not sleeping

The past couple of years I have gone through a weird change in sleep habits. Most of my life I was a night owl, up late and sleeping in whenever I could. But my days and nights seem topsy-turvy now. Early to bed, reading only a chapter or two before conking out, then 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. finds me wide awake.

Butters the corgi wonders why I’m not in bed, asleep. She is NOT a morning person!

Unfortunately, I’m so tired during the days that I have not begun those two workshops that I recently won . . .

The background was sketched with the Lamy Safari and J. Herbin “Lie de The” ink. The double recliner was sketched with a Pentel Pocketbrush pen with brown ink.

taking it easy

She smiles even in her sleep. But a much bigger, wider grin when it’s time to play ball.

a creepy critter’s tower

As I was walking with my corgi in the south pasture, I found what appeared to be a tiny tower hidden among some clover. At first I wondered if it had something to do with the frogs who burrow in the ground. 

But after searching online, I found out that this tiny mud structure is built by a prairie crayfish! An actual land-dwelling crayfish! They live underground in deep, water-filled burrows. These “chimneys” provide air circulation as well as offering shelter to other wildlife — including those burrowing frogs.

I’m just glad the wee creature didn’t make an appearance while I was studying his handiwork — this photo of one I found online is positively creepy!

Butters, resting

After arriving home yesterday, Butters had a quick game of fetch (she missed playing at camp because she had to be on leash), then she quickly fell asleep.

Keeping up with us is sometimes hard work.

after playing fetch

Keeping it simple: I sketched this in blue (I keep blue lead in this mechanical pencil), then added a few ink lines. Our corgi, Butters, wears herself out fetching her favorite rubber ball . . . then is eager to play again after a short rest.

exploring . . .

We just arrived at our campsite on Lake Conroe. As Bill took care of the RV hookups, Butters and I headed down to our own private lake view . . . then climbed back up the live tree root steps. (It’s steeper than these photos show!)

83° (feels like a muggy 86°) with thunder in the distance.

sleepy morning

I tend to wake up very early, before dawn. My corgi, Butters, joined me on the loveseat yesterday morning but fell right back to sleep in this curly-Q position, as I read my book.

feeling better . . .

The Jelly Babies that made my sore throat feel better are gone — but so is my sore throat. All-in-all, this has been a pretty mild case of Covid, and meds took care of the strep throat and flu. Bill only had Covid, and he is doing much better as well.

And our Corgi, Butters? She happily insists on several games of fetch every day. She knows we need the sunshine, after all. 🌞 

(Because it is autumn, I used my palette of earthy, granulating pigments.)

one sketch for Inktober

In past years I have had fun joining online sketchers doing one ink drawing a day for the entire month of October. This year I am not participating, but I just refilled my Falcon fountain pen and drew this to celebrate Inktober anyway. My current viruses and strep throat are making me feel a bit foggy, so I added a Demi Palette full of “foggy” colors.

Then as an afterthought, I added some Jelly Babies. They are very soothing to my sore throat right now! Dr. Who #4 would approve.

The Art Toolkit in the second photo is my favorite, an in-between size that is no longer offered. It has my favorite color turquoise trim, and holds just enough supplies while still feeling small in my hands. The footstool is one that Bill made me years ago to go with the Morris chair he also made — Butters has claimed it as her jump-on-the-couch stool so I had to clean Corgi hair off before taking the photo.

Butters has now reclaimed her stool.

a few quick sketches

While in Kansas we settled the RV at Bill’s sister’s home, inside a large fenced-in area. The heat and humidity were much lower than in Texas and Butters couldn’t get enough time playing fetch! 

From there we drove a rental car to visit family in El Dorado, Wichita, and Manhattan. I didn’t get much sketching done during the week — just the quick bits in this two-page spread.

More in my next post . . .

Bentley, a friend of Butters

Butters and I usually walk in the early morning before the “stupid humid” heat gets unbearable.

Some mornings, our neighbor’s dog, Bentley, walks slowly out to the lane to greet us. Butters sits and waits patiently, seeming to know that the elderly guy can’t move very fast.

Painting his graying coat was a bit tricky!

Butters in blue ink

A simple ink sketch of Butters as she snuggled next to me. She does not like rain, so recent storms have been a bit nerve-wracking for her.

I drew this directly in ink using the blue ink cartridge that comes with Kaweco Liliput fountain pens and my Fire Blue Liliput, plus a bit of white Gelly Roll pen. The small kraft paper notebook is from Travelers Company.

no walk today

Butters and I headed out for our morning walk. At the end of our long driveway, we were turning onto the country lane . . . and saw a skunk leisurely wondering around on the other side of the mailbox.

Er . . . Never mind. No walk today.

 

some cacti

These are some of the cacti growing in front of our barn home among some large rocks. It’s funny how sometimes the greens are yellowish and sometimes a cool blueish green. The Peruvian apple cactus is actually much smaller than it appears on the sketchbook page, as it is very young. But it will eventually tower over everything, including us!

my caretakers

“IT’S SO EXHAUSTING BEING US!”

Bill caught Butters and Scottie Dubh taking a break from watching over me. Just before this shot, both had all four paws straight up in the air!

But we all know that it’s really Bardie Mac who is in charge. He usually has night duty, sleeping at my feet. 

Even our daughter and son-in-law’s Great Pyrenees mix, Bradley, rushed over to check me out after I got home from the hospital — and he hasn’t quite forgiven me for bringing Butters to live here yet! Bradley takes his job very seriously, trying to keep all of us humans home where we belong.

At first he liked Butters. But he must have thought that she’d be temporary like the pups our granddaughter trains for Patriot Paws. When he realized she was staying, he became jealous. But I think he will eventually get over it.

a soccer ball for Fiona

Once upon a time, I had a Scottish Terrier named Fiona. Our youngest son, Jeff, was about 7 or 8 years old and seldom put away his soccer ball. One day I nudged it with my feet through the family room towards the staircase — and Fiona quickly joined in the game! She became quite proficient at herding the ball with her hard head and it became her favorite game.

I recently bought this doggy soccer ball, thinking I’d teach Butters to play soccer with me. She already loves fetching tennis-size balls and often uses her head to toss them in the air. But she wants nothing to do with it, thank you very much!

Christmas sketches

Our Christmas Day was relaxingly low-key and I was able to do some sketching as well as beginning a new crocheted project. Plus playing with Butters, of course!

“Butters”

My new buddy’s name given to her by her former owner is Butters, short for Buttercup — but in my mind it’s short for Butterscotch. Her red and white coloring reminds me of an old-fashioned butterscotch sundae! She will be 5 years old on Tuesday, a fluffy Pembroke Welsh Corgi who has quickly become a much-loved member of the family. 

I love that she has the fluffy gene because it means less shedding, but it is harder to sketch than a smooth coat! The eyes are wrong in the lower right sketch but I’ll have lots of time to practice.

Christmas has arrived!

My Christmas gift has arrived! Meet our new family member, Buttercup, a 4 year old Welsh Pembroke Corgi ❣️

Butters has retired from breeding and is ready for new adventures here at “the farm”. Our cats are quietly keeping their options open but since she isn’t barking or chasing them, they are tentatively accepting her. Our daughter and son-in-law’s dog Bradley is VERY interested in playing with her but we’ll take it slow for now. She was just spayed last week and needs to heal.