Groundhog Day

Happy Groundhog Day! Punxsy Phil didn't see his shadow! Spring is on the way!



I came across this burst of mushrooms on the divider in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue, probably some time in May of 2010. What made it amazing was that butterfly flitting around on the fungus. I was fairly certain that with all those mushrooms and that butterfly that I could come up with something. So here you have it. Of course, there aren't mushrooms like that around here in February, but it otherwise seemed like the perfect backdrop.

Strombeek is showing off her groundhog-like girth next to the somewhat-evil-looking groundhog I Photoshopped in. That's also her reclining on a mushroom cap like a grub, while Louie is curled up like one inside a cap. The other photo of Louie was just such a nice reclining one, and I try to balance the number of Strombeeks and Louies in each work when possible. Sometimes it's difficult because Louie runs from the camera, while Strombeek is like a small, spoiled child and immediately starts hamming it up.

May spring be just around the corner!