ARTIST ARLENE MEYER

I met Arlene Meyer over a dozen years ago while running my store on the Balboa Pennisula.

She represented several manufacturing lines. Initially, I was not interested in buying anything

from her. But she represented Vietri, an Italian line of pottery and plates. I enjoyed dealing with Arlene and pretty soon we became great friends. Through the years Arlene worked in my store. Her artistic talents were flowing from every finger. She could merchandise, decorate and make long flowing strings of bows. She knew how to help and make my job easier. Arlene was great with me, my employees and customers. Everyone liked her. I was blessed. Then one day she announced her husband, Don, was being transferred and they were moving to Arizona. Ouch! I missed her very much. However, whenever I needed her help she would drive over for a week, especially during the holidays and help me! She worked hard and tirlessly. A wonderful friend and a very talented lady. One day a few years ago she picked up a paint brush and started painting. I am delighted to present her work on my Crooked Stick Cottage Calendar Home Page and here.

ARLENE'S BIO FROM HER WEB PAGE

My recent works focus on the abstract qualities of landscapes. My paintings are stared by using mold paste, carving my surface, and then painting with oil. I aspire to have my paintings reach beyond words,

perhaps to transcend the landscape to a deeper place. The shapes, movements, and rhythms of the canyon walls in the southwest are my source of inspiration.

Arlene is married to a wonderful man, Don. They are retired. Originally, from Illnois they loved living in Orange County but now are in love with Arizona. Arlene has always had a horse and enjoys riding. She is a very talented lady. Her personality is bright and fun and most of all real. She is one of the happiest people I have ever met.

Love You Arlene!!!!!!!!!!

CREIGHTON HORTON'S HOLLYSTOCK 2010 IN SLC!

DIANE PRENDERGAST WINS FIRST PLACE!!!!!!

ARTIST LONNI CLARKE'S ARTWORK

ARTIST LONNI CLARKE' S Biography

ARTIST LONNI CLARKE

"Lonni Clarke, a pre-law history major while at UCLA admitted the dominance of her right brain and went off in pursuit of the Arts immediately after graduating.

She initially worked as a fashion designer in the New York fashion industry, but found fashion illustration more to her liking.

She then began taking painting classes and began drifting away from commercial art and into fine art for gallery sale. During this time she lived in Thousand Oaks, South Pasadena, New York, and Utah, where she still lives.

Lonni paints in the Classical Realist manner, a very traditional, rather Old World approach to painting, and specializes in portraiture, figures, and horses. www.lonniclarke.com

Her work can be seen in the Polo/Ralph Lauren stores in Beverly Hills (The big polo player in the staircase) and New York City (Scattered throughout the store).

Lonni has battled her health most of her life, but seems to be holding her own at the moment, thanks to alternative treatments and witch doctors.

She remains a shrewish spinster with a failing for having too many pets, especially unusually large and exotic ones.

In another place and time she was known simply as "Dog Lady," something that perhaps should not be admitted, but there 'tis!"

ARTIST LONNI CLARKE

Lonni writes about the painting above:

"This painting is of my angel boy Boris who passed away from a rare form of cancer while I was working on the painting. Boris was a highly musical borzoi and would sing along with music that he particularly enjoyed. Then the rest of the pack, his sister and daughters, would join in.

His favorite song was "Hip Hug Her" by Booker T and the MG's.

He also enjoyed a little James Brown.

But Boris was very versatile. Besides the sixties soul Boris loved classical music with a lot of strings, marches, waltzes, anything by Wagner or Richard Rogers. He was especially vocal in the mornings, and was less discriminating then.

But his liking for Booker T was so strong that he would rouse himself out of an apparently sound sleep to sing along, without

lifting his head off the bed.

I recently bought a darling children's book called "The Dog Who Sang at the Opera" illustrated by Erika Olier. It's based on a true story of a borzoi, while appearing as a supernumerary in the opera "Manon" at the Met, interrupted soprano Renee Fleming's aria with "singing along." The audience was wildly amused, the soprano was not, and the dog's owner was completely surprised and horrified. My borzois, however, have given me plenty of warning. They love to sing along.

The "stuff" in the painting includes a saddle and sundry tack given to me by my fox hunting friends, the Martins. The book in on my favorite horse painter, Sir Alfred Munnings, and shows the lifestyle I was meant to live, but seem to keep missing. One day I'll have a suit like that. This painting was recently purchased by the Kirk, owners of one of Boris' sons, Basil!"

Phil The Pigeon of Crooked Stick Cottage

Phil The Pigeon

(Spring 2007-August 9, 2010)

Phil, a Crooked Stick Cottage family member died this afternoon. We will miss his cooing greetings and charming personality.

One day a girlfriend, Diane, called from Cypress. She said that she had found a baby "dove." I told her to leave it alone that his parents were nearby and they would figure it out.

Diane said, "no" parents were around and she had seen him fly into a window. She felt he needed to come see me. I asked her how she knew it was a dove since baby doves and pigeons look similar to the novice birder. Diane said it was most certainly a dove. She drove an hour in traffic and arrived with her treasure. I opened the box and looked into the face of a baby pigeon. Diane started to argue with me and I said, "you just drove this bird over to me and now you are arguing with me?"

And that is how Phil the Pigeon became part of Crooked Stick Cottage.

John liked him immediately and named the little guy. He was still fuzzy and not fully feathered yet. But Phil feathered quickly into a handsome grey pigeon. He learned how to perch. And quickly learned his name. He enjoyed his home on a granite counter between the kitchen and the dining room. From his perch he could see the front door, living room and dining room through the kitchen to the family room. He had an unobstructed view of the backyard and the city lights. There wasn't much going on at Crooked Stick Cottage that Phil couldn't see.

About two years later, Phil got a next door neighbor, Berkeley. They were as different as night and day. Berkeley arrived on Father's Day 2009 and was a sight to be hold. A black ragamuffin with avian pox he was a mess. (Avian pox is only contagious to specific bird species which means a crow will only catch avian pox from another crow not a pigeon or a human). Phil was neat and tidy and made a sweet cooing sound every morning. He didn't think much of his neighbor at first. Berkeley made a caaaing sound that made poor Phil jump the first couple of times he heard it. Berkeley washed all his food off in his drinking water before eating. Phil only ate seeds and drank water. Phil was happy to sit on the entry bar of his cage door while Berkeley enjoyed jumping off his cage door and walking around the house. Yes, they were as different as any two can be. But over the year they became neighborly. Friendly like. Sleeping on the same side of their respective cages.

A couple of months ago Phil got what looked like a swollen eye. We took him over to Dr. Bart in Corona and got him some antibiotics. We stopped using any pine sol or detergent-like products (which we seldom used) except hypo allergenic anti bacterial soaps in the kitchen. Dr. Bart said Phil might be allergic to one of the products. We took care of his eye and he seemed to recover. Then about a month ago while we had a host of folks staying at the house and much going on Phil started to get the same eye infection and in both eyes. Around the outside of the eye was swollen pinkish and the lids. He sat on his perched puffed up. I put a heating pad around one corner of the cage so he could be warmer if he wanted.

I called Dr. Bart and Monica helped me get the right meds from CVS. Soon Phil was cooing and playful (that was June 26th).

Then a couple of weeks ago Phil started getting the swollen eye (his right eye) again. I called to see if I could get the meds for Phil and after a few attempts we got it going. (Phil's meds for a week were about $80.00).

Suddenly on Tuesday, Phil had blood in his urine. Folks ask me how I know that. If you look at bird poop it should be in a firm circle or ball. It should be a rich green not too dark or too light. Around the the edge of the dark green poop should be white. The white color is urine. Phil had blood in his urine. No mistaking it.

I called Dr. Bart's office on Tuesday. Dr. Bart was on vacation but Monica told me to call Dr. Tom Greek in Yorba Linda. I called Wednesday morning and the office is closed on Wednesdays and Sundays. I decided to stop giving Phil his medicated water and the blood in his urine disappeared by Thursday morning. However, Phil wasn't perkin' up like his usual self. So I made an appointment with Dr. Greek.

Dr. Greek is an excellent vet in Yorba Linda. I would go to him in a heart beat. He took time to observe Phil and asked us questions about him. He gave Phil a shot and said hopefully that should take care of him for about a week. By then Dr. Bart would be back. But he said with the three rounds of antibiotics and shots the only thing left was to start doing blood work and x-rays.

Phil seemed to get a little better....on Saturday morning we heard cooing from downstairs. But Sunday he was puffed up and not perching. He seemed depressed and sad. I took care of all the birds and spent a good part of the day monitoring him.

This morning I tried to call Dr. Bart's office but no one was there. I tried again an hour later...still no answer.

Phil seemed to be losing his balance. His head was shaking off and on. He was leaning forward perched on the bottom of his house. I went over and picked him up. He could barely open his "good" eye.

I got a towel and held him close to my heart. I did this because when Phil first lived with us I held him close to my heart.

I sat with him quietly. He could no longer perch. His feet were limp. His head was shaking and then stopped. He looked up at me.....and quietly passed away.

I held him for a long time. Everything stopped. The house was silent. I waited until I knew that he had flown across Rainbow Bridge and met my Mom. She will enjoy his sweet personality.

For those of you not familiar with the Rainbow Bridge Poem it goes like this:

"Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends to play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those that were hurt or maimed are made whole again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together"

Author unknown.

I love this poem but I have a different twist. I believe my Mom and family have already been to Rainbow Bridge and picked up my flock. I know my Mom would enjoy visiting with them and sharing in their spirits. So Phil has flown across Rainbow Bridge to meet my Mom. Their spirits soar.

I love you Phil.

I love you Mom......

crying here,

pm