Constellation:The Unicorn

This winter I made a vow to myself to complete all my half done projects...

A while back I began a series of sketches of animals based on the constellations and when I posted the first of them- my rabbit ( aka Constellation: The Hare) a few weeks ago, I thought I'd pull them out and finish them up.

The Unicorn Constellation lies near the celestial equator close to Orion. That's a diagram of the constellation itself in the night sky in my drawing. It is large but not very bright, so you'll need a telescope to see it- or maybe that cool new app "Google Sky" that my friend Nancy showed me the other night!

Don't Look Back

This is one of the saddest stories in Ovid's Metamorphoses- Orpheus and Eurydice were newly married when she was bitten by a snake and fell down dead. He followed her to hell to plead to the underworld gods for her life to be restored, and in using all the power of his extraordinary musical ability he was able to convince them to free her.

The only condition was, that he lead her away never looking back until he had left Hades. Just as they reached the light, Orpheus was frightened that his love had fallen behind and desparate to see her he turned, and she was lost forever.

This is my version of the drawing by Edward Burne-Jones titled "The Garden Poisoned"

The Year of the Rabbit

It's my year! I was born in another long ago year of the rabbit. So was my sister, one of her sons and my own daughter. Is it any wonder that rabbits are my favorite animal? They are so sweet, gentle and harmless. Yeah, I know...not if you have a garden! I admit that when I started gardening, the bunnies which charmed me so when I moved to the suburbs lost a bit of their charm as they seriously decimated my new plantings.
It was my own little (then) eleven year old bunny who had read a book about "Spiritual Gardening" ( she reads everything..) who told me to make a "contract" with the bunnies. You are supposed to walk through your garden silently making an agreement to allow the rabbits a share of the garden and that they will promise not to eat too much!
Reader, it works! Since that time, the bunnies rarely eat any portion of my garden and munch happily on the grass. I love to see them scamper about- they live under my deck. The other night, in the midst of an epic snowstorm, I spotted one of mine huddled under the bushes beneath my window and I was worried- why wasn't he safe under the deck? He looked up at me
for a long moment, then dove into a huge mound of snow near the deck- only to pop out again immediately and sit again in the storm. It was as if he was reassuring me that he could take care of himself and was just enjoying the show.
May this year of the Rabbit bring happiness, safe harbor and wonder of the world to you all!