Sphinx moth in the Yard!

Ever seen a sphinx moth? Maybe you have and thought it was a hummingbird. They are about the size of humming birds, move fairly fast and feed from flowers in the same fashion. BUT, they are distinct little guys from the insect world! I caught a couple photos of one yesterday in the same territory that I usually see hummers, right outside my studio window. Last summer, when I was finishing my bird book, a late afternoon sighting of a ruby throat would give me much needed inspiration. Although I didn't see any sphinx moths last year, I knew of their coolness. There is information in the book comparing the two creatures. Check out the moth's stripey backside!

Find the moth and the hummingbird in each photo if you can.

Running fox

A little doodle today. Running Fox Studio? I've always thought it might be cool to have a real studio name sometime. Some illustrators do this. Running Fox? Thistle and Finch? They would be good English pub names!

School is out for the summer. This mamma/illustrator/writer will indeed be running erratically for awhile.

Mr.Toad lives under our porch

An American toad has taken up residence under our back door. He's a hardy guy, and hangs out under the Heuchera leaves. I have a cheesy ceramic decorative toad house in the same garden bed which Toad actually uses sometimes! I looked up his diet- worms mostly. So last night Lucy found a juicy earthworm and we located Toad and put the worm close to him. In no more than 5 seconds, he had oriented his body to the worm, gave it the "stink eye" and gobbled it up. The end of the worm- still sqirmming- dangled out of his mouth for a bit, thrilling Lucy! After singing "American Toad" to him a couple times (sung to the melody of "American Woman") we let him be. Nature at its finest. Right outside the back door.

Pelicans in trouble again

My heart is sinking with the news of the oil-covered brown pelicans, residents of the Gulf barrier islands. It just keeps getting worse.

An illustrator's Images of York

Spent a few days in York, England recently. So much history to draw on! Not to mention cream teas...

Prairie blooms

Working on a story I've been growing for some time. I always come back to the prairie.

SCBWI Spring Conference

Enjoyed seeing friends and meeting new people this weekend. The group of illustrators has grown ten-fold since I started attending and confirm we really do grow good pictures and stories here. I have a pages of inspiration in my notebook to absorb and distill to my writing and illustration projects.