Spring flowers

The crab apples and lilacs are in bloom - making a lovely bouquet. Heading out tomorrow to continue the road trip to the Grand Canyon. Had planned to go via the Badlands and the Black Hills, but snow (!) is forecast, so heading south as soon as possible. Will probably camp in Nebraska tomorrow. wooo hooo!

Theo's take: I've really enjoyed the pheasants here, but now she's packin' up that @#$%^&* Van and she's going to make me get in it and ride while its moving. Oh dear...but she usually takes me to pretty cool places, so I'll get in (esp. if she gives me a treat to do so).

Still cold, but sunny

Theo has decided that this place is pretty cool... all sorts of nasty things to eat on our walks along the deserted country roads, and there are often things like pheasants to chase. Not so sure about the wind, but he's getting used to it.

Front Coming Through...

Yikes! The temperature dropped to 45 degrees with a chilly NW wind. Its 83 back home! The wind just roars across the plains... very dramatic country.

Landscape Painting

Here's my first try at painting the landscape here in Big Sky country. This is a 18" x 36" canvas in acrylics. The light angling in at the end of the day is especially nice...and I love the many layers of greens in the alfalfa fields and shades of blue/purples/greys in the sky. The wind blowing through the fields really does look like waves on the water...many similarities to my marsh paintings.

Asparagus!

Driving around the back roads in South Dakota, we found some wild asparagus growing along the road. Yum!

Dark Sky

The light can be dramatic here when a storm runs through. Here's a shot of Theo running through an alfalfa field as the light was getting low. I find the light really intriguing. Got going on a couple paintings and found when I tried to capture the landscape there were many similarities to trying to capture the mood of the marshes at home. Will post a snapshot of a painting soon, once I get it presentable...

Big Sky Country

After leaving NC in the peak of a spring explosion of color, I've been going backwards in time, with spring going to earlier stages as I headed north. I'm now in the big sky country of South Dakota where spring is just beginning. The cottonwood trees are coming out, lilacs will be in bloom later this week and the little Pacque flowers are blooming low to the ground. The pheasants are busy working to attract mates and robins are building nests.

My mom sent me this quote from the Klinkenburg from the New York Times describing his time in Wyoming - it resonates here:

"It is, to use an old word, a viridescent day. The cottonwoods stopped moaning in the rain overnight. Every creature is suddenly addled with the season. A pair of sandhill cranes stand motionless against the hills. A bald eagle circles higher and higher. A tom turkey works the fence line, making Kabuki moves, his eye on some invisible hen. The deer are trapped in their winter coats, looking disreputable. The air is full of the ticking of red-winged blackbirds, full of the soft spring sun."

Theo's take:
I was out taking my usual sniffing rounds when I picked up a scent I've never smelled before. Holy cow! I pointed and then followed it - head down, tail up. It got more intense... all of a sudden, this colorful bird exploded out of the brush! I've flushed my first pheasant!