Contest Results & Other Things (Updated)

My photo (from the last post,) won week 5 in Superstation WGN's "My America" contest. Thanks to everyone who voted--I appreciate the support! Much else has happened through the past week. I created a new painting that was inspired by a photo I took years ago;

"Autumn Hillside"
24x12" acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas
Unseen here are metallic gold highlights amongst the leaves (both in the trees & on the ground.) Sold Nov. 7, 2009.
Charles had another book published! This one's a non-fiction work on the craft of writing. I'm very proud of him & am doing what I can to help with promotion. He's already scheduled a talk & signing at the Causeway branch of the St. Tammany Public Library in September.

Yesterday I spotted 2 juvenile towhees out back. An adult pair was among our "regulars" before Hurricane Gustav last year. After the storm & the resulting local flooding, all of the ground-based birds were just gone. A brown thrasher appeared a few months ago, but we only started seeing an adult male towhee around again in the past few weeks. I'm very happy to see the fledglings now & hope that they'll rejoin their place among our "regulars."

July 28th was Rick Wright's birthday. RIP, Rick. We lost you too soon.

Contest Finalist

My photo has made it to the finals in this week's "My America" contest, held by Superstation WGN.

In other news, Charles just had another book published & my interview appeared in Jul. 24th's newspaper.

Yard Visitor, Art News & Astronomy

One of our normally nocturnal "kids" has been coming by in the afternoons to shake us down for sunflower seeds. Today I had some scraps for him (since some of our avian "kids"--blue jays--were squawking about it.)
In art news, I popped down to the Causeway library today to change out my display there, detail from my "Sunrise at the Falls" painting was featured on the cover of the latest edition of Alternatives magazine, "Abita Artists" is planning a show (details TBA,) and I'm signing up to participate again in Slidell's Arts Evening.
In online art news, I've started blogs that solely feature my art & available photo prints. I've also started an art newsletter. Drop me a comment if you're interested in being added to the mailing list for the newsletter.
Of course, today was the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing. I continue to be awed by NASA and its plans & very much look forward to wherever we go from here!

Anniversaries, Space & a Baby Rat

Here's the photo of the baby brown rat that Charles mentioned in the comments of my last post, for those that are interested. Click for a larger view.
In other news--brace yourself--today's the 15th anniversary of comet Shoemaker-Levy crashing into Jupiter. I swear it doesn't seem like it was that long ago. It's also the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, which brought Buzz Aldrin & Neil Armstrong to the moon.
In other anniversary news, tomorrow (Fri., Jul. 17th) is the 6th anniversary of my moving to the New Orleans area.

The Shoulder Verdict (Updated)

Had my appointment with the orthopedic specialist this morning. He said that my recent X-ray & MRI indicated a lot of inflammation & some calcification in my problem (left) shoulder. As a result, I got a cortizone shot & a printout of exercises for my rotator cuff muscles. Traditional swimming's still out for now, but I've already noticed a difference while driving; I could actually turn my steering wheel with that arm! It's the simple things in life that bring happiness. (Update, 9/1/09; My shoulder's back to throbbing, so it cost me almost $800 out of pocket for a month & a half of relief--that works out to $17.78 per day...Brutal.)
Here's some more recent bird photos...

Male red-bellied woodpecker trying to teach a cardinal fledgling that he does NOT share. Note the nonplussed attitude of the cardinal.



Red headed woodpecker (right) and fledgling (left.) Also a female cardinal on the ground between them.

New Painting

Perhaps the recent removal of art-stress from my life has made it easier & more satisfying to work on art. Although I'd thought I was finished with it, I still seem to be churning out paintings...

"Primary Curves"
10x8" acrylic on canvasboard

More Fledglings

Blue jay fledgling.

Male cardinal feeding fluttering fledgling.

Tufted titmouse fledgling.

Red-bellied woodpecker fledgling.

Red-headed woodpecker & fledgling.
(Thanks to Charles for taking this photo while I was at work.)

The Rains Stop & Other Things (Updated)

As suddenly as it came on, my back problem seems to have largely disappeared. It's not completely better, but I can walk & move again, even if I still need to take it easy. During my 2 weeks of non-walking, I was stuck on the couch most of the time, watching TV. To break up the mind-numbing monotony I did a little painting;

"October"
8x10" acrylic on canvasboard
(The trees are done in metallic gold paint, which
can't be accurately captured in a static image.)
In other news...
Because I'm feeling better (& with Charles' help,) I managed to set up my art display at the Causeway branch of the library, which will run through the end of August.
A gentleman from the Times Picayune newspaper called me this morning to interview me about Abita Artists (which I founded last Summer.) It will run July 12th. (Update, 7/13/09; The interview doesn't appear to have run on the 12th. I'm waiting to hear when it might run, instead.)
Published today, I also have a few works in Anthology of Friends; An Original Collection, Volume 4.

When It Rains... (Updated)

Unfortunately last Thursday I woke with something seriously wrong with my back. Standing & walking for any real length of time are suddenly out. Fortunately I managed to get X-rays yesterday. I probably won't be doing much blogging/visiting until this is fixed. Apologies in advance. (Update, Apr. 2010; It turned out that I'd herniated 2 discs in my back, but I'm all better now.)
Here's a picture of a blue jay fledgling in our backyard;

Did you know that the blue jays' fondness for acorns and their accuracy in choosing and burying good ones are credited with spreading oak trees after the last glacial period?
I also forgot to mention that I saw my first great crested flycatcher out back about a month ago. In addition, our local group of 7 crows recently became 10.
In yet other news, another one of my photos was featured on the front page of the St. Tammany News on July 1st.
In yet even other news, the Int'l Space Station will be making some passes over the US in the coming days. Click through the link to see when to keep your eyes on the skies!