"Orange Alert"

This one could have been titled "Red Alert", because it happened when one or more deer took a night time stroll through the yard. Cassie must have hit the window full force to make a blob this size! The first version was trashed when a friend commented that it looked like "a LOT of dog slobber" - which it is, but I'd rather it weren't so obvious. I keep finding new ways to process the images, which is a good thing because I discovered that the winter sun has dropped too far to let me photograph Cassie's current efforts on all but the west window. It's frustrating; however, by taking a second look at previous work I hope I'm learning to make better art. Got to make the dog proud!

Six Deer on Monday!

We finally got some rain, so the deer have suddenly reappeared in abundance. There were six of 'em parading up the side yard last Monday so Cassie had a very productive session at the window. It's a wonder her nose wasn't swollen, she banged it on the glass so much! The parade consisted of three does and three spotless fawns. The last doe was limping; later I found out that my neighbor heard a commotion previously and then the cable TV wouldn't work. When he checked his dish (mounted on one of our pasture fence posts), he discovered that it had been knocked askew, so we figured that the gimpy deer had gotten tangled in the fence there.

The rain also brought out a box turtle, who decided to call at the front, so Cassie has been painting the storm door heavily, too. More from that, later.

Yikes!!

Here it is - Cassie's Halloween "spook"! This is the second version; the first one looked like a purple elephant with a trunk deformity. I was about to delete it, but then decided to play with it some more, and this little monster appeared. I definitely don't want to bump into it in the yard!

RE: the glowing eyes in the yard, mentioned last time - it finally rained the next day, when I was all set to go critter hunting, and I haven't seen anything looking back at me since. The speculation around here is that they were (a) aliens; (b) dust fairies; or (c) an indication that someone's medication needs adjusting.

Waterfall?

This is one of Cassie's most "painterly" works; I should be so free with my strokes. It was down in the corner of the den window, done during a period when we were having plenty of rain and lots of wildlife traipsing through the yard at night. If this drought doesn't end soon, Cassie's art may dry up as well. She's just not getting inspired since there's not usually anything large enough to get her attention out there.

There is some mysterious activity in the grass, however. The past few nights, my flashlight has picked up these brilliant, glowing, unidentified eyes, staring back at Cassie and me. They blink occasionally and move around a little. The first time I saw them, there were only two pairs and I thought they might be mice or shrews or some other tiny animal. Last night, I decided to check the other side of the yard where the septic tank lines run, and discovered the grass was full of those little diamond eyes! Definitely not that many small beasties in one spot - I think it's some kind of insect. Tonight I have to decide whether to take a trip outside the fence to get acquainted. Not exactly sure I want to do that, but I probably should check 'em out before they decide to come inside the fence!

Angel?

This one came from a period of intense activity at the front door. The first version had some strong color, but the forms were mostly blobs due to my processing. The more I work with these images, the more I discover in the way of possibilities; this one rated a double "Wow!" when it appeared. Now, if I can just make myself get in the habit of writing down the steps...but I don't want to get into a formula approach, since what works for one image doesn't necessarily work for another.

The weather is so dry here that most of the wildlife that inspires Cassie has temporarily disappeared, though a box turtle was seen last week beating it through the "desert" on the east side of our yard. I had to go out and assist it to the woods so Cassie would stop shrieking. Turtles really make her crazy.

As for the "angel", it would be nice to think that we have one of those watching over the front door. Just wait for the Halloween special that came from the east window - not going out there at night any more!

Cassie's Nose Garden

This is getting to be more fun all the time! Over the weekend I discovered yet another filter in PhotoShop and got a whole new look. I call this one Cassie's Nose Garden, but I suspect she got in at least one lick along with all those nose swipes.

Not-So-Trivial-Pursuit!

I laughed out loud when this one showed up! Maybe my imagination is running totally wild here, but to me it looks like a worried little critter fleeing from a gang of other strange life forms. It was tagged "Pursuit", partly for that reason and partly because I think it came from Cassie's energetic pursuit of a fly that was buzzing around in that window. There's another one that I call "Gonna Get That Fly!" which will show up later. By the way, one of Cassie's nicknames is "Renfield".