There was a mother eagle
Who was trying to get some rest.
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But oh no! Look behind her!
It’s a teenage raptor pest!
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So she cuffed the juvenile in the head!
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And left for parts unknown.
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The kid, he was proud to have his own roost.
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Until he realized that he was all alone..
Mom?
Mother??
Mommy?!?
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Hi….
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It’s been awhile…
But this is what I’ve done so far with my summer.
I was sidetracked for a bit by a large monster.
It said ” Rawrrrrrrr, Rawrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, RAWRRR!!!”
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Which is for monsterspeak for
“Help! I’m stuck!!”
And he struggled back and forth..
“Rawwwrrrrr, rawwwrrrrrr! RAWRRRR!!!”
Translation: “Hmmm. Maybe if I lean a bit and put one leg down and rock back and forth…”
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“Rawrr”
Translation: “Okay, I’m out, it’s all good”
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And then he sheepishly crawled away.
Even the hummingbird did a dance for him.
“I’m so HAPPY!!”
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While the grumpy hummingbird rolled his eyes..
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Then I saw a butterfly..
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And “Marine One” flew the President over my house.
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So I painted this in acrylic for a WetCanvas Paint Along.
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And I bought a new Bic pen so I did some quick doodling.
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Other then that, there’s not much going on. Though I did let Zeus and Sampson watch Sharknado and now they’re making their own film called “Dognado”. Zeus, as the art director of the film, thought the garden looked too fruitful so he promptly picked all the tomatoes.
Yes, I have no tomatoes.
Sigh.
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2013
Good Evening, ladies and gentlemen…
The scene is set. An isolated farmhouse before the storm.
A ladder leaning against a lone tree.
Here a heedless harpy harangues her hapless husband.
The husband, his soul pierced by a thousand verbal barbs, slouches over his basement work table and slowly twists a rope over and over.
And as the skies darken, faint thunder is heard rolling across the barren landscape. The basement stairs creak as the man heavily climbs them with the rope in his hands.
Twisting, twisting….
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Meanwhile a lone eagle flies over a railroad span.
The river rages below.
The wind whips through the trees. A light mist settles.
A ravenous troll lurks below the bridge as a footsteps of a young goat rings out.
Clip. Clop. Clip. Clop. Clip…
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Oh sorry Sampson, didn’t mean to scare you. Thank you Zeus for covering his eyes. Sammy is a bit nervy at times. He also needs a bath..
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Why don’t you guys go and chase some birds?
Oh I see. Yes, that is an awful lot of birds.
A Hitchcockian amount of birds, one might say.
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Where’s an eagle when you need one?
There he is!
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Now, where was I? I was going somewhere with this Hitchcock stuff.
Never mind, I’ve lost it. Here, look at a photo of Zeus chasing his nose.
Yup, that’s what he’s doing. Don’t worry though, he didn’t catch it.
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Well. I guess I should quit messing around with the camera and go paint something.
Till we meet again..
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2013
Well New Year’s Day came and went. I only made one resolution.
I decided I would not rest until I had a decent non goofy looking photo of Zeus. So I prepared myself for an arduous year long journey of begging, treat offerings, bone buying blackmail and general doggyness. I took him out on the first day of the year to start our journey together and..
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Sooo…apparently I will have a lot of free time on my hands this year.
Which is great! Because it’s that time of year!
“What time of year?” you ask..
Well it’s the time of year for my favorite sporting event.
Yes it’s time for the Synchronized Aerobatic Flying Event.. SAFE for short.
Oh, you missed it? What a shame, let me give you the rundown.
As I arrived at the Rock River, the spectators, mostly from the Bald Eagle Fan Club, were beginning to arrive and jostling for seats.
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As they settled in, eagles to the left and center, herring gulls to the right and petrified ducks huddled in the middle, the juvenile eagles (juveniles have brown heads, they don’t get their white feathers for several years. This greatly helps reduce the sale of liquor to young eagles although occasionally one tries the old dump a box of cornstarch on the head trick to fool unwitting vendors) put on a rousing demonstration show featuring a half pike, reverse vertical aileron position. Well done, young ones!
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With the demonstration over and anticipation for the main event growing, a roar came from the crowds. Shrieks, piping whistles and loud kuk kuk kuk calls came from the eagles and gulls and even the petrified ducks occasionally omitted a small quavery quack.
Then the first team for the pairs entered the arena. A shocked silence filled the air as the referee called out their names.
” Ladies and Gentlebirds! Please welcome for their first time at the Annual SAFE Competition….
Seigel the Eagle and Egal the Seagull!!”
That’s right for the first time in history, an eagle and a gull had paired up. Shocking, right.
But soon their beautiful highly technical set, performed to an exceptionally moving version of U2’s “Window in the Skies” sung by the charming Crimson Cardinal Chorus, delighted the crowd.
Here they execute a lovely Lunkenheimer air taxi move with their legs in perfect tuck position.
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And here’s the infamous tetrahedron wings up yaw maneuver. Bravo, I say! Bravo!
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Followed by the cross volitant split flap maneuver.
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Please note, I did apologize to Egal the Seagull for the fuzziness of his photos. My camera was acting up in the cold. It was downright icy out there. He was a bit miffed at first. Then we got to talking and I told him how, on my great grandmother’s birth certificate from 1886 London, England, my great great grandfather’s job is listed as “Scavenger”. Once we realized we both came from a long line of honorable, hard working Scavengers ( with a capitol S, please) we got along like a house afire. Strange term “a house afire”, connotates affability between parties but I’ve had a house afire and let me tell you it’s anything but affable. Now don’t try that yourself, just trust me on that one.
Of course as per usual over in the judging feeders, the officials were fighting tooth and nail. To no one’s surprise the French judge, flew off in a huff.
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After much discussion and some squawking, squabbles were settled and Seigel the Eagle and Egal the Seagull were befeathered SAFE champions of the year. In honor of the historical SAFE interavian champion performers and much to the relief of the petrified ducks (that huddled mass at the bottom center) the crowds dispersed peacefully.
Rumor has it that the pair are now being considered for the Nobel Peace Prize.
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Sure a few straggling hecklers had to fly by the stands and mock the crowd.
But all in all it was a good day.
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Mark your calenders and don’t forget to come out for this inspiring sporting event next year!
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2013
But it is National Flashlight Day!!!!
That’s right. A holiday everyone can celebrate because who doesn’t appreciate a good flashlight, besides the candle lobbyists that is. But ignore them, they’re full of hot wax.
And now for a little Christmas music. ..
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me … An anticlimactic Mayan prophecy…
Now I’m sure everyone is just sick to death of the Mayans and the end of the world hype. But you have to admit it made for some interesting TV viewing. People were stockpiling and hoarding and doing all sorts of thing. I’m not sure why you would stockpile for the end of the world, if it’s the end of the world all stockpiling does is give you more stuff that’ll blow up. We even saw a show on people who were preparing for a Zombie Apocalypse. At one point during that show one of the “experts” said that we all need to be prepared for the next time a Zombie Apocalypse happens. Which begs the question..
When did the last one happen?
But sad to say even in our household we had certain people who just went too far with the whole Mayan thing..
Oh seriously, Dummy!! Put those candles away and get a flashlight!
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Meanwhile we had a pretty good snow storm. They said it was a blizzard and named it Draco. Yes, they did. I’m not sure what meteorology has come to but they all seem to be enjoying themselves a bit too much.
It made for some pretty pictures though. There was snow on my windowpane..
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And this lone tree had to get all overly dramatic. All the other trees only had snow on their windward sides but this guy went all crazy and has snow on his windward and leeward sides. Quite odd really.
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And as I was out in the backyard, this guy came flying over. He took one look at Sampson in his lime green glow in the dark jacket and laughed himself silly. But in my defense, Sammy is short and white. No one can see him in the snow. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. That he looks adorable in his lime green glow in the dark jacket is moot.
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I hope everyone has a wonderful day!
And to my husband a very Happy Anniversary!! xoxo
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012
Sing a song of sixpence
With a bottle full of rye
One little ceramic bird
Baked in a pie
While the repairman is here
Throwing everything about
I had a leak, oh dear
And the carpet needs to be thrown out!
My sister is in her car
Coming closer and closer.
The turkey needs some stuffing
But I’ve blown up my toaster.
The dogs are in the backyard
Playing in the muck.
And Dummy is very worried
Because he thinks the bird is stuck.
But nevertheless it’s Thanksgiving!
And that’s a reason to cheer.
So to all my friends near and far,
Have a Happy one this year!!
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Dummy get out that pie! He’s not stuck!!
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012
This week’s weekly photo challenge is “solitary” as in one person in the photo solitary not the card game, which I play wayyyyy too much.
Anyway, this is an old shot of my son as a teenager. We lived in Colorado at the time and were fishing at a stocked goose pond on Fort Carson. The pond was the home of various geese that were in rehab. I didn’t even know geese drank.
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So I snapped this shot and he went off to the other side of the pond to fish.
I innocently opened a bag of pretzels and the geese came closer. I looked up and they stopped.
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Then I ate a pretzel and they came closer, pausing and acting quite nonchalant when I looked up at them again.
And every time I looked away and looked back they were closer and closer…
Staring at me with their little alcohol crazed eyes…
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Eventually I was surrounded, my pretzels were absconded and my lawn chair was tortured and bitten in a way that no lawn chair should ever be tortured and bitten.
I was jumping up and down and snapping a towel at them and all the people who were fishing completely ignored me.
I left thoroughly defeated, deluded, depretzeled …
But eventually I did go back, and there were no geese.
A mountain lion had come down to the pond with a bag of pretzels…
And that’s the end of their story.
So the moral of the story is, first off never put a geese rehab pond in the middle of a mountain lion’s range and secondly, if you think you’re alone, trust me you’re not. There are over six billion people on the planet and even better there’s more billions of birds and animals. You just need to go outside.
And take some pretzels.
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If you would like to participate in the Weekly Photo Challenge, follow this link!
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012
So Sampson the Wonder Dog got himself into a little altercation.
He went under the deck and decided to catch himself a toad. Then he took it for a walk.
And the toad was not happy.
And then Sammy was foaming and rolling around being sick from both ends at the same time..and well that’s more then enough about that.
So he ended up in the shower with me washing his mouth out over and over and over and over…
And then he had to take a bath.
That was one sick little dog. And mad to boot, he hates baths.
The toad was fine. I did have to read him the “Wind in the Willows” to apologize though.
When Sammy was feeling better, I asked him what possessed him to carry around a toad. He looked me dead in the eyes and said “I am a Carnivore.” as if that explained anything.
But it reminded me of the many carnivorous animals I was lucky enough to see at the zoo.
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Zebra, what are you laughing at?
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Carnivorous animals are meat eaters not carnival animals..
Pardon?
No, I can’t see you behind that tree..very clever.
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Yes Hyena, I know you can see him but don’t tell him that.
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And don’t bother telling the tiger either.
He’s a bit miffed.
He was just in his own private pool and when he wasn’t looking someone stole his towel.
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And the Leopard is ignoring everyone. He was quite hurt that the “Wind in the Willows’ didn’t have any leopards in it.
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I don’t know how you snuck in here, little Speke’s Gazelle, but you are too darn cute to be a carnivorious post.
Go on with you now.
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Oh, look what you’ve started. The Nyala is in here now, batting her lashes at everyone.
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And no, the baby bongo has come in too!
He definitely has to go back until those horns grow in..
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I need someone with some common sense to speak to the herbivores..
Hmm, the gorilla is deep in thought..
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Yes, sir..You want me to put a scary carnivore in here..
What kind of scary carnivore?
A Stork?
Oh I see, you mean a Marabou stork..
They eat carrion, frogs, fishes, other birds, small animals, garage and well pretty much anything that they can fit in their mouth.
That’s one strange bird.
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Well that’s done the trick.
Everyone ran back to where they’re supposed to be.
Alright then, have a good one folks!
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012
So.
Hello.
I’m trying to come up with a better opening line that that.
But I’m exhausted.
Tuckered out, you might say. Dog tired, bushwhacked, fatigued, lethargic, pooped even.
I mean downright weary.
Why? Well, let me tell you why…
There’s a catbird living in my tree.
That’s right a catbird, I said. To be specific, a Grey Catbird, also known as the Slate Colored Mockingbird.
For those of who you have never met a catbird, yes, they do meow.
They also cluck and cackle and caw. And they coo and cheep and twitter and peep.
And occasionally they whistle.
But the one thing they never do, the One Thing no catbird would ever dream of, the ONE THING that never ever, in the history of animal kind, a catbird has ever done is to..
SHUT UP!!
They sing in the morning, they sing at night.
They sing in the dark, they sing in the light.
They sing when they’re hungry and happy and sad.
They sing when they’re excited, tense or mad!
(They also make me write like a Dr. Seuss wannabe. That mocking thing is contagious)
So I decided to fix his little red wagon and fry his chestnuts. He was done as dinner.
I turned back to my bird stalking ways. I cleaned my camera lens and it was on..
I tried in vain to get a photo of him with his mouth shut.
But I only managed to get photos of him with his mouth open.
He was singing to the left…
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He was singing to the right..
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Hmmmm… that’s not working…I need help…
Oh Mr Hummingbird, thank you for offering your services. Yes, you stick your tongue out at him.
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Oh dear, Mr Hummingbird. Yes it is awfully hard to mock a mockingbird. They enjoy it, the sickos.
But thank you for trying. I appreciate the effort.
Mr. Cardinal? You have an idea, you say?
You’re going to give him the Awesomely Malevolent Evil Eye as only a Cardinal with a capitol ‘C’ can?
Wonderful..Give it your best shot.
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Hmmm, Nice, but no banana.
Mr Bluejay, You’re going to what!?! Screech it away?
No!! No!! It’s a mockingbird!! For the love of God!!! Don’t teach it how to screech!!
Sorry, beg your pardon, lost my composure for a minute. It really is mimicking you quite well.
Yes that is how you sound, you can sit up in that tree and be as offended as you like but that is the noise that you make.
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So finches? Any ideas?
You’re too busy playing ‘One Finch, Two Finch, Three Finch, Four!’ to help out a friend?
Yes I do realize catbirds chase cats. And dogs. And hawks and sometimes people too.
I also know that it’s been observed that other birds will actually line up and watch them when they are doing so.
It’s true. Everyone loves a show.
Fine, finches, go on with your game.
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I think I know what will do it.
That’s right I called the Great North American White Wookie. It says…
“Arggggg…grrrr…gargle…gargle… arggggg!!!!”
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Nothing? Really?
Well, I guess it’s time to ask the Honorable Zen Master Tree Frog for advice..
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Hold up now. It’s upset you too? The Honorable Zen Master Tree Frog?
The Catbird stole your moves? and your mating calls?
The Nerve! The Gall! The sheer unadulterated insolence of that Grey Catbird slash Slate Colored Mockingbird!
Dummy! Come quick! The Honorable Zen Master Tree Frog needs you!
That’s a good Dummy, you cheer him up and I will settle this for once and for all.
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Catbird, I didn’t want to have to do this. You left me no choice.
It shouldn’t have come to this but when you push people to extremes they go to…well..extremes.
By the power invested in me as President, Vice President, Treasurer, Clerk, Recorder and Supporting Cast of Birdstalkers Anonymous (Quad Cities, IA/IL Chapter) I call the..
The …
Get ready folks…
The..
Hide the children…
The..
Avert your eyes…
The (and this is the technical name)..
The Dastardly, Heinous, Ghastly, Loathsome, Menacing, Razor Toothed, Jagged Jawed, Mother Nature, that is one mean looking mother but it does have exceptionally pretty eyes for a goose Goose.
We call him Al for short.
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So what do you have to say now Catbird?
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Yea, I thought you’d have nothing to say
Wait a minute..What is that? Humidity? Oh it’s Hot! I guess it’s time to turn on the Central Air so my house doesn’t turn into an oven. You know when I turn on the Central Air so my house doesn’t turn into an oven, I can’t hear outside.
Never mind, Catbird. Carry on.
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Now I have some peace, I can get back to painting.
This is from a photo in Wetcanvas‘s RIL by Dave Slaughter. Thank you to him for it’s use.
This is acrylic, 4×4 inches and it’s a Mountain Bluebird.
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012
There’s a humming in my ears…
No, no, not the lightning strike, that was a ringing…
This is a definite hum…
hummmmmmmmmmmmmm….
Couldn’t figure it out but then I stumbled into this conversation.
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Two hummingbirds walk into a bar..
Left hummingbird: “HI!”
Right hummingbird: “Hello.”
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Left Hummingbird: “I can make a feather on my head stand up!”
Right Hummingbird: *blink * *blink*
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Left Hummingbird: “Try it, Dude!”
Right Hummingbird: “That’s too weird for me. I’m outta here.”
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Left Hummingbird: “Hey! Where you going? Can I have the rest of your drink?..Dude?…”
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Sparrow: “Was that supposed to be funny?”
Nuthatch: “I didn’t think so.”
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Hmmm.
Anyway.
Did you know that peacocks can fly?
I didn’t know that until I saw this guy.
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And when peahens sleep they look like they’re dead.
And if you go kick them to see if they’re okay, they bite.
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And sometimes Meerkats act real trampy.
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And my neighbor thinks this sculpture is a lighthouse.
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Don’t look at me like that.
I’m not judging..I’m just saying…
Hey, look at the pretty flower!
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🙂
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2012
the purple dog painting blog 
