The Tiny Tenacious Tyrant

I've always loved flycatchers. There's something about the way they hover over the fresh cut bluegrass. They are patient birds. Being such a patient (*cough*) dog, I admire them. Around here we have quite a few species, the prominent one being little Black Phoebes. Very cute indeed. Although, as far as coloring, the flycatcher above wins for vibrancy.

Today, we went to Matts. M had her sketch book, you can guess the rest. I got to dig in the sand and get my paws wet in the shallow water, while M sketched. Fun for all.

Well, I'm off to enjoy some wasabi peas. Woof!

Bark at you later,
PJ the dog blogging dog :-P

Do You Speak Bird?

I've often wondered what the little backyard birds are saying as they tweet and chirp away. There is something so beautiful and yet so haunting to hear their singing as the sun slips out of view at the end of the day.

So, this is what I'm thinking as my paws twitch and click on the floor when I'm sleeping.

Bark at you later,
PJ the dog blogging dog :-P

A Little Dog Nap

Today, I was a lazy dog.

I found a wonderful new napping place. In the backyard there is a nice spot next to the trellis of white iceland roses. Perfect spot. The breeze across Saddleback Mountain brings a lovely aroma of rose blossoms. The mulch warms up by midmorning and the violets below are like soft fuzzy pillows. I managed to nap there for over an hour before I awoke to Mocha licking my paw. He wanted to go for an afternoon walk together.

Here's to a wonderful weekend!

Bark at you later,
PJ the dog blogging dog :-)

I Like Broccoli, Woof

Yes, it's true, I like broccoli. And, I'm a dog. So, go figure.

Apparently, I'm not supposed to like a little green vegetable that looks strikingly like a little tree. But, I do. And my theory has to do with the fact that the little green stalks do look like little trees. Since I like taking a nap under a fig tree and waiting patiently for peaches to fall from the peach tree, it only seems fair that I'd be fond of a little edible tree. They're bite size. They taste yummy. I love the little crunch they have after they're steamed to perfection. I admit it, I'm smitten with the little green trees.

So, that's my theory and I'm sticking with it.

Bark at you later,
PJ the dog blogging dog :-)

Genealogy Tree

What's been the delay in blogging? Well, a new series of course. M has been mulling over an original digital illustration on a genealogy tree series. She finally (woof woof!) came up with the finalized idea and ta da, here is the result (above). If you have any suggestions for letters you'd like to see, just drop an email or Etsy convo. M loves genealogy. She's always over at rootsweb and ancestry.com and looking at something called census records or the sort.

Meanwhile on the dog front, I've been a bad bad dog. I found a most comfortable quilt in a back room at home and well, I just had to drag it to my doggie bed in the middle of the night. Needless to say, the cotton quilt was an absolute comfy blankie to sleep on. Unfortunately, I had the quilt snatched out from under me...sheesh, I didn't know that was in a "hope chest." What's a hope chest anyhow? Looks more like a dog bed chest filled with soft blankies to nuzzle with and on and under.

Heirloom quilts. Ok, ok ok. Woof.

Bark at you later,
PJ the dog blogging dog :-P

P.S. No quilts were harmed in my attempt at doggie coziness. I didn't even chew on the edges, honest. Ok, so I slobbered a little. But I get a free "slobber pass" (like a Big Brother slop pass, only for dogs). :-)

Friday the 13th

Just to err on the side of caution, I suggest
all dogs stay away from the following:

black cats
sidewalk cracks
pennies
ladders
cars
the number 13
salt
mirrors
shadows
crossed knives
sparrows
umbrellas
...and gravediggers

Have a happy Friday the 13th all!

Bark at you later,
PJ the dog blogging dog :-P

The Places I've Been

I dip the tip of my round brush into a small mountain of acrylic blue cyan. One globule of blue hangs on to the hairs of the brush. For a moment, I am amazed at the little drop of sky I can see in the reflections cast from the wet surface of the paint. I guide the blue onto the gessoed canvas. The acrylic paint dances across the textured valley of cotton until no more white can be seen.

With the colors of Hawaiian Hibiscus flowers, catapillar eyes, and blacks as rich as the eyes of a Syrian Hamster, I paint without stopping. I hear the clock ticking on the wall behind me, but the hands fade to oblivion as I enter a tunnel to a far away place. I never know where I'll end up.

Sometimes, I find myself in strange lands with stranger creatures who paint themselves into my canvases. Other times, I find myself licking my dry lips, having forgotten to sip water for many hours. I'll discover when I lift my head and stretch my arms that the sun, once bursting through the panes of glass and onto my easel like warm hands, has long left the sky. In it's place, a sliver of silver white moon is peaking through the bay window of the studio, teasing me with winking stars far off.

It is at times like these that I rinse my brush, sit back, and wonder. Surely, I have travelled somewhere to not realize such things.

Bark at you later,
PJ the dog blogging dog :-P

Hedgehog and the 5th of July

I'm baacccckkk@!

Ok, so nobody noticed. I was away, and now, I am back. La tee da.

First, hedgehogs. There is something so cute about an animal that is covered in quills and yet remains huggable, isn't there? Now, being a dog, I stay far far (FAR!) away from quills, spines, needle sharp spiney anything animals. I mean, I have to protect my nose. Those spines hurt! That is why I won't visit the desert. Come on, it's covered in all sorts of ouchie animals, ouchie plants and just plain ouchies. Plus, hot sand and paws are not fun.

Now, the 5th of July. I guess I've had my head buried in the sand (which is not a good thing, as you will read) about the day after Independence Day. It appears (some) people celebrating the 4th end up trashing our beaches up and down the coast. Go on, Google it. The photos are horrible. As a dog, I walk on those beaches and the fact that so much trash covered places like Newport Beach, Dana Point, and Huntington Beach is just plain...sad. It looked like a landfill. From styrofoam coolers to water bottles and worse, the sand was literally (or should I say LITTERly) covered from shore to sand. The clean-up had to stop once the tide went out (along with tons of trash which will hurt animals) and start again once the tide came in (washing the same trash back on shore).

The epidemic of litter has also hit our national parks. Come on! Pick up that trash. I don't want to see chip bags and empty water bottles littering the side of Yosemite hiking trails, do you? That's dog gone yucky.

Ok, I'm off the dog soap box (it looks a little like the "Red Baron").

Bark at you later,
PJ the dog blogging dog :-)

Happy 4th of July!

--- God Bless America ---
Here's to a wonderful 4th of July!

May you have a happy day filled with family, friends, and yummy foods!

Bark at you later,
PJ the dog blogging dog :-)

I'm off to the beach to watch some nifty fireworks and eat some tofurkey dogs. Woof woof! Oh, and homemade lemon meringue pie. Yum to my tum.

Zombie + Robot = Fun!

I am a huge horror flick fan! And what inspired this latest art (I often woof into M's ear at night to give her artistic inspiration) was a combination of films.

Some film I remember with the actor who played Albert Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie) had a creepy yellow robot named "Bee-Bee." What made it creepy was the way the robot said it's name and the eyes. The voice stayed with me.

I also recently watched Resident Evil I and II (music is great), Return of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead(remake and original--both are wicked), Shaun of the Dead (hilarious and makes me laugh out loud every time when he wakes up and goes to the little grocery store and is totally oblivious), and 28 Days Later (the speed of the infected is...unnerving). Of course I watched all of these over the course of two weeks (but I have done the horror weekend marathon before, lol).

After watching so many horror flicks about zombies, the undead, the walking dead and flesh eaters, I finally got M to make some more zombie art (she did a piece with a robot bird that could turn cannibalistic, but that's just not the same, you know?).

And the result if what you see above. I hope you like the final result.

Bark at you later,
PJ the dog blogging dog :-)