Happy Columbus Day Weekend friends!  I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday.  It is 86 degrees in New England today! So we are taking advantage of this weather for sure!  I had done some work in the barn in the morning, this is just what I needed today!  It totally relaxed me!

I normally do not do these types of giveaways but when I saw Jessi Lynn\’s Etsy shop, I honestly had to share her work with you!  I could not keep it to myself!  Her work is just too nice not to share…

Jessi Lynn paints \”custom pet portraits\” and \”nature watercolor paintings\”.  Here is a little bio about her and I think you will see that she loves all kinds of animals too!  Please don\’t forget to enter to win!

It\’s that time of year again and Christmas shopping has already begun. Have you considered giving the unique and memorable gift of a custom pet portrait this year? Jessi Lynn is a watercolor artist on Etsy who creates beautiful watercolor paintings of cute animals and custom portraits of your pets! They make great gifts and great to decorate with in your home. She is humored by animals doing funny things and enjoys painting pictures that tell a story. She lives in Southern California near the LA Zoo and frequently find excuses to spend time outdoors sketching and painting other peoples pets. You can check out more of her art here…( \”animal watercolor paintings\” or \”custom pet portraits\” )

What is the funniest animal story you\’ve heard?
It would probably be the time my friend, who played the Gorilla from the American Tourister commercials for years, was asked by a zoo (which will remain un-named) to come pose as a gorilla in their empty cage for three days while investors toured the facility. His suit is so anatomically correct its hard to tell him apart from the real thing.

What was your first pet?
A fish named Jaws, then a turtle named Einstein.

What do you love about animals the most?
I love animals because I find so much beauty when I look at them. I also blown away at how loyal some pets can be even when it means they put themselves in harms way to save their masters. 

What pet do you wish you always had?
Since I was little I\’ve always wanted a monkey, but since I recently found out I\’m allergic to animal dander : ( I will enjoy painting them for now.

Any Closing Comments?
Yes, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. I look forward to painting your cute animal friends! – Jessi Lynn

Have a great weekend my friends and please if you want to enter to win, just leave a comment! I will pull the winner on \”Winner Wednesday!\”

Go here, to see her work!!

xxoo
Deborah

 Bernie, is a riot, he is holding an owl and my mother has Mr. Chips!

 Now is the time to play follow the leader…

 Hey, she is wondering where did everyone go!

 Dad to the rescue!! They are holding a Dora the Explorer balloon!

Happy Monday everyone!
xxoo
Deborah

 Hello friends,  we had a visitor today, this little fox.  Just hanging right behind our pool fence, for hours.  Very close to the house.  I have never seen a fox do this before so I called the animal control officer in town.
She said that this fox must be socialized and not afraid of us.  She didn\’t think it was sick because he (or she)  was just cleaning himself and hanging around. 

Crazy how wildlife is being forced to live in neighborhoods.  When he ran off, I quickly put out the dogs and they went crazy which meant he must have been close by.  Ariel kept sniffing the air and Buffy was barking like mad.

Buffy is now keeping guard and Mr Chips has no idea what the heck is going on!
Thank you everyone for being so kind the other day.  I really appreciated all your kind words and reassurance.  I will let you know how things turn out but today was a much better day!
xxoo
Deborah

Hello friends, Smokes is still taller than my grandbaby!  He is soooo good with her.  He just looks and walks away and only he knows what he is thinking, but no matter what she does, like pull his hair, he just leaves the area.  It is amazing to me how the pets leave her alone…they know she is only small and no bother!  Ariel is the only one that I keep at a distance, she never liked kids, even as a puppy!  Now she is 14 and really doesn\’t like kids!!  Nothing ever happened, she would just rather hang out with adults!!
Anyways, speaking of Ariel, she fell in the pool the other night and could not get out.  I was with her, so it was controlled chaos.  but you know how I think, always the worst. I honestly think she would have drowned if I wasn\’t with her.  She just couldn\’t get out or find the stairs in the shallow area.  It was awful.  I didn\’t have to jump in, when she got to the edge, I reached in and pulled her out.  I was calling for my 16 year old to jump in for her, but I would have if he didn\’t come running.  
Now on another note, Buffy has Lyme disease.  She will be OK, but she had stopped eating and just didn\’t look her happy self.  So I took her in and sure enough, she has Lyme.
Another busy week!
Take care and have a great day!
xxoo
Deborah
Why is my grandbaby so happy…it\’s almost her birthday!  Can you believe she is almost a year old!!