Nature Weekend

It's hard to believe but true.
Between Saturday AM and now, Sunday PM, I've had fairly close encounters of one sort or another with the following:
2 mating praying mantus (would that be manti?)
a field mouse
chipmunks
ground hornets
a skunk
a puppy (fully domesticated, but still counts in the tally)
moles
a frog
catepillars
red squirrels
three deer
a racoon

The weirdest moment by far is captured in the above photo. I was taking a closeup and the larger female slowly turned her head and looked right at me.
"Do you mind?"

Cartoons are Back!

The Cartoon of the Week summer hiatus is over. Lots of good ideas stockpiled during the break. With my current heavy workload I can't guarantee a new one every week but I'll not let it go more than two weeks.

The air here in Chicago is cold, damp and fallish already. It's like the summer switch was suddenly turned to the "off" position when we hit September. Good weather for staying in, getting a ton of work done. Also baking is great to do right now -- it takes the chill out of the house without having to turn the heat on prematurely. Fall squashes are starting to arrive, or try my current favorite coffeecake treat:

Grandma's Plum Cake. It's the tail end of the Italian plum season - grab them while you still can. Spray an 8 or 9" baking pan with Pam or the like. Take a roll of Pillsbury crescent rolls - don't separate them, just roll the dough out on the floor of the pan. Wash and cut the plums in half, laying them cut side up on the dough. In a separate bowl, using a fork, mix 3T softened butter, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour until crumbly, then spread that out on top of the plums. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 to 40 minutes. Mmmmmm. Life doesn't get better than a fall sweatshirt and a piece of Grandma's Plum Cake. Enjoy.

Fall Shows

I will have six Chicago-area shows this fall. Watch the home page (www.comicnurse.com) for details. The first show is open now at Scarlet Macaw Community Arts Center in Sawyer, Michigan. It is a group show titled, "Images of Harbor Country." Go to www.scarletmacawCAC.org for details.

The News

Sorry about the cryptic last entry. I can now say I am in the process of illustrating a travel memories book about Chicago. I was contacted by a publisher and the anticipated release is early next year. Very exciting, but the deadline is tight - about 20 new pieces by early November. I tend to do well with a deadline. I've been keeping some notes about the process of photographing my own city as if I were a tourist. It's fascinating. Will post those later. One of the exciting things about this book is that these are pieces I wanted to do someday anyway - and what better than a project that turns the elusive someday into today.

I'm very saddened to hear about the death of Steve Irwin. I wouldn't have wanted to have him around the house but I always enjoyed his enthusiasm about his work and animals.