Spent most of yesterday trying to finish my painting of Tyto alba.
I'm moderately satisfied with it ... all except the legs and feet.
Why is it that this is the most difficult bit of avian anatomy to get right?
Tyto alba, for instance, has four toes, each with a pretty powerful talon.
Like the rest of the Tyto and Ninox mob (the only two owl genera found in Australia), it grasps with two toes in front of the perch and two behind.
This is a complete shocker to get going with paint on canvas.
I shall persevere again today.

Having run out of grub at home, went down to the pub last night for a Coopers and a steak burger.
The latter just wasn't up to its usual standards: overcooked and thin.
Left a chunk of it on the plate and Spookie's mate Bill, who was sitting next to me, said I should complain and get my money back (about $13).
Bill, you see, is part Irish and I suspect, from other things he's said, he grew up in circumstances where food was precious and valued.
I said I didn't want to make a fuss but Bill saw the chef coming out for a fag and called him over.
They got into a right spat, the latter ending with "It's a ferkin steak burger; what do you expect, a ferkin porterhouse?" and stormed off.
Me in between, for what seemed like an age, trying to keep the peace with a few jokes.
The Minjup Pub, it seems to me, is not a place where you complain without expecting a gobful in return.
Or am I just a wimp after all?

Also had a quick look at the Tuesday Poker Night in the front room.
Lots of serious folk in there with visors on, those metal-elastic things that hold up your shirt sleeves, and odd looks on their faces.
Some of the men looked equally strange.
Kept hiding their cards as I walked around.
I just don't get it ... what am I missing?

Note to self: get up to the Blyton butchers and buy steaks for home cooking ... and a case of Coopers currently on special at $44.98 -- that's $1.87ish a bottle.
Cf. over $4 a bottle in the pub.

Sledge