More Eggs

I lost my mind again. Or got it back depending on how you look at this. I placed an order for chicks. Peeps-in-a-box. I cannot remember the last time I was this excited. The men in my family love pickled quail eggs. Pop it in your mouth and go. Which reminds me of the time I was showing my 3 year old granddaughter some finch eggs I had scooped out of their nest. I remember it perfectly, her beautiful little pixie face and big blue eyes listening intently to my description of baby bird eggs. I asked if she wanted to hold one and before I could take a breath, she plucked an egg out my cupped hand and popped it in her mouth like a Tic Tac. I don’t think it even touched her tongue before going down her throat. I never saw that coming, and neither did the egg.

Anyway, I was looking to get 50 quail to put in a hutch and raise for eggs and meat. I find out that the quail I want do not ship until May. So I keep looking at different fun bird things and I discover “The Rainbow Mix”. The breeder selects hen chicks that will lay an assortment of browns, whites, speckled and blue-greens. They jump into my shopping cart button. I click another button and I get a surprise “fancy” chick added to my order. One that will have flowing tail feathers or a gussied top knot. I click more buttons. I end up with a certificate needed if I want to show any of my birds. More buttons clicked and everyone is inoculated against Mareks and coccidiosis. When do you want this shipped? As soon as possible, silly. Click. Click.

You won’t catch me shopping in a mall. I liken that experience to standing in a fire ant bed. I get almost everything I need from Farm and Fleet stores. Which I need to stop at tonight to get a new heat lamp. Got peeps on the way.

Fresh Eggs

Fresh hens eggs are the only way to go. A happy, free ranging hen will bless you daily with her colored orbs. They also make great companions if you choose to get friendly with your birds. They will follow you around the yard, clucking and purring. You can even scoop one up and sit on the porch rocker, petting a hen. A happy hen will cluck, purr, chirp, growl and cluck loudly when an egg drops. The girls are enterprising. When I would mow the yard, I had several hens that followed, scarfing up on whatever bug that did not make it out of the path of the mower. Gross, you say? That is what makes those egg yolks bright orange and stand tall in the skillet. It makes your pies and cookies rich. People will ask what your secret is. I always admit, “fresh, free range eggs.”

For Bennett

Sketchcrawl 2009

I participated in the Sketchcrawl this year. I drove over to Austin, Texas and caught up with other artists at The Great Outdoors plant nursery. Here is my contribution to quick sketching on location. I used a Micron pen and then followed it with Faber Castell watercolor pencils. Enjoy.

Giddings, Texas

I love small town America. When I drive through these towns, my mind cannot keep up with all the cool things I am seeing. I have to stop and keep making blocks to take more pictures of unique ephemera. I am not talking about places to shop, I am talking about the kitchy, local architecture, cupolas, peeling paint, abandoned buildings with just the right amount of weeds covering it. Or things that you will find only in the South. My poor kids had a helluva time growing up with me. They have experienced what it is like to live with an artist. I am now tormenting the next generation, my grandkids. I have to get them trained right, to see beauty in so much that has been discarded and taken for granted. They are getting it.

Giddings, Texas caught my eye this weekend. Here are some cool shots to share with you.

Lee County Courthouse clock tower.


Nicely illustrated postcard mural.


Magnolia Petrol complete with petroleum Peagasus. I have some good close-ups of the horse to integrate into an art quilt. I need to go back and plein air paint this station.


Where petroleum comes from. I grew up playing around these loud groaning, creaking horse heads. I thought every kid in America had these in their backyard. Alas, my family did not own the rights to the liquid underneath (dammit!).


A good ole' tent rival waiting for you sinners out there. Can you see the trailer behind the tent? Someone dropped it in a hurry. I had a full shot of the listing trailer beside the tent and it was scary. Only thing missing were the Pentecostals and snakes.

Apron Strings

I have always been a big fan of aprons. Multi-purpose, functional and creative outerwear. As a child growing up in the 70’s, I had 2 terry cloth aprons with silk screened images. One apron had Snoopy dancing with a dog bowl and the other was the classic gold and brown mushroom (so I could match my mother's stoneware mushroom canister set…).

I love to cook for my family. My grandkids have figured out that I am the only grandmother that whips up the meals for them. One early morning while the bacon was frying and the waffles were waffling, the guinea pig was slipped into my apron pocket by my 6 year old granddaughter as she announced “you now have a pig in your pocket!”

Aprons are catch-all’s. I have gathered eggs, wiped faces, kept cooking splats off my day clothes, carried chicks or anything that needed toting. I have one apron used for plein air painting. Generations of women before me have pioneered this piece of fabric. And trust me, I know a woman had to invent it. I have started making old fashioned aprons with left over fabric and notions. Here are a few to share with you. Minus the pocket pig…