Rain!!!

This October has seen some weather extremes - lots of rain, then up into the 90's again, back to more rain (unusual here). Yesterday, it was a little cloudy, but we decided to take a drive just to get out. It started raining right after we got into the hills. We almost turned around, then thought what the heck;-) The air smelled so good, and it was so awesome and refreshing to be out in the rain. The thunder and lightning came a little close, but just spiced things up a little - actually, the animals didn't seem to phased by it, which was surprising. Unfortunately, the conditions weren't great for photos, and they were all a little dark. After some editing, these are the best of the bunch, and I thought I'd share:-)

Just to prove there were actual raindrops... Woo hoo!

This cutie is a bit u-necked (looked young, so maybe just needs some muscles), but was a total sweetie. She and her pal, below, came over for pets and scratches:-)

"Black Eye" - Couldn't resist the opportunity to add to my horse eye photo collection! He was a very mellow fellow.

Buckeyes bring a little light to a dark spot.

"What's One More?" Guess nothing's going to stop a woodpecker from pecking;-)

In the same vein, apparently it wasn't raining hard enough for this Lark Sparrow. There was a little group of them in the middle of the road bathing. They weren't close enough to get a real good shot from inside the car, but still funny. Like little kids playing in puddles!

On the other hand, this little sparrow is taking a break and trying to dry off.

"Might as well Jump!" - If only there had been more light and time, this would have been the shot of the day! My mom spotted this guy as we rounded a corner, but there was a truck coming from the other side. I only had a second before he left with the rest of his group. This was so dark, that I really had to edit it to get it to this point. There were lots of quail out and about, but they always scurry into the brush so quickly - not that I blame them, but they're so handsome, I always try to catch them:-)

And this is a teaser shot for my next post. This handsome little guy was photographed yesterday, too, but you have to stay tuned to see some very humorous cows coming to my blog this week...

The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Another horse eye photo, though with a little twist - I caught the reflection of the road where we take our drives in his eye:-) "The Road Not Taken" is one of my most favorite poems. It not only paints a beautiful, vivid picture, but it also resonates within me. My mom and I usually take the road "less traveled by", and it's definitely been an interesting journey!

P.S. If you click on this photo, you'll see I've already added it to our shop - it was an instant fave for me! I hope you enjoy it, too:-)

Horsey

This is the horse that's featured in my goofy post. We've seen him often, but not as close to the fence. He's a gorgeous chocolate color, but has obviously had a good roll before these photos. He has the most unique marking on his face. Normally, that much white over the eye would mean a glass (or blue) eye. He was super sweet, and I'm not sure if he or I enjoyed his face rub more:-)

He was so cooperative, keeping his ears up without spooking:-)

I have a fascination with horse eyes! This side was in the light (cloudy), with good reflection.

And this eye was on the dark side - I think it almost doesn't look like a horse eye with those markings! I kept playing with the crop, because it looked odd to me. Very cool, though, and I'm thinking there's some Paint in his breeding.

A Horse a Day Challenge #18 - Looking Forward

Well, I tried three different drawings tonight, and wasn't happy with the way any of them were turning out. I know I started too late, too. I was bad - we received "The Dark Knight" from Netflix today, so decided to watch it tonight. It's a very long movie - it lives up to the reviews, but is soooo intense and dark. I actually hesitated to get it because I knew it would be dark. Talk about being on the edge of your seat for 2 1/2 hours! Kind of saps your energy, lol!

So, this is actually a drawing I did around the same time as my carousel horses. I posted it on Flickr a little while ago, but will repost. It's another I adapted from my own photo, and concentrates a little more on the rest of the face and contrast with the background than my more recent horse eye.

I'd already titled it, and it suits! I am looking forward:-) And I'm so excited that my #3 card sold today!!! It's the first one to sell, and makes me feel so good. I really want these to become collectors' items. I hope this week to be able to add something more to their purpose...

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my very last pre-drawn card. This means I better figure out how to get what's in my mind out on paper every night now! Hand/eye coordination;-)

A Horse a Day Challenge #16 - Horse Eye

This card is a drawing that I've wanted to do for a while. I had planned on a color drawing, and may do a larger version in the future. In the meantime, I was itching to draw a horse's eye, so I did! I've done a couple of different eyes in the past, but think this is the 1st black and white one. It was more challenging to me, but I also really enjoyed seeing how just the values brought things out as I went along.

As with all of them, this is available on Etsy - just click the banner on the top right corner:-)

More to come... soon!