Adrian C. Sinnott's Traveling Sketches

This time of year, I usually don’t have to go running out to clients or trekking into the city. So, instead of a sketch from a moving train, here’s a quick one from the drawing board. This one is done in watercolor dyes and colored pencil.

Best friends!

We live on a heavily travelled road so we keep our cats indoors. Tea Leaf doesn’t mind, even if we do let her out in the yard she never goes beyond the perimeter. Stanley on the other hand, disappears the instant he’s outside. But it’s Tea Leaf that caught a bird . . . indoors! I came home to find a pile of feathers in the living room. It looked as if a bird had had a panic attack and all it’s feathers popped off, but with no bird to be found.

It wasn't me!

You don’t really notice it but dog’s noses come in a variety of colors. Well, shades of colors. With Matilda wanting to lick you in thanks every five minutes, you tend to get a close up view. Matilda’s nasal planum is jet black. We had a golden retriever named, Kodiak, after the bear since he was huge, too. Kodiak had a fleshy pink nose that would change to a brown color at certain times of the year (referred to by some vets as “snow nose.” Darker in summer, lighter in winter, cause unknown). Our cocker spaniel had a similar brown tinted nose. This fellow here could apply to be Rudolph’s stand-in.

I can also be your third brake light when I sit on the back window ledge.

Matilda has found that there is one advantage to wearing the “cone of shame.” Now, if she can just keep him from sticking on the edge. In reality, Stanley and Matilda get along well but she likes to remind him of just who’s in charge. Then Stanley sneaks up and swats her.

The best bits are always just out of reach.

Poor Matilda, she just came back from the vet . . . wearing the “cone of shame.”  It’s taking her a while to adjust to the fact that she now needs twice her width to fit anywhere. There’s a lot of “plastic clunking into things” sounds.  It hasn’t fazed her personality, still as happy as ever. It does keep the rain off her head, as long as she doesn’t look up.

Either let me in or get me some scuba gear, please!

Along with Matilda the puppy comes a new exercise routine. Everyday we now go for a long walk around the neighborhood. After the first couple of trips, we know where all the dogs in the surrounding area live. Mostly it’s a lot of noise from behind the curtained windows of the houses, but recently there have been one or two confrontations with dogs growling and snarling as their owners come running from their yards. Which made me think of what the reverse would be like, if people had an uncontrollable urge to leap over fences and chase passing doggies.

Oh, blast! It's that mailman again!

It’s amazing how much time you lose when there’s a puppy in the house. It’s almost more involved than having a baby. Just making sure it hasn’t eaten it’s way through the furniture is a constant occupation. Matilda hasn’t all her shots yet so we’re keeping her away from other dogs. But even then, she’s in such a playfully nippy mood, it would be more like walking an alligator. Just ask the cats.

Don't worry, she's really friendly!