The Salmon Are Here - By Artist Julie Deans

Photo courtesy of Mel who joined the little dog, child, and I on day one.

I finally did it! I made it to Lowville Park in time for the salmon run ... so very proud of myself. Yes, I suppose that's kind of sad, but small things amuse ... well, you know. Be warned, this post is picture heavy, so I won't bore you with too many words, just visions of salmon spawning (love is in the air, or water actually) and fall images taken over the course of two days. Enjoy!

Little dog and child who joined me on day two.

The salmon swimming upstream to spawn.

The inevitable death after the spawn - what an odd way to live.

One of a few mysterious Lowville Woods Teepees.

It's that time of year...

Christmas is coming. It takes us by storm now, attacking us like an F4 tornado, images, commercials and gifts being tossed at us as easily as a tornado tosses houses, even before Halloween has come and gone.

I miss the days when it took so long to come, as a kid, desperately hoping that the time would speed up,  the stores would start decorating, and Santa would visit the malls, his presence indicating that the holiday was near. Now it's too early, too soon and too much. It kind of takes away from the magic.

However, now that Halloween has passed, I guess this is the time to start preparing, sooooo...

If you are looking for holiday cards, unique, cute and humorous, I have 5 designs available to choose from. They can be purchased individually or in packs of five (envelopes included). Please see my website below to view all the illustrations available or contact me if you are interested in ordering some.

www.juliesillustration.com
julie@juliesillustration.com

This weekend certainly showed no indications that Christmas, let alone winter, is around the corner. With temperatures in the mid-teens, everyone seemed to be taking advantage of the warm November days, myself included. It was a Conservation Area weekend, with dogs in tow. This is the little dog's favorite weather, and she takes advantage of it when she can. The areas were packed, both Saturday and Sunday, and I actually witnessed, for the first time in my life, people being turned away from Hilton Falls as there was no room left to park. Cars filled the lot like sardines squished into a can, line ups of cars waiting for someone to leave so that the occupants could enjoy the outdoors as well.

Needless to say, I didn't wait - I'm impatient. We visited Crawford Lake and Kelso this weekend instead. No pictures, just enjoying the weather.

The leaves are exceptionally loud at this time of year. And they are exceptionally dense on the ground. So dense that the paths are not visible. Once again, I almost lost myself in the woods of Crawford Lake. I'm thinking that I should bring provisions next time. Some water, food, a compass and a tent perhaps? Thank God for the little yellow arrows hanging off random trees pointing the way along the path that is not visible. I wasn't lost for long, perhaps 2 minutes. I'm really not that naturally challenged. And hey, the little dog back-tracks well, so no need to panic. Ahhh the woods.

Road Flower

Just a flower that we (hubby and I) found in a dense field of flowers on 10th Side Road in Milton. A gorgeous array of colours, types and sizes that I caught on film. This was a drawing experiment from the photo results in an impressionistic style, heavy coverage and layering with coloured pencil. 5"x7" on Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper.

Hunting Dogs

I have no doubt in my mind about the hunt and prey drive that my little dog possesses. I have never really given her the chance to strut her stuff, but every now and then she finds something of interest in the surface of the earth below her, so I let her have at it.

No going down holes, mind you, as a typical hunting JRT would do (I am no terrierman) - I fear for her safety. But on the other hand, I love to see her natural instincts at work. So, we surface hunt, then we dig. I shouldn't say we, she's the only one who does the digging, and if it's not my property, I get the job of filling the hole back in. She's a great excavator, and can open up a foot wide hole in a matter of minutes.

I haven't a clue what interests her so much below the dirt, as she's yet to actually catch anything, but she seems to enjoy the process, and her concentration in the hole is quite something (I do know of a JRT that hunts worms, so perhaps this is what she's after - thank God she hasn't found any).

She is a highly visual little dog as well, so she takes pleasure in scouting out rabbits in the parks. I don't let her have at those because the roads are far too close for comfort and when we're out and about in the woods, there is just too many cliffs to topple over - so leash it is.

These are from the Lowville photo-shoot. Dug to roots, then pulled her off. It was too windy and cool for me to stand there and wait for her to finish.

Below is 4D Prickles. My friend out west, Colleen Hoffman, owns this little spit-fire who actually catches what she's hunting for. Photos courtesy of Sue Hawes. I have to add that I'm ecstatic that I don't live in Alberta right now. October and this much snow? No thanks!