the dog days of summer

i am declaring right here and now that the new happiest place in the world is no longer disneyland but the dog beach in long beach california!! 

dogs and people of all shapes, sizes and ages just having a total blast! 

we started the overcast day having brunch at the cutest little pie-shaped diner next to rosie's dog beach. then with arms brimming with beach gear, we walked to the orange coned area of the beach exclusively for canines. we didn't have much time to settle in as my boyfriends dog marley took off to play and to make some new friends at the waters edge. this was marleys first trip to the beach, so he was a bit tentative at first, but then quickly discovered how fun the water really was once my daughter showed him! 

my dog josie stayed home as the beach is really not her thing, plus she is still  recovering from surgery she had in may for a tumor.

the clouds burned off by early afternoon and we had a glorious day at the dog beach!

plans are already made for our next excursion to the sandy shores of long beach!

and it's a wrap!

Whistling Thorn by Kathryn Hansen (c) 2013 7.25x10

it feels good to finish this puppy up after all the commotion with it! and now i am slowing down a bit for the  summer months to attack some miscellaneous projects on my to-do list and just have fun playing with my kids!! this weekend we're hitting the dog beach, with a picnic lunch, boogie boards and camera in hand!

see how my drawing got mooned and then branched out from there!

i didn't create my usual monday post this week because i was still working out my acacia tree dilemma.

last thursday night as i was just finishing up the eagle on my acacia tree drawing, i looked up and notice a blue ink like mark on the paper...omg! after picking up and examining every single object on my drawing board i tried in vain wetting and rubbing the paper with a q-tip, then scrapping it with a razor, but to no avail! that mark was deep in the paper. i was sooo bummed, all that work for nothing!

so i took the problem to my facebook fan page and got some interesting suggestions. first i decided to try barry's suggestion of a moon. but that received a few nays.

so back to my branch idea...i went to my hard drive and perused through my african photographs, looking for an acacia branch i might use.

i'm still not happy with the results, so i will have a bit more work this week to get it just right! and just when i wanted to start my zebra drawing...hmmmm!!! i guess the zebras will have to wait!

Maasai Mara and a lone acacia tree

this is the newest drawing in progress on my board...an acacia tree with a brown snake eagle perched on a stray limb. 

the terrain at maasai mara is open grassland with a few solitary acacia trees dotting the scene. it is best known for the annual great migration. you can get a better feel for the grassland area in my sampling of photos than any words i could ever write!!