August 4, 2006
Overcast and muggy. Our once quiet street is now a zoo of horses and construction workers. I took the dogs for a ride at about seven, and when we got up to the end of our street there were at least ten construction vehicles parked in a newly graded lot, with the workers building out perimeter stuff for the new horse arena, plus a half dozen cowgirls riding around the arena. But the bad news is one of the cowgirls brought her dog and Buddy Boze Hatkiller ran into the arena “to play,” but then Peaches uses this to be a bitch and go into attack mode. This freaks out the visiting dog, Buddy thinks they are playing and Peaches baits the dog and attacks the heels (She’s what you’d call a Heel of a Heeler) I’m screaming “Peaches! Buddy!” from the road and the cowgirls are looking at my funny shorts. No major dog fighting this time out but it is stressful and not relaxing. Now I have to worry about that every time I ride up the road. Sigh.

One of the benefits of this blog is getting good feedback. Here’s a good example:

“I enjoy your blog (especially when you post your latest art projects) and website. I gave my Dad a subscription to True West and steal his magazines after he is done. He's an anti-clutter nut and throws everything away the minute he has read it. I can't bear to see TW hit the can, so I save it and share with my friends too. Add that to your readership circulation numbers!
—LeeAnn Sharpe, Crazy Cowgirl ,MS World News Editor

Okay, here’s my newest project and it’s a dilly. I've wanted to do a "graphic novel" ever since 1974 when I first read about the French concept in a Comics Journal type pub. Needless to say, this has been a burning desire of mine to do, but I’ve had a ton of false starts and dead ends (32 years worth!). Honkytonk Sue and my Wyatt and Doc and Billy books were a step in that direction, but I still haven't arrived at the format that blends narration with panel art in a convincing way (and I don't think anybody else has either. The so-called Graphic Novels put out today are really just comic books on better paper). I have made a vow and a concerted effort to finally bridge that gap, and with the blessing of the “Top Secret Writer” will post some of that progress here.

“We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over.”
— Aneurin Bevan