWa6JnyjD4XvF/s1600/16Home&Lemon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbmXhz6qh_hQCQN9pEVGKLHnKcVPyOBsseh0VhehgBgEunwL5A3ixGzLiG_QSd1mnJ4rBTaz8E8OlldKNCr1sZ4jjx1viVAWqLrY-_RvGtvgqQMJQGb5LL-jpzj-9NNAWWa6JnyjD4XvF/s1600/16Home&Lemon.jpg" height="125" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Home in its new spot in a madrone forest</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Thank goodness for a generous (and patient) brother!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In early June, Jorge informed me that my house plans had been
approved. I was also moving into my new 5th Wheeler. Dan bought and carted away a recliner and the dinette set which had crowded the interior, so I could start </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> converting
the dinette area into an office.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Next,<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> I needed to start planning which of my belongings I wanted to take to my new home in Belize. And I needed a truck. </span>Too much happening! My head was
spinning. </span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Now, this isn't the end of the story, as I've only gotten us midway through June, and here it is October, so I'll start work on the remaining bit of summer in the next blog entry. I'm sorry I kept y'all in the dark for so long. I just didn't have the time or energy to spend on it with all the other stuff going on. Right now, I'm tapping my fingers while .....but more about that in the next blog entry. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the meantime, to assuage your disappointment about the truncated story, I offer you this delightful little being I discovered while weeding a couple of weeks ago. The tiny jackrabbit toddler (it would fit in your cupped hands) never blinked an eye as I snapped its portrait. I left it in peace (after about thirty seconds) to make its way in the world after The Giant left. —Leap through life with happiness, Little Guy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span>Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-61407385837902415902014-06-01T11:45:00.000-07:002014-06-02T11:28:56.627-07:00A Short Foray Into Brazil<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRzuy1yjVX3c_4xRXBXyRXe18Uj74W60llJ0H659SDqYUQFInmvOZd6z-rqnikVyVqljtYJtsKm1TRTLCSRF43SvEZzId0ddnEIz6TtrrlaNX4NEzUKzoiflAbA8sbg19J4C2IGCHYXeF_/s1600/DSC08243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRzuy1yjVX3c_4xRXBXyRXe18Uj74W60llJ0H659SDqYUQFInmvOZd6z-rqnikVyVqljtYJtsKm1TRTLCSRF43SvEZzId0ddnEIz6TtrrlaNX4NEzUKzoiflAbA8sbg19J4C2IGCHYXeF_/s1600/DSC08243.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Petropolis with Johann and Alessandra</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My journey to Brazil in December of 2013 was sort of accidental. I'd been having coffee with my friends Johann and Alessandra when they passed through my little hometown of Talent, Oregon, when they mentioned that they were planning to go home to Brazil, in the mountains just north of Rio de Janeiro, for Christmas. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWMN2iYYzZ0gSqrfhl4X-clxgWMtGvpciXIhfWoZG5fMZe7d52OZYcMQ0gumMAnIIluGFbtOgxRL-3xMMQfU6xBpXnpmSjuKrnuuUOF2LM-2zBqIwiqy5yPwGt-bVgc7kgQXy3hO-ENr2/s1600/DSC08305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWMN2iYYzZ0gSqrfhl4X-clxgWMtGvpciXIhfWoZG5fMZe7d52OZYcMQ0gumMAnIIluGFbtOgxRL-3xMMQfU6xBpXnpmSjuKrnuuUOF2LM-2zBqIwiqy5yPwGt-bVgc7kgQXy3hO-ENr2/s1600/DSC08305.jpg" height="161" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Wearing funny hats, Christmas Eve</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I think I said something wistful like "well, if you decide you want company for Christmas, I'd love to come...," and forgot all about it until Alessandra's email arrived inviting me to do that very thing! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHXfTyuazmnigxK5YsAJ9xoDDlbKjjVxwK8it-5dtr-aTPexxWnNKKXgCw_Oo0mKkgezOxhNIO3McfYrxfY7YSf69knfiynrcuxBExfdG_nPjiBTMS1pi6xvQJiEPMGs2wTB7b0ZlwU58/s1600/DSC08447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHXfTyuazmnigxK5YsAJ9xoDDlbKjjVxwK8it-5dtr-aTPexxWnNKKXgCw_Oo0mKkgezOxhNIO3McfYrxfY7YSf69knfiynrcuxBExfdG_nPjiBTMS1pi6xvQJiEPMGs2wTB7b0ZlwU58/s1600/DSC08447.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A magical tree fern, 15' tall</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So there I was, a few days before Christmas, welcomed into a lovely Brazilian family celebration, in a truly exotic and fascinating country I'd always wanted to visit!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQpfS96MwElgEufWncQ-TrPZg5Y0otDQAVIHFH21ZndqqPQAqewKVq9HRyJ5j1rXbfeXE5uwgnkHLVfX4VpJyLEtzqmLfVf_FESjWurX-V_Oo63w_6LE8PtP29wPFouQPD_p357bp7fjO/s1600/DSC08467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQpfS96MwElgEufWncQ-TrPZg5Y0otDQAVIHFH21ZndqqPQAqewKVq9HRyJ5j1rXbfeXE5uwgnkHLVfX4VpJyLEtzqmLfVf_FESjWurX-V_Oo63w_6LE8PtP29wPFouQPD_p357bp7fjO/s1600/DSC08467.jpg" height="200" width="139" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does this look ominous to you?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesXcF_QFWDMEjKOEW6bhpB895QJ6WMYFGROmYc7nVVhHEBeJ5LvxyrDN0ZSXDf3SuEV70QPstx1lTrzr0MyFVa9IelAYYjcHOafxF_faWK1F0trLP6bMbDKzH5ZdHqZ7FAR86eukMAzop/s1600/DSC08493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesXcF_QFWDMEjKOEW6bhpB895QJ6WMYFGROmYc7nVVhHEBeJ5LvxyrDN0ZSXDf3SuEV70QPstx1lTrzr0MyFVa9IelAYYjcHOafxF_faWK1F0trLP6bMbDKzH5ZdHqZ7FAR86eukMAzop/s1600/DSC08493.jpg" height="135" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a gorgeous butterfly laying eggs</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Of course, I had taken my sketchbook, so all of my time not spent in family doings was dedicated to wandering up and down the lane flanked on either side by dense jungle-ish vegetation, filled with marvels like tree ferns, peculiar plants resembling venus flytraps (but with no moving parts), gorgeous butterflies—one I photographed was laying eggs, ferns that resembled octopi (or octopuses, if you prefer), and any number of other wonders. My mouth hung open in amazement a good deal of the time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Since it was still the rainy season in Brazil, I also spent some time on the veranda with my sketchbook (and in a hammock, I admit), trying to do justice to the marvels all around me with drawings and paintings in my sketchbook. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPq0IHxhM1EtRrDPv171G6-yIFngzM2FlM9T0prELrAEkmawLSs0BdlRL9-KaM3ZyUl9v2OxSAkNGXXQSs4TH0JNXc-1o2UZYbYhOQNfmmlSu_63IShmMb6LSu84wqZqQJIMzMm5o91N7D/s1600/DSC08100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPq0IHxhM1EtRrDPv171G6-yIFngzM2FlM9T0prELrAEkmawLSs0BdlRL9-KaM3ZyUl9v2OxSAkNGXXQSs4TH0JNXc-1o2UZYbYhOQNfmmlSu_63IShmMb6LSu84wqZqQJIMzMm5o91N7D/s1600/DSC08100.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ultimate "picture window!"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As in other tropical countries I've visited, the house was open to the outdoors, and much of the family's time is spent in an open room next to the kitchen, sort of a combination veranda and lanai opening onto a little walled garden. It's one of the most "scenic" window views I've ever encountered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Even when it was raining, this "wallpaper" was enchanting. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I just loved sitting there watching the birds who came to eat bits of fruit scraps the family put out for them. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdwNRVfdTO-QNPcJl3QYjxZcK23MwdVwiMRPLtF8JGXy_rt0Jm8JrLtNtVS0Kef_Kvu5tUPMbaXkk6JtJJ2MdvVL9e3VDhFpW0Q-3KkG9-npOyXu93FKVeMkn9zVnj2aW_S5w7RY-Rq6o/s1600/DSC08185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdwNRVfdTO-QNPcJl3QYjxZcK23MwdVwiMRPLtF8JGXy_rt0Jm8JrLtNtVS0Kef_Kvu5tUPMbaXkk6JtJJ2MdvVL9e3VDhFpW0Q-3KkG9-npOyXu93FKVeMkn9zVnj2aW_S5w7RY-Rq6o/s1600/DSC08185.jpg" height="146" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love to sketch in a hammock</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">S</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">ometimes I even disciplined myself to draw. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Frequently on my
forays up the lane, I was dodging raindrops or scrunched under densely-leafed trees waiting for the weather to clear and trying to
protect the sketchbook page as I drew. That's not really conducive to finishing a sketch in any detail!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Fortunately, I've discovered that drawing in a hammock can be very comfortable provided I can find a pillow or two to prop myself up in a relatively erect position. I got some nice sketches from that hammock. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4HYJ7g_n_V4oNuKOs-f83_Qv1PTWikI3sUMPl773DwtMJQLZ6CRBImBKDAGMbCCTd5g2cfwLwSI1fgRD9u6eGQXwfvtT72NKOv4tTwNe3M4jiQThpA-ZDroGE_fMH8CO1WpiNziUFlRC/s1600/DSC08180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4HYJ7g_n_V4oNuKOs-f83_Qv1PTWikI3sUMPl773DwtMJQLZ6CRBImBKDAGMbCCTd5g2cfwLwSI1fgRD9u6eGQXwfvtT72NKOv4tTwNe3M4jiQThpA-ZDroGE_fMH8CO1WpiNziUFlRC/s1600/DSC08180.jpg" height="140" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainy afternoon sketching session.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> Unfortunately, my sketchbook for that marvelous interlude is buried in storage, so I can't share my drawings/paintings of this fantastic trip—but more about THAT later! <i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>(Actually, I really should have posted this entry before I posted the previous Belize one, since it happened before. But that didn't happen, so you're stuck with this out-of-sequence tale.)</i></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienC2WzLYpazpPbgqKWDmcY1yIH1eqGPWvUuRqyyvTaBvbHhtNlx2Pp4QtavKiwlql1tb35CxYs79ouVDfxVJtuyrp_Amxakkn7vdwcGgJ2rCy9hDBGuqU_VQRBgPCaskcTe5iLoNYNPzo/s1600/DSC08314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEienC2WzLYpazpPbgqKWDmcY1yIH1eqGPWvUuRqyyvTaBvbHhtNlx2Pp4QtavKiwlql1tb35CxYs79ouVDfxVJtuyrp_Amxakkn7vdwcGgJ2rCy9hDBGuqU_VQRBgPCaskcTe5iLoNYNPzo/s1600/DSC08314.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet Mr. Toad!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A giant toad came to visit numerous times while I was there, often after dark. I took photos of it, hoping to sketch from the view finder, which I find an invaluable tool. In fact, I've made it a habit to always photograph things as I'm sketching so that I can add details or color later when I am in more comfortable sketching/painting circumstances. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dOk11P50lJim0XNZVeMeliGA1HcPfWTZ7jnYuGxOCBu0zbJGlIwm3HMjd0JrRh1Mb6B_pCfglKmoSiwuQUyLDHw3iEdlvAVuK-JN6Wlj0RWk5F4oXCVKYuWbDSXMTb4uk0Is0IXioTQC/s1600/DSC08148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dOk11P50lJim0XNZVeMeliGA1HcPfWTZ7jnYuGxOCBu0zbJGlIwm3HMjd0JrRh1Mb6B_pCfglKmoSiwuQUyLDHw3iEdlvAVuK-JN6Wlj0RWk5F4oXCVKYuWbDSXMTb4uk0Is0IXioTQC/s1600/DSC08148.jpg" height="143" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A "vegetarian" octopus...fern, that is!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So, while I haven't yet actually sketched the toad, I can, one of these days when I have some spare time, sit down with my sketchbook and camera (or maybe I'll actually print out my photo) and add that marvelous 6" toad to my sketchbook.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9Gr2g7H-BH0cYDQTDV3osSi4gpL8mGCI-5x8xOdyrfkSaBCIQAB1zpEgkJokPo-1rol-ZbslKVMC8P4t6p4xw2kpteuWgthBq_SHnwmjqZZt4-nl-ZTQkhIItyCfovatJrYgi62Dk1iN/s1600/DSC08258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9Gr2g7H-BH0cYDQTDV3osSi4gpL8mGCI-5x8xOdyrfkSaBCIQAB1zpEgkJokPo-1rol-ZbslKVMC8P4t6p4xw2kpteuWgthBq_SHnwmjqZZt4-nl-ZTQkhIItyCfovatJrYgi62Dk1iN/s1600/DSC08258.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An ornate cathedral in Petropolis</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Alessandra, Johann and I spent most of one day in the nearby historic town of Petropolis, </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the former Summer Palace of the second Brazilian emperor, with its fascinating buildings and places to marvel over. I'm not a connoisseur of historical buildings, but I found Petropolis charming and quite interesting. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05cK2mw5VRlwgBEOtLt8HPaIQlyl8wLJjTKTbo71ejuXuhG_-XQz8GQk-UdX1gKwH4WzPE550xpRcdArqaGId1RX8FSJK2SjI93FQGjU6JfpUOVfOE76ytPjN0lwW4XWcQucy4tzv5EP0/s1600/DSC08210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05cK2mw5VRlwgBEOtLt8HPaIQlyl8wLJjTKTbo71ejuXuhG_-XQz8GQk-UdX1gKwH4WzPE550xpRcdArqaGId1RX8FSJK2SjI93FQGjU6JfpUOVfOE76ytPjN0lwW4XWcQucy4tzv5EP0/s1600/DSC08210.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marmoset feeding on sap.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Of course, with my natural history leanings, I thought the little marmosets roaming the grounds of the Imperial Palace were fully as interesting as the more human-oriented structures for which the town is famous. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5qR_KvcObjZLTaBGS-IJ2r97Ysy1Luo85Vjd6N8yv0FgnMNshLMtvaDh0CNiJD391jbLefEXOK_o66421N2zfdLxrQ5GwPwO6O2YIx-4d1kdlw6z_TuZPa9erYXb0i4OIrqZIX7HcmgW/s1600/DSC08186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5qR_KvcObjZLTaBGS-IJ2r97Ysy1Luo85Vjd6N8yv0FgnMNshLMtvaDh0CNiJD391jbLefEXOK_o66421N2zfdLxrQ5GwPwO6O2YIx-4d1kdlw6z_TuZPa9erYXb0i4OIrqZIX7HcmgW/s1600/DSC08186.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cashew fruits au naturel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I think the family was amused at some of the things I found fascinating, since to them, they're everyday items. For instance, I was intrigued by the cashew fruits sold in the supermarket in little styrofoam packages covered with a clear film, exactly the way tomatoes are marketed in Oregon. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5U2J4tbGsKIU-ni-X72ZXlDkVeWjHceGBWsZGmc41ak8YRSkxLdninpGamwKk4EEk4CplChrSqbqU1kJssrCqmgmkRNwpMt9HuDqg6kQDLuwH9MZZf1sMDJoM8wmC0Aa6G7B4psdLgRRP/s1600/DSC08382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5U2J4tbGsKIU-ni-X72ZXlDkVeWjHceGBWsZGmc41ak8YRSkxLdninpGamwKk4EEk4CplChrSqbqU1kJssrCqmgmkRNwpMt9HuDqg6kQDLuwH9MZZf1sMDJoM8wmC0Aa6G7B4psdLgRRP/s1600/DSC08382.jpg" height="200" width="169" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Johann's balcony</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">With cashews, you have a choice—eat the sweet fruit you see here and trash the nut, or forego eating the fruit, leave it on the tree, and let the nut ripen. The fruit is pretty tasty, actually. There's a great article about the cashew fruit/nut<a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/31226/cashew-nuts-grow-out-crazy-apples" target="_blank"> here.</a></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I also thought the mountains were astonishing. Many of them rise like perfect volcanoes (although they're not), and the sides of many are solid, nearly vertical, basalt (I think), with bromeliads growing out of them like hairy moles. </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdVYGUudSbJ_NL1_zCrtLkL-MxgVVFSnfvq_WQrgJe4i72wWt-UZdxAXfDmpMOScRa2rLg7LACihpH_pBwzni-O9Of8vaIe2xyhBHW_EYxdvwFfpS_-02mpsX3d-W6poZc7VNWcKZEfpv/s1600/DSC08034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdVYGUudSbJ_NL1_zCrtLkL-MxgVVFSnfvq_WQrgJe4i72wWt-UZdxAXfDmpMOScRa2rLg7LACihpH_pBwzni-O9Of8vaIe2xyhBHW_EYxdvwFfpS_-02mpsX3d-W6poZc7VNWcKZEfpv/s1600/DSC08034.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bromeliads dot these near vertical slopes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I was never able to examine them close up (we only drove past these monoliths in the car) but I'd love to spend some time exploring these steep mountainsides!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7vGDhP5qGOUHzcFVzJg2ZYvcAyVNbR_RrJlyW9OJDNtp38RrqfkYIR5jv0n_bfiacD-pst02tfXBvy1aS_jbvZUrOF69ZFCwDwYiNaEcslz20MDp-KZSqve3coNB16b06-qC2BFXrn-J/s1600/DSC08051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7vGDhP5qGOUHzcFVzJg2ZYvcAyVNbR_RrJlyW9OJDNtp38RrqfkYIR5jv0n_bfiacD-pst02tfXBvy1aS_jbvZUrOF69ZFCwDwYiNaEcslz20MDp-KZSqve3coNB16b06-qC2BFXrn-J/s1600/DSC08051.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a MUSHROOM?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">During my stay, Alessandra and I encountered this brilliant red mushroom which we mistook for a piece of plastic rubbish at first. I mean...it's so outlandish! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The day after Christmas, it was time for me to leave, as NOW I was headed for Belize to scope out the possibilities of buying some land in the lovely Better In Belize Eco-community I had been exploring online. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But before I leave this post, I want
to show you some of the more interesting/beautiful things I encountered in those
Brazilian mountains just before Christmas.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV780Hg00ccAHL45q6QS8I_1IYPxMBezb_VSi8CL3W3eivDqYrCUadkpDi-Tgf67vWdKMFw4QLke1WRZYavJmHMp29zr_3x1j0WADclOkqBqBYMu-H6JWxg7sfKdvV2eygUrQ4HlyrvZ3r/s1600/DSC08385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV780Hg00ccAHL45q6QS8I_1IYPxMBezb_VSi8CL3W3eivDqYrCUadkpDi-Tgf67vWdKMFw4QLke1WRZYavJmHMp29zr_3x1j0WADclOkqBqBYMu-H6JWxg7sfKdvV2eygUrQ4HlyrvZ3r/s1600/DSC08385.jpg" height="320" width="240" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lovely cream-colored, sculptured 8" wasp nest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sW8ZtppOQKwIMQTCpYn5gZ6TwxESRuq7onX_CMkn2q6PHFkplKtk6fWrPnO-bWBAXJuTNOGwo3kQ0gxJxzHDS9FfmXPwHzphHFytCTCcIiVuwwSvSGS0awrqoFQqQv8T8ZjLuVP7Dbuz/s1600/DSC08163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sW8ZtppOQKwIMQTCpYn5gZ6TwxESRuq7onX_CMkn2q6PHFkplKtk6fWrPnO-bWBAXJuTNOGwo3kQ0gxJxzHDS9FfmXPwHzphHFytCTCcIiVuwwSvSGS0awrqoFQqQv8T8ZjLuVP7Dbuz/s1600/DSC08163.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I needed a good plant ID book, but never found one. What is this?<br />
AHA! My brother David sez it's <em>Hamelia patens</em><br />
Common names: Firebush, Mexican firebush, firecracker shrub, scarlet bush<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />Read more: <a href="http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3362/#ixzz33VWuvduf" style="color: #003399;">http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3362/#ixzz33VWuvduf</a></div>
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</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-T5FR7wJrtwozebU9ZVICBILeaNgfdADrE9J-1XbhOTMQ6WmdV3j76d_6IzdKVoADTbx-AuK6nni2IU6emuhH3lOCNmv6Elhxvpb0SAVTk-X-GCLAMkxr31Q8e35VTIXn1m9YvuL7EHb/s1600/DSC08060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-T5FR7wJrtwozebU9ZVICBILeaNgfdADrE9J-1XbhOTMQ6WmdV3j76d_6IzdKVoADTbx-AuK6nni2IU6emuhH3lOCNmv6Elhxvpb0SAVTk-X-GCLAMkxr31Q8e35VTIXn1m9YvuL7EHb/s1600/DSC08060.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This 3" caterpillar must morph into a LARGE butterfly or moth.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGO7V8E-bHfJetIDfyWCfkImEVA6vGMV5SFobdRPWkkcJN78K_Dla6B40kekt23-U4jY-kUOSjIAwr9Vqvealxz6T_dYm9USvqEEnC6lHzK7eHAk0tJELg0KDUSqakzStHO7yRjxUlQlB/s1600/DSC08418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGO7V8E-bHfJetIDfyWCfkImEVA6vGMV5SFobdRPWkkcJN78K_Dla6B40kekt23-U4jY-kUOSjIAwr9Vqvealxz6T_dYm9USvqEEnC6lHzK7eHAk0tJELg0KDUSqakzStHO7yRjxUlQlB/s1600/DSC08418.jpg" height="241" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An inch long, this is the biggest leaf hopper I've ever seen!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAWVKlr_f-Vb4-jbhDMFPQpYHm1y-cLarClZf3IlD4Qxrm7nCASWYo04od44xrAQnjQcnkfwMGvBsjXqzvcJtkudoikFrx71AYznfH5MCP9VcA2jNZZ_5lS7CHoxlGGvrKRI6x-7JpuuK/s1600/DSC08496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAWVKlr_f-Vb4-jbhDMFPQpYHm1y-cLarClZf3IlD4Qxrm7nCASWYo04od44xrAQnjQcnkfwMGvBsjXqzvcJtkudoikFrx71AYznfH5MCP9VcA2jNZZ_5lS7CHoxlGGvrKRI6x-7JpuuK/s1600/DSC08496.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were lots of cecropia trees all around the house and mountains.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-WSUGV-6WxaXwyGKCZHAnqFWcvVfVSaVNXsWgATMoqk5dAAagHNWmS1tGeQTWRPlfYwCBI44ExM6DViyjLBttGjdkOkbgEJCo-0o_9eT1DwfAD63RBP5IXqsViCUaoGGcgt__ruZ6HV7/s1600/DSC08505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-WSUGV-6WxaXwyGKCZHAnqFWcvVfVSaVNXsWgATMoqk5dAAagHNWmS1tGeQTWRPlfYwCBI44ExM6DViyjLBttGjdkOkbgEJCo-0o_9eT1DwfAD63RBP5IXqsViCUaoGGcgt__ruZ6HV7/s1600/DSC08505.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the lichens on the trees were beautiful.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My flight, leaving from Rio, would dog-leg me through Newark, New Jersey before depositing me in Belize City some thirty hours later, so it was a marathon event—but very much worth my time since it catapulted me into the next frame of my odyssey. (okay, now go back and re-read the post before this one ;o}. </span></div>
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Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-79220487159489790312014-05-28T21:59:00.000-07:002014-05-28T22:01:33.820-07:00Big Moves<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Did you think I'd bought the farm, kicked the bucket, keeled over, whatever euphemism you care to attach to leaving life behind? Not. In actuality, I have been on an amazing odyssey from hither to yon and back again, and today, with a little Memorial Day Weekend time on my hands, I sat down to tell you all about it...only to discover I had already started to blog it some time back, then apparently forgot to post it. Aughhhh! I think I was waiting for photos, and when I didn't have time to prepare them I checked out of the blog and never made it back. A bit symbolic of my suddenly changed life. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">An astonishing number of things have happened since January, but I think I'll just start with this old post and try to fill in the rest of the story in a following post or two. Maybe someday I'll get caught up. I'm pretty sure the draft below was written sometime in late February. </span> Here goes:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPit1KbWo2xnCqR5z-Q0hFqbcbnhOgnQj-Bs9xntj-9xPpWKVLxIijMX8tM1BMEAkwuxVf5qrv6-ZyzPL6ld74wHPoXaNQUduUdGP0zhbYhzm3QS0cbiQESpgFfQq9DF6d16_t2AIk7g3/s1600/DSC08732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidPit1KbWo2xnCqR5z-Q0hFqbcbnhOgnQj-Bs9xntj-9xPpWKVLxIijMX8tM1BMEAkwuxVf5qrv6-ZyzPL6ld74wHPoXaNQUduUdGP0zhbYhzm3QS0cbiQESpgFfQq9DF6d16_t2AIk7g3/s1600/DSC08732.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Macal Bank lodge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Some gigantic things have been happening in my life since I last wrote, and they're ongoing even as I write.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I went to Belize again in December to stay again at Macaw Bank Jungle Lodge. I first went there two years ago, and ever since I had been poring over maps of Belize and reading forums posted by people who live in that area, and wondering how I could make it work to go live there because, to be perfectly frank, I sincerely dislike cold weather. But I love it here in Oregon in the summer, and I love all my friends and neighbors, and it didn't want to make an ill-considered leap into the unknown.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6JSyiDEsZl5f0ooqALzj7rYiEHMwAMOJW7OwCvn-F33ew6MChJkt57ADeg70wSfiXQ8XaeXE-rGycqoXgS6zK49gn1Slj1JesbhAK7v4uKemaF0Q5PTu17C73UfXy9Phx0VZ17QMKX5e/s1600/DSC08887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So I arranged for a realtor and builder from Better In Belize, an <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6JSyiDEsZl5f0ooqALzj7rYiEHMwAMOJW7OwCvn-F33ew6MChJkt57ADeg70wSfiXQ8XaeXE-rGycqoXgS6zK49gn1Slj1JesbhAK7v4uKemaF0Q5PTu17C73UfXy9Phx0VZ17QMKX5e/s1600/DSC08887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6JSyiDEsZl5f0ooqALzj7rYiEHMwAMOJW7OwCvn-F33ew6MChJkt57ADeg70wSfiXQ8XaeXE-rGycqoXgS6zK49gn1Slj1JesbhAK7v4uKemaF0Q5PTu17C73UfXy9Phx0VZ17QMKX5e/s1600/DSC08887.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The permaculture garden at Better in Belize</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
eco-community just a few miles from the lodge, to come pick me up for a visit. Here's how they describe it on their webpage: <span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">"Better In Belize is committed to low-impact development practices
and has developed plans to enhance this exquisite, natural environment
and protect the remaining intact ecosystems in perpetuity." </span></span></span> </span>Now, that sounds like just my cuppa tea!</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZhtbd8NtMc4JvNF0rS_CGxtTeXfG69HAT_ghmXa9UWkv6mOogjp-MkAD4uY1su2b_yLlY5gHgm8AMbOOpx2EXvWn0G7IPZP-ZXvohGvYTkMGiuU3MecFQGaIq8m6-5qw_gYiAN0tUv-8I/s1600/DSC08807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZhtbd8NtMc4JvNF0rS_CGxtTeXfG69HAT_ghmXa9UWkv6mOogjp-MkAD4uY1su2b_yLlY5gHgm8AMbOOpx2EXvWn0G7IPZP-ZXvohGvYTkMGiuU3MecFQGaIq8m6-5qw_gYiAN0tUv-8I/s1600/DSC08807.jpg" height="200" width="180" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And when I visited, I was charmed. The area is very similar to the jungle I'd been exploring downstream— same river, parrots, iguanas and oropendulas (my favorite bird at the moment— listen to it <a href="http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/PWDLINYMKL/MontezumaOropendolaCR1.mp3" target="_blank">here</a> . Imagine waking up to THAT!). There was the same incredible lush green growth all around, positively balmy and moist air (all my wrinkles went away and I looked ten years younger!) and the people living there were very welcoming. I absolutely loved it, even though it rained the entire time I was there. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mdzpbuZ71G91MIdcH6ba_6WhC_P_qmlUFJ5mnc7RkXC5lKiXDMK4bQaQp9C6XBPXr7UpUogkuvGZ5pZK86OrUoUTVvrkCX9i4kQpOfAnErQMDLsRt4Jg3EzdhqD-4T3vVF-LGoxx2GN2/s1600/DSC08898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mdzpbuZ71G91MIdcH6ba_6WhC_P_qmlUFJ5mnc7RkXC5lKiXDMK4bQaQp9C6XBPXr7UpUogkuvGZ5pZK86OrUoUTVvrkCX9i4kQpOfAnErQMDLsRt4Jg3EzdhqD-4T3vVF-LGoxx2GN2/s1600/DSC08898.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Building under a tarp in the rainy season</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On the way back to my lodge I talked with the builder, Jorge, who was accompanying me on my tour, about what I might build. He suggested that I go for an earth-bag home with a metal roof and tank to collect rainwater for household use, a solar array, and composting toilet, plus a propane refrigerator and water heater, because this settlement is entirely off the grid. All for much less that it would cost in Oregon.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTwI9pcq3UlGtnPowydhi9x_3t5I1QL2n7Asxkp7jwt6jBgnnbTGalRlKs9gbWM1TLFcYhx2RNht90VydJAAc1MU4tDO0WYmv6MqeMyGUvVebPAq8GuJDO_YkeWOsAkCBi5mBm2fkWApR/s1600/DSC08655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTwI9pcq3UlGtnPowydhi9x_3t5I1QL2n7Asxkp7jwt6jBgnnbTGalRlKs9gbWM1TLFcYhx2RNht90VydJAAc1MU4tDO0WYmv6MqeMyGUvVebPAq8GuJDO_YkeWOsAkCBi5mBm2fkWApR/s1600/DSC08655.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jungle vegetation is rampant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And the community is serious about the environment: For starters, if you cut down a tree on your property, you have to plant five native seedlings either there or elsewhere in the community. There are other strict rules in the covenant, designed to keep the settlement environmentally friendly and green. So green, in fact, that you can pass right by someone's house and barely notice it because it must be behind a 10' natural vegetative barrier. Love it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And to make a long story short, I am in the process of buying about half an acre within sight (well, almost) of an unexcavated Mayan ruin, which is right in the center of the community. I can hardly wait to get to my new plot of rain forest and start my house. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-u_DIm_1J7IFAJAP2mJLSl1G4PB4KveMqhrqk9LVvkRYC_5aFETDS6Ce4ciy8un_BgHZKFikU1mbbJvi-fe7iPfNAmn7ftcT418TtvtxE3jB3qe-JdH9XZamSw84KXukoIK9h3hdi2VbH/s1600/DSC08731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-u_DIm_1J7IFAJAP2mJLSl1G4PB4KveMqhrqk9LVvkRYC_5aFETDS6Ce4ciy8un_BgHZKFikU1mbbJvi-fe7iPfNAmn7ftcT418TtvtxE3jB3qe-JdH9XZamSw84KXukoIK9h3hdi2VbH/s1600/DSC08731.jpg" height="200" width="118" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riverbank tapir tracks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If you've never heard of earth bag houses before you're not alone. Here is a <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=earth+bag+house+pictures&client=firefox-a&hs=79o&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=n88KU8ikI5DyoASS7YJQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=999&bih=529" target="_blank">link </a>to find out more about them—they're cool. Literally. Especially in the tropics. The walls are 18" thick, which is the ideal width to foil sunshine all day but keep the house cool inside, then radiate warmth into the house at night. Since my new home will be in the Maya Mountains, where it can be a bit chilly at night, that will be absolutely perfect. Mine will not have a beehive shape but regular vertical walls topped by the metal roof for rainwater catchment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm hoping to spend some time sketching every day like I did on my Oregon <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTStG22_xEWHNStZ6Pft_yJS0Xu0Jt9dPbncXkoHSJC8R8JM9QUatDBXm8E2ImtkJ1zXkHDdfB0xD0gw1bPK0wmkIztMk-t4Ck4pWu5-6fLKLad_Y7oJ23zcHAQ0G8rMaAlIg2lymtHaY/s1600/DSC08913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJTStG22_xEWHNStZ6Pft_yJS0Xu0Jt9dPbncXkoHSJC8R8JM9QUatDBXm8E2ImtkJ1zXkHDdfB0xD0gw1bPK0wmkIztMk-t4Ck4pWu5-6fLKLad_Y7oJ23zcHAQ0G8rMaAlIg2lymtHaY/s1600/DSC08913.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An owl butterfly subject</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
hillside a couple of years ago. If I do, my journal may look like <a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/SitSpotOpeningPage.html" target="_blank">this</a>, only with tropical subjects: thorny palms, frogs and iguanas, cacao nuts, pineapples (from the permaculture gardens there), toucans and oropendulas, etc.A teaching center is planned for there, as well, which I would like to be involved with. Sounds perfect for me. </span><br />
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<br />
<ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>The learning annex may </b>include tropical rainforest
preservation; sustainable land management; enhancing wildlife cover and
nesting areas; developing trails and study areas; learning and
preserving through the landscape of a rainforest; raising awareness and
understanding of the interconnected nature of the rainforest and the
world; energy and water conservation; propagating native plants; use of
plants for food, drink and herbal medicine; and fair trade agricultural
initiatives. </span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUhVevxqO4zKG1YERt7LfDha9SXjS6zbIhEc8M0Jj20NpJBr5z27jEjYQWQW4_Zcsm-6MeKqvf_cHXDFnj-DLxHqV3Hd86m74i6VltKBzwL3vu6ImC49nNSrcti9LsAWH161WOwMV8OoD/s1600/DSC08860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUhVevxqO4zKG1YERt7LfDha9SXjS6zbIhEc8M0Jj20NpJBr5z27jEjYQWQW4_Zcsm-6MeKqvf_cHXDFnj-DLxHqV3Hd86m74i6VltKBzwL3vu6ImC49nNSrcti9LsAWH161WOwMV8OoD/s1600/DSC08860.jpg" height="183" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fresh produce in a roadside market</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And, so, my friends, as you can see, big changes for me. I've leapt off the "path well-traveled" and struck off through the jungle! Stay tuned!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">[and now, back to the present, May 25: Big changes indeed, and much more than I mentioned in this post, because they hadn't happened yet. I'll try to post more this week. Actually, I might tell you about my short foray into Brazil at Christmas, just before I went to Belize.] </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span>Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-29817979901651589192013-12-06T21:05:00.002-08:002013-12-06T21:07:30.094-08:00Step-by-step Watercolor Pencil Painting Part II<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYL2gsceEBF8QB35FmxaE4s3k-2PfDQICZfLeY54gabHTNcr172QHK2eI2DQpCDVX0qhTQdhWQKFvoggGvLVBdmb5_0w53iQnu9gyNOA2wz863RvfmHmwRjlCBPvFJfpA3Z0QIRaYX86o/s1600/LBPainting20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYL2gsceEBF8QB35FmxaE4s3k-2PfDQICZfLeY54gabHTNcr172QHK2eI2DQpCDVX0qhTQdhWQKFvoggGvLVBdmb5_0w53iQnu9gyNOA2wz863RvfmHmwRjlCBPvFJfpA3Z0QIRaYX86o/s200/LBPainting20.jpg" width="171" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Okay, so in my last post I mentioned that I had hit the proverbial wall on part of the painting of Lava Butte. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I toyed around with trying to turn the highly stylized jaggedy lines I had made to indicate trees into what they <b>should</b> look like. In #20 here you can see where I practiced on an extra printout I had made for this purpose—it has the identical b/w drawing and is printed on the same paper stock so my results would be the same—but what I had simply didn't look like a sparse ponderosa forest.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM27nrNUdATmBOzyU5yU4lwAyx7mgbYWscgAo4DdyH46dQ6SlimQUZDi_WyO2zO0jOYN2zpsONGZQ1MN9UNQCQRxbheQku0_saltR19MtRZg75kpBmRkPZNf_yRLgkaAbNP1B1KxTmtRDi/s1600/LBPainting24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM27nrNUdATmBOzyU5yU4lwAyx7mgbYWscgAo4DdyH46dQ6SlimQUZDi_WyO2zO0jOYN2zpsONGZQ1MN9UNQCQRxbheQku0_saltR19MtRZg75kpBmRkPZNf_yRLgkaAbNP1B1KxTmtRDi/s200/LBPainting24.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After a day of thought on the knotty subject, I realized there was no way to make it work using what was on the paper. It needed to look more like #24, at right. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was going to have to turn my illustration into a computer composite of two separate paintings—a background and a foreground—since there was no way to remove the stylized trees from the already painted part. Fortunately the edge of the lava flow and the forest made an easy transition point.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtgLvvXUgg8wWmsN4zSvDg0r7iaQ4sKht5OnqgxQUKR4X4ahI6A7FdhAZpz9wtt4ab5NNPLHxbAdlHf1nq8QrZE-g1iymgo_AOuboatMDhcDjImJ8eYAWtF5M0a0_USOxwDukbYJQKa1q/s1600/LBPainting21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtgLvvXUgg8wWmsN4zSvDg0r7iaQ4sKht5OnqgxQUKR4X4ahI6A7FdhAZpz9wtt4ab5NNPLHxbAdlHf1nq8QrZE-g1iymgo_AOuboatMDhcDjImJ8eYAWtF5M0a0_USOxwDukbYJQKa1q/s200/LBPainting21.jpg" width="135" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#20 is a photo of my desk and one of the photo images I was using as a reference on my laptop screen. (I'd show a better copy of the scene, but it isn't my photo and I don't have permission to use it on the blog. I don't think anyone would object to this small representation, though). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is the size the illustration will appear on the trailhead sign, by the way. It's printed out on an 8½"x11" sheet of heavy paper. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To guide me in where to draw the new trees, I held the painting up on my glass door so the light would come through it, placed the fresh sheet in front of it, and very lightly sketched the outline that needed filling in with trees on the new sheet.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoeD_uLwEdJlUtczqrZUclkUgPRvQ5Hb17nw8R8viI3GvwJjgPqj_uOSG-USBASYsTz48Ivl8HxQ3LSMLLaN5rvpPymmVyKUqFpfUESK4btNrnh1fHNv1tIKZhyphenhyphenKTvyBO4Av5C36HEOVcb/s1600/LBPainting22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoeD_uLwEdJlUtczqrZUclkUgPRvQ5Hb17nw8R8viI3GvwJjgPqj_uOSG-USBASYsTz48Ivl8HxQ3LSMLLaN5rvpPymmVyKUqFpfUESK4btNrnh1fHNv1tIKZhyphenhyphenKTvyBO4Av5C36HEOVcb/s200/LBPainting22.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#22 shows the original unworkable stylized forest above and my solution to the illustration challenge below. Every tree has been drawn within the forest outline and given a tiny little trunk. They were drawn very quickly, though, because this isn't a highly detailed picture, and it only took about half an hour to complete the outlines of all those tiny trees.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtn5z17a6hMa8blm4HFGzsGuik_3tNiuG20zgVML0YnUJ4c8xTTa_-txTPZDAzofQMtQDLkqGtHMOy6UDxZBSulrZaYU1y2BNus_qQ1Ke00Fz5voop0H5uZw7soLuXZylJhZ1ShcSCapT/s1600/LBPainting23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgtn5z17a6hMa8blm4HFGzsGuik_3tNiuG20zgVML0YnUJ4c8xTTa_-txTPZDAzofQMtQDLkqGtHMOy6UDxZBSulrZaYU1y2BNus_qQ1Ke00Fz5voop0H5uZw7soLuXZylJhZ1ShcSCapT/s200/LBPainting23.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Before I would go any further, I wanted to practice drawing the earth between the sparse trees. Using the<i> yellow ochre</i> and <i>cinnamon </i>I had designated in my rough palette originally, I carelessly stroked the pencil lines vertically, which would not correctly interpret flat earth. Like flat, calm water, which must always be stroked horizontally, I realized I would have to stroke all that area between the trees horizontally. I was glad I had not just started out on the actual artwork. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmCYDGQx6pwLkCs3jr5zGf93MgfzKrix7YnwXWdKPNs52gnai2yh2gvMIALL5BkSOhNSnWPA7APYw4t4hRADUubmzFGD57K3dMZEpVTuHLV30ApG70mQoSXrAmlfVg7RZpYMhi3zQXrYq/s1600/LBPainting26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmCYDGQx6pwLkCs3jr5zGf93MgfzKrix7YnwXWdKPNs52gnai2yh2gvMIALL5BkSOhNSnWPA7APYw4t4hRADUubmzFGD57K3dMZEpVTuHLV30ApG70mQoSXrAmlfVg7RZpYMhi3zQXrYq/s200/LBPainting26.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Using #24 (at the beginning of this post) as a guide, I made the trees <i>cadmium yellow lemon</i> on the side catching the light, and<i> cedar green</i> on the shadow side. Each tree would need a shadow on the ground, also, and I experimented with <i>caput mortuum</i> and <i>black</i> in #26, but the <i>caput mortuum</i> made the earth appear too reddish, so I decided to go with <i>black</i> on my final illustration. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZxAX-BzJb6ijMFD9I-8Y5Jdg4MWXawqWyxU5KF7SAtq8WV05ADr2Ln9BoTgAEfWWsdqn95JCG5jVUlkfxZGrnCsM_9TkOggm65utpIbWQTvCegN1PPLbs7wI9-IRYhD0wKOgIyxqZanh/s1600/LBPainting27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZxAX-BzJb6ijMFD9I-8Y5Jdg4MWXawqWyxU5KF7SAtq8WV05ADr2Ln9BoTgAEfWWsdqn95JCG5jVUlkfxZGrnCsM_9TkOggm65utpIbWQTvCegN1PPLbs7wI9-IRYhD0wKOgIyxqZanh/s200/LBPainting27.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finally, in #27, you see the trees pretty much as they appear on the final illustration. Now I nee</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ded to fill in the earth and make the shadows. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgri2N03T9bNHgbRsErBH4ZpSidOs5kCWXLtGSMHu4CphpJI2IMURLGdCxiNYmNftylxkUoW5yQu0zspZIhRpjJPj4a3MqximoZw3uj8Uz9Z-588LgdszePZa3oBHQZacAlXmoiYfZ1FsPT/s1600/LBPainting30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgri2N03T9bNHgbRsErBH4ZpSidOs5kCWXLtGSMHu4CphpJI2IMURLGdCxiNYmNftylxkUoW5yQu0zspZIhRpjJPj4a3MqximoZw3uj8Uz9Z-588LgdszePZa3oBHQZacAlXmoiYfZ1FsPT/s200/LBPainting30.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On my practice sheet I tried out some black shadows, but they looked way too harsh, so instead, beside each tree I put a little lozenge of <i>warm gray deep</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. Better! Now the trees looked ready to join via my computer graphics program into one picture. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Scanning the two illustrations into my program, I enlarged the lava butte canvas at the bottom, and pasted the trees from the other file onto a new layer, cutting and erasing away most of the white along the treeline. Now I could see that the trees were a bit gaudy-looking, being too yellow, so I calmed the tree layer down until it more closely matched the feeling of the lava layer. </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUyl_7kD0eQ1DdUb4o59Baj8Sr__60NgFt0QP_p5fAvFb3iS_tyNo2xgOjz7qHgivAO5t0BrZuBVnrne8xRax0RWs5qFk0z-Rfh8roAX-r-YK1-Ah6xnAxaXnHBJWG2jbwpDluIl3HmTNM/s1600/TreesRoughlyApplied32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUyl_7kD0eQ1DdUb4o59Baj8Sr__60NgFt0QP_p5fAvFb3iS_tyNo2xgOjz7qHgivAO5t0BrZuBVnrne8xRax0RWs5qFk0z-Rfh8roAX-r-YK1-Ah6xnAxaXnHBJWG2jbwpDluIl3HmTNM/s200/TreesRoughlyApplied32.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The tree layer needed to be smoothly integrated with the lava edge because I could see white outlines where I had roughly removed the white background behind the trees.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYq8JDa03uQXLnaT45ZgU_w43DW3sFQECD8YElY20oh-bY4CzDP70zuCcaTrwo_n6HVhvjDUC_O-mCvxvM4YAw1t7s-RCjHa-cnELSC7bsAIx19q0QxSWm6V6bn4mQRgokVX6SSmUTKyZs/s1600/LBPainting33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYq8JDa03uQXLnaT45ZgU_w43DW3sFQECD8YElY20oh-bY4CzDP70zuCcaTrwo_n6HVhvjDUC_O-mCvxvM4YAw1t7s-RCjHa-cnELSC7bsAIx19q0QxSWm6V6bn4mQRgokVX6SSmUTKyZs/s200/LBPainting33.jpg" width="156" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The best way to do that was to put a temporary black layer behind the trees to make them stand out, then go in with a small eraser tool and erase out around the trees. In the image with the black background, I have finished the trees on the left half. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once the trees were cleaned up, I got rid of the black layer and smoothed the lava on the lava layer with the clone tool to make sure it flowed nicely behind the trees. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To give the lava layer some thickness, I darkened the edge where it meets the trees, using the burn tool. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Look closely at the sky in the image above. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I predicted in the previous post</span></span>, that color of turquoise blue turned granular during the scan, so I knew I'd have to repaint
the sky in the graphics program. </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuGJhA_y_JKIC-qc0LBkbXC6hmfps2IdrljBXEPgLfpEXpmMYKSxJyUmQXiCV2O8iw91fhCTLfDI48DP-P9LmHxU_3Cowa0g0G41vvdUtFGoIS1Hf-DrVyeYaKC1UQWJLIzpNV_6YdWNM/s1600/FinishedMaybe34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuGJhA_y_JKIC-qc0LBkbXC6hmfps2IdrljBXEPgLfpEXpmMYKSxJyUmQXiCV2O8iw91fhCTLfDI48DP-P9LmHxU_3Cowa0g0G41vvdUtFGoIS1Hf-DrVyeYaKC1UQWJLIzpNV_6YdWNM/s320/FinishedMaybe34.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To do this, I dabbed the color picker in a "good" spot on the sky to select that color, made a very large brush, and painted in the sky a solid turquoise blue. With a small brush, I went in closer and made sure the sky joined to the horizon smoothly. And finally, with a large eraser tool set very low, I smoothed out the edges of the sky to blend them out to nothing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then off it went via email for its debut with the client. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They liked it, with a couple of requests. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. they wanted the sky to be light on the horizon deepening to the deep blue you see in the high desert, making it higher and giving the entire image a more more square ratio. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. they wanted the lava butte to be the same color as the lava, and they felt it should be darker.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All of the photos I had referenced showed the butte ALL different colors, depending on how the sun hit it, but I knew it should be roughly the color of the lava. Still, wanting to get the picture a little more colorful I had put a little <i>caput mortuum</i> into the mix. My bad. </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPZYCTuevYycLco-jbbVgGEHd7RpWl0wcvlbaeEeh_0uN8RVRzJsIaPELVPCz6eXSTEtBTb9PICjA6VqwWgzPk8O1KG6xx7W6yxAYqF21OvavdDm0rFk6NcLrdAtnwMnFi7g0STFcipQr/s1600/LavaButteRevision35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPZYCTuevYycLco-jbbVgGEHd7RpWl0wcvlbaeEeh_0uN8RVRzJsIaPELVPCz6eXSTEtBTb9PICjA6VqwWgzPk8O1KG6xx7W6yxAYqF21OvavdDm0rFk6NcLrdAtnwMnFi7g0STFcipQr/s320/LavaButteRevision35.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The cinder cone first: With the sponge tool set very low so I could work gradually, I desaturated (removed the color) from the black of the cone, being careful not to desaturate the trees, too. Then, with the burn tool set on "highlights" at a very low setting, I gradually darkened the shadow side of the cone, working around the cone carefully to make a smooth transition. The two fixes only required about half an hour of work, and I was perfectly happy to make them. Then I sent it off to them (a small JPG through email—the larger TIF file will later be uploaded to the server).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They liked the changes (I did, too, especially the sky), and requested one more: Could the sky be given "corners" to better fit the space on the sign? Sure! Not problem: working on a copy of the original (just in case I muffed it), and using the clone tool with a very large brush, I cloned the center of the sky, and pulling down a horizontal guideline I simply ran the clone tool to each side along the level line until the entire sky was the height of the center, squaring it off nicely. I used a large eraser set on very low again to blend off the edges, and sent it back again for approval.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiChkTPZbf5H-1yY2Nsp7YgzqD6-Io_7WDQGJCdlwbGsn6CDEc7a66Iu6C4we-p522qH6ddUtYv85IlgKpNweUl5FPC8ayt9_9akJtvAMbTkgIG8BUgOQSHmvZuY1YpJSIzoCN9rx6SJp2/s1600/LavaButteRevision2-36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiChkTPZbf5H-1yY2Nsp7YgzqD6-Io_7WDQGJCdlwbGsn6CDEc7a66Iu6C4we-p522qH6ddUtYv85IlgKpNweUl5FPC8ayt9_9akJtvAMbTkgIG8BUgOQSHmvZuY1YpJSIzoCN9rx6SJp2/s320/LavaButteRevision2-36.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> And here it is, the finished watercolor pencil painting, ready to go on the trailhead sign.. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope you enjoyed this little jaunt through a watercolor pencil step-by-step tutorial.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And yes, that sky IS a realistic color, and in fact I've seen it an even darker blue. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the Oregon High Desert country there isn't a lot of pollution to get between you and the sky. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiXl380MHvvZEx8eOIjW2DYqvheLntJHHcEd3lN435mB89ShVpnu1E88yN1bcl4HvvlN4JCUtDYEEmQtI-F_KGCfWi6n7CR2vqYhBeFafDulY_46RB6NmJvACqU9cw9IOiu6AV0L97Er65/s1600/FinishedMaybe34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-24997705195921021982013-12-05T12:43:00.000-08:002013-12-05T12:57:20.601-08:00Step-by-step Watercolor Pencil Painting of Lava Butte <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkd9Bqhp-_rgahlx2q0t2BLyncdVsNyTUwT0wQGG1DOL903S4nou6opAXWUb8LOXqEcPp8x3_pLSBztSGxgmVai00iBUPfVbapWaHQCuezWK07K8UThyY00Lv83ydiQuG6C3CQxffv3X-0/s1600/3Cooper%2527sGapes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkd9Bqhp-_rgahlx2q0t2BLyncdVsNyTUwT0wQGG1DOL903S4nou6opAXWUb8LOXqEcPp8x3_pLSBztSGxgmVai00iBUPfVbapWaHQCuezWK07K8UThyY00Lv83ydiQuG6C3CQxffv3X-0/s320/3Cooper%2527sGapes.jpg" width="122" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Dang! Sidetracked again. </span></span>I HAVE been working on the re-edit of Illustrating Nature, and in fact I have worked my way mostly through it (still have to rewrite the computer chapter) but I had to stop and work on illustrations for interpretive trailhead signs I had previously contracted for. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's not to say I'm not enjoying working on the trailhead sign art—just that it's not what I said I'd be doing right now.. The reworking of <a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/IllustratingNature.html" target="_blank">Illustrating Nature</a> is going great, and I'm thinking it might go to press in February or so. At right is one of the many illustrations I've added—this one to show how a bird's bill opens. The hinge is actually behind the eye, not at the edge of the opening as you might think....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In the meantime, I thought I'd give you a peek at the watercolor pencil painting process I've been working through on the trailhead signs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was keeping track of the steps because I wasn't sure I was on the right track with it, and if I did something good I wanted to be able to repeat it. So every time I added a new color I took a snapshot of it with my little digital camera (I know, I know, everybody else uses their cellphone, but being a <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/troglodyte" target="_blank">troglodyte</a>, I don't have one). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anyway, as I was working along it dawned on me that I have been letting y'all down by not posting in so long. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq64w8wskcxwOCiOPWsB922OcIBOrQQweQGyGYb7Ggf_ZahGkyp8uuZ5VUt6VtWk5-kYXkNx_-YaUqeg7Z6e8jwtkvTiKga3P_txXfE6ZQSXaTx_qlZ8H54ql6xIMwClvAJXBp5KkKttXp/s1600/LBPainting1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq64w8wskcxwOCiOPWsB922OcIBOrQQweQGyGYb7Ggf_ZahGkyp8uuZ5VUt6VtWk5-kYXkNx_-YaUqeg7Z6e8jwtkvTiKga3P_txXfE6ZQSXaTx_qlZ8H54ql6xIMwClvAJXBp5KkKttXp/s200/LBPainting1.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So herewith, I post my work
process on Lava Butte, a small volcanic cone just south of Bend,
Oregon. It's quite a fascinating place, with the cone jutting up out of the earth, and its lava flow that covers the
ground like cake dough, the rough black cindery edges dropping off
suddenly to powdery yellowish soil (originally just ash, if I remember
correctly) sparsely covered with pine trees. </span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzA9OiVp1YuNs3kwqxFVWUib2EfHeoqe8H5MYm9bl4PiDiUtp8Mz7tpnGVIw3ZWE_pMM7nx-g3LGCncqlIYSULquHLAaRlkuw9-w1f027scMOjdR0genmIL68CNTCv4bSdE6Y7a6kwIUxX/s1600/LBPainting2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzA9OiVp1YuNs3kwqxFVWUib2EfHeoqe8H5MYm9bl4PiDiUtp8Mz7tpnGVIw3ZWE_pMM7nx-g3LGCncqlIYSULquHLAaRlkuw9-w1f027scMOjdR0genmIL68CNTCv4bSdE6Y7a6kwIUxX/s200/LBPainting2.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For each step, I wrote down </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">on a little slip of paper </span> the name of the watercolor pencil I was using, and placed it next to the area I just worked on. So in photo #1, the slip of paper reads "<i>caput mortuum</i>," which is the name of that pencil. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To digress slightly...the "ink drawing" is a highly contrasted pencil drawing I scanned into Photoshop then printed out on heavy paper that would take the pencil well, then let me add water to blend it without buckling or disintegrating. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt8lkemO9CuCCIWLYIibeMNzhuuQb76-hPar10S9haWAAmVPdeJUsGouPbrLPoVzUw8tIDeKCIuxO9WClAoZQhKW4JXnXY9MzTBFWg3eCtE9qzzSOX6lTcjs7zu41132x6EQTApPp2GDGb/s1600/LBPainting3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt8lkemO9CuCCIWLYIibeMNzhuuQb76-hPar10S9haWAAmVPdeJUsGouPbrLPoVzUw8tIDeKCIuxO9WClAoZQhKW4JXnXY9MzTBFWg3eCtE9qzzSOX6lTcjs7zu41132x6EQTApPp2GDGb/s200/LBPainting3.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So in #2, I have penciled over the <i>caput mortuum</i> with <i>gunmetal gray</i>. I have used the watercolor pencils fairly lightly because while you can always add more, you can't remove color very well.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqWxQ8wuAg-B5yXPdatbDWvNmTEdQG5ENI9NdDSKVN5e1vu74D2JLvlIGsgZ7lxbxIQk8CK2Ay2TuOVKJ6m6ld2NyvYxcfR4IxAcrTKRFAmBK2Bqu0mc-lP1omOHwkcqGudYI1BBIhzCn/s1600/LBPainting4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqWxQ8wuAg-B5yXPdatbDWvNmTEdQG5ENI9NdDSKVN5e1vu74D2JLvlIGsgZ7lxbxIQk8CK2Ay2TuOVKJ6m6ld2NyvYxcfR4IxAcrTKRFAmBK2Bqu0mc-lP1omOHwkcqGudYI1BBIhzCn/s200/LBPainting4.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Warning ~ if you have ever tried to photograph artwork (except in well-controlled lighting circumstances, you'll know that I had to do quite a bit of work to lighten these and get reasonably faithful colors. I was working under diffuse sunlight coming through the window and fluorescent lights, and while the images looked great on my camera view screen they were a LOT darker when I uploaded them into the computer. You can see in that dark image after #4, what it looked like before I tweaked it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In #3, you'll see the little slip of paper that said "painted." </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC050EyNp0-BBXHHDSjzZTWYMstEd2UhD4bxiVHW8aWFvsOCNjeTBKx8b7hL7LpuDyMlaMT7zoPNzVWtlLHCEDFW_egM1tgVzmT23F87L1nFeiA-hV18h6x_HQb-seDa-wCFIY4fAZjkYQ/s1600/untweaked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC050EyNp0-BBXHHDSjzZTWYMstEd2UhD4bxiVHW8aWFvsOCNjeTBKx8b7hL7LpuDyMlaMT7zoPNzVWtlLHCEDFW_egM1tgVzmT23F87L1nFeiA-hV18h6x_HQb-seDa-wCFIY4fAZjkYQ/s200/untweaked.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By</span> </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">that I mean that I blended the colors with my waterbrush to get the color you see there. In case you aren't familiar with the waterbrush, I blogged about it a little <a href="http://naturejournaling.blogspot.com/2009/05/watercolor-pencilcomputer-interpretive.html." target="_blank">here </a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpP6UtWKDPfxlmBf9lpmSatfEvAR4IXNE70a7TD0aOTygz6O-HmmZbjzG1DR-p-MCOLNREb2iQnMEaX3befNAjtizMd83vghuShW6hsEsvfQ_Mik9CDfF5KpuzX7kDg2fuzXQN5yRxTmx/s1600/LBPainting5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpP6UtWKDPfxlmBf9lpmSatfEvAR4IXNE70a7TD0aOTygz6O-HmmZbjzG1DR-p-MCOLNREb2iQnMEaX3befNAjtizMd83vghuShW6hsEsvfQ_Mik9CDfF5KpuzX7kDg2fuzXQN5yRxTmx/s200/LBPainting5.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#4.
I've begun to work on the orangey cinders found within the mouth of the
cone. I'm using<i> terra cotta</i> and a bit of <i>caput mortuum</i> in the shadow
areas, and in #5 I waterbrushed again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#6. When working with watercolor
pencil paintings, you must wait to let things dry before adding more
color to an area, or you will get uneven and blotchy color. So while
the inside of the cinder cone was drying, I added more pencil to the
outside of the cone. While THAT was drying, I penciled in some <i>turquoise blue</i> sky.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9I24HMmxfO1gtzvBcLv89d4rvIDeJ_xwRzDVNUKGwCUjGODzt6K39mPpa6etYveKd2iYKjwW8QoJhCByPNF0C42A7JqTqdlDGALpz2SIzmIL2qALFxRtM7FtN0q2kRGupQJBfeCt_Zht/s1600/LBPainting6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9I24HMmxfO1gtzvBcLv89d4rvIDeJ_xwRzDVNUKGwCUjGODzt6K39mPpa6etYveKd2iYKjwW8QoJhCByPNF0C42A7JqTqdlDGALpz2SIzmIL2qALFxRtM7FtN0q2kRGupQJBfeCt_Zht/s200/LBPainting6.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#7. <i>Turquoise blue</i> can be a real
problem. When you scan that particular color into a graphics program,
it often becomes granular or parts of it drop out entirely. This might
just be my scanner or graphics program, but it's been a problem I've had to work
around. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I left out </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#8, because my tweaking couldn't get it even close to the others. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjubn07SC3BRdT8uJPYwDPkSakfiF9lc-8yjqiwThAiB3GpAH7wQ6SGtt4zz5ZvY0H6F_9l4HYhGLYzfR5ueLPAL3tTX1OJq0VV6EATjovR4jIhadP8CYnSQz-J_wa91flM9ZjW8xIHW2b/s1600/LBPainting7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjubn07SC3BRdT8uJPYwDPkSakfiF9lc-8yjqiwThAiB3GpAH7wQ6SGtt4zz5ZvY0H6F_9l4HYhGLYzfR5ueLPAL3tTX1OJq0VV6EATjovR4jIhadP8CYnSQz-J_wa91flM9ZjW8xIHW2b/s200/LBPainting7.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In #9, I started on the far-away mountain and the trees. When green trees, such as the ones in the forest and flanking the mountain, are this far away, the atmosphere comes between the viewer and the green of the trees, getting bluer the farther away they are. By the time the trees get to the mountain here, I can duplicate the color with </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfs04557U7zsJWlX3YN4bscLa2M4Zi4tKwQT9rsnr0SkrJ3gCxOwsBjXNrSNQafKEoY-oFlSFIO1Ni0HL4Ag1hSHFd3mxV5BnbK2ctCKXzerSnMjJQar7PMsnDHQnDctRORHOqVFsG7XxH/s1600/LBPainting9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfs04557U7zsJWlX3YN4bscLa2M4Zi4tKwQT9rsnr0SkrJ3gCxOwsBjXNrSNQafKEoY-oFlSFIO1Ni0HL4Ag1hSHFd3mxV5BnbK2ctCKXzerSnMjJQar7PMsnDHQnDctRORHOqVFsG7XxH/s200/LBPainting9.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the <i>cobalt blue-greenish</i> watercolor pencil. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#11 (there isn't a #10) I added<i> juniper green </i>to the nearer trees, with a bit of the <i>cobalt blue-greenish </i>in diminishing amounts the closer it gets. I then painted the further-off trees, and when they were dry I went back over the blue with the juniper green and a little <i>turquoise blue</i> just to get the colors nicely blended and matched a little better with the sky. The juniper green in #12 has just been penciled in here, and it's ready to be painted. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BKDcxO9aJc2pC9gmSYJn5W4hjivFLSQP0C8pgfXOCitkwsOqF5Gw12oCBWXbldZLYa_hZl_zqdTG2bfV-6n1hJ1VDEXqnUM3iHvo-B9h0Xm8uW894Q8xi_Zk9kUsTDF9n8-Ilf3JK9_X/s1600/LBPainting11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BKDcxO9aJc2pC9gmSYJn5W4hjivFLSQP0C8pgfXOCitkwsOqF5Gw12oCBWXbldZLYa_hZl_zqdTG2bfV-6n1hJ1VDEXqnUM3iHvo-B9h0Xm8uW894Q8xi_Zk9kUsTDF9n8-Ilf3JK9_X/s200/LBPainting11.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Up to this point, the picture has not been very encouraging to look at. I keep wondering if this is going to work. But now, with the forest coming along, it's starting to appear the way it should.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8PUf-wXoPZdiKbQeKMGufICwVBWY2ROeKsS_cIH9GXQGEqTM-_I8WWtV6Mt8fuk4gBOmN9oGxE17uT9nZATL58te_xHPAvPUnpQjw8pC0GhqN-flAoc1yNIWO0OthKup_mm4kgGa43TQ/s1600/LBPainting12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8PUf-wXoPZdiKbQeKMGufICwVBWY2ROeKsS_cIH9GXQGEqTM-_I8WWtV6Mt8fuk4gBOmN9oGxE17uT9nZATL58te_xHPAvPUnpQjw8pC0GhqN-flAoc1yNIWO0OthKup_mm4kgGa43TQ/s200/LBPainting12.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You'd think by now I'd have a little more confidence, but I'm afraid it never seems to get any better. Sheesh!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you click on the close-up here you can really get into the details of the pencil and brushwork.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With #13, I have waterbrushed the far forest and the closer parts, adding deeper color when it dried, then wetting it again. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeUC-AC7t8paSohq1eZxOsiDeV-QwdBGfNRUdbxJ_dNxQkyMUNpRlq4rptRqAJUwsqqA_Cv28tRNWfxj9jBYH4MsN7Zgq-L9HLJeEJOLueCHkvBdWnsBMWshKMyYpDEsjd3Uo1GnykmXA/s1600/LBPainting13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeUC-AC7t8paSohq1eZxOsiDeV-QwdBGfNRUdbxJ_dNxQkyMUNpRlq4rptRqAJUwsqqA_Cv28tRNWfxj9jBYH4MsN7Zgq-L9HLJeEJOLueCHkvBdWnsBMWshKMyYpDEsjd3Uo1GnykmXA/s200/LBPainting13.jpg" width="200" /></a>Painting with watercolor pencils is an additive sort of thing, and while one part is drying another part can be added to and darkened. The paper I use dries quickly, so if I work on a different area for a just a few minutes, when I come back the original area is dry.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9PlECpm9VpEDw3fLL_W52poQxW9y4rco2UQs4b5I7AkhIjwx3fF1yI5TTWYg1lfmNp6EZZBWMnmeG-FcfsEEH66LG3v68NInwhklZLQb3RixTcrQI8uA_iGigzqcWpKv2Jr9IUh69WpHB/s1600/LBPainting14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9PlECpm9VpEDw3fLL_W52poQxW9y4rco2UQs4b5I7AkhIjwx3fF1yI5TTWYg1lfmNp6EZZBWMnmeG-FcfsEEH66LG3v68NInwhklZLQb3RixTcrQI8uA_iGigzqcWpKv2Jr9IUh69WpHB/s200/LBPainting14.jpg" width="200" /></a>In #13, I've penciled on some color, but now I have to start using a different technique since there are some tiny trees on the flanks of the cinder slope that I want to make green. With the brush tip I pull color off the end of the <i>juniper green </i>pencil and apply it to the little green trees. This gives me much more precise aim than trying to get into the spot once with the pencil point to lay down color then again with the brush to wet it in. Additionally, I can get a nice intense color on the brush by dabbing repeatedly at the pencil, so it only takes one application of color. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In #14, the last one I've got ready for today (the painting is finished now and sent off to the client, but I only had time to tweak the first half of the photos), I've painted in the<i> juniper green</i> trees on the sides of Lava Butte, and deepened the cinder color within the cone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My next step will be to tackle the lava flow that comes up to the foot of the cone, and the foreground of trees and ashy soil they're growing in. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4-isPRPQt_m_Id1UmcKmDGc_iiJDcC6fbynGGwVKPd1JlboKdGEVWNIUkQhAywvz6IyqMYi4MUljhsUsO-ueIZODgWY6tlEnJNimY46SD_nIOGFbUb3zqSh3i2If6vDAkgGXM0lHPYnW/s1600/LavaButtePalette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv4-isPRPQt_m_Id1UmcKmDGc_iiJDcC6fbynGGwVKPd1JlboKdGEVWNIUkQhAywvz6IyqMYi4MUljhsUsO-ueIZODgWY6tlEnJNimY46SD_nIOGFbUb3zqSh3i2If6vDAkgGXM0lHPYnW/s200/LavaButtePalette.jpg" width="200" /></a>The last image here is the rough I sent to the client along with the color palette I expected to use on various parts of the picture. I have worked with this client before and she trusts me to do things right, so this minimalist rough worked for us. Usually, at least part of the work would need to be colored in for the client. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Although the client had approved the rough, I was very aware that the forest in the foreground was NOT well represented—I couldn't see how I could make it translate to how this area actually looks, and I had already put the painting off longer than I should because I was trying to work out the solution in my mind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The dead black of the lava troubled me, as well, because it's not considered the sign of a good artist to use a lot of black in a painting, but, well, <i>lava is dead black</i>.... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So I took a day off to ponder further at this point, then got back to work. More in the next post.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope you'll come back to see the rest of the story! </span>Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-12238238927721130112013-10-24T09:54:00.000-07:002013-10-24T10:05:18.443-07:00New Project!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hey, authors get <i>do-overs!</i></span></span> I never thought about it that way, but when a book needs a new look, new information, new status, we get to redo it! Of course, </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">there's a LOT of work involved, but the end result is that we get to erase the wrinkles, firm up the sagging body parts, and try a new hairdo on the book. Quite a perk. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5XwrgxUa6C6uR6ci4ZzlqxOPD0A1UNLeaUY9nsxC-OUtYYeCNbfPuJBpJfLScWjBy5xtbWNktXNfL0wbw_bNrOpth-Pwv0RU_QoQYkKnO8Md3WeFt4zbDdKbva1o1ZimzUYq7QRiyqvg/s1600/NewINATCoverFlat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5XwrgxUa6C6uR6ci4ZzlqxOPD0A1UNLeaUY9nsxC-OUtYYeCNbfPuJBpJfLScWjBy5xtbWNktXNfL0wbw_bNrOpth-Pwv0RU_QoQYkKnO8Md3WeFt4zbDdKbva1o1ZimzUYq7QRiyqvg/s200/NewINATCoverFlat.jpg" width="158" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Here's my perennial favorite book, <a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/IllustratingNature.html" target="_blank"><b>Illustrating Nature, Right-brain Art in a Left-brain World</b></a>, which is a do-it-yourself guide for the aspiring illustrator, starting from zero if that's where you are, and taking you as high as you want to go ~ ahem... well, it depends on whether or not you stick with it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When I taught my Biological Illustration course from it a few years ago, using the handouts that became the basis for the book, the class enabled I-can't-draw-a-straight-line-but-I-need-the-credit students to get their Project B artwork published in nature periodicals after just one term of study. But once a you publish a book and it goes out into the world, you (the author/illustrator) seldom get any feedback from folks who buy it. Sighhhhh......</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But I got lucky! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">One of my students from long ago, Pete Schroeder, went on to teach Biological Illustration at Southern Oregon University, the very course I had once taught. Although he was my student back then, he started out at a pretty high level of artistic expertise, and I just helped him polish his skills. His artwork is stunning, and he's also an excellent teacher. When I moved on to teaching sketching and journaling workshops out in the wide world, he took over the course using <b>Illustrating Nature</b>, and has been turning out some really good artists for several years now.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mIAp24suBd9THvzXasKA6soLjDoYDpJVqDFQFIiSxNmH7ZKmlr44KCsUFdoPW9PGvBvAcAWdOsIfq7kfkyqkWrmawtJ_FfckMrJ3PNedBfj65eCUeJLctrrrMEZt54m2EqveZbBmJyxt/s1600/wooduckchicksFix1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mIAp24suBd9THvzXasKA6soLjDoYDpJVqDFQFIiSxNmH7ZKmlr44KCsUFdoPW9PGvBvAcAWdOsIfq7kfkyqkWrmawtJ_FfckMrJ3PNedBfj65eCUeJLctrrrMEZt54m2EqveZbBmJyxt/s400/wooduckchicksFix1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the left is an ink drawing, which was then computer-tweaked to resemble a pencil drawing (right).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Problem is, the book has sections that have become a little dated as the technology whizzes along at breakneck speed, and although most of it is fine, some parts, like the ones discussing computer tweaking illustrations and career opportunities, need some work. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Pete generously offered to meet with me and give me feedback on what could use some changes, and after an intense session involving every aspect (including the possibility of making it into an eTextbook) I came away with a some good ideas on how to improve on it. I'm already well into Chapter 3. I'll get together with him again later to see if I'm on the right track. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So, the Redwood and Beach sketch journal I began in early September has settled into its spot by the couch, waiting for me to find spare moments to add color to the drawings, but it's going to be awhile before I get moving on it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The thought of putting <b>Illustrating Nature</b> into e-book form is a little daunting, I have to admit. When I upload my <a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/IrenesTravelJournals.html" target="_blank">sketch journals</a> for people to download and enjoy, I just create them as I would create a book, make them into PDFs and upload them. But eBooks are done in code and have links, and you can't format them because everyone has a different kind of reader ~ from full size computer to cellphone ~ and if you've seen <b>Illustrating Nature</b>, you know that I format the heck out of it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In an eBook, every illustration marches down the middle of the page, one by one. Like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As far as I know, you can't even put two illustrations side by side. So that means that if I want two illustrations side by side, I'll have to join the illustrations into one graphic in Photoshop before inserting them into the text. I did that just now with the little wood ducks above, because they were originally two separate images. It's not a HUGE amount of work, but the book has hundreds of images, so it would be a lengthy process. I can see I'd have my work cut out for me. I still haven't definitely decided to do the eTextbook, but there's a good possibility. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4WiNzpD7yGBXRULCz23IHQ5hJb93xGGSWxL2ORJOf1YOVaBCYseekWs0fVu4rtDBN9ksqR9bvDl1X_Oixb0JR2O_NZvTXfYcVM1FaR3UO-sTcLiKDCfssUKBRz6RooOoibrI-YI0goCL/s1600/RoostingHenTurkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4WiNzpD7yGBXRULCz23IHQ5hJb93xGGSWxL2ORJOf1YOVaBCYseekWs0fVu4rtDBN9ksqR9bvDl1X_Oixb0JR2O_NZvTXfYcVM1FaR3UO-sTcLiKDCfssUKBRz6RooOoibrI-YI0goCL/s400/RoostingHenTurkey.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So. There's where my life is at the present. <i> (Ha! A big turkey hen just landed on my roof with a major THUMP. It's getting dark, and she's probably about to fly up into a tree to roost for the night. Now THAT's an amazing sight I've only seen a few times. They look so amazing, huge lumps up in the trees.) </i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Here's an illustration from one of my sketch journals a couple of years ago of a hen turkey doing just that. She's all fluffed up around her perch to keep warm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Glad you came by. If you've been using <b>Illustrating Nature</b>, I hope you'll comment with anything you'd like me to add or change. Here's your chance! </span>Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-21593296728265950522013-10-01T19:49:00.000-07:002013-10-03T10:39:02.584-07:00Finally! A Road Trip!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJ0xokiHAYlxBwdsyAGSv5cj4MlUVP8l1vBJljs0TxHl9LRCWQJuA-Rq3WL1IyeSfVxS_IbBz81KpiKUHJxVBNy6liaJB4spXJ0Q4fpAkhTpFALxP4NW0_n183SFY4zRSyf3uSBwNFkiW/s1600/MouseInRedwoods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJ0xokiHAYlxBwdsyAGSv5cj4MlUVP8l1vBJljs0TxHl9LRCWQJuA-Rq3WL1IyeSfVxS_IbBz81KpiKUHJxVBNy6liaJB4spXJ0Q4fpAkhTpFALxP4NW0_n183SFY4zRSyf3uSBwNFkiW/s200/MouseInRedwoods.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mouse in the Redwoods</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SO! After months of rebuilding,</span></span> refurbishing, revamping, revisioning, and redoing, Mouse (my 1985 22' Toyota Mini-Motorhome) and I FINALLY got things completed enough to take a 5-day trip to Redwood National Park and California Beaches! It felt so fine to finally, after all that thinking, planning and </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">re-(insert gerund of choice here), to actually hit the road on our first real sketching trip. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUV-7IV9TIGEZy6nWqphdyi-TG07VGRvFZr_jpfAR7SaUz78Z4SghgbBsebSBDHnO_CoDzCfF9neY31jFG-5d_ySNJVc1VxCaTZmddZF1nWTSVL0GtNZCCz3bc6Rog1_Cauutp5Cr3Bg3W/s1600/SculptedRiverRocks8-6-13.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUV-7IV9TIGEZy6nWqphdyi-TG07VGRvFZr_jpfAR7SaUz78Z4SghgbBsebSBDHnO_CoDzCfF9neY31jFG-5d_ySNJVc1VxCaTZmddZF1nWTSVL0GtNZCCz3bc6Rog1_Cauutp5Cr3Bg3W/s200/SculptedRiverRocks8-6-13.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE sketch from my first trip</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's the second one, actually, as the first one up near Crater Lake (about 70 miles away) lasted one day then got rained out.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUV-7IV9TIGEZy6nWqphdyi-TG07VGRvFZr_jpfAR7SaUz78Z4SghgbBsebSBDHnO_CoDzCfF9neY31jFG-5d_ySNJVc1VxCaTZmddZF1nWTSVL0GtNZCCz3bc6Rog1_Cauutp5Cr3Bg3W/s1600/SculptedRiverRocks8-6-13.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span>We took off on the 4th of September winding along the curvy road to the coast off I-5 at Grants Pass, OR. That's a lovely road, although some people think it's horrendous with its curves which have you slowing to 20mph on occasion, and road cuts with <i>Beware Falling Rocks</i> signs. The views are terrific, though, as you wind through river canyons, a great long tunnel, and finally into the towering redwoods just before you start inhaling salty air of nearby beaches. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGgkMLmmnSlzK53pvt5-wd0xLBfip61ImpNumWYW0cdMJFeamORSmgyWXbbZDYhlnly1__GhU-k19YFSGO3QVowUGoTpf7vdhbUGfE8GEc9cvNpP3PoFyMNA9CpfoVD8RFpnLbXO3UUdh/s1600/BlackTailsInRedwoods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYGgkMLmmnSlzK53pvt5-wd0xLBfip61ImpNumWYW0cdMJFeamORSmgyWXbbZDYhlnly1__GhU-k19YFSGO3QVowUGoTpf7vdhbUGfE8GEc9cvNpP3PoFyMNA9CpfoVD8RFpnLbXO3UUdh/s200/BlackTailsInRedwoods.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blacktail deer beneath the Redwoods</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Mouse is easy to drive, easier even than my little car which gets 27mpg, so we had a fine trip although it helps to have patience on the uphills. We moseyed along at 35mph in places, since there's a lot of weight in a motorhome and it's a hard pull. I'm still looking for a bumper sticker I once saw that read "Zero to sixty in thirty minutes." If you know where I can get one, let me know......it defuses the situation for those stuck behind me, although I am a paragon of virtue about using pullouts so people can get past.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnlvKBnna_m8vWQcCHrJvAVAzVjjbC3F0ECQlW13mKjwELSv_BFRsIisVdK_hk3drVMfnDNhw_ltZskuVmIo5vLYGMFzQyyHGpKsRmGzP6_9iffwSpT5yk1glUJ5t-8HiVKh_V9ncOLaKs/s1600/BananaSlug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnlvKBnna_m8vWQcCHrJvAVAzVjjbC3F0ECQlW13mKjwELSv_BFRsIisVdK_hk3drVMfnDNhw_ltZskuVmIo5vLYGMFzQyyHGpKsRmGzP6_9iffwSpT5yk1glUJ5t-8HiVKh_V9ncOLaKs/s200/BananaSlug.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A banana slug, six inches long.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm not going to go into lots of details about this sketching trip, although I will tap lightly on the high points. I stopped for a long walk in the redwoods, lots of photos and some sketches, including one of a remarkable 6" long banana slug which I discovered in one of the memorial redwood groves. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDabXi2hxoA3St3LJt7WzrbdhlsIMORixquunMfCKOJlx0cDrSCLyVbis9LWzUBmOfn6Gsqqrc78XT33xb04qxVMz4Lh7PvJ1EberaiXs-yZjFSVk1I5hEjPmt2RoGK6HY1FfLF6qL5mCX/s1600/DeMartinBeachLog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDabXi2hxoA3St3LJt7WzrbdhlsIMORixquunMfCKOJlx0cDrSCLyVbis9LWzUBmOfn6Gsqqrc78XT33xb04qxVMz4Lh7PvJ1EberaiXs-yZjFSVk1I5hEjPmt2RoGK6HY1FfLF6qL5mCX/s200/DeMartinBeachLog.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lovely scene at DeMartin Beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jCgjr16vXcU-2_RTtFcmQPnTJ0JoKdOywY5phGNkLiCC-rjLVG7c6ggwb9JGhRj6AqoNWyI6JXBSPZghW2KongtZQyY4UUBv0ozKXen1KTotYVc7FF1x4fNicao7TOQ1b9SJ1nkTlwnP/s1600/DeMartinBeach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jCgjr16vXcU-2_RTtFcmQPnTJ0JoKdOywY5phGNkLiCC-rjLVG7c6ggwb9JGhRj6AqoNWyI6JXBSPZghW2KongtZQyY4UUBv0ozKXen1KTotYVc7FF1x4fNicao7TOQ1b9SJ1nkTlwnP/s200/DeMartinBeach.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sketch of the lovely scene</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Then I skedaddled for the beach where I just sat and inhaled for awhile, finally settling down to draw some wonderful rocks and logs at DeMartin Beach before heading for my first campground at Mill Creek State Park. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdb3XcYkN6dK8R-muEEscxoa3nyqK69tR9tkSGgAB5qTJi5yOtGss0tZ2MdWP0_fICVEsjVewDSo4nVSU9BQi5qoFb6q3dpsQhrBpWx28JHoCwZfeNyYg7k837c8EuKfqlaL5PxsJoKGPn/s1600/LoggerSteps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdb3XcYkN6dK8R-muEEscxoa3nyqK69tR9tkSGgAB5qTJi5yOtGss0tZ2MdWP0_fICVEsjVewDSo4nVSU9BQi5qoFb6q3dpsQhrBpWx28JHoCwZfeNyYg7k837c8EuKfqlaL5PxsJoKGPn/s320/LoggerSteps.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out the steps, marked with arrows. This stump is 5' tall.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Mill Creek is a lovely campground down in the creek bottoms in what was once a magnificent redwood forest. It's a redwood forest again, but still growing back after long-ago logging. My campsite was next to a redwood stump about 8' across and 5' high. The loggers had chipped STEPS into it for a place to stand while they sawed. It sorta dwarfed Mouse, and made me a little uneasy. At least the forest here is protected now, and will, someday, be a lovely old-growth forest again.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdRc7d2G1A9C8tKrHFUt5MdcdSpC2o453ddHJU1PGXxorsMoQROzBeF2b00J8Rcbj4Q5zoK-Da9raPloVfJsIojoPyAYWXptm0BisuJ7f0zP0bOFxnsL3t-4V_GZRcOnVZE7dci10ntuk/s1600/TidepoolSponges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGdRc7d2G1A9C8tKrHFUt5MdcdSpC2o453ddHJU1PGXxorsMoQROzBeF2b00J8Rcbj4Q5zoK-Da9raPloVfJsIojoPyAYWXptm0BisuJ7f0zP0bOFxnsL3t-4V_GZRcOnVZE7dci10ntuk/s200/TidepoolSponges.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sponges and kelp in the tidepools</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The next day I camped in Patrick's Point State Park, which is on a bluff above a rocky beach. Rocky beaches are my favorites, as they have tidepools with fascinating things in them for drawing. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAWy6MpZZoZnbonhdAVoAs7oDCh_hQ3zDyJ59kja9FZ5oQGo9a0Cdoh-jtKHMh3zQWa3mD2WlmrI6C0k4OoOTPf-j3Fa4kL1Qluh6vNpAUM0_B0jfR1i_gHwd0SpLHodqfLSxQ72E5oLc/s1600/HarborSealsOnRocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAWy6MpZZoZnbonhdAVoAs7oDCh_hQ3zDyJ59kja9FZ5oQGo9a0Cdoh-jtKHMh3zQWa3mD2WlmrI6C0k4OoOTPf-j3Fa4kL1Qluh6vNpAUM0_B0jfR1i_gHwd0SpLHodqfLSxQ72E5oLc/s200/HarborSealsOnRocks.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are seals ~ seal lions were farther away</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">These rocks also had a congregation of sea lions honking hymns ("AROONK! AROONK! AARK! AROONK!") out on a small rocky island below the bluff, and a colony of basking silver seals which kept demurely silent, squawking only when, while in deep sleep on a low rock, a dowsing wave of the rising tide swamped them. Then they'd let out a startled, disgusted "Araaaacghkkkkk!" (I had trouble spelling that, as you can see!).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fJctmN9KbEnJZJQfbML8K916X_McXEgXbH5xqG-xaA8-g3VO6Mad8tQFUCbDiBYpu95xJoyebQl6C6vJDd7-HnkG5ymTB9I6dXNOw_LCtPDNbmkRG9jjiuhXUDxD2u77pkVWHgrJGSmV/s1600/UpFromPalmerPt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fJctmN9KbEnJZJQfbML8K916X_McXEgXbH5xqG-xaA8-g3VO6Mad8tQFUCbDiBYpu95xJoyebQl6C6vJDd7-HnkG5ymTB9I6dXNOw_LCtPDNbmkRG9jjiuhXUDxD2u77pkVWHgrJGSmV/s200/UpFromPalmerPt.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bottom end of the climb</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQCnF6HkEM5eVbgRxC86ziGfzCvq0SlpcawqDvqxBB2cHcps-TKR-wFyd-OyUEgGX-FLnbVYg6T1vP5KuxVLepPYUBZFFpUJ_SE4DwsrW2LFdr5VKFurhyphenhyphenve_d06IFrwNLuSzHPfVyUjl/s1600/DownToPPTidepools.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYQCnF6HkEM5eVbgRxC86ziGfzCvq0SlpcawqDvqxBB2cHcps-TKR-wFyd-OyUEgGX-FLnbVYg6T1vP5KuxVLepPYUBZFFpUJ_SE4DwsrW2LFdr5VKFurhyphenhyphenve_d06IFrwNLuSzHPfVyUjl/s200/DownToPPTidepools.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">182 steep steps & path down</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Climbing down to the tidepools at Palmer Point was a major effort. It was 182 steep steps down and then up again, with tiers of steps separated by steep scrambles. It was a wearing trek bookending an energetic scramble over the tidepool boulders. But I found great sketching subjects and gorgeous vistas peopled with seals and gulls (and hardly any humans, since it's after Labor Day), so it was well worth it. I scrambled up and down it again the next morning, quite gladly.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgm1fvQiBnHNwVOvdw3dESS5bGPFv8K9psoklFb9HxHNcZBh4jtyBfhVcTImXgcaUy9XwJSAKv_RBNhd5bRfAIbkTz8bXaoQDyw3JNBN0kjuffwagUtt8kC1eo6APUgqj2E9QyWVmEW1J/s1600/RockCrab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgm1fvQiBnHNwVOvdw3dESS5bGPFv8K9psoklFb9HxHNcZBh4jtyBfhVcTImXgcaUy9XwJSAKv_RBNhd5bRfAIbkTz8bXaoQDyw3JNBN0kjuffwagUtt8kC1eo6APUgqj2E9QyWVmEW1J/s200/RockCrab.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A crab in a tidepool</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I spent the next night in an RV park in McKinleyville to access WiFi, recharge my camera batteries, get a shower, etc. Mouse has a shower, but I disconnected it since the RV already has had too much water damage done to its structure and doesn't need any more hot showers adding to the problem. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwr7g1ElMeo7aG8kfpb4niRgkov0KTZ9J6pVe4sF5mlFuKkknml3_1_IzFnSCPiBCDUqcsYAgz9z-9Au5htf-u3zKNJW70Bqo4nuL2iVBvwn0qgWHxMtA9MwI-YOhgc_e_IbJhu8I-TG1U/s1600/ClamBeachCA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwr7g1ElMeo7aG8kfpb4niRgkov0KTZ9J6pVe4sF5mlFuKkknml3_1_IzFnSCPiBCDUqcsYAgz9z-9Au5htf-u3zKNJW70Bqo4nuL2iVBvwn0qgWHxMtA9MwI-YOhgc_e_IbJhu8I-TG1U/s200/ClamBeachCA.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Windy Clam Beach </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The next day was spent beachcombing on a long sandy beach (Clam Beach, a windy spot!) before driving up to Prairie Creek Campground to camp in the redwoods again and visit with herds of elk. Prairie Creek is in a big "elk meadow" and you're almost guaranteed to see elk there. Spotting a lot of cars out along the road (shades of Yellowstone Park!), I drove Mouse out to park beside the road, <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyfhEevzQPlxtMBoUti1GtDlXIKf_yE_0Tm8eZpOKeJYyYjkaTGR-lseJDwQ5mgyRgE5Q4f-ZFFmpjBU7COpRXqrx9HN8RGZSjGMt9ZwQAtYxg1FrHnoiQ9soqRkTH7A95KgGbzg9IfR6/s1600/ElkCreekHarem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyfhEevzQPlxtMBoUti1GtDlXIKf_yE_0Tm8eZpOKeJYyYjkaTGR-lseJDwQ5mgyRgE5Q4f-ZFFmpjBU7COpRXqrx9HN8RGZSjGMt9ZwQAtYxg1FrHnoiQ9soqRkTH7A95KgGbzg9IfR6/s200/ElkCreekHarem.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sketch from the top of Mouse</td></tr>
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climbed up on top with my camera, binoculars and sketchpad, and spent a couple of hours observing a big stag bugling (one of the most amazing sounds in the animal kingdom!) and rooting up grass and shrubs to decorate his antlers as he challenged an incoming stag circling his harem. It was quite a show, and I had by far the best view in the arena, sitting on Mouse's roof which is 8' off the ground.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIYkrI5KK6oV2THFtC9XAgsejN_MrC4zkMJ0cYrVyilZJcGtIpFcBMqiDJ7kHaMrKfK-T-YpoSySeZYt8AuXustYkaIPSq7uX6B5rNvW3FI_IENh184i6JCiRjhqWfShjo9-W_pdtiUR7/s1600/ElkAtPrairieCreek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIYkrI5KK6oV2THFtC9XAgsejN_MrC4zkMJ0cYrVyilZJcGtIpFcBMqiDJ7kHaMrKfK-T-YpoSySeZYt8AuXustYkaIPSq7uX6B5rNvW3FI_IENh184i6JCiRjhqWfShjo9-W_pdtiUR7/s200/ElkAtPrairieCreek.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the top of Mouse</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Since I didn't stay in one place for more than a day on this trip, I did quite a bit of driving, which, along with long hikes along the beaches and lots of clambering around on slick wet boulders, made me pretty tired at the end of each day. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrow4D3OXC_AIpo61MSUwXKcJDoQE23MKkTZ2-OTf8cRszJK-KeHckqp4L5euJ_2-kJuH056kVGXlQWqrcTFHvVOudOCqom04GdQ-Ftc07hayZT8jLMHE8AWvk0yVql9KMW7xKiAZnxnYC/s1600/Mickey%2527sGloveEtc..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrow4D3OXC_AIpo61MSUwXKcJDoQE23MKkTZ2-OTf8cRszJK-KeHckqp4L5euJ_2-kJuH056kVGXlQWqrcTFHvVOudOCqom04GdQ-Ftc07hayZT8jLMHE8AWvk0yVql9KMW7xKiAZnxnYC/s200/Mickey%2527sGloveEtc..jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of cool things to sketch</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As a result, I didn't spend the evenings, as I have with past sketchbooks, coloring the sketch pages with my watercolor pencils. This is a great thing to do in a hotel room, since there isn't a much more boring place in the universe than a hotel room. But in Mouse, I can cook, eat, go outside into a lovely spot to wander and photograph nature or sit in my camp chair, and find a hundred other ways to be distracted. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gV873riVoFnZfYCHmKk8sq_fzjQ7hU8IqXcLzArWpQVQfI5rXiI2zs35MSiBkLsbt8EovLyB1p40o_-l-g-a1saFnmiBHNV8UB07gedKFgoyJGjTGD8T8-v4bsEO9wKrO1ht_aJ9450f/s1600/SketchingSedum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gV873riVoFnZfYCHmKk8sq_fzjQ7hU8IqXcLzArWpQVQfI5rXiI2zs35MSiBkLsbt8EovLyB1p40o_-l-g-a1saFnmiBHNV8UB07gedKFgoyJGjTGD8T8-v4bsEO9wKrO1ht_aJ9450f/s200/SketchingSedum.jpg" width="142" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sedum fallen from the cliff</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></span>To enable me to work on the sketches later, I took several hundred photos on this trip, and journaled in my daily journal (I don't keep it up daily at home, but on trips like this I do journal a lot) so that I could add descriptions to the sketch pages later. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The photos and journal would help me add details to the drawings and get the colors right as I finished sketches later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm home now, and working on the sketchbook, loving every minute of it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've discovered if I set aside a daily dedicated block of time to work on the journal, it's more likely to get finished in a timely manner. I'll post again when I'm further along (or finished) so you can see the results of My First Sketching Roadtrip in my little Toyota Mini-motorhome, Mouse. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgbf0wVZHOpzxzsHzVNBqH-vIWMfPs4wXtCQdU2S24l5GOUGkHg0NTxBG2VRYO63yID6WRsYaLh30N1XeTu53V2h_zi9kwxLdo_h3pN1F3FNTAQc_PoniUdxUh1QXL_mpWd30goKBfGWD/s1600/GullOnCABeach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgbf0wVZHOpzxzsHzVNBqH-vIWMfPs4wXtCQdU2S24l5GOUGkHg0NTxBG2VRYO63yID6WRsYaLh30N1XeTu53V2h_zi9kwxLdo_h3pN1F3FNTAQc_PoniUdxUh1QXL_mpWd30goKBfGWD/s320/GullOnCABeach.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-64784829324071127062013-07-16T16:27:00.000-07:002013-10-01T19:20:18.507-07:00My Big Surprise!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hold onto your hat! </span></b></span> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOw6j3WNlJE254tgPoxYPj6YkqOv0Xt0TIiVfyWRXWTZBdvVqjFHba8OPh0fX4vR8hcx_8aSzrvTPe6xcSpIWVBSl6mQPY_Yag0Jjw5KAtzanKPImcmupJHJL7UMaxh51ENPbMhQthDZH/s1600/Tickled+Pink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOw6j3WNlJE254tgPoxYPj6YkqOv0Xt0TIiVfyWRXWTZBdvVqjFHba8OPh0fX4vR8hcx_8aSzrvTPe6xcSpIWVBSl6mQPY_Yag0Jjw5KAtzanKPImcmupJHJL7UMaxh51ENPbMhQthDZH/s320/Tickled+Pink.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I promised in the last blog that I had a<i> "new exciting (and ongoing!) adventure"</i> coming up. Now it has "come up" and is definitely "ongoing," and I am finding it absorbing, sometimes scary, eye-opening, work-intensive, and very satisfying. And that's why this blog is so long in coming.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I hereby introduce <span style="color: #6fa8dc;">(<b>TADA!</b>)</span> <b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mouse</span></span></b>, my 22' new-to-me but middle-aged 1985 Toyota Mini-Motorhome! Here she is in my yard, undergoing some serious loving care ~ cleaning, mending, upgrading, repairing....everything you can imagine from re-upholstering the couch to replacing the propane stove, removing the CB radio, re-laying the floor, rescreening the inner door, redoing the curtains, </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> repairing the outer door</span>....actually, I looked up some synonyms for the word </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><u>replace</u> and I'll let you take your pick. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9UeTGNdqFK7py6K73-aBwkim6mqpK0ZwJDh2PobnqpvjPzMutbUBuj7UNGkDVHKYtM_kUqeaNgOuRfTuOKaK75oEEKgCHOTsfbt7HZDgcJkEXRwqbkO55qLOC-uDgEFb1WXlyx21U_lf/s1600/MouseFromtheHouse.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9UeTGNdqFK7py6K73-aBwkim6mqpK0ZwJDh2PobnqpvjPzMutbUBuj7UNGkDVHKYtM_kUqeaNgOuRfTuOKaK75oEEKgCHOTsfbt7HZDgcJkEXRwqbkO55qLOC-uDgEFb1WXlyx21U_lf/s320/MouseFromtheHouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new addition to my sketching adventure</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #45818e;">alter, change, displace, fill in, mend, oust, patch, put back, reconstitute, recover, redress, reestablish, regain, reinstate, restore, retrieve, shift, sit in, stand in, substitute, succeed, supplant, supply, swap places, take out, take over</span>...</span>.etc.</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">You get the idea. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I bought Mouse on the 1st of March from an ad on Craig's List for $3000, and now that I've put a buncha $$ into the engine, shocks, etc., and another stack of bills into the upholstering, curtains, knobs, floor, door repair, stove, vent covers, and all the rest of the little things you need to furbish and refurbish a little travel home, she is starting to be in decent condition (I'm still not done, but she's usable ~ and my pockets are pretty flat!). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Why, you ask, did I take on this humongous project? Because this is <span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: red;">My New Traveling Sketching Studio</span>.</b> </span>My plan is to take Mouse out adventuring with my sketchbook for a week at a time (that's all Jesse-cat can comfortably handle all alone at home without a house-sitter) and make sketchbooks like <b><a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/IrenesTravelJournals.html" target="_blank">these</a></b>. </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3y9T4uWqq7TCsAnOBQ1CfHiH9ajdycIi6kaQQvhYdQSNkv1Gly29XrCIKc5ZOLf89CnDvmRLAxSQO2VFTyO_NeVxbhZhsTPUdFoUG__xg0VRDqcTmTsvfYztunD21Mi8Kgtq2kZhNyfHN/s1600/NewFloor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3y9T4uWqq7TCsAnOBQ1CfHiH9ajdycIi6kaQQvhYdQSNkv1Gly29XrCIKc5ZOLf89CnDvmRLAxSQO2VFTyO_NeVxbhZhsTPUdFoUG__xg0VRDqcTmTsvfYztunD21Mi8Kgtq2kZhNyfHN/s200/NewFloor.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good new floor</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRz6yS7kUQ0ElvKaZV1Fj0fVVuM7WeBwGRM6Gd2IHYgpO_gqnVepviDi8_-xfh9TPdYNMI-MJodeqM7QjSplLC-39_riIh3eT73XsfQoIadQzqj8u8yvT-ZXnhHuv1YRVFYh8ysy15yry/s1600/WavyUglyFloor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRz6yS7kUQ0ElvKaZV1Fj0fVVuM7WeBwGRM6Gd2IHYgpO_gqnVepviDi8_-xfh9TPdYNMI-MJodeqM7QjSplLC-39_riIh3eT73XsfQoIadQzqj8u8yvT-ZXnhHuv1YRVFYh8ysy15yry/s200/WavyUglyFloor.jpg" width="105" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bad old floor</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> I just returned last week from my Maiden Voyage in Mouse (she's seen many such voyages with previous owners, but it was a first for <i>me</i>), a 1084 mile trip to Idaho to visit my brother, who helped me figure out and replace the floor, then cover it with vinyl lino and apply molding. Then he made me a new </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">swing-away </span>desk to work on (see below). He's a genius. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The floor replacement was necessary because Mouse received some water damage over previous years. Almost ALL old RVs have water damage, but her particleboard floor had gotten particularly wet, and wet particleboard swells, so the floor had bulges and waves high enough to either trip you or make you seasick. (Well, not quite, but hey....) So we spent several days cutting, measuring, gluing, nailing (I learned how to use a nailgun), staining molding, etc., and now it is vastly improved. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/SouthAfricanSketchingSafari.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVFfclof1n0ZDNOxV6M7e9xJ9lyhsI3U1jwPepDS_WKbwgs2g9WbNBQUu9Q1s8cksOiIpHCJk6bhPz0d1o2GG31n2evvEBobN-EskBXmUHuCyqgyWiV9aoiJzy_QT2Kk8PwbKNPvg5rna/s200/AfricaCoverWildDog.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/SaguaroSketchJournal.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhrjoX_cAYfhDDsC9qrOqs3yFZvIM2vLOEwbedKR7cK0VeZNQkFXQBaTQ6-DIFmSWMM97qUpuzRlRNmKc_hr3snPfUoAqdpsMppwCrPfR4__qe5S6ERuCGQ38XRt-sSloKBv4AoHb00hg/s200/ASaguaroSketchJournalCover.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My
brother has a <a href="http://www.printworkscompany.com/" target="_blank">print shop</a>, and while I was there I had him print up a few copies of my latest sketch journals, the <b><a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/SouthAfricanSketchingSafari.htm" target="_blank">South African Sketching Safari</a> </b> from last summer and my most recent sketching trip near Tucson, AZ, just last Christmas. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/SaguaroSketchJournal.html" target="_blank">Saguaro Sketch Journal</a></b></span></b>. I won't be selling these as print versions but they're
available from my website as downloads if you're interested. </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfAJWW6M9PbTdA4eOtdSDE5IGUDyFfMfEH7cePsGeYmJAbu9gi85gQoyqWNt0rY73EnrDnYyemp7ebozzUtX_imRuzf6djTDPW2AYcGsU4aDy_J4DJPioRmfSr6mDDMRkBeLSHtVaAXTz/s1600/NewDeskSwiveled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfAJWW6M9PbTdA4eOtdSDE5IGUDyFfMfEH7cePsGeYmJAbu9gi85gQoyqWNt0rY73EnrDnYyemp7ebozzUtX_imRuzf6djTDPW2AYcGsU4aDy_J4DJPioRmfSr6mDDMRkBeLSHtVaAXTz/s200/NewDeskSwiveled.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The desk swivels on a metal post.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tCpoBjuiHgqIfbhyphenhyphenLGwEVS_aEIRnzBwmrzPWAC2mrrdR9DwqDoGJUfpxjwQx2ARqf4Qh_TXWwPt8-MATFc4QGcrPstacg5IGR2z_SwApUB6RiUgSaGSHtMCC9TzHuzQ1L1BGdbTxYcb5/s1600/NewDesk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tCpoBjuiHgqIfbhyphenhyphenLGwEVS_aEIRnzBwmrzPWAC2mrrdR9DwqDoGJUfpxjwQx2ARqf4Qh_TXWwPt8-MATFc4QGcrPstacg5IGR2z_SwApUB6RiUgSaGSHtMCC9TzHuzQ1L1BGdbTxYcb5/s200/NewDesk.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The desk, swung out of the way.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But back to Mouse, I know that motorhome repair is not quite the subject you expected to see on this blog. I would not have imagined it <i>myself </i>until I got this wild idea and decided to act on it. Dan'l spotted Mouse online and went with me to check her out. I figured I could fix her up, and amazingly enough, I have gotten her into a livable state. By the way, I named her Mouse because I intend to be "mousing" around in her, exploring interesting places and things.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQ_72bXK-6rzFuN2hfjCb-GupQzLC08UqG3HfqhDZ7AKZDKA3cM0wY4jS0F6S_gOky4Hn42Y9Nx1bLQBr4oFISIcu1WPHy1ecmmnoQpKLGAt_iBpw10aLLvfVYp3mIxr966xgzp5Co-TM/s1600/Chair-Plan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQ_72bXK-6rzFuN2hfjCb-GupQzLC08UqG3HfqhDZ7AKZDKA3cM0wY4jS0F6S_gOky4Hn42Y9Nx1bLQBr4oFISIcu1WPHy1ecmmnoQpKLGAt_iBpw10aLLvfVYp3mIxr966xgzp5Co-TM/s200/Chair-Plan.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My plan for new chair at new desk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Anyway, on my trip to Idaho I went up through the mountains around Crater Lake and across Oregon's High Desert, mostly at 55-65mph, up and down 6% grades ~ that's pretty steep, but we could puff up them at 35mph ~ and we averaged 16.9 mpg during the trip. Wow! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">However, I did have two blowouts and subsequent tows to the nearest tire shops. Luckily, both blowouts happened within 15 miles of a tire store, and I have determined that the tires probably popped because they're at least 15-20 years old. But I was lucky that each blowout was one of two dual tires on each side, so I didn't even feel it (I sure HEARD it though! <span style="font-size: large;"><b>BANG!</b></span>). </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-8GyYH88ufbMhp5QV2ahycF0nTwlxagx4RDd3Tbe5JViOhXb8igwGHRnCj6YcJdub4UwZY8KXOUFb0bXH3iD4ND_iwukGqtz3mAWVAHmHfgKVmSNTjlnMmLvtVcEn8nYm18RbqmTyyMX/s1600/SecondDuallyBlowout.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-8GyYH88ufbMhp5QV2ahycF0nTwlxagx4RDd3Tbe5JViOhXb8igwGHRnCj6YcJdub4UwZY8KXOUFb0bXH3iD4ND_iwukGqtz3mAWVAHmHfgKVmSNTjlnMmLvtVcEn8nYm18RbqmTyyMX/s200/SecondDuallyBlowout.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mouse gets a ride to the tire store.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My insurance covered most of the tow expenses, but I was lucky the tires didn't blow 100 miles from a tire store, which COULD easily have happened and would have made a serious dent in my joy supply. Central Oregon is wide and sparsely populated, and tire stores are few and far between.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So.... Is Mousie serving her avowed purpose? Well, judge for yourself. I camped overnight, both coming and going to Idaho, at Chickahominy Reservoir out in the desert near Burns, Oregon. It was only $4/night with my Golden Age Pass. Here are some notes out of my journal, and a little sketch I made at my campsite while eating my dinner cooked in Mouse's little kitchen: </span><br />
<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7KBGLwiQTgcNrc3-aseDZhyphenhyphenkuwmDR7lCJUO_YcSEMWyYGVuxR6Uynwu2zOlpWLqa2Bzsqz98rZKr03NekbnjGqv3uX-EhbeFwX_qO3q0nXFcX5ETwuHBnG8Sk0t2ukcXtd7UeuDxx6c4/s1600/WeaselAtChickahominy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7KBGLwiQTgcNrc3-aseDZhyphenhyphenkuwmDR7lCJUO_YcSEMWyYGVuxR6Uynwu2zOlpWLqa2Bzsqz98rZKr03NekbnjGqv3uX-EhbeFwX_qO3q0nXFcX5ETwuHBnG8Sk0t2ukcXtd7UeuDxx6c4/s320/WeaselAtChickahominy.jpg" width="320" /></a>
<li><h4>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"...As I sat, enjoying the desert breeze and watching the stripe-winged night-hawks dip and soar overhead, my eye caught a flicker of movement in the rocks directly in front of me. Out from behind a boulder popped a Long-tailed Weasel (hey, weasels really DO pop!) which skittered, snaky-long, between, around, under and over the rocks, hunting for whatever it is that weasels desire for dinner. One scarcely EVER sees a weasel, and I got to watch it hunting for three or four minutes before a pair of red-winged blackbirds began diving and harassing it until it flicked off over the edge."</span></span></h4>
</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKZ3U98OzajONZ2bUqS5-2YEm73mZy1L6YGo2lMweZMk6zC1FEX2ww2kluil3UOojpxiG87JpKSJDC3GYzQbokenqBVQFBIyOnpZA54xWQEnPIQBJ80vlNHQvpImtxNfDEbXZIOH_hpea/s1600/RimrockAtChickahominy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLKZ3U98OzajONZ2bUqS5-2YEm73mZy1L6YGo2lMweZMk6zC1FEX2ww2kluil3UOojpxiG87JpKSJDC3GYzQbokenqBVQFBIyOnpZA54xWQEnPIQBJ80vlNHQvpImtxNfDEbXZIOH_hpea/s320/RimrockAtChickahominy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chickahominy Reservoir in central Oregon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Just
offhand, I would say my sketching venture got off to a good
start. With all the things I saw
(pelicans, killdeers, ducks and grebes, muskrats, chipmunks and ground squirrels night-hawks,
cottontails, jackrabbits, (I <i>heard</i> sandhill cranes), and lovely desert wildflowers even in July, I could have stayed a week or more just sketching. </span></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKBHWT71e8I6dfWSWBomCNFX12Y3huEKE03np5K1prGp2REQXEqvT0xptt1qn3BaTHseZp3DUoG_EsG4RDO4Tg5Q2ERdcd7CDmg8HpyM_mpNCD71sv007YQO-b3KP32I2R7QeVvonDDAy/s1600/ShreddedDually%25232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKBHWT71e8I6dfWSWBomCNFX12Y3huEKE03np5K1prGp2REQXEqvT0xptt1qn3BaTHseZp3DUoG_EsG4RDO4Tg5Q2ERdcd7CDmg8HpyM_mpNCD71sv007YQO-b3KP32I2R7QeVvonDDAy/s200/ShreddedDually%25232.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a pretty sight ~ this tear is 5" long.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But everything good must end, and while returning home I experienced my second tire blowout. Now, in a car, this would have been scary. But Mouse has dual tires in the rear ~ two on each side ~ and when one blows the other one takes up the slack and you don't feel a thing. </span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvdGSvsMxLQVPJswVXyuhzgRtRv3izDmohGganjunGjpw0YX2DGpz4YXCi5fkQBG5KtlXggWF9BOaXAK5-oaK00w66aCm9P_y6PMCLeWsFTUtJxNgknF0W73P5uLQd1QgzGiCDI9goR7C/s1600/SunsetAtChickahominy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvdGSvsMxLQVPJswVXyuhzgRtRv3izDmohGganjunGjpw0YX2DGpz4YXCi5fkQBG5KtlXggWF9BOaXAK5-oaK00w66aCm9P_y6PMCLeWsFTUtJxNgknF0W73P5uLQd1QgzGiCDI9goR7C/s320/SunsetAtChickahominy.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset at Chickahominy Reservoir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So I pulled over and called a tow truck using the cellphone Dan'l had loaned me (yes, this <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/luddite" target="_blank">Luddite</a> actually used a cell phone, and I guess I'm going to have to get over my prejudice and get my own if I'm going to be out and about on sketching trips. I would have sat waiting a l.o.n.g time for help</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">, twice,</span></span> without that phone). </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've learned a lot on this trip, and I am totally enthusiastic about my new wheely-home. Later on I plan to head for either the mountains near Crater Lake or over to the Pacific coast for a week of sketching and journaling. Or maybe just being lazy. But I need to replace the front tires first. If a front tire blew, it possibly could run me off the road. I don't need that!</span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FqXW2YGeit381Xc9W0Dmxcd8Sg83dIkBf-Bso5WwJVJKtseGnt6MTV_nhbGvWO2zkCdndUuINUGuNY-uS73yXFA66hbIF7xl9nr-V4ckKsRmn_bXmlnqOcIWYvbaH25yTAhbuKkkWaF5/s1600/JesseOnNewCouch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FqXW2YGeit381Xc9W0Dmxcd8Sg83dIkBf-Bso5WwJVJKtseGnt6MTV_nhbGvWO2zkCdndUuINUGuNY-uS73yXFA66hbIF7xl9nr-V4ckKsRmn_bXmlnqOcIWYvbaH25yTAhbuKkkWaF5/s200/JesseOnNewCouch.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jesse on Mouse's couch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">P.S. Jesse has adopted Mouse as his new vacation home (but only when she's in the driveway since he hates moving vehicles). Here he is inspecting his new couch upholstery.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'd love it if he could come with me, but he's a scaredy-cat and freaks out when he sees scenery galloping past the windows. Alas....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So, until next time ~ and I'll try to not bore you with RV stories when you're expecting sketch-journaling words. </span>Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-40361711563290282312013-04-11T15:01:00.000-07:002013-10-01T19:21:18.554-07:00Saguaro Sketch Journal is uploaded at LAST!<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Here is is April</span></b></span>, and I have just, today, uploaded my sketch journal adventures-plus-tutorial for the sketching trip I took LAST DECEMBER! Good grief!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XYfqEPcrc5F8CstI_sX9D3EJFHAtqWmMP0fqjjDpPMe5uQWMfnWwgLXCesjsda7UXswV12vn4ew3PDhzuCpqx6F4rYE5PIuWhPSUZXCyWaFHfojMt0J-muf0Jzy7SdeDza0VxFxTK1UU/s1600/ASaguaroSketchJournalCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XYfqEPcrc5F8CstI_sX9D3EJFHAtqWmMP0fqjjDpPMe5uQWMfnWwgLXCesjsda7UXswV12vn4ew3PDhzuCpqx6F4rYE5PIuWhPSUZXCyWaFHfojMt0J-muf0Jzy7SdeDza0VxFxTK1UU/s200/ASaguaroSketchJournalCover.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new sketch journal!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It isn't that I'm such a goof-off (although there's some of that, too, I admit). The main reason is that instead of making one e-book I created two, and both of them ended up being around 64 pages long. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cAVZqRGSe60zmlLnWAb9AVarpdjoO1tmqh6cvbP2bbsQkc680WA5Ydsp3nVMLKRfWP8iXgKzAe9uKxjggZ-370kGdLIj3va2z765Ug1WOcGhA0UyWu167Y_1KTQ5137Wnz4ClB6j4ios/s1600/AFishhookBarrelCactus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cAVZqRGSe60zmlLnWAb9AVarpdjoO1tmqh6cvbP2bbsQkc680WA5Ydsp3nVMLKRfWP8iXgKzAe9uKxjggZ-370kGdLIj3va2z765Ug1WOcGhA0UyWu167Y_1KTQ5137Wnz4ClB6j4ios/s200/AFishhookBarrelCactus.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An original ballpoint pen page.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">That's a humongous lot of work, and it took me awhile to get them written, tweaked, proofed, and the webpages and links on my website created and, well, have a<i> life </i>at the same time.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It happened like this.....When I was camping out and sketching in the Saguaro forest near Tucson in December, it was so cold at night (in the low twenties!) that I couldn't do as usual and watercolor-pencil-paint my sketches in the evenings in warm and cozy lodgings. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So my sketchbook arrived back home in a black-and-white state, and after scanning all of the sketches into my desktop publishing program, I had to decide what to do about the situation.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRxGZB9ltYh0k0j7F8V2U1xvrPWIbI7Nvgv46wtFAjpUbbz_JuBCmwzvDDBbaYTqRVIo9ysDSoubNha3uxabXlr9ijzKCdQdNg3D3Spk-gwHZxtzTuurshrN1zSOiH8RFvR0slJsSJura/s1600/ABighornSheepTrio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRxGZB9ltYh0k0j7F8V2U1xvrPWIbI7Nvgv46wtFAjpUbbz_JuBCmwzvDDBbaYTqRVIo9ysDSoubNha3uxabXlr9ijzKCdQdNg3D3Spk-gwHZxtzTuurshrN1zSOiH8RFvR0slJsSJura/s200/ABighornSheepTrio.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My original bighorn sheep sketch in ballpoint pen ....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's a lot more fun to paint your sketches on the spot, and I really wasn't in the mood to do it in January when I got home, but everyone I showed it to said it needed color, so I sat down with my watercolor pencils and waterbrush, resigned, to do the deed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But it was more fun than I expected.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFQbRBeoAzLuXTI2e50IvZ62iNs2n_TX7hKOGp5rNwU1KT-x-7Tyb6n3I1WyqpJbDlEyVdf2oZ5WOBqXRSL8u-oIhOY0r5wd6zIGqPdMIwR_SJbkQpVmUMIKxwpMcWyBfvwvNcEvL5yiK/s1600/ADesertBighornSheep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFQbRBeoAzLuXTI2e50IvZ62iNs2n_TX7hKOGp5rNwU1KT-x-7Tyb6n3I1WyqpJbDlEyVdf2oZ5WOBqXRSL8u-oIhOY0r5wd6zIGqPdMIwR_SJbkQpVmUMIKxwpMcWyBfvwvNcEvL5yiK/s200/ADesertBighornSheep.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and painted with watercolor pencils.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In fact, it was a blast. And I realized, after I had painted a couple, that if I were to scan each step as I did it, alternating working and scanning all the way through each painting, I could create a really neat tutorial with step-by-step instructions for painting individual subjects. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEssuYcoyrVOzHVjJ_eK0gZ7eaEqMHQoLiVjaDudegmoqzIMiYgN_1Oy-rvZPcar57E9-2sO451o4PHAHAebGgXay_SQSwPJA0ZC2KyPL8y_0YJ0yguCGBtSDuE3CbivJ0bBlXY6KHKXE6/s1600/1Thrasher-BunnyHowTo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEssuYcoyrVOzHVjJ_eK0gZ7eaEqMHQoLiVjaDudegmoqzIMiYgN_1Oy-rvZPcar57E9-2sO451o4PHAHAebGgXay_SQSwPJA0ZC2KyPL8y_0YJ0yguCGBtSDuE3CbivJ0bBlXY6KHKXE6/s200/1Thrasher-BunnyHowTo.gif" width="153" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A page from the workbook.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So, I recorded and made notes as I painted twelve of the sketches, with three to five pages of instruction for each one and scads of scans and tips for anyone wanting to try their hand at it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It is really detailed, from selecting the color of pencil, to planning the color scheme, to demonstrating the strokes (pencil and brush) needed to get the specific effects I was envisioning, and lots of other stuff besides. I made it into a sort of coloring book, so if you want you can print out the black-and-white original drawings on heavy paper and paint them using the tutorial as a guide, just for the fun and practice.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKe1WGcediPG2DsW7mXKqoCQWT0poPS54nCoLW1BA7W9qfPING8xLrSGouNrvjIrh0rReZq3-8TxMuRCYaElmJ-JU8hagFgjtCOu98Yrqr7aD4wOXkIbdniRuZXWdd5KLhBBGpluJsE5f9/s1600/TheCactusCountryInWatercolo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKe1WGcediPG2DsW7mXKqoCQWT0poPS54nCoLW1BA7W9qfPING8xLrSGouNrvjIrh0rReZq3-8TxMuRCYaElmJ-JU8hagFgjtCOu98Yrqr7aD4wOXkIbdniRuZXWdd5KLhBBGpluJsE5f9/s200/TheCactusCountryInWatercolo.gif" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new workbook</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When I was finished, working on both books at the same time, I had created my usual sketch-journal-with-tutorial (see at the top of this blog), plus the step-by-step workbook of twelve sketches-to-paintings at left. And [TA-DA!] here they are. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've just finished the upload so that if you want to see the results all you have to do is go to my website and read about them ~ and if you want, order them. Here's the location of the sketch journal, <a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/SaguaroSketchJournal.html" target="_blank">Saguaro Sketch Journal</a> and here's the step-by-step painting workbook, <a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/TheCactusCountryInWatercolorPencils.html" target="_blank">The Canyon Country in Watercolor Pencils.</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrIReIsql09ME17bHtW-13ylRxQsRh-JO9u4BiqYSizNSL52YtoE_-mK52KFDhbnz4OdaExzxYGH0DBi5uUwFE_48j0Ws8t2-SV_yMG75btVIWSuC9Et7oJkJZhfRYCp1UOzeBEvj3BFj/s1600/ATucsonMountains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibrIReIsql09ME17bHtW-13ylRxQsRh-JO9u4BiqYSizNSL52YtoE_-mK52KFDhbnz4OdaExzxYGH0DBi5uUwFE_48j0Ws8t2-SV_yMG75btVIWSuC9Et7oJkJZhfRYCp1UOzeBEvj3BFj/s320/ATucsonMountains.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The scene from my first night's campground.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">They're both crammed with sketches and paintings and I'm very pleased with them both. I'm especially happy to get a new workbook out, as it's been awhile since I put up a new workbook on my website. This workbook is quite a bit longer and more dense than previous ones, and it will be useful to artists, even if they aren't particularly in love with cactus and coyotes. The techniques for painting with watercolor pencils are the same no matter what the subject. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;">* * * * * * * * * </span></span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">BTW, I began an new exciting </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(and ongoing!) </span>adventure on the first of March that I will tell you about in the next blog. It's something totally novel to me, so I'm eager to share it with you! Stay tuned! </span>Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-37877913956776751642013-01-10T15:20:00.000-08:002013-01-10T15:28:50.446-08:00Tucson Camping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsGavOwL4J9TB3yqPxdbb29xedYUuZgM7g8JmEXAlW29xur2LG7-hnearegu5WPNqFaXxtGZAMVd-Q9QvP_Tog684mCiES_IO29JBsg7qz4PQGd7RY5fBnexYxO4uZiuhQB8P32lGel9I/s1600/Deer%2526Saguaro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96VC6G3zW78wp3h3rF5_5WEMv7bm6mLdg-KGnD8hoHkq3ykYAPXRtWLIgNH0ualR8yR339cmminF054t99NCXJ85sE-VctFfyXv4xkVuJvpm2XdPMiFDOnRU3aSSzND6Hc2jQDx6Go2eF/s1600/zIreneAtCampsite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96VC6G3zW78wp3h3rF5_5WEMv7bm6mLdg-KGnD8hoHkq3ykYAPXRtWLIgNH0ualR8yR339cmminF054t99NCXJ85sE-VctFfyXv4xkVuJvpm2XdPMiFDOnRU3aSSzND6Hc2jQDx6Go2eF/s200/zIreneAtCampsite.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My last day at Gilbert Ray campground</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I was really s</span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>ad to leave</b></span></span> Gilbert Ray County Park Campground. It is the nicest campground in the area<span style="font-size: small;">, in my opinion,</span> and I would have stayed there to sketch for the entire time given a choice. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZZ3lxkVmRaCvYEReHy5FiRIGb9wo1aWPvAU-ec1o8NIpvqZ8UvbAH_XJJs3fDauBOrFj68IN1nsW9BM__Swqc38rK7MpYxqBfv4OhI9VbM1dgpYuvZNdzKCiqw7J4Syp0WRBlbkHReZt/s1600/SketchPad%2526Books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZZ3lxkVmRaCvYEReHy5FiRIGb9wo1aWPvAU-ec1o8NIpvqZ8UvbAH_XJJs3fDauBOrFj68IN1nsW9BM__Swqc38rK7MpYxqBfv4OhI9VbM1dgpYuvZNdzKCiqw7J4Syp0WRBlbkHReZt/s200/SketchPad%2526Books.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But since there was no choice, I headed across Tucson to Catalina State Park campground on the east side. Now, if you don't mind flat and urban, this is a fine campground, and it is right up against the Catalina Mountains, which boast wonderful hiking trails.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Additionally, an adjacent nature trail which heads sharply uphill from the trailhead cluster just up the road is a<span style="font-size: small;">n excellent place to sketch and see nature. But the camp itself is a little more populated than I like. <span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhGHQNxDgP_24G0mQTBb_AeUzT_FTCt2Mvdx2kS0K8QY1me4NYjSUPCFq_c9c3sQ8bIdM5TYSBQKjnAvZdJE_AAkwYEgvIbPDsx4E64x_t-ouzX1La94hCto5HMSlPoPK0Re6WR44WvF2/s1600/CanyonWrenNestInCholla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhGHQNxDgP_24G0mQTBb_AeUzT_FTCt2Mvdx2kS0K8QY1me4NYjSUPCFq_c9c3sQ8bIdM5TYSBQKjnAvZdJE_AAkwYEgvIbPDsx4E64x_t-ouzX1La94hCto5HMSlPoPK0Re6WR44WvF2/s200/CanyonWrenNestInCholla.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Eye-level canyon wren nest in a cholla</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of <span style="font-size: small;">the at<span style="font-size: small;">tractions on that trail is a cho<span style="font-size: small;">lla cactus right beside the trail with a cactus wren nest in it. That wren must be one of the bravest birds alive, since the ne<span style="font-size: small;">st looks out directly on the trail an arm's length away, at human eye level. That would alarm ME!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4a5S2gNfxoIzBahR3jfH8Gx9FQnt4m2fFBcuOQkGcFzKv0c94e_dpj-JMihiVTcgTZYtvVGR0-DSYW6CHwhz_AUC6CJLEQy9AlgVTqq-HrR7V9Qmq6bvm-4TzhAUcPSTRhzqYkN7P_0ua/s1600/MadroneTree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4a5S2gNfxoIzBahR3jfH8Gx9FQnt4m2fFBcuOQkGcFzKv0c94e_dpj-JMihiVTcgTZYtvVGR0-DSYW6CHwhz_AUC6CJLEQy9AlgVTqq-HrR7V9Qmq6bvm-4TzhAUcPSTRhzqYkN7P_0ua/s200/MadroneTree.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A madrone tree at my house.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Sonoran Desert <span style="font-size: small;">has some pretty <span style="font-size: small;">nifty trees, one of which reminds me of my bare-naked madrone trees at home with their cinnamon<span style="font-size: small;">-orange </span>skin. <span style="font-size: small;">Here's a sketch of one madrone's trunk from my last summer Sit Spot sessions. The desert look-alike is actually green, and its Sp<span style="font-size: small;">anish name, <span style="font-size: small;"><i>palo verde</i>, reflects that, meaning <span style="font-size: small;">"green stick."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoqcZ3T5QLphke_5liQfoVLUBxtTZI7_Y_09RfLpvP-KuT0l4EBZ83xOa40-pTTihxiRw3vnzOqYxnlN7i2KqKT0ACl-Oj15sCKpMj4e_qR-FfZFXHaUZn0y2B1va6Hb7QX2qf5Gx8EvD/s1600/GreenSkinnedPaloverde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFoqcZ3T5QLphke_5liQfoVLUBxtTZI7_Y_09RfLpvP-KuT0l4EBZ83xOa40-pTTihxiRw3vnzOqYxnlN7i2KqKT0ACl-Oj15sCKpMj4e_qR-FfZFXHaUZn0y2B1va6Hb7QX2qf5Gx8EvD/s200/GreenSkinnedPaloverde.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Palo verde trunk</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The skin is a lovely shade of <span style="font-size: small;">chartreuse, and wrin<span style="font-size: small;">kles and folds just like human skin, just as the madrone skin does. <span style="font-size: small;">Other than that, though, they don't have much in common, because the <span style="font-size: small;"><i>palo verde</i> tree has spike<span style="font-size: small;"> branches and twigs with miniature leaves, some no larger than 1/8" (see image).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzl8aVNx_QoZm7QH5FkzhOAZPsan4paEj4snqDhEQ4NyXfvv6jD4sYoU9X6h1nYF-srAJFnwzmsVP2olRTiWiMJuWZu6ku_rB8_TET4a_M6YWs9xc5J3MK4Y_LAYHcc4wyuMFszxk-IGD/s1600/PaloVerdeBranches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHzl8aVNx_QoZm7QH5FkzhOAZPsan4paEj4snqDhEQ4NyXfvv6jD4sYoU9X6h1nYF-srAJFnwzmsVP2olRTiWiMJuWZu6ku_rB8_TET4a_M6YWs9xc5J3MK4Y_LAYHcc4wyuMFszxk-IGD/s200/PaloVerdeBranches.jpg" width="131" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>Palo verde</i> twigs</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even though it's winter, <span style="font-size: small;">many of the <i>palo verdes</i> still retained their tiny l<span style="font-size: small;">eaves. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjU-z_V3I8EajGWKFGDDpV9LpzYNrbr-pINEh-ZrFO3yIze5rHncfGEuSEcuOX01LQsPoTRiEA6qzxSbMyx5IiNy9ssnPBduTclpN70BRLKORY_3Z-Zbl8egqnZgTTjj2hAnZ2KqFsRNk3/s1600/ColossalCaveCampground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjU-z_V3I8EajGWKFGDDpV9LpzYNrbr-pINEh-ZrFO3yIze5rHncfGEuSEcuOX01LQsPoTRiEA6qzxSbMyx5IiNy9ssnPBduTclpN70BRLKORY_3Z-Zbl8egqnZgTTjj2hAnZ2KqFsRNk3/s200/ColossalCaveCampground.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My spot at Colossal Cave campground</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The next night I tried out the Colossal Caves campground, which is REALLY wild. You have to repeatedly cr<span style="font-size: small;">oss washes to get to some o<span style="font-size: small;">f the campsites, <span style="font-size: small;">but they do have water and restrooms. I was the only one in my campground most of the time. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsGavOwL4J9TB3yqPxdbb29xedYUuZgM7g8JmEXAlW29xur2LG7-hnearegu5WPNqFaXxtGZAMVd-Q9QvP_Tog684mCiES_IO29JBsg7qz4PQGd7RY5fBnexYxO4uZiuhQB8P32lGel9I/s1600/Deer&Saguaro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsGavOwL4J9TB3yqPxdbb29xedYUuZgM7g8JmEXAlW29xur2LG7-hnearegu5WPNqFaXxtGZAMVd-Q9QvP_Tog684mCiES_IO29JBsg7qz4PQGd7RY5fBnexYxO4uZiuhQB8P32lGel9I/s200/Deer&Saguaro.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The ne<span style="font-size: small;">xt day while <span style="font-size: small;">exploring around the campground I discovered two saguaros cuddling other plants ~ a <span style="font-size: small;">small soaptree like the ones by my chair here, and a little prickly pear cactus. While I was sketching the <span style="font-size: small;">one with the prickly pear, <span style="font-size: small;">two mule deer approached within twenty feet of me before one saw me. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4L0Wfs-n7FyVFhTGJcqtPxByX1MX1FHj1Nj6hRBZqymuOL9fqFyNdnqS29DSU-NmjiZSxb9GigJJ_n3IFbDnFPt1N7vEPCg-Il8Jfj-QJYCBaDrRNkXHiggaOOS1PgrOF7SKenJ0cV5x/s1600/ColossalCaveStalactites.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4L0Wfs-n7FyVFhTGJcqtPxByX1MX1FHj1Nj6hRBZqymuOL9fqFyNdnqS29DSU-NmjiZSxb9GigJJ_n3IFbDnFPt1N7vEPCg-Il8Jfj-QJYCBaDrRNkXHiggaOOS1PgrOF7SKenJ0cV5x/s200/ColossalCaveStalactites.jpg" width="136" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Stalactites at Colossal Cave</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's a sketch of the doe. She knew SOMEbody was there but couldn't spot me.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since I was so close, I visited Colo<span style="font-size: small;">ssal Cave. I was quite pleased with the tour<span style="font-size: small;">. There are miles and miles of tunnels not offered on the regular tour<span style="font-size: small;">, but the ones you do see have some <span style="font-size: small;">interesting features</span>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was pretty cold staying down in the creek bottoms, though, so I opted for a nice night in a motel to get warmed up<span style="font-size: small;">, have a good night's sleep, and a bath. Since it was so cold at night that I had been sle<span style="font-size: small;">eping</span> in all m<span style="font-size: small;">y clothes, it was also quite nice to get "refreshed" as well. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_UBeHah7jOINfQBNEHycI0rrZo39R4QDMMPDzKLeCPF75fkD-ylDcmYtHEgGLWlLf2OquHo3Z40CdzRYx5v_4fjTm0B9ojDes25Tb5Q0MdCUEuBMecydi2M9hr0Gt20_bLR9cW3AIXCx/s1600/HohokamMortarRock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_UBeHah7jOINfQBNEHycI0rrZo39R4QDMMPDzKLeCPF75fkD-ylDcmYtHEgGLWlLf2OquHo3Z40CdzRYx5v_4fjTm0B9ojDes25Tb5Q0MdCUEuBMecydi2M9hr0Gt20_bLR9cW3AIXCx/s200/HohokamMortarRock.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Hohokam mortar, inset is from above</span>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NpQlOqOcilCDOitTN65DUv6apmJCT0fkr9WmTpDxKodT9qhH7DykYYkfGG9vmYV4oNXnl3DLmJ7wmNiqaJM3PFdiSEwLg5mMoA_DNcXMDKGKfweNojhmRLmGLIoakRv5hXcVtVJ_FvFH/s1600/HohokamMortar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NpQlOqOcilCDOitTN65DUv6apmJCT0fkr9WmTpDxKodT9qhH7DykYYkfGG9vmYV4oNXnl3DLmJ7wmNiqaJM3PFdiSEwLg5mMoA_DNcXMDKGKfweNojhmRLmGLIoakRv5hXcVtVJ_FvFH/s200/HohokamMortar.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Hohokam mortar and side-view</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I stayed overnight at Catalina State Park again <span style="font-size: small;">s</span>o I could sketch on the nature trail some more<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">and I was really glad I did, because I s<span style="font-size: small;">potted some amazing Hohokam mortars, holes drilled into huge flat boulders where the Native American women once ground seeds, grains, and other foodstuffs.</span></span></span> I sat where they would have sat and sketched a <span style="font-size: small;">mortar hole which had been worn into a deep V by generations of patient women. It was humbling. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmyyVUwwANPHMAzmI2JCSVeRsYXIF2yoMTXXykbisgzkZzhsYiuovvWXAqFTeUMd8MrAJ01npRK0ybwHPHVlPvEWStS0vHGmBQIjizQmYFTtwL_6Dc1-bBm_6dx4jWWmELfHoOSFcWorA/s1600/25-Javelina&Trax.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmyyVUwwANPHMAzmI2JCSVeRsYXIF2yoMTXXykbisgzkZzhsYiuovvWXAqFTeUMd8MrAJ01npRK0ybwHPHVlPvEWStS0vHGmBQIjizQmYFTtwL_6Dc1-bBm_6dx4jWWmELfHoOSFcWorA/s200/25-Javelina&Trax.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Javelina diggings at a kangaroo rat mound.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxS31L9tWP238CVTLRjf4XzkImUkCtdLjfSVDdMyjAY-vAN0g8tLG7Pf-l0uXEo2Cet53pn4Voo7dqw7a4Wue-fBpkli8ZGMgDqA0DkZJhnsjP2qezn2RJ_1Bcbpyeu4RR0_IvBNf3dSK/s1600/UnknownTrax.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxS31L9tWP238CVTLRjf4XzkImUkCtdLjfSVDdMyjAY-vAN0g8tLG7Pf-l0uXEo2Cet53pn4Voo7dqw7a4Wue-fBpkli8ZGMgDqA0DkZJhnsjP2qezn2RJ_1Bcbpyeu4RR0_IvBNf3dSK/s200/UnknownTrax.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I couldn't identify these.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I saw a lot of neat tracks during my two weeks visit, from dainty ground-squirrel tracks to cougar pug marks (the cougar track was confirmed by a ranger), and I found a great "track tale" written <span style="font-size: small;">on what had been a kan<span style="font-size: small;">garoo rat mound by di<span style="font-size: small;">gging javelinas. I d<span style="font-size: small;">evoted a whole page to that<span style="font-size: small;"> in my sketchbook.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkduYD5zHT9ccKLv_RqhMrWSYR7iJmsmcfsWNTvG-enmL-rHEq5QM060z_V0QlTURistGMcvpqz9aYgmT8Px2ftcjYT7KVyYWeDFl_kHSDW2hmpvuk8rVr_oyGIMDd_Z2TYwkYJVQZNEw2/s1600/CatfoodCan-Camp-Stove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkduYD5zHT9ccKLv_RqhMrWSYR7iJmsmcfsWNTvG-enmL-rHEq5QM060z_V0QlTURistGMcvpqz9aYgmT8Px2ftcjYT7KVyYWeDFl_kHSDW2hmpvuk8rVr_oyGIMDd_Z2TYwkYJVQZNEw2/s200/CatfoodCan-Camp-Stove.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My catfood can camp stove.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had been using my little catfood can camp stove nearly every day to make coffee and heat dinners, and Idiscovered that it made a wonderful ice-breaker of the conversation sort. I showed it to a number of other campers who thought its portability and simplicity <span style="font-size: small;">were pretty cool. I met a lovely lady, Mimi, over that little camp stove.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsBt1Udw7mDyP_UFmpobdUt9nLiadYp4DaDX5G9X3_HgW13Tzf_1tYr6k2Ad3eKmgiCKcE1sJ3H7CECdX_FIZy90ThJVl6-D0L9kZ8h6EpFRKK07BY7wwe_FY1aIxEDteKwbIBOjgi3hg/s1600/MonumentWashLomaVerdeTrail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsBt1Udw7mDyP_UFmpobdUt9nLiadYp4DaDX5G9X3_HgW13Tzf_1tYr6k2Ad3eKmgiCKcE1sJ3H7CECdX_FIZy90ThJVl6-D0L9kZ8h6EpFRKK07BY7wwe_FY1aIxEDteKwbIBOjgi3hg/s200/MonumentWashLomaVerdeTrail.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Monument Wash, Saguaro Nat. Pk.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Saguar<span style="font-size: small;">o National Park (East) lies adjacent to Catalina State Park, and I spent <span style="font-size: small;">an afternoon hiking up Monument Wash then <span style="font-size: small;">returning on the Loma Verde trail</span></span>, sketching a verdin nest and seedpods along the way. </span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I <span style="font-size: small;">had been keeping</span> track of the weather on the cell phone Dan had lent me. When the weather app<span style="font-size: small;"> forecast snow for my final night, I ch<span style="font-size: small;">ickened out and opted for a motel again. Mimi helped m<span style="font-size: small;">e jam my two extra blankets into my suitcase<span style="font-size: small;">, and <span style="font-size: small;">I gave away my camp <span style="font-size: small;">chair and <span style="font-size: small;">everything else I couldn't squeeze in<span style="font-size: small;">, then <span style="font-size: small;">tidied up the Jeep to remove the traces of my two<span style="font-size: small;">-week residency. <span style="font-size: small;">Then it was over: <span style="font-size: small;">rental car returned, plane caught and flown<span style="font-size: small;">, my car retrieved at the home airport and driven home. </span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0KahSJR86MEQlOl-4S9ULN3IQOriOnrwzkbF4NDE_g4B_xCR5C-wR3trQskNyZTEgzbyIo-0gfDCSnpbr1NF08i9JweV8Uc3k_446FitS-xYvdXXFFLTpLMa34Wl9azVsSO7pbXgKnB1/s1600/SaguaroSunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0KahSJR86MEQlOl-4S9ULN3IQOriOnrwzkbF4NDE_g4B_xCR5C-wR3trQskNyZTEgzbyIo-0gfDCSnpbr1NF08i9JweV8Uc3k_446FitS-xYvdXXFFLTpLMa34Wl9azVsSO7pbXgKnB1/s200/SaguaroSunset.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sunset in the saguaros.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In retrospect, I will, in the future, either go to the <span style="font-size: small;">warm tropics for a winter break, or I will go even further<span style="font-size: small;">, to bask in summer in the southern hemisphere ~ some pl<span style="font-size: small;">ace where the days are longer than the nights, anyway. That is my pledge to myself. Hope I'm smart enough to remember that! But I'd love to go back to Saguaro country in the spring. It must be absolutely heave<span style="font-size: small;">nly when the cactus <span style="font-size: small;">blooms and the ocotillos <span style="font-size: small;">burst out in red flowers<span style="font-size: small;">. </span> [I apologize for the hackneyed su<span style="font-size: small;">nset picture. But you have to admit, it IS pretty striking, isn't it?]</span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-86576568138901350002013-01-08T15:58:00.003-08:002013-01-08T17:47:44.252-08:00Tucson Sketching Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8km769FUes8kCKOHxch_JdrxhQuRjZKdUyeWN4qNbDH1iMOn78TKibvzyf2TRr6X2k2Ow6JtgY61T4dK2O9jo29Kz3gjjgPYrk6eA3dD5R0US7UI5924yeRx6n-sldQVfhYej_el-bCNC/s1600/Hohokam-Petroglyphs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXakvA4atczYmIIp81t8qkhLaeHUvUbxEbnTGgqD4cN2nCyMvUECqAG5-odwfwlyT0k8sValffdc1c4WZmPrTShHg0DMp-mHR57MRGqpSddluEoQQ7vrBwnTfV4VwjEHUWmhG8VEOg5NJ8/s1600/HohohoSaguaro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXakvA4atczYmIIp81t8qkhLaeHUvUbxEbnTGgqD4cN2nCyMvUECqAG5-odwfwlyT0k8sValffdc1c4WZmPrTShHg0DMp-mHR57MRGqpSddluEoQQ7vrBwnTfV4VwjEHUWmhG8VEOg5NJ8/s200/HohohoSaguaro.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(Sorry, couldn't resist)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Some people like their Christmas</b></span></span> to be decorated with snowmen and conifer boughs weighed down with snow. I prefer to see lots of green, preferably steamy palms and junglish things. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf96v2o0YiK6-SQPWYGlKAQXFnjshkPJs4A4tHlWdFW6G-fvNSviljOq5SUDBcQpbeFIHWaANRCzRABzF1kdlHWpe7ej4aiJ-5Kb7oB8wjhqRtyyUiY3nf3pbm1587thNbFDRibSYFZEnt/s1600/ChristmasCholla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf96v2o0YiK6-SQPWYGlKAQXFnjshkPJs4A4tHlWdFW6G-fvNSviljOq5SUDBcQpbeFIHWaANRCzRABzF1kdlHWpe7ej4aiJ-5Kb7oB8wjhqRtyyUiY3nf3pbm1587thNbFDRibSYFZEnt/s200/ChristmasCholla.jpg" width="150" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Christmas Cholla</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">This year I compromised and opted for a sketching trip with saguaro cactus and Christmas cholla. Contrary to my high hopes, I didn't escape the cold much, it being 25° several nights as I camped out in my <span style="font-size: small;">rental </span>Jeep SUV in the desert.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkldI_3v96lriTAhBFefomh2iBFhN5pLPzG4jd7m8nvxlanMrislsKO4KSoUhOE59e02ARpEReeFQ0QrFmYeuV8pUTy5sYtL_TecW5ayFBCMv84Lu-wN91jzJIO4RxlqDtx9Kxemi4kda/s1600/CatalinaStatePark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkldI_3v96lriTAhBFefomh2iBFhN5pLPzG4jd7m8nvxlanMrislsKO4KSoUhOE59e02ARpEReeFQ0QrFmYeuV8pUTy5sYtL_TecW5ayFBCMv84Lu-wN91jzJIO4RxlqDtx9Kxemi4kda/s200/CatalinaStatePark.jpg" width="150" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Saguaros in the Catalina Mts</span>. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Actually, I had a lovely time during the days, when the temperatures ranged between 50</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">°</span> and 70,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">°</span> but suffice it to say that spending from 5:30pm (when the sun goes down) till 9am the next morning (when it has finally gotten warm enough to bear getting up) inside an SUV is not ideal. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWHobHBv8F71bLL9Otg8uEx1gNcT2PfA4xC4hCL0z9b6lksGE3nT1UuGl8kgcFq1xLr_FzZiScOZMC8W9dUpikBF0UdieWi_1e4AV1qgBMDCEcGbUTSChy1mC735kBWXwIQeAqkaFODKW/s1600/MyJeepCamper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWHobHBv8F71bLL9Otg8uEx1gNcT2PfA4xC4hCL0z9b6lksGE3nT1UuGl8kgcFq1xLr_FzZiScOZMC8W9dUpikBF0UdieWi_1e4AV1qgBMDCEcGbUTSChy1mC735kBWXwIQeAqkaFODKW/s200/MyJeepCamper.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">My "camper"</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I had come prepared to camp out, with a little cat food can camp stove which I had made myself from an aluminum cat food can and a paper punch after finding instructions on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J_fc8Z6UpM" target="_blank">YouTube</a> given by this tattooed dude. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtrvj_G6vAF1bFL-tnsz2imZoNvolR690RUEOvbhL7tPYy-iIfFnyZzfw3piXoJqHY-obKd-09tjtJ4vmVOrfYZvQaf4I8-dAUq5zQNgyOjL1cjOgM2xd0CMN6k1OyJtEyFDHc-Wtz_eLD/s1600/CookingAlFresco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtrvj_G6vAF1bFL-tnsz2imZoNvolR690RUEOvbhL7tPYy-iIfFnyZzfw3piXoJqHY-obKd-09tjtJ4vmVOrfYZvQaf4I8-dAUq5zQNgyOjL1cjOgM2xd0CMN6k1OyJtEyFDHc-Wtz_eLD/s200/CookingAlFresco.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">T<span style="font-size: x-small;">he stove is sitting </span>in the skillet</span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">BTW, y</span>ou only need about half as many holes as he suggests. I also figured out that if you put the stove in a skillet and shape aluminum foil around it as I show in my photo, it makes a fine windbreak and confines the heat to where you want it. In the skillet, the <span style="font-size: small;">fl<span style="font-size: small;">ame</span></span> is protected and the skillet and foil also protect your surroundings from wayward heat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The stove here is out of sight UNDER the flattish pan, which is half full of my coffee water heating up, and the uppermost can is full of ravioli which I was warming up in the hot water. It's a super<span style="font-size: small;"> stove </span>in terms of being lightweight and taking up NO space, but you should experiment with it before you go camping to figure out how much fuel you'll need. If you can't find Heet, denatured alcohol will work, but it's much more expensive. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8Gm8SobfKCZhNEfXK2PTe90JyHiK56u0VqzwAzX41YWC8JSJqFU1RJa2fAXZShx_22exQqtvBAPdOQ-ZPvGynYAgCScD8b0tFPQ_z7oLOkfw8LOh0kou5AfDVLeKL0QREUUhcSZbeJVR/s1600/SetupToSketchSaguaro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8Gm8SobfKCZhNEfXK2PTe90JyHiK56u0VqzwAzX41YWC8JSJqFU1RJa2fAXZShx_22exQqtvBAPdOQ-ZPvGynYAgCScD8b0tFPQ_z7oLOkfw8LOh0kou5AfDVLeKL0QREUUhcSZbeJVR/s200/SetupToSketchSaguaro.jpg" width="150" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">R</span>eady to sketch</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I sketched and journaled every day. While most of the time, I simply sat to sketch in the sand or perched on a rock, there were times when fallen cactus spines made this unwise. If my canvas chair was handy (I bought it on arrival for $6.95 at a sporting goods store) I'd set it up and draw in comfort. I sat in front of this cactus for a long time, sketching its demise, an astonishing sight. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LqhVFTQWsQiEFUZzGkgnuUFcpxGyZwRmZgQrSkk0ghvum2_LzQZpJ7oEPJ_ajApF281yxmjftAYKxLBa0pT8J2MFTL2ytDFwGd98SNkJKldebDj2SdwZmjLkGwp4oLDFf7H3ffDpFEum/s1600/22-DeadSaguaro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LqhVFTQWsQiEFUZzGkgnuUFcpxGyZwRmZgQrSkk0ghvum2_LzQZpJ7oEPJ_ajApF281yxmjftAYKxLBa0pT8J2MFTL2ytDFwGd98SNkJKldebDj2SdwZmjLkGwp4oLDFf7H3ffDpFEum/s200/22-DeadSaguaro.jpg" width="125" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dead saguaro</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">For the first week, I stayed in Gilbert Ray County Park, a marvelous little campground west of Tucson in<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Tucson Mountain Park. I could step off my campsite into seemingly untouched saguaro/cholla/mesquite desert, and sketch to my heart's content. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The people there were super nice ~ both the people who looked after it and the people in RVs and campers whom I met there<span style="font-size: small;">: Jim, who offered me a heater to use <span style="font-size: small;">during the cold nights, and made coffee for me in the chilly mornings<span style="font-size: small;">; the folks who needed an<span style="font-size: small;"> aspirin for a hangover, then invited me fo<span style="font-size: small;">r breakfast and admired my sketches...I met a lot of nice people on this trip.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Just across the road from the campground was a series of nature trails with lots more sketching opportunities.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsjuAnRbXzvAuOpBH9JdcE0uzWX2GUcPInEmxMFthW2G9X9aqkwijOIGp9OqSoM2w0nZWpQ1QjKdOTyHM866l87N53MNzo7qqHSNaQ41wxMq0a8axvfw9BiT_Yn_AYvUye7eTHSmMabub/s1600/JumpingChollaPath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsjuAnRbXzvAuOpBH9JdcE0uzWX2GUcPInEmxMFthW2G9X9aqkwijOIGp9OqSoM2w0nZWpQ1QjKdOTyHM866l87N53MNzo7qqHSNaQ41wxMq0a8axvfw9BiT_Yn_AYvUye7eTHSmMabub/s320/JumpingChollaPath.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Don't swing your arms whenwalking oast chollas!</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">This Barrel Cactus was one of many along the trail. And walking<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>along <span style="font-size: small;">a <span style="font-size: small;">trail</span> </span>through the Cho<span style="font-size: small;">lla was an other-worldly experience!</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixV1OyEu9P19-yxBCONUOj701YgTkPM_66tasor9U-_EihxxhBIk-gLCMZ5Z37QoPLvETESgbHqOdEHX0ho8F_G69IeePddz7LIXh0AIisQpqZlyvmITrhBBJ-L12n02kbrFhybAl57Vna/s1600/BarrelCactusOnCougarTrail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixV1OyEu9P19-yxBCONUOj701YgTkPM_66tasor9U-_EihxxhBIk-gLCMZ5Z37QoPLvETESgbHqOdEHX0ho8F_G69IeePddz7LIXh0AIisQpqZlyvmITrhBBJ-L12n02kbrFhybAl57Vna/s200/BarrelCactusOnCougarTrail.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Daniel had lent me a cellphone for this trip, which meant that I could access my email and explain to people trying to order books that I would take care of it<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>after my return in January..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">S</span>ince I was spending as many as 14-15 hours in the "camper," I had brought along a tablet upon which I could read ebooks. That proved to be a real sanity saver as I could wrap up in my sleeping bag and fleece blankets to keep warm and read <span style="font-size: small;">through</span> the many long hours of darkness ~ after I finished sketching, of course. <span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the future, </span>I'm determined to choose winter destinations SOUTH of the equator, where it will be summer and there are more daylight hours than dark hours. Fifteen hours is WAY too long to spend cramped up in a car, and at 25°. there aren't a lot of other options when you're 20 miles from town. Like I said, the days </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">were lots better than the nights. Ah but the days!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3R7mHL4gBdPIgsolqwvsgCaOgou_8nLb5DcfYmcPPZLk3RS_2C6XpIwzQJfAZfoLAtDiXvWMW6qNLB-cJReWdYC_oe3p-0hp_KAtkFyzfmXI4pUs_hDWhlV-POs0WGxOjuJjDMTJhVKql/s1600/SaguaroPanorama.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3R7mHL4gBdPIgsolqwvsgCaOgou_8nLb5DcfYmcPPZLk3RS_2C6XpIwzQJfAZfoLAtDiXvWMW6qNLB-cJReWdYC_oe3p-0hp_KAtkFyzfmXI4pUs_hDWhlV-POs0WGxOjuJjDMTJhVKql/s640/SaguaroPanorama.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVnysp3SXIDTeTepN3hDVyoqqNCZGFX6sH2d-MximvPNc2O7NWWk8jg0AzkBPQ5ozCJcO4tV1_Qt74FHFRpPj9emxjVsvHbGNqLoBO6YkotKFf5P-UUR-96vGM6FA0492I9fCjhh0kbZo/s1600/GreatHornedOwlOnBranch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVnysp3SXIDTeTepN3hDVyoqqNCZGFX6sH2d-MximvPNc2O7NWWk8jg0AzkBPQ5ozCJcO4tV1_Qt74FHFRpPj9emxjVsvHbGNqLoBO6YkotKFf5P-UUR-96vGM6FA0492I9fCjhh0kbZo/s200/GreatHornedOwlOnBranch.jpg" width="148" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Great Horned Owl</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiFxdXIZxxIEoyv3R2JejfNKskXdspUaURL8EbMttPrOTtDKrk_lm7nHQ9j6rsmXsNwSe2w_EII5FVjm0VmcI8knv9HhyO3phEIqBH0-rIMr1D6a_cqJjp4ypokKOzRPHScla3Hh6mXT1/s1600/Harris'sHawk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiFxdXIZxxIEoyv3R2JejfNKskXdspUaURL8EbMttPrOTtDKrk_lm7nHQ9j6rsmXsNwSe2w_EII5FVjm0VmcI8knv9HhyO3phEIqBH0-rIMr1D6a_cqJjp4ypokKOzRPHScla3Hh6mXT1/s200/Harris'sHawk.jpg" width="134" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Harris's Hawk</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Gilbert Ray campground is fewer than ten miles from the famous Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. If you ever get a chance to go there, don't miss it. One of their features is the raptor free-flight performances at 10 and 2 every day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I was able to photograph owls and hawks that you normally would spend months or years (or never) getting this close to. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> These photos were taken during the birds' performance. They were all flying free in the desert, under no restraints. But if you'll notice, the Great Horned Owl and the Redtail perched on the same branch.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpMDWXzmwDxRGMasve1w0BCNeL30utSoHWuKAiHWWAXzS7lGpA3OIirxB-xjYAYAHGKIHQBwZjIX-LbD5iCCW8vFfI9eOe0jCqSorTASRZOTcMuv5vGtVw_AF2nIv7B9FSliAgObkH1Q4j/s1600/BarnOwlInLandscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpMDWXzmwDxRGMasve1w0BCNeL30utSoHWuKAiHWWAXzS7lGpA3OIirxB-xjYAYAHGKIHQBwZjIX-LbD5iCCW8vFfI9eOe0jCqSorTASRZOTcMuv5vGtVw_AF2nIv7B9FSliAgObkH1Q4j/s200/BarnOwlInLandscape.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Barn Owl</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77tbBdA9jwl_4SvOvDdvmEMQqpvkvdf0D82oSRXiqBUB-cnmy9XryAdrMyUHAR4TEar0_OiaoV96oJswVeEZ_LqxVaJMI5WQQSsDyfWdQzKbiFQ0HLWfW0u7EH5PHrhDItm2u42YhtiCY/s1600/Red-tailedHawk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77tbBdA9jwl_4SvOvDdvmEMQqpvkvdf0D82oSRXiqBUB-cnmy9XryAdrMyUHAR4TEar0_OiaoV96oJswVeEZ_LqxVaJMI5WQQSsDyfWdQzKbiFQ0HLWfW0u7EH5PHrhDItm2u42YhtiCY/s200/Red-tailedHawk.jpg" width="145" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Red-tailed Hawk</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdjNYmhVZ4ZW_r9iFRG_TkStJDAK9ASUYPe55C-h-NxK-qU_7JNSXUxPXUva8LA3vR_Yk0aBDMo7yQMaGa0reB3D6jbP5NdlR6vvVmruySo_uxkmyYzRULNKjsGqVwVJqDnJ0bGRRwYhq/s1600/GreatHornedOwlOnCholla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdjNYmhVZ4ZW_r9iFRG_TkStJDAK9ASUYPe55C-h-NxK-qU_7JNSXUxPXUva8LA3vR_Yk0aBDMo7yQMaGa0reB3D6jbP5NdlR6vvVmruySo_uxkmyYzRULNKjsGqVwVJqDnJ0bGRRwYhq/s200/GreatHornedOwlOnCholla.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Great Horned Owl</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">There were other marvels at the<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Museum, as well. I had a great time sketching the Desert Bighorn Sheep. I suppose I MIGHT have seen Bighorns if I'd hiked to the top of the mountains east of Tucson. But not likely. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmrdYsyUSHWVd8VPx0eAjHQIUW8snrGU4tb0t5BCFBXHnUN0FTh-xXDM6OjY_IUpIfGJsl7V5HtPYVV8KnC2XG232dGMEKPwyOEYYwJy2jI0bfohro8D6sXBGouaGD-jx7VqIDlWLve6s/s1600/BighornSheepTrio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVmrdYsyUSHWVd8VPx0eAjHQIUW8snrGU4tb0t5BCFBXHnUN0FTh-xXDM6OjY_IUpIfGJsl7V5HtPYVV8KnC2XG232dGMEKPwyOEYYwJy2jI0bfohro8D6sXBGouaGD-jx7VqIDlWLve6s/s200/BighornSheepTrio.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxgrLpa9xICE3nXt03Hcr2k_YkdfR8XxSxaaslPvFCP43Oa4ifhYoor1HLH9EOooXt5dkncRYpRHeofBMaOxy7zY1eNSootlhFuDQBaXlU5VoGevMPu04WDVQtLxqeQ8rDUt8OYq6ELBr/s1600/BighornAtMuseum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxgrLpa9xICE3nXt03Hcr2k_YkdfR8XxSxaaslPvFCP43Oa4ifhYoor1HLH9EOooXt5dkncRYpRHeofBMaOxy7zY1eNSootlhFuDQBaXlU5VoGevMPu04WDVQtLxqeQ8rDUt8OYq6ELBr/s200/BighornAtMuseum.jpg" width="200" /></a></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Their enclosure is about as real-looking as you're likely to find, and they're apparently contented, the ewe having produced offspring more than once while living there. She's t<span style="font-size: small;">he one with the smaller horns.</span></span> </span><span style="font-size: small;"></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is other wildlife that chooses to live in the museum, as well, it being such a nice place. This lovely cardinal apparently lives on the grounds. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtyYs-ogKZnQ4j48Z5beaX2A9a_EvEpSS_LJvLgoMugTQ7hLbE6EgMod_T3kb-V7Nff0oBCUV6pAhaLaGnhqVZsVpPpR_9EGZ0uBmU2cXwsC30h8ed-xEJarN0L7PADHL4QCCmXYXlqNll/s1600/Cardinal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtyYs-ogKZnQ4j48Z5beaX2A9a_EvEpSS_LJvLgoMugTQ7hLbE6EgMod_T3kb-V7Nff0oBCUV6pAhaLaGnhqVZsVpPpR_9EGZ0uBmU2cXwsC30h8ed-xEJarN0L7PADHL4QCCmXYXlqNll/s200/Cardinal.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Unfortunately, campers are only allowed to stay at Gilbert Ray for seven days, then they shoo you out to make your way in the world. There are more campgrounds east of Tucson, but before I went I visited Saguaro National Park (West) to see the famous Hohokam Petroglyphs, which perch on a nearby hilltop.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrLlWw5e7792G3L5f2KETWUKR6s_OiTqm3_15ZPYMCdDmC7mPJsPln3e90D76IR3Vlbi0Z3tWvxOliLyafhK6rXNbZSFVrVSF5pJrS63ilnUnEUZwYp2XdpqkISaP614jlq93v6FyEgZN/s1600/HohokamPetroglyphs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrLlWw5e7792G3L5f2KETWUKR6s_OiTqm3_15ZPYMCdDmC7mPJsPln3e90D76IR3Vlbi0Z3tWvxOliLyafhK6rXNbZSFVrVSF5pJrS63ilnUnEUZwYp2XdpqkISaP614jlq93v6FyEgZN/s200/HohokamPetroglyphs.jpg" width="150" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hohokam petroglyphs</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8km769FUes8kCKOHxch_JdrxhQuRjZKdUyeWN4qNbDH1iMOn78TKibvzyf2TRr6X2k2Ow6JtgY61T4dK2O9jo29Kz3gjjgPYrk6eA3dD5R0US7UI5924yeRx6n-sldQVfhYej_el-bCNC/s1600/Hohokam-Petroglyphs.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8km769FUes8kCKOHxch_JdrxhQuRjZKdUyeWN4qNbDH1iMOn78TKibvzyf2TRr6X2k2Ow6JtgY61T4dK2O9jo29Kz3gjjgPYrk6eA3dD5R0US7UI5924yeRx6n-sldQVfhYej_el-bCNC/s320/Hohokam-Petroglyphs.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here are the sketches I managed, peering around others as they came to respectfully examine them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I wonder what these<span style="font-size: small;"> petroglyphs</span> were meant to convey.......... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I ended up with twenty five pages of sketches ~ not bad for about twelve actual sketching days (that doesn't count flying-to-and-fro time or provisioning days spent at the grocery <span style="font-size: small;">and sporting goods stores</span>). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">In order to do as much sketching as possible<span style="font-size: small;">, </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I didn't take the time to color ANY of the sketches.</span></span> Evenings in the cold car didn't lend themselves to artwork because cold fingers don't easily grasp the ballpoint pen, which was my tool of choice here, or watercolor pencils, which I had intended to use for color. I have my photographs from which I can add color here at home if I want. But do I want to? I may leave this sketchbook black-and-white. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Uh oh, I've run out of time. More later! Any comments about color or no color? </span>Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-82952984140253535202012-12-13T13:54:00.002-08:002012-12-13T13:56:24.188-08:00My South African Safari ends, alas!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wLFUQ8qS5SjaqOC__grgin0T8B3K6cBSt-9rivW_-Ujyz2Y04jkZQVmSNXGYbHz7Rh91eZahX9KvGxzw40SkLXkiBZt6kWq1ww7D5eThh2G381CylpBwjRHuKqnUJ2ZBSVnGzWyDnB_P/s1600/6HadedaIbisSkull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wLFUQ8qS5SjaqOC__grgin0T8B3K6cBSt-9rivW_-Ujyz2Y04jkZQVmSNXGYbHz7Rh91eZahX9KvGxzw40SkLXkiBZt6kWq1ww7D5eThh2G381CylpBwjRHuKqnUJ2ZBSVnGzWyDnB_P/s200/6HadedaIbisSkull.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ibis skull is about 9" long.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>I was having a great deal o</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>f fun</b></span></span> at Panzi Bush Camp. The folks there have made a collection of skulls and interesting seedpods which I took <span style="font-size: small;">the opportunity to photograph and sketch. <span style="font-size: small;">The Hadeda<span style="font-size: small;"> Ibis was particularly fascinating, and it earned a page in my sketch journal, along with two views of a baboon skull. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3adNv9hThhIEzgzJPdymYO6ve6-sRggvMays9mjjhUe7eVqnckO_XfA0qBN2Ny3Kv0-0Yh-urke6TQWBaEYN5Gq02rbvQm5f-48S0zJWNsQfI9ml62sqb-Tae_B2ysv2GGnV-gIdiIBmL/s1600/7Ibis&BaboonSkullSketchpage.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3adNv9hThhIEzgzJPdymYO6ve6-sRggvMays9mjjhUe7eVqnckO_XfA0qBN2Ny3Kv0-0Yh-urke6TQWBaEYN5Gq02rbvQm5f-48S0zJWNsQfI9ml62sqb-Tae_B2ysv2GGnV-gIdiIBmL/s320/7Ibis&BaboonSkullSketchpage.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hadeda Ibis and baboon skulls</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA85Zck7O2bR_1yLX5PD5Dh71bXa7dgWnyug___RqFb9i5MAH57BO8lBAvvR97g7OWnyZmfQcPFZXenbuWw9dWTgc9JOEHsNoVwK_9_0qSWc8MbGfCGWth71Kh0Hdn-BAQyHdECEg4vCAc/s1600/21Porcupinehome.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA85Zck7O2bR_1yLX5PD5Dh71bXa7dgWnyug___RqFb9i5MAH57BO8lBAvvR97g7OWnyZmfQcPFZXenbuWw9dWTgc9JOEHsNoVwK_9_0qSWc8MbGfCGWth71Kh0Hdn-BAQyHdECEg4vCAc/s320/21Porcupinehome.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The African Porcupine has dug a den in this hillock</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bev <span style="font-size: small;">took me out back and showed me the earthen bank where the porcupine lives, tunneling into a hillock just behind the kitchen. It sometimes wanders in the back door and into the office to say hi to Glynn, but <span style="font-size: small;">it didn't happen while I was there. Guess I'll just have to g<span style="font-size: small;">o back and try again....</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fi<span style="font-size: small;">v</span>e days at Panzi wasn't nearly long enough to sketch and draw <span style="font-size: small;">everything that caught my interest, although by now I was <span style="font-size: small;">needing a brea<span style="font-size: small;">k from sketch journaling. I think two weeks is about optimum for me if I'm sketching and journaling hours each day. It can be exhausting (although exciting and e<span style="font-size: small;">xhiliarating<span style="font-size: small;"> ~ go figure!), and by now I was nearing the end of my third week. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbDnxr6hjfYSQmRUocTfahy3jTVcnACEWmdF0-inkSgL5CZiXCcdDEExK-82qE9zA_kbmI45Bf8KoiW0tjVE_PvYO3i1QdubeFgGIyJ05Ul8EZ_lMgFr-7KJEMsi6W9G_1E0JBxOkS7C8/s1600/11OrchidsInBloom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbDnxr6hjfYSQmRUocTfahy3jTVcnACEWmdF0-inkSgL5CZiXCcdDEExK-82qE9zA_kbmI45Bf8KoiW0tjVE_PvYO3i1QdubeFgGIyJ05Ul8EZ_lMgFr-7KJEMsi6W9G_1E0JBxOkS7C8/s200/11OrchidsInBloom.jpg" width="151" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"my" yellow orchids</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I spent some time lounging on my little chalet deck gazing dreamily up at the gorgeous yellow orchids growing in the tree above, and lazily sketching a fat skink (a lizard) </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>that liked to bask in the splashes of sun on the deck railing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0W_wsDV7orTIk6Ti23N_o3L20w5RZJELQfC_SAbGsWKwxZ39ySuj3BBwwVyNBjTWKWj5edcNir6IqNPQeRFYVQ4lhhI9aDzLUPFnj5U3Gwv2r-En8JuAaymiMsth9Y8-kD-dXiJgcDYC/s1600/20SketchingLizard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0W_wsDV7orTIk6Ti23N_o3L20w5RZJELQfC_SAbGsWKwxZ39ySuj3BBwwVyNBjTWKWj5edcNir6IqNPQeRFYVQ4lhhI9aDzLUPFnj5U3Gwv2r-En8JuAaymiMsth9Y8-kD-dXiJgcDYC/s200/20SketchingLizard.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sketching the skink</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One morning I rode into <span style="font-size: small;">Hoedspruit with Glynn and John to shop for souveni<span style="font-size: small;">rs and exchange some dollars for rands</span></span>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are some really nice shops in Hoe<span style="font-size: small;">dspruit, but I mostly shopped at the outdoor craftsmen's displays, which have a lot more cachet than a modern shop. I bought a couple of <span style="font-size: small;">charming carved creatures ~ a hornbill, and a hippo in a carved stone pool, from the <span style="font-size: small;">man in the picture below. <span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqDiB3Z4YGphskmhhxNPzUOLqUfLrYPvxUMzsQTaiZwk5az2KHEBaB_WNzqDyyRvM01Y_33FU10Cpoh9PXvj6N177Av1R4qAOZIOV1mTrOd3OQi0QnqHg47_lcCAb9su-A2WJK0Su1PUG/s1600/8CraftsForSale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqDiB3Z4YGphskmhhxNPzUOLqUfLrYPvxUMzsQTaiZwk5az2KHEBaB_WNzqDyyRvM01Y_33FU10Cpoh9PXvj6N177Av1R4qAOZIOV1mTrOd3OQi0QnqHg47_lcCAb9su-A2WJK0Su1PUG/s320/8CraftsForSale.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Craftsmen and their wares on a Hoedspruit roadside.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nothing lasts forever, and after five wonderful Panzi days of sketching and exploring, bush-walking with Glynn and chatting with Bev and John, it was time to leave. Glynn drove me into Hoedspruit to catch my shuttle to Johannesburg, where I caught my plane home. </span></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7_CKuncNKwXoyH2GSJMfHyq20aOFuq-7YQmibwRaQ9Y1waVkUXcIqmU91WlKJRLsZ0A3oUw-7gM3pMURHStLuL2ontrT_JnJoRC5E_tbHOkeEn8kodOL_sg-CqBlsse9DNi2ekU3OWlT/s1600/26LandingAircraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7_CKuncNKwXoyH2GSJMfHyq20aOFuq-7YQmibwRaQ9Y1waVkUXcIqmU91WlKJRLsZ0A3oUw-7gM3pMURHStLuL2ontrT_JnJoRC5E_tbHOkeEn8kodOL_sg-CqBlsse9DNi2ekU3OWlT/s200/26LandingAircraft.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my plane taxis into its berth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>On the back of the plane seat in front of me was a screen upon which I could watch movies or switch to an airplane's-tail view of the scenery. We took off at about sunset, and chased the moon across the Atlantic, arriving, 17 hours later at dawn, on the east coast of the US. This is the view from the tail of the plane taxiing into the airport at NYC after crossing the Atlantic. I was home again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If
I'd blogged this last August, I would have waxed poetic and told you some more
tales, but I have been working on my South African Sketching Safari
sketchbook and tutorial ever since I got <span style="font-size: small;">home</span> and I am just about waxed out. </span></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ </span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVdq3fwlvCLkSLVbmB_lygMx6S535zsl32u73oTC4ldg7mtfGZFSrFH0nYnm9GExi3wxFSgMYnc_I4H-ov-PWNQmuFYa8WmNnphPuOQUvNcpCtTen-41XEW0iyx1ht8MZ4akKjsM7g9RK/s1600/CoverAfricaWildDog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVdq3fwlvCLkSLVbmB_lygMx6S535zsl32u73oTC4ldg7mtfGZFSrFH0nYnm9GExi3wxFSgMYnc_I4H-ov-PWNQmuFYa8WmNnphPuOQUvNcpCtTen-41XEW0iyx1ht8MZ4akKjsM7g9RK/s400/CoverAfricaWildDog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cover of the new South African Sketching Safari sketch journal.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The </span>sketchbook and its tutorial is finally finished, and I finally got it uploaded this morning. It took me a couple of days to write the code for the new webpage and make all the connections to other pages on my website and to the server so that you can download your own copy, but now, <span style="color: red;"><b>TA-DAH!</b></span> It is done! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If you'd like to learn more about what's inside, go <a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/SouthAfricanSketchingSafari.htm" target="_blank">here</a> to its page for a closer look, and I hope you'll be tempted to download a copy to see more. It's more than a hundred pages, and it took me six months to create, so $9.95 is a pretty good deal I think. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My next sketch journal will be done in Saguaro National Park near Tucson. Watch for it! If you put your name in the alerts box at upper right, you will be notified when I blog about it. In the meantime, have a happy holiday, and I'll blog again soon. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Ho! Ho! Ho!</span></span>Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022158959043622875.post-2610471039797938052012-11-01T12:10:00.000-07:002012-11-16T18:26:20.357-08:00A New Day at Panzi Bush Camp<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgur-yAo7jBcTfMQx7X4xPQUCuogZ6A6PURpyIN4b3KC9NO4Wim4PA8Z4wLI7LOV_boGscolnEbTlZtQ8enbYemgDKL1C6f_JB0guWUGBlr4n-EzZAKWnNEgeTja8fETgAb7mmJyuNlW2r6/s1600/1MyChalet.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgur-yAo7jBcTfMQx7X4xPQUCuogZ6A6PURpyIN4b3KC9NO4Wim4PA8Z4wLI7LOV_boGscolnEbTlZtQ8enbYemgDKL1C6f_JB0guWUGBlr4n-EzZAKWnNEgeTja8fETgAb7mmJyuNlW2r6/s200/1MyChalet.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My chalet at Panzi Bushcamp</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">The next morning,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Glynn arrived at Marc's <span style="font-size: small;">Treehouse Lodge </span>to pick me up and carry me off to <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">continue my South African odyssey at Panzi Bush Camp. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Panzi is
a small reserve with boardwalks radiating out from an open
veranda/dining room to little A-frame chalets. The railed boardwalks
which rise up through ravines to the rooms allow close-up views of the
ravine vegetation as it arches alongside and over the path. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My room was the furthest distant one from the <span style="font-size: small;">dining room</span>, at my request, to be closest to the viewing deck and waterhole, and I was within breathing distance of any passing wildlife, which I knew might include the resident porcupine or bushbucks, or passing hyenas and baboons, to name a few, which gave an exciting tang to the whole experience. At night I would hear baboons and hyen<span style="font-size: small;">as, and unknown things rustling around in the t<span style="font-size: small;">hornbushes. Exciting!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XWz1uMNu5DXrhJ_dP-s6KbpiPGsum-zW3GlSv236YyhU-r4lC_UgLZJPMt0_HaRjmVM_Ydy9xcKvgKZoGzl8BiBUlnEZ4nW36JJtY8YNb4_5zAIdNbBbUUOBZt9-fu_fFTHmCQye1td9/s1600/5BoardwalkThroughTheRavine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XWz1uMNu5DXrhJ_dP-s6KbpiPGsum-zW3GlSv236YyhU-r4lC_UgLZJPMt0_HaRjmVM_Ydy9xcKvgKZoGzl8BiBUlnEZ4nW36JJtY8YNb4_5zAIdNbBbUUOBZt9-fu_fFTHmCQye1td9/s200/5BoardwalkThroughTheRavine.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boardwalk to my chalet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">To my delight, the A-frame had a tiny deck on the front end with a couple of deck chairs in which I could sit for sketching. I would spend lots of time here writing and coloring my sketches. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6aqigw04WyUzVIzXIAhsCYtQ-06TJnUwHahyuFzPifspc4aQOhKfXy3x3Ela04GLZZwRek-gpLL0eEzUQ-SYjlD0Iyj4j4GssheukATc6CBmvy9lXL7mLgzJGaX2F8oA4A1Tht1v5r5N/s1600/4MySketchingGear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6aqigw04WyUzVIzXIAhsCYtQ-06TJnUwHahyuFzPifspc4aQOhKfXy3x3Ela04GLZZwRek-gpLL0eEzUQ-SYjlD0Iyj4j4GssheukATc6CBmvy9lXL7mLgzJGaX2F8oA4A1Tht1v5r5N/s200/4MySketchingGear.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sketching gear and bird book</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Here's my gear ~ my sketchbook, bag full of art gear (watercolor pencils and waterbrush, pencil sharpener, extra pens and all that other fun stuff we journalers like to play with) plus the pretty wooden bowl I had bought from a local artisan, in which I kept the interesting things I picked up along the trail, like seedpods, feathers, etc. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHXdMJNg0QAAh7FV_XYEsHr9Po7Vj46vCb_Ns16thgfvDwuDRm9HSCY3wZTClRoBujnu-IoPPnqBj19PtGxE-2HYF0dQxgjijZsR4-nZ9dthjHjsUBINzpezm9UGLaSG0KzfdngO9HP0K/s1600/BushbuckDoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHXdMJNg0QAAh7FV_XYEsHr9Po7Vj46vCb_Ns16thgfvDwuDRm9HSCY3wZTClRoBujnu-IoPPnqBj19PtGxE-2HYF0dQxgjijZsR4-nZ9dthjHjsUBINzpezm9UGLaSG0KzfdngO9HP0K/s200/BushbuckDoe.jpg" width="125" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My bushbuck sketch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurtqZz_OQka0zCy_7_XvLwbyhXz9Ee9z9ju-x1YGZozimFVFIefZuTtIL7-boPtsoT1r8GXGLslwOD6XNfOdCt7GjiXbKjP7lNYVhDefT3Qml7Z9qlTr4uxdExJKSClENZHeT0di91nMx/s1600/3BushbuckDoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurtqZz_OQka0zCy_7_XvLwbyhXz9Ee9z9ju-x1YGZozimFVFIefZuTtIL7-boPtsoT1r8GXGLslwOD6XNfOdCt7GjiXbKjP7lNYVhDefT3Qml7Z9qlTr4uxdExJKSClENZHeT0di91nMx/s200/3BushbuckDoe.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An inquisitive bushbuck doe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">After <span style="font-size: small;">getting settled, I stepped outside to be met by this gentle bushbuck doe, a mere six feet from my my door. I was struck by her bright orange coat and <span style="font-size: small;">liquid, black eyes, and although she didn't stick around more tha<span style="font-size: small;">n a few moments, </span>I took several photos of her which <span style="font-size: small;">turned into one of my favorite sketches.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Notice </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>the plant beside her in the sketch? This is the Mother<span style="font-size: small;">-In<span style="font-size: small;">-Law's tongue which is found as a houseplant in many <span style="font-size: small;">American homes and offices. <span style="font-size: small;">I was fascinated to find it poking up at random spots under thorn bushes <span style="font-size: small;">in the <span style="font-size: small;">South African soil, so I included one beside the little <span style="font-size: small;">bushbuck</span>. I'd never<span style="font-size: small;"> seen a Mother-in-law's Tongue plant outside a house or pot before. They say travel is broadening. I<span style="font-size: small;">f so, it </span>widens one's mind in the oddest <span style="font-size: small;">places. . .</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDxK1WP5mxGG89Gwq_D0bCZu63X4fkX4E0hah5gPYudzcgdqADFfwoBS8LcXsxrsPIFHzvqHhm-DRjtAdBlf4SV8beoPoMOYidxTKH21Ghs4v09t1VwTlWzRgF0KBg1Tsb44vlVS3wCke/s1600/24MyHostFamily.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTDxK1WP5mxGG89Gwq_D0bCZu63X4fkX4E0hah5gPYudzcgdqADFfwoBS8LcXsxrsPIFHzvqHhm-DRjtAdBlf4SV8beoPoMOYidxTKH21Ghs4v09t1VwTlWzRgF0KBg1Tsb44vlVS3wCke/s320/24MyHostFamily.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glynn, Bev, John, and Margaret ~ plus Sally the dog and Kitty.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was ready to relax, now, after all my game drives and moving from tree<span style="font-size: small;">house to treehouse at Marc's Treehouse Lodge, and Panzi was the ideal spot to do it. Run by a family which includes Glynn, who used to be a park ranger<span style="font-size: small;">, his mom Bev and dad John, and Margaret who takes care of the rooms, I felt very comfortable in the homey atmosphere. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Most gu<span style="font-size: small;">ests</span> don't stick around during the day and lodges don't generally provide lunch, so I had come prepared to feed myself <span style="font-size: small;">midway through </span>each day with energy bars. This had added quite a bit of weight to my luggage, but it was essential unless I wanted to lose some weight (not a bad <span style="font-size: small;">idea, but <span style="font-size: small;">being hungry makes me grumpy and not incl<span style="font-size: small;">in<span style="font-size: small;">ed to sketch or write in my journal). </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFujCO3fQENmmPaXzI5C8cppiR6EAvPq9q11u-Dy740hsxrDUDSTCTXYL_nfRvo-8Ji_iWM2wMU6sTasrw9k2sVpzwKo-q__5DbfkJ1Oo-gw5G5-8U1gIRboQQnBsoDDzV7HYaFrk6Biq/s1600/16BeautifulBreakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFujCO3fQENmmPaXzI5C8cppiR6EAvPq9q11u-Dy740hsxrDUDSTCTXYL_nfRvo-8Ji_iWM2wMU6sTasrw9k2sVpzwKo-q__5DbfkJ1Oo-gw5G5-8U1gIRboQQnBsoDDzV7HYaFrk6Biq/s200/16BeautifulBreakfast.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast at Panzi Bush Camp</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">B<span style="font-size: small;">ut Bev <span style="font-size: small;">kept </span>a fruit bowl supplied in case I <span style="font-size: small;">got a yen for a banana, and coffee or tea was always a<span style="font-size: small;">vai<span style="font-size: small;">l<span style="font-size: small;">a</span>ble, which pleased me mightily. And </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">in my opinio<span style="font-size: small;">n </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bev and John could cook for a 4-star restaurant if they chose. Look at this classy breakfast! Dinners were incredibly good, too<span style="font-size: small;">, </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The elevated viewing deck provided a great view of the waterhole, particularly at dawn and dusk, and I spent a lot of time birdwatching and keeping an eye out for wildlife. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRX6k8x-EYy9im6WM-qHIa0tM8wZSKiXGIJpm1IrOtizupRnphu13-hzPZ2VSV3IqSlxWi4q0T2ZpLx3SWTixxJK9mrp-rzeLJttmNs6sNSKgSUnwP6ZHbU1T7z2OY5s5OfqBnx8hhv6E/s1600/15KuduBuckAtWaterhole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRX6k8x-EYy9im6WM-qHIa0tM8wZSKiXGIJpm1IrOtizupRnphu13-hzPZ2VSV3IqSlxWi4q0T2ZpLx3SWTixxJK9mrp-rzeLJttmNs6sNSKgSUnwP6ZHbU1T7z2OY5s5OfqBnx8hhv6E/s200/15KuduBuckAtWaterhole.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A kudu stops by the waterhole</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">One evening I watched a hamerkop (a big bird with a head like a hammer (which is what its Dutch name means) bathing at the water's edge. I saw kudu bucks visit in the dawn light, posing self-consciously as I watched through binoculars and sketched furiously in my sketchbook. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTL0l1tearPJTnZ4zic_I6iNzenpIw-9B0FAeql0i8mhRGo0Cl5iGUCU9xpl8D7w_zfC2fIyV1WGeP98ul-QbfVErvbi35l57re6KNjhK2M6LZ3EmdiWzbgNnTRfq8JyineTXp5FPkbCh/s1600/23LeopardKillOstrich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTL0l1tearPJTnZ4zic_I6iNzenpIw-9B0FAeql0i8mhRGo0Cl5iGUCU9xpl8D7w_zfC2fIyV1WGeP98ul-QbfVErvbi35l57re6KNjhK2M6LZ3EmdiWzbgNnTRfq8JyineTXp5FPkbCh/s200/23LeopardKillOstrich.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All that remains of an ostrich</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Glynn took me on a couple of walks in the bush, where we checked out termite mounds and antelope tracks in the dusty trail, and found a pile of ostrich feathers and the ostrich's skull, all that was left of a leopard's midnight feast. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivLPneJsAmMr-uISa2Uif9m6y0FXdifkxA0M5GiKnLqwknhGAtnz2xdy6NGBUVa-mLPyn7bxvxWuqmPAk6hVTe5NPg9_3xHPf_iEXhePfKidhX2OmRRIVjKK969SgXXApWpbyruMYITcOX/s1600/22GiraffeOnFoot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivLPneJsAmMr-uISa2Uif9m6y0FXdifkxA0M5GiKnLqwknhGAtnz2xdy6NGBUVa-mLPyn7bxvxWuqmPAk6hVTe5NPg9_3xHPf_iEXhePfKidhX2OmRRIVjKK969SgXXApWpbyruMYITcOX/s200/22GiraffeOnFoot.jpg" width="129" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giraffe with ox-pecker</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The walks were terrific. I had a chance to get so close to a giraffe that we were looking UP into its face as it placidly chewed its cud and gazed back down at us. Notice the ox-pecker clinging to the side of its face ~ these birds remove (and eat) ticks and other parasites from larger herbivores. I wonder how they figure out it's not a good idea to remove a tick from a lion.......? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We also found a zebra skeleton and skull, leftovers from another leopard kill. There are leopards at Panzi Bush Camp, but not lions, because the lions can't get through the fence. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQjtMKLnclkVZ9UhqL1tYPwCTg5bSnYyBZTxAu_7Fnqf_G5sD3zoMvGqdfH3blg6oQDWlRVpKwbjsvHGMjDGz_lJKuVu2y-uX6iONGWvuOIatLFNUH0O0P-dYgv31ezIrtTFYsSe66fZX/s1600/12WildAloe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQjtMKLnclkVZ9UhqL1tYPwCTg5bSnYyBZTxAu_7Fnqf_G5sD3zoMvGqdfH3blg6oQDWlRVpKwbjsvHGMjDGz_lJKuVu2y-uX6iONGWvuOIatLFNUH0O0P-dYgv31ezIrtTFYsSe66fZX/s200/12WildAloe.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aloe tree</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There are fascinating things growing out in the bush. I really enjoyed the aloe trees, with clusters of big seedpods and thorny leaves. The ravines around which Panzi Bush Camp is built are also beautiful, although they can be a big problem in the summer when the rains drain down off the Drakensburg Escarpment to sluice through such ravines as these. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCFSa6oFCoewKOLAuFb31xqgvxF7qJsiKy7E__TjIGLcy-VTWcMpTEk6emXfu7m-X-O2L3ztbSFiWTwakMgR_57YMxhSLD5-Cgoe8LV2HQvJuC2CMKhQyrjPTNFbC7-81ETIpyS2ZhfMb/s1600/10WildRavine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCFSa6oFCoewKOLAuFb31xqgvxF7qJsiKy7E__TjIGLcy-VTWcMpTEk6emXfu7m-X-O2L3ztbSFiWTwakMgR_57YMxhSLD5-Cgoe8LV2HQvJuC2CMKhQyrjPTNFbC7-81ETIpyS2ZhfMb/s200/10WildRavine.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rocky ravine</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The boardwalks at Panzi are occasionally wrecked or washed away in these floods, and roads to the camp sometimes wash out as well. But not in the winter, which is when I was there </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(August)</span>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Uh-oh, I've run out of time. I will finish up my saga in the next blog. I've been working on the sketchbook tutorial (like <a href="http://www.natureworkspress.com/IrenesTravelJournals.html" target="_blank">these</a>) for several weeks, which is why so much time had elapsed since the last blog entry. I'll try to get to the next/last one sooner!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"> BTW, I wrote a review about Panzi Bush Camp for TravelAdvisor <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g312616-d3374841-Reviews-Panzi_Bush_Camp-Hoedspruit_Limpopo_Province.html" target="_blank">here</a> if you want to read my recommendations.<br />
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</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span><br />Irene Bradyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02062009689184090431noreply@blogger.com0