Bump, Set, Spike, Meow

Dogs vs. Cats: The cats can jump higher, but they keep having to take timeouts for hairballs. The dogs know more tricks, but they keep getting distracted by smells. Could be anyone's game.

Length of parrot feather: 14"

Skunk!

For Missy

This is Skunk, my cousin's epileptic cat that she rescued.  Rub his belly for good luck!

Length of feather: 7"

Nurse Monica

For my very cool cousin Monica, who is finishing up nursing school, and is a known crazy cat lady. Congratulations!

Length of feather: 6 1/2"

Orange You Going to Come to the Show?

Meow. This simple little orange cat is the result of being sidetracked by other work this past weekend. Much of that work was directly related to FeatherMore. Most of the rest involved ripping down wallpaper in my parents' guest bathroom to discover that, because the toilet tank is flush up against the wall, the drywall behind it is moldy and crumbling. A simple job of "let's paint this room a new color" now requires plumbing and drywalling to really do it right. Oy vey.

I'm very proud and excited to announce that I have received my acceptance to the Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi. I have also been accepted to several shows and festivals for this fall in the past few days. I'm pleased and honored that I will be showing at
Alabama Coastal BirdFest in Fairhope, Christmas City Gift Show in Biloxi,  The Inaugural Cedars Juried Art Exhibition in Jackson, and Chimneyville Crafts Festival in Jackson. Other applications pending. More festivals and events to come. 

Completion of step two of five-year plan for fabulous fame and fortune through feather painting: Check. 

Length of feather: 3 3/4"

Day 95: Chick Ball

The Eighth Annual Jackson Free Press Chick Ball is set for July 28th at Hal and Mals. The event is raising funds for a rape crisis center at the Center for Violence Prevention in Pearl, MS. The festivities start at 6PM with live music and a silent auction of donated art, gift certificates, and "men of distinction." To see the complete auction guide, go pick up your copy of the Jackson Free Press or find it on their website. Learn more about the JFP Chick Ball, and come out on Saturday night to have a good time for a good cause.

Length of feather: 14"

Day 93: Stuck in the Middle With You

Meow Meow Meow GULP.

Length of feather: 4 1/2"

Day 57: Penguin Polka Party

When you're feeling down, try calling the Polka Penguin. He doesn't talk much, but he sure can play the accordion. He is one of the original cast members from Disney's Mary Poppins (1964). He had a hard time finding full-time work as an actor after that film, so he started a band, which he has been enjoying ever since. You can see his grandson in several recent films including Happy Feet (2006) and Madagascar 3 (2012).

Speaking of Disney, as recommended I picked up some cat food for the raccoon trap seeing as the anchovies were not a hit and I'm out of sardines. Within two hours, I caught a sweet little calico cat. Hhhhmmmm....

At the store I chose one of the cheapest, but also one of the most alluring brands of canned cat food. I picked up four cans of Aristocats, which came in two different fancy fish flavors. To the manufacturer's credit, trout is high on the ingredient list in the Flaked Trout Dinner (though I'd bet good money it's fish heads and left-over parts), and the Cod, Sole & Shrimp Dinner includes those named ingredients as well. Yet Disney is willing to put its name on a product that includes "animal digest."

I did a little research to find out what that is. It's a sort of pink slime extraordinaire. A broth of enzymes breaks down (digests) left-over parts of slaughtered animals including their undigested stomach contents, skin, and connective tissue. It often includes horses, roadkill, livestock that have died and are unfit for slaughter, pests like rats, and euthanized animals from shelters (which, keep in mind, includes cats). It's a cheap way for manufacturers to boost the protein level of the food (even though it may not be protein that can be metabolized by the cat). If I don't catch the raccoon in the next few days with this unnatural stuff, I'm going back to sardines and honeycomb. I'm not entirely happy feeding raccoon to the raccoon and cat to the cat. Soylent Green is people! People!

Length of feather: 2"

Day 34: Hang in There

For Damen. 

Timothy Ambrose Wallace only wants to fly. It is spring and school is about to let out for summer recess. He sits next to the window in his first grade classroom where he can drift into the sky and daydream about the grand adventures that are on their way. Uncle Tim and his father have agreed to bring him along for his first real trip, now that he’s finally large enough to assist with the rigging. They’ll be gone for a month. They leave in ten days.  

Length of Feather: 11”

SOLD

Day 21: Husky Boy

I’ve never personally been a dog-owner, although I love dogs and cats and all sorts of other animals. Grandma Gooding had dogs and one of the many great things about visiting her house were the dogs—sweet, shaggy, happy, goofy, lovable mutts. They liked to sit on the couch at the end of the day and eat celery and carrots with us. We would bite off little chunks of the vegetables to share with the Cricket (who jumped up and down like a cricket as a puppy) or Pepper (who was the color of salt and pepper). Cats have been a part of my household for most of my adult life even though I’m desperately allergic. I am currently without a cat, and also currently without asthma. Go figure. I would like to have a dog. That may be something I look into sooner rather than later.

Length of Feather:  3 1/4”              

SOLD

Day 9: Neville Potemkin Wallace IV

Mr. Wallace introduces himself with his middle initial rather than using his given second name of Potemkin, which he finds to be a bit over the top for most social occasions. He is a tidy banker and dutiful father to the litter of eight kittens who have recently joined the Wallace household. On Sundays he usually attends early service with the Missus and the kindle so that he has more of the day left for his favorite part of the week (Amelia is savvy and supportive, and when the little ones are behaving, handles them on her own, packing Neville a picnic and sweeping him out the door towards the airfield).  He is a member of Her Majesty’s Aeronautic Research Collegium (H.M.A.R.C. -- No claws allowed.). It is from there that his friend and colleague Theophilus Ignatius Mulligatawny (Tim for short) sets forth on his great adventures.

Length of Feather:  4 1/2”