I caught a streak of white race across the yard in my peripheral vision -- it was the beautiful feral cat we see from time to time. Here's a photo from the closest known visit he ever paid me. I rushed outside with some Dungeness crab meat for him but he ran away, so I left it out on the deck. Maybe he'll come back.

Little Bit of Paradise

I just sent this photo to some nice people we just met who kayak and it brought back such fond memories I had to post it here. This was taken last summer in a little group of islets, the Burwoods, across from Echo Bay, a floating resort in the Broughton Archipelago in British Columbia. We had stopped for a brief exploration. I could have stayed forever, or at least as long as the beautiful weather held out.

Winter's End

One of the pieces I'll be showing next month in Kingston. I painted this because I love daffodils so much I can never get enough of them and tried to imagine fields and rows going on forever.

April 25 -- Sold!

Caramelized Pears

Caramelized Pears
Originally uploaded by JuliMil

On French Toast this morning for breakfast, with maple syrup. Method: Peel, core and slice two bosc pears. Toss with fresh lime juice. Melt butter in saute pan, add pears when foamy. Cook on med high till golden brown on bottom and sprinkle with sugar (a tablespoon perhaps?). Turn pears over, reduce heat and cook until lightly browned on 2nd side, raise heat and add a splash of joberg riesling (the sweet kind) all around the pan, remove from heat when liquid becomes syrupy.

Red Sea

I'm nearing the end of my series of landscape paintings, started back in October when the fall colors were blazing. This is all new to me, doing landscapes, so it has been challenging and emotional, striving to create something on canvas that even begins to hint at the breathtaking beauty I see all around me. These photos show day #1 and today on a new painting I might call Red Sea. I woke up one dark and gloomy morning exactly one week ago to look out the window and see an amazing sight. The dark clouds had opened up to show the bright light of the sun and below the clouds, rays of light were breaking through and lighting up a tug boat that was passing along the far shore. I shot some photos and did some sketches and went to work, starting with a partial underpainting of napthol red mixed with all the scraps of paint on my last palette. Probably tomorrow I'll finish it up. (Still working on the water.) Hmm, now that I've seen it on the computer, I think it would be better without all that stuff going on in the top third. Too busy!

Feels like Spring

Afternoon sunshine and one glass ball -- priceless! See someone in the center?