Easter Jackrabbits


felix-_4-1-reduced.jpgfelix-_4-2-reduced.jpgmike-5-7-56.jpgmike-5-8-56.jpglast-light.jpgmarvelous-mike-5-9.jpgtrailer-life.jpgfireworks-at-sunset-re-sized.jpgmike-5-10-56.jpgmike-5-11-56.jpgmike-5-12-56.jpg  Hi everyone! Cathy and I are back from the Anza-Borrego desert, where we spent Easter week as part of the Borrego Art Institute’s silver-baby.jpgPlein Air Painting Competition. Cathy completed 5 oil paintings during the week. The Airstream trailer painting is called “Silver Baby”, and the painting of the Coyote mountains is called “Fireworks At Sunset”. We stayed in a “Terry” trailer, on the same property as the Airstream. Cathy fulfilled a dream by painting the Airstream; she is in love with their streamlined design and silvery, shiny skins. Our hosts were Stuart and Bonnie Resor, just great folks; Stuart is not only an architect (dynamite at lettering and drawing), but is an expert in astronomy. He showed me the planet Saturn through his telescope one night, and it looked like the Saturns in an Al Capp swear word! Perfect circle and perfect little ring around it. The sunsets were magnificent! We painted the last day we were there at an old resort, called the Hoberg in the 1950s, The Palms, now. We saw our first live jackrabbits, they were very large animals and their ears were longer than their bodies! You couldn’t have wanted better Easter Bunnies than these wily desert jacks! They hop very slowly compared with their neighbors, the Cottontail rabbits, which are a lot smaller. It was hot in the sun all week (85 degrees), but cool in the shade, it got downright cold at night. The Terry trailer we rented for the week was small, but beautifully decorated by Bonnie Resor inside. I had to learn a lot of new skills to keep all the pilot lights running, had to make an LP gas run one morning to the hardware store, shades of Hank Hill. The desert culture is so peaceful, the birds sing different songs out there. The wildflowers were in bloom (yellow and violet) and people came from miles around to see them. It was the wettest winter they’ve had in Borrego Springs for years (over 4 inches). If you want to read more about the event and see the prize-winning paintings, go to www.borregoartinstitute.comand find the link to the Plein Air Competition for 2008.

     It’s almost the end of the temperate season in Borrego Springs, April is the last month you can visit with 80 degree temps, but the little town and the State Park are worth while seeing. We last visited ten years ago, and the only major changes to the town are the costs of an evening’s lodging in the local motels and resorts! The locals who live through the 120 degree summers are hardy souls indeed. One guy I talked to said he never has to wait in line for anything in July or August, he practically has the town to himself! Only 3000 people live in Borrego Springs year round, so if you like it hot, git out thar!

     This week’s comics are Marvelous Mike, May 7th through May 12th, 1956. Mike continues to baby-sit the lummox dog, Goliath. Too bad Goliath’s so hard to see! I have also put up the first two pages from Jim Tyer’s Felix the Cat #4, 1963. “Chairman of the Bored” features Pussyfoot in a one page b/w gag, he’s looking pixillated and more Tyer extreme! “The Vicious Cycle” also begins this week, an eight page story, page two next week. I will also tell you the story of our latest visit to the late Mike Rubel’s castle in Glendora next week as well. Remember, if you would like to leave a comment, send it to molasses@earthlink.net. If it is an interesting comment, it will be posted.

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