Golf balls, Tennis balls and Baseballs

I was feeling sort of uninspired as to what to post on my blog this week. So I decided to share our evening on the town last night. Downtown to be exact. We started the evening at Kieran's.

We were going to wait till we got to Target Field to eat but couldn't resist some Happy hour fare. A brat loaded with pickled veggies and $1.99 fries.

My husband had to try the 2 gingers whiskey. It was only by the luck of the Irish that he got to drink it himself. (I snuck a little sip) I don't know if it was the drinks but after awhile I noticed that everyone was dressed alike. I wonder why?

Oh yeah. Everyone at Kieran's was headed to see the Twins last night. It was my first time at the new Target Field. Impressive. Our cheap seats were way at the top under the flags.

Of course I had to get a foot shot to send in to Toemail. We didn't even offend anyone with our ugly feet since there was no one seated behind us. I just realized it's nail polish season.

A few rain drops led to golf and tennis ball sized hail. At this point we were crowded into the stadium like chickens in a cage. Yuck. A mass of human kind. Eventually the Orange sky dried up. They quickly scooped up the hail and the game continued.

Did I mention that we had a high of 88 degrees yesterday? Not bad for a Tuesday. The end.

The beginning of the day in Costa Rica

Beginner. That's the http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ theme today. And in the jungles of Costa Rica, the day begins LOUD. Thanks to the lowly cicada. But I wouldn't have it any other way. The first sound you are likely to hear is the grunt of the howler monkey. Then the buzz of the cicada slowly builds to an ear popping symphony.


These illustrations were completed for 2010's, "There's an Iguana on my roof!" for Art House Co-op.

Now if you want to hear the real thing be sure to play this short video. It was filmed at dusk when the cicadas perform their 2nd act. Turn up the sound! It builds to a deafening roar!

It's hard being a cat!

We're preparing to put the trail camera back in the woods. There we hope to capture another Spring and Summer of deer, wolves and bears. And a few surprises might be nice!





But on the night of April 23, my husband set it up at the bottom of the stairs. The drama. Every morning the cats set up vigil. Crying, pawing and begging for a sign of life at the top. Akua got up at 4:58 AM.




Then Hana at 5:47 AM.

I could have posted dozens of sad glances and pitiful crys. If the camera had sound that is.

I had to laugh at this picture. I think good ole dad went back to bed. Let the bedroom shenanigans begin...

For more cats visit http://www.gattinamycats.blogspot.com/

Lesson

The dictionary first describes lesson as the act of reading. Lesson is the http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ theme of the day.

I completed this illustration for the 2010 MNSCBWI annual conference. I was the previous year's winner of the mentor ship award with illustrator Carrie Hartman. I handed over my crown and turned in this illustration the next year. It was used on all the conference brochures and materials. My favorite part is the sleeping/dead squirrel on the lower branch. Sleeping? Dead? You be the judge...

Red

I submitted the last tulip photo to Joan over at http://myretirementchronicles.blogspot.com/ Her latest photo contest was themed Red. My blogging friend DJan http://djanstewart.blogspot.com/ had an even more beautiful tulip photo. She received an honorable mention for her entry.

The tulips haven't sprung here in frigid Minnesota. And I'm not even sure if Spring has sprung. It was gosh darn cold here yesterday. But there's always photos. Lots of photos to remember the good times. Sigh...

Sidney's Journey

When I turned my attention from fine art to children's illustration, Sidney the Unstoppable Squirrel was my very first project. I wrote and illustrated a completely unpublishable short story. But it's still kind of cute. And I still love the illustrations. The story introduces Sidney and his very good friend Carmen the chipmunk. Together they embark on a journey to find the magic corn kernels hidden somewhere in the forest. Journey is the http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ theme today. Here's an excerpt from my story... They ran for the hole as fast as they could. Sidney could hear the cat's paws beat faster and faster behind him. Then Carmen dove for the hole and Sidney was right behind. He squeezed inside just as an Orange Paw swiped his backside. From the safety of their new den they peered outside. A big Orange face snarled back at them. "Yuck, fish breath!" said Carmen shaking her head. And with a twitch of a whisker and a splash of smelly drool the cat left. "We won!" shouted Sidney. Not the end!

Beat feet

Beat feet down to view my happy feet...

This just might be one of my favorite posts to date. I'd forgotten just how many feet photos I've taken over the years. It was fun to browse the forgotten feet files. Here's a list from top to bottom of the locations my happy feet have wandered...

1) St. Croix, MN

2) Lover's Key, FLA

3) Ho'okipa Beach, Maui

4) Key West, FLA

5) Door County, WI

6)Naples, FLA

7)Lover's Key, FLA

8) Clam Pass, FLA

9) Grand Cayman

10) Punalu'u Beach, Big Island

11) Hopkins, Belize

12) Dominical, Costa Rica

P.S. Did you see the sea turtle in the Black Sand? My favorite photo is the first one. Me and my friend Loren having a little fun in (and out) of the canoe. What's your favorite?

I hit the bottle last night!

I hit the bottle last night. We had our first campfire this Spring. Along with loaded hot dogs, beans and of course a bottle of beer. Or two. So imagine my shock at today's http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ theme. Bottle. Crazy coincidence? Me exaggerate? Never!

I painted my bottle entries to look like glass. I also used some pearlescent liquid acrylic. Which never really shows up when you scan a piece of art work. The purple bottle selection is definitely a stronger piece with the addition of the glass shadows. I suppose all these years later I could add shadows to the pink bottle piece. Excuse me while I run over and pencil that in at the very bottom of my to do list!

P.S. Be sure to beat feet over to http://toemail.wordpress.com/2011/07/punaluu-beach-hawaii/ for my latest photo entry on this fun blog.

The Farm

We went to Wisconsin this weekend. And I couldn't resist taking a few new photos at the old family farm. There's a quiet and fleeting beauty in the ruins. This photo shows the stone pilings of an old barn. Old roof tiles.

Can you guess what object lies beneath the withered vines? Well, I've actually taken photos here before. (when it has been exposed) And it's still a mystery! But it's pretty clear that the other photo is milkweeds.

I've taken a lot of photos of this green barrel over the years. But this perspective is a new one.

The light switch and Frigidaire photos are both from the same weathered building. I could actually fill a whole week of blog posts with all the photos I've taken at the farm. No cats this time for Cats On Tuesday fame. But I can direct you over to Joan at http://www.myretirementchronicles.blogspot.com/ for this month's Red photo contest. My photo is the one with the tulips!

Duet

Finally. A http://www.illustrationfriday.com/ theme that lets me post some new art! This illustration is part of my sketchbook project for Art House Co-op. http://arthousecoop.com/users/sharonrwagner My theme was Nightmare. And I had a lot of fun with my self portrait series. In this composition of 2, (duet) I changed the classic Snow White scene to include me and a Gorilla. It's called, "An Apple A Day Keeps The Gorillas Away" Luckily I never had to test that theory!