Tuesday, April 28, 2015

April 24, 2015

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Today's drawing is one that I had actually finished yesterday, but I couldn't get it sent out. My internet connection was sooooo slow! 

When I've been walking along Laguna Creek, or really any waterway, I almost always see a Great White Egret or two. In this drawing, I've included three images of the bird, one, a close-up, standing on a log, another flying and one in the back stalking a fish. 


These birds are so amazing to watch. They are large and look magnificent flying. I like to watch them stalking fish. Their necks get crooked as they carefully pick their way through the shallows, head tilted to one side looking for prey with one eye. I also had to share a couple of photos that I took with my little phone, when I found them along that creek. 


April 20, 2015

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Well I haven't been getting in a sketch every day, but because of my health, I guess I'm going to change that. I've been mostly attached to my computer all day, into the wee hours of the night drawing. As a result, I haven't been getting enough sleep and no exercise, or too little. The last time that I had gotten sick again was just before Easter when I realized that I was only getting 4 hours of sleep. I'm trying to balance things out now, but going to bed at a decent time and doing some excercise everyday. This last week, except for Sunday, I've walked the dog at least two miles everyday and have gone to my 24 Hour classes. As my doctor said, I have to build my strength up through exercise. Last Saturday I got on the elliptical machine, did an hour of Zumba and then because I still felt good, I thought that I would try another class, Body Combat, a martial arts, kick boxing class. I lasted through the whole class and was feeling only a little achy in the knees and calves. I just have to remember to rehydrate after a workout like that and use Arnica right away. 

I had walked along the Laguna Creek on Friday, Saturday and today. There seemed to be a lot of wildlife there and it provided some good ideas for a drawing. On friday, I saw a pair of otters mating. They were slowly rolling around in the muddy water, the male griping the female behind her neck, both oblivious to the passersby watching them. There were Canadian geese, the mallards and a Great Egret or two as usual, coots, lots of turtles sunning themselves, a pair of cormorants and a green heron. Great stuff, but all that I had to capture all of the activity was my little cell phone. 

The next day I brought my SLR camera with the telephoto lens. I was looking for the otters, of course, but I didn't expect them to be mating again. It seems that they were in a love embrace most of the previous morning. When I had pointed this out to one of the other people watching, two older women bicycling along the creek. One of the women remarked, "Well their young..." 


I saw most of the other wildlife, but didn't see the otters, until I noticed a clump of grass, moving much too fast. As I watched, a couple of other people stopped too. I pointed out the moving grass and we all remarked that it was odd. It was moving too fast for a turtle or to be just floating on the water by it's self. I turned on my camera and looked through the lens. It was an otter carrying a large clump of grass. At one point, it dove under the water for a second, taking the grass with it, only to pop up again. This one was nesting. Otters don't build their own dens. They will take over one that another animal has dug out of the muddy bank, like a muskrat, just above the water line. I got a shot of the industrious otter with my camera, but I thought that I would try to draw it too. Attached is my drawing and my photo. The drawing was going to be a lot more ambitious, but I've got to get to bed!


April 15, 2015

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When we were out in Paso for the Easter weekend, my sister and I went out to take photos of the wild flowers on the hillside near her home. She took a photo of me taking photos and insisted that I draw it for one of these daily sketches. The house in this photo is not hers, but Gail and Cliff's house. We were attracted to the purple owl clover that painted the path that I was on and the adjoining hillside.

Again, it is hardly a sketch. I had started this painting last week, but couldn't finish it. It did take a few hours to draw this. I'm still working on getting faster. 


April 12, 2015

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It has been quiet awhile since I sent anything, but with being sick, traveling and family visiting, I have not been drawing. Sorry, I should be able to do both! This is one of a couple of drawings that I had started earlier, but never finished. 
This is Mission San Miguel with two of the Franciscan Brothers outside of the front door of the church. I took photos of this mission some time after an earthquake hit the area in 2003 and damaged parts of the mission and parts of the neighboring Paso Robles. It has been retrofitted with a newly renovated choir loft, church and structures. The wooden ramp was temporary, but I think that it helps to visually ground the building in this drawing.



April 5, 2015

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hope that you had a wonderful Easter! We were at the Paso house, Fay and Kory's lovely home, where our other sister joined us and another sister and her husband from Colorado were there as well for bar-b-que with the neighbors on Friday and personal pizza on the patio on Saturday. So I apologize for not getting anything out to you on the daily sketch until now. I did start another drawing, but didn't have time to finish it. 

Vivian reminded me that these should be faster, sketches, not hours long marathons as the "sketches" had begun to be. This sketch is a quick one, just a half hour. This is a quick sketch of owl clover, Castilleja exsertarelated to the indian paintbrush. It is the host plant to the Bay checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha bayensis). Fay and I were taking photos of wild flowers this morning before we had to leave. I'm not sure if it is the same butterfly, but we did see lots of similar butterflies and skippers flitting among the field of these flowers. (I've included one of the photos that I took of our photo shoot and the field of owl clover field.


March 30, 2015

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I've finally finished Bryan's Dragon. The dragon is done, but I'm redoing the castle, in view of the new information that he had recently shared. So I'm sharing with you the finished version of the dragon and a T-shirt design that he had asked for. 


March 29,2015

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I am finally back to submit to you the final drawing for the Ranchita Riders series. I've been ill for about a week. I've still got a lot of phlegm and congestion so I could not sing today, but I am feeling well enough to be up all day and draw.  
I've finally finished Kelly. She and her husband Ben are owners of the Work Ranch where all of these friends were riding. Beautiful horses in a beautiful landscape. 


March 22,2015

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It was pointed out to me that I did not include Mary, John's sister. She as well as the rest of the group was on this ride. Mary looks like a seasoned rider! 
Again, I've included a file of just Mary and one of the whole group with her added.
Next I will do Kelly and Bob Work, who own the Work Ranch, where this group was riding.


March 20,2015

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Well I've finally finished Gail. She always looks so sophisticated, even with a straw cowboy hat, up on a horse! I would have done Cliff, but I didn't see him in any of the pictures. I'm guessing that he doesn't ride? Again, I've attached two versions, one with everyone that I've done so far and one of just Gail.
Connie. I've put you and John in the back, since you voiced some concerns, but you still stand out and you look so cute doing it! As you can see, I can place anyone anywhere in the scene or even put anyone in a completely different scene! Each rider is a different file.
The Ranchita Riders are almost complete. I still need to do your host of the "Work Ranch", but I've forgotten her name! 


March 17,2015

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John is my latest addition to the Ranchita Riders. John is Connie's husband and an amazing singer/musician in a kickin rock band! 

I've included an image of just him on his horse, a version of he and Connie on their horses and a version of everyone that I've drawn so far! 


Gale, who I had actually started first, is next. But I think that I might not use the file that I had started. I wanted to change the pose, so I'm starting from scratch again!


March 15,2015

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Here is another addition to my Ranchita Riders picture. This is Connie! She always has a smile and an encouraging word! Get that pose out and riding! 
Again, I attached two versions, one of the whole gang and one with just Connie. 

Next, it's John, Connie's husband!


March 13, 2015

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This is another member of the Ranchita Riders in Paso Robles. This is Gary, Linda's husband! Yay, Gary! I've included a copy of the whole gang that I've done so far and one of Linda and Gary.
I think that I'll to do Connie next!




March 11, 2015

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I drew Linda this time, on, which horse is that? It’s her beloved Cody who had recently passed away. I did two versions of the drawing, one just by herself and one with everyone else that I've drawn so far.


March 9, 2015

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Well, I've finally finished Peter, Darcy's husband. He was difficult to do, maybe because there wasn't a good photo to work from. Still, I hope that I did okay. I kept redrawing him and the horse. He kept looking too large for the horse! Well I used to tell my students that when you are struggling, you are learning. I hope that I was learning!
Okay, now Linda!


March 7, 2015

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So if I did Kory last time, I had to do Darcy, Kory's sister. She, her husband and son came out here to California from Michigan to visit... and thaw out for a few days. I'm sorry that I missed them. Darcy could sing a mean Karaoke! 
This one took me longer than it should have. I had trouble rendering Darcy's face. I think that it is still not quite right, but I can't seem to get it. 



March 5, 2015

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 This rider is Kory, Fay's husband. If I did Fay, I had to do Kory! She can't ride alone! 
Who is next


March 3, 2015

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Fay was right in guessing that the scene in the last drawing was Ranchita Canyon, so she is the first one that I had to put into this drawing. I had meant to do one person each day, but it seems that there was so much detail in the saddle plus the horse that I couldn't get this addition done until today. Hopefully I will get another one done by tomorrow. Who shall I do next?



March 1, 2015

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In an effort to more energy to another project, I've decided to make this sketch an ongoing one. This is the background. Check in tomorrow to see what comes next!


Saturday, March 7, 2015

February 28, 2015

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This one is for Gale, who has a wolf dog!

I've drawn a lot of mammals that live in California, but I've never drawn a wolf. Technically there are no wild wolves in California since the 1940's when the last wolf was killed in a government extermination program. Now the Gray wolf is considered an endangered species and is protected. 

In 2012, a lone male gray wolf, named OR-7, or Journey, traveled 1000 miles from Northern Oregon to Northern California to look for love. He didn't find a mate, so he traveled back into Oregon where he did find a mate and settled in Southern Oregon where they had pups. Now there is hope that the species will proliferate and filter back down into California. Of course there are farmers with livestock that might feel otherwise. 

While living in Colorado, I thought that a wolf ran across the road that I was driving on at dusk, but if it was a wolf and not a large coyote dog, it might have been a Mexican wolf. I was living in the South Eastern corner of the state and while Colorado does not officially have wild wolves, the Gray wolf has been sighted in Northern Colorado. There are several packs of Mexican wolves in New Mexico and Arizona, so with all of the wild open spaces in South Eastern Colorado, it would not be surprising for Mexican wolves to show up in that area. 


My only other encounter with wolves was at a wolf rescue in Paso Robles. They are larger than you would think, about 100 lbs, beautiful and with an intelligence behind their eyes that makes me happy not to have ever met one in the wild!

February 27, 2015

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My sister Vivian response to these sketches first thing in the morning everytime that I send one out. She always has a comment on it, good or bad. Thank you Viv. 
I found a few photos of her when we were all out at Fay and Kory's Paso Robles house. It looks like it might have been in the fall, when the hills around there are all golden and slightly breezy. 

Drawing pattern on fabric is a good way to define an object, but the plaid that she is wearing was driving me crazy! I lost my place several times. Still I got the effect that I was looking for.

February 26, 2015

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This is Fern Canyon in the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park It is really a large gully, or an Arroyo, who's sides are lined with ferns and moss. It is it's own bio-niche, with frogs, newts, salamanders and a host of insects. If is looks familiar, it should if you've seen Jurassic Park and Walking with Dinosaurs. Parts of the movies were filmed there. If you ever get a chance to visit the area, take a walk in this canyon, or better yet, hike the loop that starts with the James Irvine Trail.

If you can't tell, Prairie Creek State Park, with all of it's wonders and beauty is one of my most favorite spots on Earth!

February 24, 2015

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Since I was reminiscing about how I love the Coastal Redwoods area, I wanted to include the Gold Bluffs Beach area of the Prairie Creek State Park.  The park is on of Highway 101, just south of Crescent City and has it's Western most border on the Pacific ocean. It is one of the most incredible places to visit in it's diverse terrain, flora and fauna. The park is simply beautiful! We always used to camp in the Prairie Creek Campground area, but I guess now you can pitch a tent on the beach as well. 
The Roosevelt Elk are everywhere and when we rode out bicycles to the beach, we thought we would walk along the shore. We would have to pass through a section of small sand dunes that had grasses growing through it and what looked like some small twiggy vegetation growing among the grasses. We never got to the water however because as we walked closer to the sand dunes, we realized that the twigs were moving and that they were not twigs, but a herd of elk bedded down in the grasses!  We prudently decided to explore other areas, like the Fern Canyon, but that is another story

February 23, 2015

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I found a patch of this weed along side of the Elk Grove Creek, in a muddy area. This is miner's leaf lettuce. The leaves of this plant were large, fleshy, about four inches across. I've seen this plant in Southern California, but it was much smaller and hardly worth collecting to eat. It seems that here in Northern California, the Miner's leaf lettuce grows happily in large swaths in the late winter and early spring.
 It got it's name from the gold miners who harvested it during the California Gold Rush in 1849. They probably learned about the plant and it's benefits from the native Indians.  The leaves of this fleshy plant could cure scurvy, a condition that is a result of a lack of vitamin C. This herb is high in vitamin C, A, iron and Omega 6. 
Eaten raw, it is slightly lemony. This flavor is the result of ascorbic acid and oxalic acid. There might a problem with plants that contain oxalic acid because it can inhibit the absorption of calcium, but spinach, beet greens and swiss chard all contain oxalic acid, not enough to harm and the benefits out weigh the negative effects. The leaves of the rhubarb plant does have so much oxalic acid that it is poison. 

I love eating the leaves of this plant mixed with other leafy plants, either fresh or cooked. I like the pretty umbrella form and the little flowers in the middle of each leaf that I had to sketch it! 

February 22, 2015

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Noel, a friend, who lives in Utah, does a lot of walking. (It actually sounds like pretty vigorous hiking to me!)  She and her husband live near Park City, where it seems like there are a lot a fun trails and views to enjoy! Yesterday, she told me that she saw a big ol' bull moose! 

Of course I had to draw a bull moose. I found this photo of an old bull moose with a broken antler and I had to do him. I wanted to do a back lighting on him and since Noel said that her hands were frozen after that hike, I thought that her breath and the moose would have shown too, so I included steam coming out of the nostrils and the back of the moose. I remember the steers that we used to have in our backyard when I was a teen. When it was cold, steam would rise from the nose and mouth and if it was cold enough, the body as well.

I wanted this moose to be standing out from the snow, so I made him is a little darker. I have never seen a moose up close in the wild, or been in the area that she hikes, so I had to guessed about the animal scale and terrain. I've seen pictures, but the amount of snow, if any there, and the vegetation was a guess. 


We don't have moose here in California, but coming up onto a full grown bull moose was probably as startling as encountering a big elk. I came up on one, not more than 15 feet away, while rounding a blind turn, on a bicycle at Gold Bluff Beach in Northern California. That elk was big, but probably not even half as big as a moose! How exciting and cool was that, Noel?!!! I bet that it was an enchanted encounter! 

February 21. 2015

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Today mom and I were watching Huell Howser, California's Gold. He presented a "Road Trip", This time, he showed "The Avenue Of Giants" in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. This is one of my favorite places to go of all of the places that I've ever been to. I love the large coastal redwoods, which are taller, but not wider than the sequoias inland around Calavaras, Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The lush undergrowth and high humidity from the nearby Pacific coast supports a variety of ferns, mosses and the famous banana slug. I thought that I would try to draw my impressions of being among these trees when there is a little bit of fog.


February 20, 2015

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Tulip and I went for a walk today on the Elk Grove Creek again. It runs through residential and business areas of Elk Grove. Some of it is a wide waterway. Some of it is just a muddy trickle of water, but in the areas with enough water, waterfowl are always present.
It was overcast and cool, with some fog, but there were already people walking on either side of the waterway. The geese were still bedded in the grass, just their dark heads sticking up above the grass. The ducks were doing take offs and landings. male mallards after the females.  I also heard a choir of frogs, croaking and answering in return. 
Today I also saw a Great White Egret. It stood very still as we approached and it might have stayed there, but Tulip was getting excited as we approached. With a great stroke of the wings it flew away, following the water.

I made up this image of fog, water and birds in Photoshop to capture the memory.

February 19, 2015

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I found a few photos that I had taken with my phone when I went out with my sister, Fay in Paso Robles. We went to take some photos during the "Golden hour". The sun was beginning to set and it left everything with a golden wash. I have always loved this view off of Hog Canyon of the poplar trees in the vineyards. During this time of day, they seem to almost glow! 

February 16, 2015

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Last Saturday Mom and I went to see her long time friend who is retired at San Juan Batista Mission. Sister Loretta is a nun of the Franciscan order. Mom and sister are the same age and have birthdays on the same month. They met when mom and dad lived in Paso Robles, at the Mission San Miguel. This Tuesday, sister is going down to Salinas to get prepped for surgery on Wednesday. She is getting stints put into the arteries of her heart. I don't know the details, but it is always dangerous for someone of that age to go into surgery. Please pray for her. 
We spent the afternoon there, mom talking with her friend and the other nuns there. Later we all went to mass in the beautiful mission with a Franciscan brother in the signature brown habit, playing the organ to lead the congregation in song. While mom visited with the nuns and her friend at the convent, I went out for a walk with Tulip. Since it was a long weekend, there were lots of people visiting the mission. I decided to explore quieter areas around the mission complex. I found what looked to be an old road behind the mission.It was narrow, no wider than a single car or truck could fit on it. On either side, it was overgrown with shrubs and old trees, patches of asphalt still clinging to the path. A chain linked gate blocks any traffic, but I can easily walk around it.
 On one side is a tall retaining wall artfully graced with moss in the crevices. It is so tall and overgrown that I can't see the mission.  On the other side, a wide stretch of farm land with rows of crops, some ruby chard, I think, probably other winter hardy crops too. This is part of the San Andreas Fault.
I took some photos with my phone and noticed that there were small trees that looked like the almond trees that we sped by on the 5 on our drive. Off of highway 5, before Santa Nella, there are hundreds of acres of trees, all in bloom, looking like they are frosted trees. The little trees along the old road that I was walking on were either volunteers or remnants of an old grove that no longer exists. These trees are twisted, some struggling to put out blooms, others covered in masses of light pink flowers. 
When I got back to the convent, I asked one of the nuns who had lived there awhile what that road was. She told me that it was the El Camino Real, The King's Highway. Parts of present day highway 101 and 1 is called that sometimes, but this road was the original one that connected all of the missions in California. 

I decided to paint, in Photoshop, from a combination of a few photos that I took, a view of the mission from the El Camino Real with an almond tree in bloom.

February 13, 2015

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I had to get a blood test, a fasting lab for my new doctor. He wants to see where my hemoglobin levels are and figure our why it went awry. The medical building is next to a walking trail that had expanded since I had been on it a couple of years ago. More medical buildings had been built and the paved trail runs along Elk Grove Creek. 

It was a beautiful morning for a walk and other people were walking on it too, I took tulip with me. I was surprised at the diversity of vegetation which was nice because they are all wild, native plants and not part of a landscaper's design. There were mallard ducks, a very large white egret, and flocks of canadian geese. It looked as though some of the geese were nesting. I saw pairs of geese in the grass a little distance away from the trail, the male standing, the female sitting. These geese are monogamous, and most couples stay together all of their lives. How fitting for the day before Valentine's Day! 

February 12, 2015

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Mom wanted to watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. In the third movie, the armies go to war against the evil Mordor. Gondor lights signal fires along the mountains as a signal to Rohan that they need Rohand's help.

 I got a quick glimpse of that scene and thought that would be an easy painting to do

February 11, 2015

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I'm trying to build up my body and immune system. Besides walking, I have been lifting weights again. My muscles are aching, but this time it is a good ache. I can't wait to get back into the gym! 

After watching a spot on this woman, on the Today Show, I was inspired! Yes, she has had work done, which she needs for her industry, which I never will have done. But it is the fact that she is using what she has to fulfill her life and stay active! At 82, she is still beautiful and she has graced more magazine covers than when she was younger. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2355862/Carmen-DellOrefice-82-year-old-model-reveals-secrets-lasting-success.html

February 10, 2015

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I'm keeping these sketches simple to rest my hand until the pain goes away. Heat feels good, but I'll try arnica instead of Aspercream. 
Today was a really beautiful day in the morning, then it got a little overcast. Later this week it is supposed to get warmer, perfect weather to go for a bike ride! 

February 9, 2015

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I guess when you overuse a body part it gets inflamed. I was trying to work on some things this morning when the first two fingers and thumb on my left hand was aching. I put on some arnica, but it hurt enough for me to stop using it and find something else to do. I didn't get to finish my drawings, so I thought that I would try to draw with my right hand to draw my left hand. I am left handed. This is my experiment in trying to draw with my right hand. I cheated a little to refine the shape a little with my regular drawing hand. Oddly enough, drawing the shadows was easier than trying to do the outside contour of my left hand. I was able to capture the arthritis on the index finger and the broken joint on the ring finger. 

This was a good exercise to train the other side of my brain, but the drawing is not too good. 

February 8, 2015

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Since I've been drawing animals that frequent urban areas, I had to draw a coyote. 
Coyotes are so successfully adaptable that they live in all of the U.S., Mexico, all the way to Panama and parts of Canada.There are 19 subspecies of coyotes as they have evolved to adapt their environment. They are will eat vertebrates and invertebrates, everything from bugs to sheep, fruit and some vegetation. 
Fay, my sister, and I used to see then all of the time when we rode our bikes. A pack of them would follow us when we rode at night. They ran away when we turned our heads with lamps on our helmets to shine a light on them. 
They are very social. The coyote pack is centered around a reproductive female and once she mates with a male they stay together for life. They are monogamous and the male stays around to help feed and raise the cubs. 
I had friends who lived in a log house in Acton, in Southern California. They had 60 acres in the middle of nowhere and had coyotes around all of the time. They told me that the coyotes would send a female in heat to lure the male dogs out and the female coyotes would mate and them kill the dogs. There are lots of coyote-dog hybrids and wolf-coyote hybrids called coywolfs. Both hybrids are larger than coyotes. I saw a huge one once after a ride with Fay in the Santa Monica Mountains, near Topanga Canyon. It was bigger than a German Shepard and maybe almost as large as my Great Dane that I have now. It's bushy tail was long as it's body. It was probably not a coywolf, but a coyote dog hybrid.  
When I lived in Granada Hills, a coyote was killing my neighbor's chickens and then my ducks in the back yard. We had a six foot fence, but that's nothing to a coyote that seems to be able to run up the almost vertical side of a trail when we would surprise them while riding our mountain bikes. When I did see the coyote, it was really small, about the size of a beagle, running down the middle of a busy street. Animal Control in the L.A. area say that there are coyotes all over Los Angeles. They travel unseen along the storm drains and waterways. 

I drew this one with no vegetation around it since they can live anywhere and are so adaptable.

February 7, 2015

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I was looking through some old photos and found one of my sister, Fay and her two dogs. This picture was a combination of a couple of pictures, because I love the way that her Dalmatian’s ears fly when he is running and I loved her calling them to her. It was so sweet!