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My son’s elementary school PTA gifted everyone a combination lock the summer before starting middle school so they could prepare for lockers. Genius. I still remember the stress of opening my locker between classes. I also had my locker combination written on the side of my shoe just in case, but I never forgot the numbers. Just an extra layer of unnecessary precaution.

Those pale yellow/white butterflies that you always see fluttering about the yard are actually Cabbage White Butterflies. We saw our first of the season the other day and after dozens of photos we finally got one with it’s wings open to verify it’s identity. I zoomed in on the photo quite a bit to draw it and I do think I was able to capture the hairy fuzzy body. Nature is amazing.

I am SO excited that my daughter is starting to take volleyball lessons through the park district. It’s been fun to bump back and forth after school and after dinner. Brings back lots of old memories. It’s early, but I think we may have a future in volleyball 🙂

Not just any dog leash but a retractable dog leash. This was a game changer for our dog. When it became apparent that she would never heel or walk like a well trained dog, we gave up and got the leash that let’s her be in charge. Now she has the freedom to roam up to 20 feet.

Yesterday as we were walking the dog, I decided to find a stick or twig to draw. There was a plethora of options thanks to the crazy WIND! Not sure what tree this came from but I have to say that I enjoyed drawing it immensely and thought that maybe year 2 of this blog could just be twigs….

We go from lambs and bunnies to sharks. This is a plastic Tiger shark and I have been told that is is biologically accurate in it’s coloring and stripes. This shark has been used in many Hot Wheels tracks… usually it’s in a pool of water under a jump with several other vicious water creatures.

Happy Easter! I’m sort of down on real bunnies right now as they have taken over the yard. I was picking up the dog’s poop in the backyard this morning and found several piles of bunny poop. Grrr. So how about a carved bunny! This one my dad carved out of wood and gave to my daughter for one of her early birthdays. I love the sweet expression on it’s face. A bunny I can love…. that doesn’t eat plants or poop in the yard.

In early March I took my daughter out to Kline Creek Farm, a historic working farm in DuPage County, to see some horses. Little did we know but the first batch of lambs had been born just days earlier. The lambs had been numbered with green spray paint on their backs to indicate their birth order and this is #4. I was just captivated by him. His face was absolutely precious. I took his photo and drew him for today (without the #4). I just had to include his actual picture as well.

I’m sure a true artist would thoroughly clean their paint brushes but I like to leave a little paint on the handle. Reminds me of the prior painting project. This particular one was used by my daughter and her friend to paint vases after school. It’s got some lovely pink and green acrylic remnants.