How I Lost My New Year's Resolution and Won Summer

For me, summer has different responsibilities than the rest of the year, and her name starts with a Z. It's amazing how one small human can be so much more responsibility than fifty odd farm animals, but so it is. I didn't exactly keep my New Year's Resolution of drawing every single day, but I did keep the spirit of it, remaining creatively productive for most days.

For instance, I worked with Alex Bledsoe to finish The Tufa Coloring Book on time, and put that out mid-August.

And then there was this anthology, Ellipsis, that really came out of nowhere, wanting to publish my story. Which was great! Fine! Wonderful! So I just sent them the story, and watched in amazement as someone else published it. What is this? I thought. Wait, I don't have to do everything? I just write the thing and they do the rest? This is amazing! So that at least gives me the appearance of having done something over the summer, although I really wrote the story a while ago. (Did I ever mention that it came out? It's available! And it has no reviews yet, but I hear it's really funny. And all profits go to charity. How cool is that?)

And somehow, I also hosted several visitors, toured Portugal, and helped my daughter take her sheep, Candy Darling (named by me after that Candy Darling), to win Grand Champion Exotic Animal at the county fair! What a summer!

But now it's over. And I am back to drawing every day. Another book deadline draws nigh: I'm illustrating the children's book, "Murgatroyd Buttercups."

Yesterday, I was working on Murgatroyd's flying.

Murgatroyd Buttercups is due September 27th-ish. 

Candy Gets Her Head in a Knot

Do you remember when we saved this little lamb named Candy Darling? Candy is a sweet little lamb. Little Z has decided, because Z doesn't have a horse, that she will ride Candy like a horse- which is fine, except that Candy is a wee little lamb still. She's just getting her horns!

Which brings us to her current predicament:

A couple times a day, Candy Darling gets her head stuck in the fence! She has four little horns poking out every which way. Then she sees some sort of tastiness- Goldenrod, usually. She's just getting the hang of how to turn her head just right to squeeze them through. But sometimes she doesn't get it out again. 

And after we get her head out, the fence is wrapped in wool. 

I'm worried she might stick her head in and get stuck in the middle of the night, and then whatever ate the ducks will come and eat Candy! 

A few weeks ago, I got smart and put an automatic chicken door that opens and closes on its own when it gets dark. So I don't have to put the chicken in at night! 

And now, here I am hiking a quarter mile out to pull Candy Darling's head out of the fence each night. 

Sweet little lamb.