Tuesday, December 8, 2009

She promised me ice cream

The snow and extreme cold continue. (As I write this, it's 3 degrees F, with a wind chill of -14. I have to leave for work in a few minutes.) I was desperate to do something in bright colors, since around here we're only seeing in monochrome. I had a lot of fun doing this in a completely in-the-moment, deliberately childlike way.




I knew that the foxes and deer in our neighborhood have been getting bolder and bolder... But today I was genuinely shocked to look out the window and see a fox, in broad daylight, taking his sweet time to sniff and stroll around my yard and all the neighbors'. They eat cats around here... (Our Jellyroll never did come back.) I didn't have my camera, but my neighbor/artist/friend Sam has a photo of a couple of them on her roof here.

The deer, too, beautiful though they are, have become more than a nuisance in our neighborhood, eating cherry trees, roses, and garden tomatoes with equal relish. Woe betide the human who takes a casual walk down the sidewalk in fawn season...there's a matriarch who doesn't hesitate to charge you, even with leashed barking dogs at your side. I used to think it was kind of funny...until it happened to me. That's when I realized those things are big. And those shiny black hooves look pretty sharp too.



Must...stay....warm. Must....stay...warm...








More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

10 comments:

loriann signori said...

Love the vibrancy of this piece: it really does cheer me up.....as do the wonderful animal photos.
I am so sorry about Jellyroll. I am still hoping is south vacationing.
I had guessed you and Sam were friends, but neighbors too! Do you live in Boulder or outside?

SamArtDog said...

And all day I was thinking that big rumble must be the sound of monster waves hitting the North Shore of Oahu, but NO!...it was the rumble of nappytime snores across the street.

Jala Pfaff said...

Hi Loriann, thanks, it cheers me up too! Well, as cheery as I can get considering it's 1 degree F out right now... Thanks about Jellyroll.
Sam lives literally across the street. We live in Boulder. She's new to blogging, but she's learning very quickly, as you can see. Other than the fact that she has no cats, she's a really great person. ;)

Jala Pfaff said...

Hi Sam - (See my response to Loriann. ;D) Yep, the ZZZZZZs must be pretty loud over there across the street... Have you been out walking Garrett in this dreadful weather?

Anonymous said...

A beautiful pastel, Jala. Not just warm, but hot! You've got a lot of sleeping animals there... I think I'd join them if I had to endure that rotten weather.

Marian Fortunati said...

Wow!!! Stay warm!! and keep those beautiful kitties inside!!!

Yeah.... animals looking for food in cold weather... and we're in their way... without our guns and machines they win....

Enjoy them if you can...

Dominique Seidler said...

They are happy and beautiful animals in sleepping ! It's serenity house ... Yours pictures are very colored and very nice.

Leslie Saeta said...

Stay warm! And good thing you don't limit yourself to plein air in this weather!

Anonymous said...

It's hard to imagine that bone biting kind of cold.

Interactions with deer are not infrequent here too. It always takes me by surprise and then I remind myself that we're in their place, they're not in ours.

Your piece throws off heat like a clay oven. I love this one Jala.

But what I really love are the doggie under the blanket pictures and the security and protection they have in your care.

suzanneberry said...

Vibrant, alive and delicious. Brrrrrr. Stay warm.