Duck Hunters On Canvas

Another windy day here on the prairie....

a good day to sit inside and paint!

I have plenty of actual paint projects

I could be doing,

but

this morning I thought it 

would be fun to do

some virtual painting

with Corel Painter on the computer....

FIRST....

an oil on canvas

I'll call it "Quiet On the Water"

Another oil on canvas....

"The Cold Walk Back"

(I know, imaginative right?)

My favorite subject 

also done with oils

"Max, Happy and Wet"

There you have it,

three oil paintings done in about an hour

no drying time whatsoever!

I'll top it off 

with a nice collage 

of the complete

HUNTING experience....

And one final greeting....

from us duck hunters!

(and us duck watchers)

Earth Wind and Fire

It feels like the wind 

has been blowing for weeks now!

It's really getting old...

the dust is flying,

which means my

clothes dryer is 

out of commission...

and the laundry is piling up!

taking a walk in this wind

is just hard work,

so I stick to driving...

The neighbors are combining the 

bean field next door...

keeping the windows closed

is a good idea

until the last load

goes down the road!

the whole state is on high fire alert...

harvesting beans and sunflowers

is a dangerous task this year!

this was a field fire yesterday....

fire crews were busy all day

yesterday and into the night!

Be careful,

and don't blow away!

Autumn Inspirations

I followed my beloved duck hunter

to the duck slough this weekend...

There was a cold wind 

blowing up my tailfeathers,

but I finally managed 

to get some pictures of him and our Max

in the field!

There's been a lot of 

heavy duty wind lately,

taking it's toll on the 

beautiful fall foliage.

I've been trying to catch the 

brilliant colors before

they all blow away,

but there just never seems

to be enough time....

 Our latest job site is a brand new log home

just over the hill a few miles from our house....

We are both spinning with creative

ideas and artistic techniques...

all inspired from the fall colors

of the South Dakota prairie...

I've been working on sample boards

to show the homeowners before I 

put any paint on the walls.

So far so good...

as soon as the sawdust is cleaned up,

I'm going in with paint, brushes, rollers,

and some good tunes...

Sall's hand textured walls

and my faux finish...

I can't wait...

this is going to be fun...

To be able to create

and

get paid for it?

It doesn't get much better than that!!!!

I'll be keeping you posted

on the progress,

Happy Wednesday!

Walks On Water

An avid duck hunter was in the market for a new bird dog. His search ended when he found a dog that could actually walk on water to retrieve a duck. Shocked by his find, he was sure none of his friends would ever believe him.

He decided to try to break the news to a friend of his, the eternal complainer who refused to be impressed with anything. This, surely, would impress him. He invited him to hunt with him and his new dog.

As they waited by the shore, a flock of ducks flew by. they fired, and a duck fell. The dog responded and jumped into the water. The dog, however, did not sink but instead walked across the water to retrieve the bird, never getting more than his paws wet. This continued all day long; each time a duck fell, the dog walked across the surface of the water to retrieve it. 

The complainer watched carefully, saw everything, but did not say a single word.

On the drive home the hunter asked his friend, "Did you notice anything unusual about my new dog?"

"I sure did," responded the complainer. "He can't swim."

*source: huntingjokes.thejokeindex.com

The duck hunting tradition continues

this weekend at the Sall Farm.

It seems Sall was unable to manage a gun and a camera

during the opening weekend,

but I will try to get some photos

of the bounty

and the new plucker!

Stay tuned....

Our New Vintage Outlet

My Etsy shop went South for awhile...

(not "south" as in downhill!)

South as in a shop at Kansas City!!

A friend of a friend and her friends 

all gathered their treasures

and are renting a space in the

"West Bottoms" district

of Kansas City....

The art community supports this district

on the first Friday of every month

by coming out in droves to shop the 

huge variety of galleries and shops!

Food vendors and musicians

on the sidewalks make it a really

unique and fun experience!!

So my stuff...

along with all the other stuff

will be at it's new location...

"Our Generation"

for the next 3 months

and some pretty

wonderful "STUFF"

it is!....

Dreamy Handbags....

Garden  Finds...

Victorian Elegance....

Country Charm....

Cottage Cuteness!

Rustic Relics....

and it's all gathered in

a charming old post office 

along side some 

talented artists' 

studio workshops!

So please tell your friends,

and if you are in the area

please stop in and check it out!!!

Tell'em the girl with 

the South Dakota Blog

sent you!

                Hugs,

                                                                                              

P.S.  Check out "Our Generation's" face book page for more info
and details!  Here's a link to their page,  GO!

Around the Midwest In 3 Days

Grandma's got a new outlet for her Etsy stuff!

Grandpa's got a new duck plucker!

And Grand-daughter #1 finally got her birthday present...

The last 4 days have been

a whirlwind of activity...

If anybody's wondering why

my Etsy shop is empty,

it's because I packed it all up 

and hauled it to Kansas City!

We are trying out a new market...

and I'll be sharing it 

on the blog in another post.

While I was in Kansas City,

Sall stayed home for the opening

weekend of duck hunting.

He and his buddies had a good weekend,

as there are plenty of ducks to shoot at!

They managed to have a duck dinner one night,

so I'm still waiting to hear all about that

and hopefully he got some pictures!!!

The new duck plucker machine 

is what I'm really anxious to see...

that will be another post to share!

As you can tell, I have a lot 

of catching up to do around here...

Hope your day is real winner!

Parting With Summer

Farewell  to Summer....

and what a sweet summer it was!

I want to move to a place

where it's summer

all year!

Really, I do!

Lizzy

Yesterday was a cruel and ugly 

reminder of how the wind can howl here 

on the prairie...

which reminds me of blowing snow

which makes me think of all 

the work to do 

to get ready for 

the Winter wind 

that will be pounding on our door

in a few weeks!....

sealing up cracks,

more insulation,

digging up bulbs,

fix the roof,

the list is endless

just like all the useless junk laying around....

there's junk accumulating

in every orifice of this farm

and  "I NEED A TRUCK!"

to haul it all away...

I saw this beauty out in the Black Hills...

doesn't she just scream

"HEART THROB"

!!!

I dream of her and I hauling junk

for days on end

and having the best time ever...

We would be cruisin' down the road...

I'd be singin' and she'd be hummin'...

We'd become B.F.F's,

Lizzy and I,

on our quest to 

clean up this farm!

and when all the junk 

was hauled away...

I'd paint her portrait 

and hang it on the wall,

for all to remember

the red truck 

that prettied the place up!

...Sigh...

Have a super Wednesday!

I'm joining up (a first for me) with

It's a Very Cherry World

for "Rednesday"

stop by and enjoy seeing alotta RED!

also

sharing at...

The Creative Exchange

 (a fun place to see some 

gorgeous photography!)

Too Windy For Anything - Let's Quilt!

The wind is blowing up to 60 mph here today!

I just pulled all of my flower pots up close to the house...

they all are getting a terrible beating out there!

The wind is straight out of the west

and packing some real PUNCH!

Everything on my south facing porch

is slowly sliding to the east!

As I sit here at my desk, I just 

hope the roof holds!

I'm sure I'll be gathering up shingles

when the wind lets up....

In the meantime

I've decided to take you to a quilt show!

I think my mother's quilting pals are getting ready for

another season of quilt making and I still haven't 

shown you all of the wonderful summer quilts 

over at Mrs. Z's!!!

So hang on to your hats and tag along

for some great summer

Baskets,

Flowers,

Hats, 

and 

Stitchery!!....

Sit back, relax,

get yourself a cup 

of tea 

this will be some eye candy

for those of you

who love to quilt 

and those of you

who just love a good 

blanket to snuggle under!

Last December I was a guest at 

the quilter's Christmas Brunch

hosted by Mrs. Z...

she was gracious enough to let

me take pictures of many of her 

quilts she has displayed around her house....

it was a lovely brunch 

and I took enough pictures to 

fill several blog posts!

I'm thinking Mrs. Z

could have her 

own cable show...

hmmmm.....

This busy quilting lady

has her hands full

making quilts

and helping others...

I'm just grateful she doesn't mind

me showing off all of her precious labors of love!

This sweet Flowers and Hats

pattern was a wall hanging in a spare bedroom...

The bed was covered with a queen size

quilted bedspread 

with a Flower Basket pattern...

All of the baskets done in blue

and every flower a different

cheery color of the rainbow...

Twila's quilt and my watercolor imagery

melded together in perfect harmony....

We go from soft shades of Spring and Summer

to...

SOFT wools  cut and made into

warm baskets of flowers 

to cover us for the winter!

This was my favorite,

just because of the interesting texture

the wool gave to the 

cut out images...

SEW many stitches!

the warm tones of blues, lavenders, golds, and browns...

One gorgeous show-stopping quilt!

Displayed hanging on a hand-made quilt rack

above the bed....

Awesome!

"Thanks again, Mrs. Z, for sharing

all of your beautiful quilts with us!

(and if you're interested in your own show

I'll have my people call your people:)"

I hope you enjoyed!

Have a great day and don't blow away,