I am still doing the journal stuff, this drawing started at the Jupiter show, I was so inspired by all the wonderful artists in that show. This page I named "The Tree of Life" just might do a painting similar to this. If you notice you will see faces and figures in this drawing. Fun stuff. Suz

My friend Bob, he has been feeling a little under the weather keep him in your thoughts. As for the second picture I went for my last appointment with the retna specialist and everything is good, of course I don't know about Sally.

Had lunch with my sister and nephew on Thursday and we were talking about how much fun it was growing up and how parents always want there children to have more then what they had and how kids today aren't as blessed as we were. We didn't have a whole lot of material things and we were happy just going outside to play or sit around the yard and just talk. Having our grandparents and how special they were to us, family was the most important thing. Riding our bike, or flying our kites, catching dragon flies and tying them to a string (sorry) or building model homes out of mud, playing our record players or listening to the radio, putting pennies on the railroad tracks and finding a quarter was a great thing. We were also talking about the Poinciana tree (that my dad chopped down) in the front yard, well my sister being 9 years younger than I looked at me like I had 3 eyes, we didn't have a Poinciana tree in the front yard, she remembered the ficus tree that my father was grafting limbs to make more ficus trees, (we had a laugh about that one.) I told her that I would find a picture and put it on the blog. Back then when you had photos developed they came in a small Kodak album. In that album was a picture of Tikie (check out thoses drapes, what were they thinking) our Wire hair terrior who was a terror(Tikie wasn't to kind to strangers) and a picture of us (my sister was not born yet) probally Easter dinner at our grandparents house and of course our brother was in the Poinciana tree, in fact the rest of the album was either him or I in a tree and tikie waiting for us below.

IN THIS PICTURE I'M WORKING ON A PIECE TO REPLACE ONE OF MY SIGNATURE PIECES THAT SOLD ITSELF AT THE ARTIGRAS SHOW LAST WEEKEND (JUPITER, FL). THIS PIECE SHOULD BE READY FOR THE GASPARILLA ART FEST IN TAMPA IN TWO WEEKS.IT'S MADE FROM NORFOLK ISLAND PINE WITH TURQUOISE INLAYS.........JER

Started this painting awhile back and finished it last night. I named it "Home".

Check out our bamboo tomato trellis. Picked a bowl full (tomatoes) this morning. The dogs love our tomatoes but they can't reach them. The plants are a good 10 foot tall and they came up all by themselves. Suz & Birdie

Happy Valentines Day/ArtiGra/Jupiter, Fl

What a beautiful day, a little hot, in the 80's. Rained just a little but not enough to bother anything. We usually do the St. Stevens show in the Grove but after last year we decided to do this one and sure glad we did. We have sold a few pieces and met some really nice people.

Tonight we had dinner with our friends that we met when we did the Winter Park show last year. Had a really nice evening. Lorraine and Gene make beautiful Nantucket baskets and purses. Lorriane is from Australia and we were talking about birds and on her last visit to Sydney she had hand fed a Kookaburra bird. She was telling me they are a friendly bird and there call sounds like a laugh and they laugh all the time.

4 the Birds

We have a beautiful botanical garden right around the corner from us, thought I'd go and take some pictures.

I am reading the book "Mind of a Raven" Bernd Heinrich, If you are fascinated with birds you will love this book.

To the left is a painting I did a few years back, called "And So On". I live near the everglades and I love going there to watch the birds and this painting was inspired by watching them talk to each other.

I remember when I was very young going to Kansas to visit my Grandparents and my Dad pointing out a birds nest way up in the biggest tree in the world and thinking that was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Being raised in Miami back when I was very young we didn't have so many trees in our development. I think after that trip, my parents decided to raise Parakeets as a side business. My Dad built a CBS house in the back with nesting boxes and it acually had a screened in aviary on the side. I remember looking in the nesting boxes and seeing the babies. My Mother always had bird seed in her pockets, always was one of our family jokes, that when she went to the hospital to have my sister she had the birdseed with her. My brother wanted a business after that so he started to raise earthworms, can't remember if he ever sold any. My parents gave up the bird business after awhile and my brother the worms. My parents had something going on all the time, we raised and sold dogs, my mother would paint and sell her paintings and my dad had a full time job, after he retired they started to refinish antiques. We learned hard work but nothing compared to when they were growing up. One of my mothers sayings was "Can't Never Could Do Nothin" Suz

This was a cedar tree that came down in a storm in eastern Virginia. Didn't really know what I wanted to make out of it so I left it in the barn for 8 or 9 years. Then I decided to put it on the lathe and let the wood tell me what to do.

Pictures speak louder than WORDS!

Norfolk Island Pine/closed form with turquoise inlay-

Packing up my stuff for the show this weekend.

This piece is similar to a larger piece that I won an award for, and sold at the Disney Show last November. Jer

We will be doing ArtiGras Fine Arts Festival in Jupiter, Florida,

Feb. 14th-15th and 16th.

http://www.artigras.org/ I was just notified that I was one of two artist to receive "The Green Award". I am suppose to be interviewed about this award, who knows you might see me on TV.

Happy Birthday-Feb. 3rd

My garden where a hummingbird feeder hangs-Happy Birthday Mother.

I was scanning this page of my mothers diary and my little hummingbird came to the feeder outside my window. Didn't get my camera in time to take the shot.