Frogs, Turtles, Snakes, Lizards Party Hearty

Today is Joshuas Birthday party, and instead of finishing a painting of a half starved (they don't eat for two months) male Emu greeting his newly hatched eggs, I acted like a female Emu and had some fun. I bought Joshua a two man inflatable boat with oars so we could play Steve Irwin Crocodile hunter in the swimming pool, and have a great deal of fun swimming this summer. It was probably the best party I've ever been to. Ale` invited almost all his class, and we all swam in the pool, played alligator/piranha/Giant Anaconda/ in the pool. Every body in the boat has to be very afraid of the terrible terrors in the water (see above) and try to paddle away and escape our deadly clutches. Or People in the boat dive in the water and try to capture the Alligators, think a game of Tag. I obviously am a little demented for a 60 year old woman because that is my idea of fun. Then we got out of the pool, and had a wonderful brunch of fresh fruit, hot dogs, Chile, Cheese, Nachos, Strawberries with chocolate ganache and whip cream, plus cake for dessert. Really terrific, but then the best part of the party began when the Snake, reptiles, amphibians, and bug guys arrived. They brought tree frogs, Millipedes, African Frog, Rosy Boa, Ball Python, Stevie the Chameleon, Tarantulas, and a huge Black Headed Boa who weighed 50 pounds and was huge. We all got to learn new words like nocturnal, and omnivores, and touch, hold, and photograph all these wonderful creatures. The kids and their reactions were amazing. Mothers would say my daughter won't touch that, and here all these brave and curious Kindergartners amazed their parents and obeyed, held, touched, and were careful of these exotic beautiful creatures. If I can get my printer to work (it's sick at the moment) I will print out and then paint a scarlet Chameleon as a companion to the Veiled Chameleon. The thing people don't realize is that artists are human beings with a hunger, an overwhelming drive, to paint the things that amaze and enthrall them. I think reptiles and amphibians are fascinating. They are made up of little round circles of colors that form patterns, and make up the entire surface of their bodies. Snake are incredibly made, and if people weren't afraid of them they would see the beauty and the wonder of a snakes body. Every creature in the universe makes me believe in God, and his wondrous generous spirit to give mankind such diversity to feast our eyes upon. Today has been a wonderful very happy day, and I am so glad I was included in the festivities.