Friday, September 3, 2010

looks like a late de kooning to me...


this is sophie's birthday drawing for her best friend and our neighbor, marge. happy (belated) birthday!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

trip to texas picturepalooza! (part 8)--we're almost home!

welcome to southwestern missouri (very close to eureka springs)--fireworks and used books housed in a metal shack in triple degree temperatures? what could possibly go wrong?

arkansas! pretty eureka springs, arkansas--it is a beautiful green, happy place that was in full bloom while we were there. after a couple of days of resting at the crescent hotel, touring the springs, eating at mud street cafe and fawning over the lions and tigers at turpentine creek we headed back to iowa...and thus ends the great trip to texas picturepalooza (until next time). enjoy!


sweet mr. gus on top of basin spring

there are dozens of lovely little grottoes and springs in the limestone cliffs around eureka springs--it was close to 100 degrees outside but in this cave it was like 55-60. nice.

the landscaping around the springs is magnificent--the city is so lovely and the townspeople obviously take so much pride in them

paco! paco! PACO! (sophie is a bit stubborn about this)

back to turpentine creek--cindy, the cougar, got her own outdoor enclosure in the six week interval from when we first saw her (in the temporary area)

lions and tigers sharing an enclosure (this isn't common--these two just get along really well)

it was HOT on the tour, and sophie convinced daddy that she just couldn't walk another step...gus is seething (sweating?) with envy

missy the tiger! missy is a sweetheart, and now she has her own outdoor home away from the concrete. many of these animals (again they are all rescue cats) have never stepped on grass before they got to turpentine creek.

HOT. the kittehs are kersplat.

zeus certainly looks comfy, though. again, these cats will be in the concrete part only until space can be made/developed for them in the back pastures. zeus still needs a little more socializing...

back to iowa! about a year ago, i shot this same scene, out of the same car, of our first iowa sunset in years. this is just our first iowa sunset in six weeks.