Hagrid: Full Body Portrait

 

Hagrid

Hagrid: Scratch Board In Process 2

 

I scratched out more of the light areas and defined certain areas.  

I added some color.  

She has orange markings on his face.  

Here is a detail on her face.

Hagrid: Scratch Board in progress

 

Hagrid Beardie is quite beautiful. She has the well known feature of spikes scales on her beard area and around the back sides of her head.  The spiky scales are on her sides too.

Her face has orange, and then there are black areas and light orangey brown area down her back.

I thought it would be good to do a scratch board portrait of her.  

I started the other night, to scratch out the light areas.  

I plan to add color.  

Here is what I did the other night.

In progress.

Hide and Seek

Children enjoy playing Hide and Seek.  There's mystery and surprise in the game of Hide and Seek.

There are are advantages to the game that are vital to an animal out in the wild.  The instincts are strong in animals.  Hiding to protect oneself.  Hunting for the next meal. It is ingrained in their DNA.

Kenji, a domestic rabbit,  does play Hide and Seek.  He is drawn to places that are like a den.

under the bed

in a box

in a corner

Yet because he has gotten to know us, he does come out to see us.  

I go upstairs and he may or may not be visible.  If I don't see him, I call his name, "Kenji, Kenji bunny".  
I look in the places I know he goes: under the bed, in a box.  

Then suddenly he comes out.  

"There you are."  I say.  

I let him smell my hand and pat him. 

We can be sure he will come out when we have his favorite treat, a banana. 

Hagrid, our Bearded Dragon  is a predatory animal.  

She will move as a predator does like in the wild. She will stay really still and keep low and hide behind a plant or branch to approach her prey, crickets.  Stealth and timing is key.  

Hagrid: Pencil drawing

Hagrid Beardie is about 6-7 months old now.  

I've noticed as she grows that her coloring and patterns on her body are becoming more distinct.  Her features are more prominent.  

When most people think about bearded dragons, they picture a sandy-colored reptile. But many people may be surprised to discover that bearded dragons can come in a variety of different colors, patterns, and something referred to as morphs or mutations.

Hagrid is a Standard morph.  Her face has orange markings.  Her beard area has black lines. And her body has a  a sysmetrical pattern along her back and down her tail.  There are browns, blacks and light color areas on her back.  

Shee has the familiar spikes feature on her beard area and along her sides.  

She is pretty cool to look at.  

I did a pencil drawing of her yesterday while she basked.  

Around the Yard with Kenji

 

At first, Kenji wasn't sure about going outside.  

But once out in the yard he really enjoyed

himself.  

We would follow him with the leash around the yard.  

He would check out things around the yard.  

Rub the short log.

Smell the grass.

Exploring the yard was intermitted with sitting in one spot.  

Under the playset near the old tire.

A dirt mount under a bush. 

Hiding in the leaves at the maple tree.

Spurts of hop hop hopping, covering lots of ground.

Burrowing in the soil.  ( the house sparrows use his little hole in the yard to take a dust bath)

Surveying the area.

Good Morning, Hagrid

 

We would enter our youngest daughter's bedroom to peak in on Hagrid Beardie. 

Hagrid chose to sleep in her cave.  Shee would curl up inside and got to sleep.

In the morning she would come out when she awoke.

One morning, I peaked in the cave to see her just peaking out of his cave.

"Good Morning, Hagrid".  

She would go to the hotter side of her enclosure to warm up.  Once she was warmed up, she was ready for breakfast... of crickets.  

Good Morning, Kenji

 

Our family's routine has changed a little since getting pets.

It has become common for us to go see Kenji Bunny upstairs in my older daughter's bedroom.

The girls liked to have Kenji on the bed to pet and talk to in the morning.  We set up pillows so he could hop up on the bed easier.  

Kenji found pillows very comfy.  

He would sit on one on the bed and let us pet him and say "Hello".   

Beardie: research and reward

 

Our youngest daughter decided she wanted a bearded dragon for a pet.  

There was much research to do about bearded dragon lizards.  

Bearded Dragons are found in Australia.  Yet they are bred in places as the USA.  

Why a breaded dragon? 

Well my daughter has always been fascinated with Mythical creatures.  And likes to draw them.

Dragons are reptilian mythical creatures.  

There are many cultures that have dragons in their lore, or as a symbolic icon, like for example in China.  

My daughter didn't like the stories where dragons were portrayed as evil and sought after to kill.

We found a place in Cumberland, RI that specializes in reptiles, named Sabrina's Reptile Kingdom. The owner of the place talked to us about bearded dragons.  Amanda was to read five reference sheets with information on bearded dragons before purchasing one.  

We needed to know what we were entering into for caring for this reptile.

We read about a bearded dragons needs, care, feeding, etc.

Reptiles are cold blooded and need an external source for heat.  We would need heat lamps to regulate the temperature in the enclosure.  They need a spot to bask and then a place to go when it doesn't need the extreme heat.  

They eat live crickets and certain vegetables.

We had to look for a 20 gallon tank to start with a young bearded dragon.

We also needed a place to put the live crickets.

We slowly started to find the items we needed: the 20 gallon tank, lamps, accessories for the tank to create an environment for the bearded dragon. 

And a cricket keeper to have a place for the crickets to live.  

One day I took Amanda to the Reptile Kingdom and we bought a young beardie.  

("beardie" is the shortened name for them)

We settled her into her new home. 

Baby Bunny: Inside and 0ut

 

While it was still winter, we introduces Kenji to different rooms in the house:  

The Living room

Our youngest daughters bedroom 

Our bedroom

He liked to explore the bed's soft blankets and lay down.  He would sometimes do burrowing on the blanket.  Then settle to rest in a spot.

Once on the floor he'd go under beds, zooming in and out.  He was using those long back legs to move. "And Boy, Could he move."  

We set up pillows and cushions so he could climb up on the couch or a bed.  He was excited to explore.

Once the weather warmed up we decided to introduce him to our yard outside.  

The first harness leash we got was soft rope.  

He wasn't so sure about it at first.  

Rabbits do not like being picked up really.  

Even when we got it on him, he managed to get out of it.  

We order a different harness leash that had Velcro and a click.  We did eventually get that harness leash on.  The smoother and faster we did it the more he was able to be OK with it.  

Then we opened the door.  As with any new thing, he hesitated.  We placed him in his carrier and carried him outside.  We unzipped the carrier bag.  He came out slowly to explore.  He would venture out farther and farther around the yard.  

The small garden plot

The longer garden plot

The playset

We noticed he would mark things with his outer cheek.  

A Branch

A small log

An old tire

The Maple tree: touched with a foot

His walks in the yard consist of stop, look, surge ahead hopping.  Then stop again. Sit for a time.  He  could sit for 5-10-15 minutes.  Look around, then clean himself.

He noted dogs barking behind the fence.  When he moved to the front of our house, he noted cars going by.  At first he bound off and we'd steer him to the back yard.  Yet he started to become accustom to cars going by...he would flatten himself until it was gone.  

We try to mostly stay in the back yard.  

He found a small dirt pile near a bush he likes to sit on.  He marks things around the yard.  

He did do a little burrowing in the dirt in the yard, but nothing to be concerned about.  

He likes the bushes too, for he feels safe there.  

  

Baby Bunny: Burrowing and Boxes

We started out with shaving for bedding.  But we found disadvantages to shaving.  They seemed to end up every where and on everything it was near.  

Granted with any pet you're going to have to clean and refresh bedding, water, cage.  

Yet we looked to another way.  

We tried newspaper.  Kenji shifted the paper around and gnawed on it.  So we got rid of the newspaper.

In the end we just chose to have hay so he could graze through out the day.

As far as peeing and pooping, Kenji chose specific spots to do his duty.

Rabbits do burrowing activity and like a den like place.  It is a natural instinct to burrow.  His cage has a covered area that is similar to a burrow.  It makes them feel safe.

Kenji became fond of a red soft towel.  He'd do a little burrow movement, then stretch out to relax. Sometimes he'd fall asleep for a time there.  

We discovered that Kenji also loves Boxes.  They're are den like. Yet they are also a place to hop on and off of.

We started with just a couple of boxes.  Kenji checked them out first.  Then he would hop on one.  And hop off .  

There was a ottoman in the room.  Kenji found he could jump on that.  

It was a soft place to rest, too.  

There was the time I ordered a new comforter for our bed because it was getting worn.  I ordered it online.  When it was delivered I brought the package in.  Kenji had been hanging out in the living room. As soon as I came in with this package, he came over to me and sniffed the box.  :D

My daughter brought the box up stairs and made a bunny box house for Kenji.  She placed the soft red towel inside.  He loved it.  

It was entertaining to watch him move around the room to different spots.

Kenji would hop back and forth with excitement.  

Baby Bunny Kenji

 

My daughter set Kenji's cage up stairs in her room.  

We put shaving in the cage and a water bottle on the side of the cage.  It seemed OK, yet we knew he would grow.   

We looked around at cages in a couple of stores.  We couldn't find a larger cage in stock in a store, so we order a larger rabbit cage online from chewy.com.  

When the large package arrived we brought it in and opened it up.  It took a bit reading instructions and setting it up.  We called the support line to help us.  They helped and we were finally able to finish putting it together.  Whew.  

Kenji seemed to like the bigger cage, yet still went to the other cage to drink water and poop.  So we kept the other cage.

A little bit about Kenji: 

In the beginning Amanda and Jan watched Kenji. He didn't really do much at first, and didn't step out of the cage. After a few days, he finally stepped out and explored. His personality is friendly, but little timid. 

He loves running around, hiding, and exploring. He would mostly hide under the bed, and sleep. 

He has an energetic side, and a calm relaxed side to him. When he's energetic, he would run around a lot, and be entertaining to watch as he explores the room. When he's calm, we are able to pet him, he usually sleeps when he is calm. 

He eats Timothy and  Alfalfa hay, and pellets which is his main meal. We give him bunny biscuits, bananas, and salad as a treat. He especially loves bananas.  

We looked up breeds of rabbits to learn more.  

There are 49 breeds of Rabbits world wide.  We looked at the different breeders of rabbit to find what Kenji was.  He is part Lion Head.  They have hair that is similar to a lion's mane, hairs fluffs out around his head.  He is very fluffy and soft.  The description of his breed mentioned that they are good family pets though a little timid, as he is.  They mention not so good with young children who's energy is very high.  

Our girls are teens and love learning about their new pet.  

Illustrations of Kenji eating.  

His ears were small, as he was just a baby.  

He does seem to like to put his front paws on the edge of the  bowls.  

Missy Turn on a Dime, Part 2

Turn on a Dime

We would work on connection,  being relaxed and supple.   It took focus and practice.  
We were successful, little by little, at  being relaxed and working together.   
During the walking cool down at the end of lessons, I would spend most of the time with my feet in the stirrups,  only occasionally taking my feet out to stretch. She got used to me doing that.  It was good.  
It was good, that is as long as I was paying attention.  
Quarter horses are bred for ranch work and need  to be able to turn and move quick. They can "turn on a dime". 
Well one day during walking cool  down, I made the mistake of relaxing so much I started to zone out.  
She must of heard something.   Though I didn't know what.   It could have been the wind blowing.   I didn't know.  But she got startled.   
She turned so quick.  I normally would move with her.  But this time I was left behind.  She went one way, while I slipped the other way  and fell off. 
I landed on my side in the dirt. 
I remember thinking, "She can be a nervous horse and she's probably half way down the ring going toward Carol."  
Instead when I looked up, I discovered she was standing right next to me.  Her head down at my level on the ground.  
She look at me like "What happened.   You fell off." 
I'm not supposed to fall off, but go with her.  
I looked at her and said reassuringly,  I'm ok". 
I got up. 
I was a little sore and stiff from the fall. We took care.  

I was now a member of the Dust Club. 
  
I got better  and got back on with riding her.  

The Angels are Bowling

Today we had a few thunderstorm come through.
I  heard the low rumble of thunder just as I woke up.  It became a day of off and on lighting and rumbles of thunder.  Of course there was the occasional rain pattering down too. 
We spent the morning at LAH farm.
I got most of my work done without getting wet. Near to finishing the rain started and I had to put my jacket on.
I felt hotter with my jacket on because of the high humidity in the air.  At one point I gave up and put my jacket away.  I let the rain get me wet a little.  It did feel sort of good and cooled me off.

The Farm was having a Family Day.  They had stuff to sell at flea market prices and ponies rides. 
It was nice.  The girls got a pony ride.  Some people came by in the morning. 
Cozmo loved the company and stood at the gate in anticipation for the next pat and treat.
He's such a ham.
At one point he gave me a horse hug.  He placed his head on my shoulder when I was patting him.  So soft and so  sweet.

As the rain started to come down more,  less people showed up.

The rumble of thunder seemed close and often.
I mentioned that my mom always claimed with humor that the thunder means ....
"The Angels are Bowling".
A really loud clap of thunder means they got a strike.
A low rumble means a gutter bowl.

So nice to have such imaginative thoughts.

Later I happened to notice a magnificent thunder cloud in the distance.   

Run like the Wind

Tuesday I was at the farm. 
I can't seem to say enough how therapeutic I find it going there.

At one point I happen to look out toward the far pasture to see Cozmo going for a run.  His long, white mane and tail flowing behind him.
His breeding is the Haflinger breed.  They have gold- light or dark- body coloring, white socks and a beautiful white flowing mane and tail. He sports a white blaze down his face.
The breed is build broad, sort of drafty, yet as all horses, they are strong and can go fast.  
Seeing him run made me feel good to.  Like"Yay, Go for it".  So free. 

I haven't ridden in a time, and seeing him run reminded me of the times I have had the experience of riding with the wind in my face going fast.  What a thrill. It's so freeing.
When I was in high school, many moons ago, I volunteered for a time at a riding stable.  I cleaned for a chance to ride.  For a little while the other kids and I would take turns riding a horse the owner had bought to resell.
Then there was a time it was just me and another boy there.  The owner let me ride her horse.  She had palomino coloring- gold body, white main and tail.  I think she was a quarter horse. 
Similar to Cozmo who isn't a young horse, Star was about 22 yrs old.  Yet she had spunk still in her as Cozmo does. I'd ride her around the yard. The barn was set sort of on a hill.  When we'd get to that part she'd insist in cantering up the hill every time. 
I certainly honed my skills through that.  She was attentive too.  If I seemed a little unsure she'd go a little slower. 

There was one time in early spring.  We started around the yard, but there was a bit of snow still in areas, so I turned her around to go back up a slight incline the way we had come.  She seemed rather happy to be out.  As we got to the end of the fence she looked back at me on her back.  Her eyes twinkling and ears turning back and forth.
I sensed what she wanted, "lets go fast up incline".  There was only a little snow there maybe barely an inch.  I thought and barely spoke, "yay, OK" when she went into the most flowing trot up the incline. The cold wind brushed my face. Her warm body was beneath me- I rode her a lot bareback. Her hoof steps were rhythmic crunching sounds in the snow. 
What a ride that was that day. 

Run sound and free.
 

Awareness and Learning

This week the Providence Entrepreneur group had a Lunch Lab.  I'm a member of the group.  This is a day where there are round table discussions on business topics. This week's topic was websites.
I've found these meetings fruitful.  There's always such good information and perspective from those in this group. 
We meet at the organizer's house.

He has a cute little dog.  I met him another time I went to his house- that time I thought the meeting was that day yet it wasn't.  We sat and talked anyway.  Nice.
When I was leaving, he noted that his dog was rather quiet and calm around me.  I was like "oh huh.  I do have a sensitivity toward animals.  I think they pick that up."

This time it was as if I was having that confirmed.  Dog barked a welcome to everyone , including me as we came in.  At the end a few people left and he barked them out-  a "bye".
I left after those few and by myself.  Dog quietly looked at me.  I stopped and said "goodbye, see you later".  He watched me go, Quietly.

hmmmmm

There's Awareness and Learning.


Like once when I was young I was a little bothered that our neighbor's dog seemed a little uncomfortable when I patted her.  She was mostly a nice dog, but sensitive. My sister happen to point out that maybe I was patting her too lightly.  When I adjusted how I did it she relaxed.


Then there have been times when I have been "spot-on". I've felt odd about this.  Thought "Here we go again. There it is again."
And yet I have come across people that see it and think pretty well of it.

I remember going to the Boston Aquarium on a school field trip.  This was years ago.  My teacher wanted us to visit the tidal pool.  So a few of us went with him.  It was a small exhibit then.
There were snails, mussels, and a horseshoe crab.  I picked up a snail for a short time.  I got to talking about how my sister and I, when visiting the Cape, would explore the breakwaters-  A line of rocks reaching out from the beach.
In between the rocks one could find snails, mussels and tiny fish.  Cool to admire them.
We noted the horseshoe crab.  My teacher asked if anyone wanted to pick it up.  I couldn't resist the opportunity.  I've never picked one up before. I made sure to be gentle and sensitive.  I carefully picked it up and turned it so it was cradled in my hand, shell against my palm. I was able to see the creature under the shell.  It's bony like legs were bent.
I hovered my other hand over it yet didn't touch it.  I just wanted to see some movement. I was rewarded. I admired the living creature within.  So alive and covered in a protective shell. I then placed it gently back in the pool. 
On the ride home the kids were noisy.  Yet it felt like a good trip. 
Teacher was a little annoyed about some of the kids behavior and he expressed it the next day when he talked about the trip.  Then he mentioned one good thing- how I picked up the horseshoe crab. He came over later and told me "That was quite good".  I remember thanking him though I found I couldn't quite look up.  Odd feeling there.  And yet I had had no instruction and did the right thing.

I've been to the Aquarium another time.  They now have a larger tidal pool and beach exhibit and have associates there to answer questions and engage others in exploring the exhibit.  Neat.

Something to it perhaps.


Another significant moment in time was when I was at a horse show one day.  I was checking out the horse show and had my camera with me.  I ended up spending a good amount of time there that day watching each class, and occasionally taking pictures.  I take pictures for my art reference file.  There was a girl and her horse there that were doing pretty well. I found myself watching the pair a bit.
Near the end of the day there was one more class- a jumping class.  I was standing a little off from others watching.  A woman was standing not far from me.  As we watched the pair, the horse slightly tossed it head, yet went ahead. 
The woman asked out loud "I wonder why that horse did that".  There was a surge through me.  I had an answer and I couldn't hold back.  I said - trying to sound casual- "oh, he's probably just tired.  They've been going all day". 
She looked at me. "Oh, do you know them." she asked.  I could feel myself blush, and tried an answer "no, but I've been watching them all day"---yah that's it,sounds good.
"Here I go again" I thought.  I tried not to make eye contact really.
This woman gazed at me for a moment. 
Then said to me "You know something". 
I was like "huh".  I bravely looked at her. 
She said "You know that's a gift". 
I was like " uh, yah".
Since I looked a little unsure she added, "It is a gift". 
I replied to that.  "Yes.  Yet sometimes it's not received so well--odd thing. But yah". 
Her last words "Do cherish it, It's a Gift.

Lately I'm thinking  I should see it as that-is - A gift.


Here' an image I created from that show.  I noticed near the barn a couple of black draft horses in a paddock.  They were nuzzling each other occasionally. I got a picture of it.  Later I created a Pen and Ink drawing of it.

things come up

At farm things happening.

Larry had arranged dumpster pick up and didn't want anyone in the yard.  He also was using the tractor to pull up trees and had plans to build a ramp to manure.
"Emily", pig, was still sick, though no one mentioned of what.
"Lady", horse, had thrush and was sort of stiff besides being lame.
All I could do was be available to help.
Ann had me clean a hay cart so we'd have another wheel barrel to sort of finish the paddock cleaning.
We did as much as we could.

I felt bad for sick ones, yet it does happen.

I'm not a veterinarian.  Though the thought of one has crossed my mind.
In school I was sort of OK in math.  When I entered high school I was placed in pre-algebra for 2 yrs then Algebra and earth sciences.  No calculus or physics, that would be needed to enter into a medical degree.  I was steered in another direction.
The Art direction was there.
Thoughts of "must be practical", "not become stereotype starving artist". 
Yet the path to being an artist was showing up strong.  Moments in my life were pointing in that direction.  Could I be strong, courageous, persistent enough to follow.
Yes.

I am.


oh, there was a short time I thought about being an animal technician assistant.  But I became allergic to cats a number of years ago.  So not.

Being an artist does suit me well.  I create works that express my view of the world.  A closer look.  A way to draw viewer in to see what I'm seeing.  I do that.
When I've had an exhibit on display I can't help notice how people seem to go right up to the art work and look closer.

Perhaps part of this highly sensitive person's gift. 
I see things that others may pass over or not notice.  And part of me wants to share it.
I can tell you there have been times it's been received well and others well...not so much. 

Hi I'm Lisa

Hi I'm Lisa.
And I'm a highly sensitive person.

I've known that I'm pretty sensitive. I've known my awareness is rather acute. I notice things that others may or may not notice. (no- i don't see dead people) I seem attuned to animals, nature in a way that some others don't. Sensitive to listening to sounds, music, seeing things around me, ect.
I must say I seem to have a "good ear" for music, though I haven't followed the musical path as much.
I'm more a visual artist.
Having rather fair skin, I sometimes feel like I'm baking in the sun and need to cover up.
I was a rather shy child and am still more on the quiet side.

"Like what's all of this?", I've thought. Nothing like feeling "odd" about oneself.

Mom would say "It's because you're an artist."
hmmm. yes, I am an artist and proud of it.
Yet doesn't being sensitive led itself to becoming an artist.
anyway

I've been listening to the Soul Purpose workshop led by Beverlee Garb. It's been a wonderful series of workshops. One speaker was Jim Hallow's , Highly Sensitive People website. One of the things he did was go through a series of questions drawn together by Dr. Elaine Aron, an expert and author on this subject matter.
Sure enough I answered most questions, "True". Nice to confirm something I couldn't quite find a way to explain or know.
I'm not just over sensitive, odd,...
There's something to it.
20% of the population.
Hmmm, Interesting

I thought I'd do an experiment myself and blog about my experiences.
If you can relate- Great.
if not- well the World Wide Web is big enough to find other blogs more your interest.
This is my intro post.

Thank you