Author Archives: treshabarger

Summer Crocs, Sketch 072

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You may have noticed that a lot of my sketch objects are from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They have quite the collection of practically everything! But, as I do have shoes of my own, I thought I’d include at least one pair in my Shoe Series.

Sketch of my summer Crocs

Cheesy looking

I have two pair of Crocs: a summer pair (the green, with holes) and a winter pair (black, no holes). I only wear them in the yard. The green, hole-y ones are too cold in the winter and the black, solid ones are too hot in the summer.

Summer Crocs, with the holes for air ventilation

Summer Crocs, with the holes for air ventilation

Sketch 072: Summer Crocs (not the Metropolitan Museum of Art, although I did search the online collection after I sketched mine, wondering if, indeed, they had a pair. None showed up. Maybe I should donate mine. Hmmmm . . . )

Here are links to some of the museum’s shoes that caught my eye.

Rosenbloom’s Slippers red, with tassels

Shoes by Steven Arpad, with quite the upturn at the toe

Shoes to wear in the forest by Beth Levine

Gold leather evening Oxfords by Alfred J. Cammeyer

No Flying Ducks

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Twice now I have been outside with my camera when ducks were flying either into or out of our pond. I have no duck photos.

Happy to see the hummingbird feeder

Happy to see the hummingbird feeder

The first time, I was sitting on the front porch with my camera on the tripod, focused on the hummingbird feeder. I got a few photos of a hummingbird and a few of some House Finches also on the hummingbird feeder. But when the ducks flew out of the pond and over our yard, I couldn’t wrestle the camera and tripod contraption into a position to even think about taking a photo of a flying fowl.

 

Liquid food for the birds

Finch food, as well

The second time, I was taking photos of some sketches. The light is good on the front porch, especially for those of us who are still learning the intricacies of using the manual camera settings. This time I heard the ducks and thought, “Aha! Now I’ve got them!”

Well, no I don’t.

I was holding my camera in my hand. I looked up and saw where the ducks were and where they were headed, but when I raised my camera, I couldn’t find them through the viewer. And then they were out of sight.

What kind of ducks were they? I have no idea.

Here is a Smew, a duck from across the Big Pond. It’s at the Houston Zoo, behaving nicely for me and my camera.

Smew, checking out lunch possibilities

Smew, checking out lunch possibilities

Smew diving underwater for food

Diving for food

Boxcar 87: Fiction Friday

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Friday Fictioneer Challenge: Write a 100-word story based on the photo.
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Friday Fictioneer prompt. Copyright Jennifer Pendergast

Friday Fictioneer prompt. Copyright Jennifer Pendergast

Boxcar 87

“Are we almost there?”

Boxcar 87 looked back. Boxcar 88 was rocking a little from side to side, looking a bit anxious under a thin layer of dust.

“First trip out west?” Boxcar 87 asked. “Relax. Look how beautiful the desert is.”

Boxcar 88 snorted. “It’s boring. It’s, like, one color: khaki. Miles and miles of boring nothing.”

Boxcar 87 wondered about the future of rail transportation when youngsters like 88 had no patience, no imagination.

“Are we almost there?” Boxcar 88 repeated.

“No, we are not almost there.” Boxcar 87 sighed. This was going to be one long trip.