ART LESSON

Here's some of the art that was on display at the Northeast Poultry Congress in Springfield MA USA.

 I don't recall the titles,

but the artist is Mother Nature.

Her work was elegant, 

solid, 

delicate, 

sweet.

 That sweet one really took my breath away.
   

I visited her a few times during the day and did some sketches to get to know her better.

 How did Mother Nature come up with these designs?  

And what is it like to wake up every morning in this outfit?

This fella is proudly owned by a sweet little girl.

I hope he didn't hear people calling him "Devil Boy".  

This lady scratched in the sawdust as gracefully as a ballerina.

To look at her, one can easily make the link between chicken and dinosaur.

Were dinosaurs graceful?

 And did their souls shine this brightly in their eyes?

This cochin hen was just one voluptuous butt with a head on top.  

She seemed to have a healthy self-image.  Good girl.

Now here's an example of form and pattern explosively combined.

and lovely eyes as punctuation.

I studied eyes.

Could she see me?

Yes, there is a chicken in there.

This prizewinner's eyes have "happy" and "healthy" written all over them.

 All through the day, chickens glanced upward.  I couldn't figure out what they were looking at.  Perhaps the fluorescent lights were flickering? 
  
Eventually I saw what they saw... Sparrows flitting around high up in the rafters of the arena.  All of the chickens were aware of them; most of us humans were not.

As the day drew to a close, some birds settled right down.  


But others...... 
well, turn up your sound for this little video clip.

Where's Marky? (December game)

Enjoying the season's long shadows and warm colors with my favorite hiking buddy.

 You won't find Marky in this picture,

or in this one.

He's waiting for me to finish whatever the heck I'm doing, so we can get on with the fun. 

Wait a minute little guy.

Just one more.

Oooh - just a sec.

Okay, last one.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     

Alright let's go......   Where's Marky?

Best little white dog.

(hint: if you cant' find Marky in these pix, click on the image for enlargement.)

Need more fun?  

To play the first "Where's Marky" game, click HERE!

Character

Lucy's toes remind me of this photo by Alfred Stieglitz,

of Georgia O'Keefe's hands.

So much character. 

And since "adversity builds character", 

I guess that's why Lucy is full of it.

Out in the coop, I was photographing Lucy's twisted toes

when Pigeon scampered over to see what all the fuss was about.

She took a good myopic look, 

and then she noticed that Lucy's head was above her own.

This, according to the Official Chicken Rule Book, 

is an extreme gesture of insubordination.

In defense of her position as Queen of the Coop, Pigeon raised her hackles and placed her beak beside Lucy's. 

Lucy remained calm and still, to assure Pigeon that she had no intention of overthrowing her regime.

Pigeon thought about that for a bit, while Lucy waited politely.

Then Pigeon turned toward me to see if treats might be in order.

Pigeon herself is not without her own adversity... you can see character in her toes, too.  She's not in pain, but these bent toes do tell a story of hardship that she endured before she came to live with us.  
Those days are forgotten -- but they certainly contributed to her character. 

Maybe that's why these two gals share a special bond.


...They're sharing a special dog house, too -- 
I've made some changes in the chicken yard. 
But that's another story!