Susan Neese McKinney Ramblings

"Rock Gazebo"  8"x 10", Oil on Canvas I started this painting last week at the Dunnegan Park in Bolivar, Missouri.   I finished it tonight, but after uploading it I see a couple little things that are not quite right, so will touch it up tomorrow.    I'll still post it for now.    This is an old rock gazebo built in the early 1900's, as a nice lady told me as I painted.    She said her father had designed and built it , and she , her family and many many more area families have enjoyed using it for special gatherings ever since.    These buildings made from the natural rock found in this area are so special.      You just don't fin d ma n y of them built like that anymore.  I t's built similar to the rock barn that my Mom and late Dad live in.    It ha s 12 inch rock walls and oak beams with wooden pegs, not nails.    Been here a 100 years and probably be another 100. Painting available on my website.   Spring special: $225

S pring has sprung, but it can't decide to warm up and stay there.    I've made it out a couple days to paint, but nothing completed yet.   Bob and I have enjoyed having family visiting from Arizona this week, and they also had a couple half days of fishing, although the fi sh are not biting yet.    We need a little more sunshine to warm up the water.  It's dis heartening to see the news on the bombings in Boston.   I'm thankful that, an a rt friend, Lyn's son and daughter-in-law were not injured there as he ran the Marathon.    My heart goes out to all the victims, injured and their families.     Bob and I have a new family member ; a rescue dog named Sydney.   We lost our little Tilly a few months ago, so it left a hole in our lives.    Sydney, who now may be "Daisy", is getting adjusted to our lifestyle, and she has a newly fenced back yard to enjoy.   Here's a photo of her snuggl ing.