You never know who you're going to bump into at this Scribble Picnic! Keep on your toes though because some of your favourite fiction characters may take you by surprise, like Mr. Toad here. Looks like he's planning some wild ride somewhere. Plane? Car? Scooter? Who knows, but don't give him any cockamamie ideas!
...Um, why's Toad pointing back to Toad Hall and who is that lady he's talking to (or is he chatting her up?) between rather curiously long sips of that delicious brew?!
"I say, fancy watching the good old girl for a fortnight or so? Glorious stirring sites on the horizon and all that, waiting to be discovered. What's that? Oh, no, no, no... those beastly weasels shouldn't be any problem at all. They are...well, err...quite funny really — scurrilous little things. Ratty will pop in now and then and have a look in on you, no worries..."
Oh, incorrigible Toad! "You promised not to get up to any silly antics now. Remember?!"
"Err...Sorry, Madam, pressing matters.... Poop-poop, must dash!"
"Mr. Toad! Come back here, at once!"
Yes, sorry, folks, I'll be right back — do hope your guests aren't quite as... rousing, shall we say? Oh, and do please sign the guest registrar whilst at it. Thank you!
I did see glimpses of your wonderful piece on Instagram, fabulous choice beautifully done.
ReplyDeleteyou are a master of depth and detail, beautiful colours too. Of course he has a cup of tea! This is a lovely piece.
DeleteBut of course! Thank you so much, Christine! he took forever but I so loved the book, I had to do him justice. his expression still cracks me up--kid of a charmer and yet smug too.
DeleteI'm excited to see what you have come up with Michael - drum roll please!
ReplyDeleteI'll pop back here later - off to breakfast now, then heading out to see Cass and the little boys later.
Hope to see you and Alexandra at the picnic table this afternoon.
Hugs - Mary
Aw, enjoy. Glad it went well.
DeleteMy goodness you write your own fiction and Mr.Toad, well, I bet he is a handsome character.. I am off to care for the raptors as I do every Wednesday, so I will have to peek back when I get home. I replied to your query about the pets on the stairs, if you care to go back ... or I can just tell you here, that they are all my pets. The four cats are all rescues and the dog we got for my granddaughter. She used to run her in Agility before she got into high school and now college. She is a busy young lady and Izzi, our Mini Aussie is retired from Agility and spends her time playing with Frisbees and taking long walks with me. Life is good, Micheal, and I am glad you are a part of mine.
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From the Sol
I was right, Mr. Toad ... You are indeed a handsome fellow and you dress in a time when life could be simple, relaxing( with a cup of tea , of course) and enjoyable. Micheal, you outdid yourself with this one ...
DeleteAndrea @ From the Sol
Yes, I surmised they were yours but didn't realise all the cats were rescue ones. BRavo! thank you for filling me in there and the lovely comment.
DeleteHa, well it helps when you are landed gentry whose only concern is of your own choosing! lucky Mr. Toad to have to worry about such vanities. he does carck me up though-- charming yet impossibly smug too. Such a character. I had to spend ages on this as The Wind in the Willows has a very special place in my heart for many reasons. So glad he let us use his Hall for a bit too.
DeleteThank you for playing along, Andrea. :)
I hope Mr. Toad will show up soon.
ReplyDeletehave a lovely day.
He's difficult to keep in line but he made it finally! :)
DeleteLove your story and can't wait to meet Mr. Toad. What a fun picnic this week. Already loving everyone's entries. Hope Alexandra is doing better...keeping her in our hearts and prayers.
ReplyDeleteMe too. What a fabulos assortment of characters, right? Thank you.
DeleteI look forward to Mr.Toad! I'm enjoying everyones submissions,, I will not be linking this week, my heart is willing but my eyes are not but if I was able to see well enough to paint this week it would be hard to decide,, as a child Winnie the Pooh and the Easter Bunny!!!!!, as an older child Gilligan's Island, as an adult my gosh I read so much it would hard to nail down one! I enjoy so much fiction that to say just one is difficult!Thank you for the great theme,,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry your eyes are not cooperating but having your write ups here are lovely too. Thank you so much, Laurie.
DeleteYes, Winnie would have been great--could have easily been my first choice too. And, yes, wow, Ginger woudl have been amazing to have along. I'm sure Toad would have been offering her endless cups of tea. Ha!
Just came back from reading the history of Mr. Toad. Very interesting, now I'm even more excited to meet YOUR Mr. Toad.
ReplyDeleteHe's up now! Looking very dapper, I might add, if not a little mischievous. Can't take your eye of that fellow! :)
DeleteUp in deed, and my goodness he is extremely dapper, and I saw the wink in his eye...I'm so impressed with all you characters. Michael, I think in another life, you were a whimsical fellow in a child's fantasy. I love whimsical, and you and Alex are such a pair as it shows in everything you do. No, I can't take my eyes off this fellow. From his beautiful vest, and sock (oh my, and his muscled calves, to the spit shine of his shoes.
DeleteI would love to jump in the painting and sip some tea. But alas...Poop-poop, must dash!"
Oh my gosh, Wanda, you are SOoooo fun. "and his muscled calves" cracked me up. Jsut as well I wasn't sipping tea right then or might have spat it out all over the place. too funny. Yes, so glad you saw that sparkle in his eye. Lovable rogue he is is--annoyingly, undeservingly smug but somehow fun too and no one is like him.Heh, he's kind of like the royal family in many regards. The luxuries of a lofty inheritance!
DeleteThank you so much for your comment! We do love our whimsy, must say. Its always cheery here on this dotty hill in Colorado. :)
I'm eagerly awaiting your reveal! :) Very nice theme today I had lots of fun with it!! I remember the Wind in the Willows...but I have to say it's been a LONG time! :) I love that word, cockamamie!!
ReplyDeleteLong time for me too, must say.
DeleteHi Michael :) I LOVE your Mr. Toad!!! He looks fabulously toady lol! Wonderful job!!! :)
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteI love it....great job Michael!
ReplyDeleteI really like all the little details about his outfit & the textures too. mr. toad looks a bit grumpy but at least he's ready for a cup of tea.
ReplyDeletehave a lovely day.
Yes, as shown in "The Wind in the Willows," he IS indeed a cantankerous but lovable rogue! :)
DeleteMichael,
ReplyDeleteI saw your illustration on Instagram and quickly decided to add a little plug for Tadeo Turtle. No time to draw anything else. I did draw one today using 33 dots and it turned out to be a bear - multitasking. It must be telling me something. Anyway great to connect with you and the scribblers again.
Blessings
Janis
So what do you think of it and this post then?
Deletelol I now nothing about this character lol but he is really well done :D
ReplyDeleteThat why I put the link on Mr. Toad. :) You will enjoy that, I think. The Wind in the Willows is one of the classics of literature. Very good read for children about 11 years old or so, but like so many of these, like Winnie the Pooh, loved by the parents too and adults in general for years to come. Thank you, Jennifer.
DeleteOh Mr. Toad does look dapper indeed! I am blown away by the whole scene - you are truly gifted!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Lorraine. Rarely will I make the time to put that much detail, although I'd love to but I have a special love of the book for many reasons to kind of felt I had to.
DeleteMr. Toad.....you brought him to life in a new, SMASHING way! I LOVE him! You need to do this morning often, Mooks. You have an incredible talent, inspiring us all. x
ReplyDeleteThank you, Smoots, for ...everything! xo
DeleteMr Toad looks very smart and looks like he might enjoy a drive around the English countryside. Love the background too!
ReplyDeleteHaha, well, I suspect Mr. Toad wouldn't mind driving anywhere--even the Kalahari desert as long as it involves some great adventure her can then regale us all with tales form it later!
DeleteThank you!
. . . . . . oooh! he's a handsome Mr. Toad. . . . . . and that English countryside in the background immediately brought pangs of homesickness Michael. You can't do this to me - especially as I probably won't be seeing it this year!
ReplyDelete(Your ears should have been burning Wed. when we were with Cassie and the boys - what a delight Colin is now, and that little Owen slept in my arms for almost two hours!). We all hope Alexandra is soon well. xx
Awww, so glad you had that time with them all. Hopefully all good things. lol. I'm am genuinely a warm hearted, people oriented person.
DeleteP.S. Michael, or anyone else - can you tell me how I can leave comments for people now using Instagram rather than their blog for their posts please.
ReplyDeleteAlso, is anyone else having problems with 'publishing' their comments on Blogger - they seem to take so long to 'go' after clicking for the past week or so?
Thanks - Mary
Yes, Mary, Alex noticed that yesterday and so did I. It didn't matter what we did, restarting blogger or what have you--comments jsut took ages to publish which meant, of course, it took longer to get through everyone singed up for the picnic.
DeleteThe only way to leave comments on Instagram (IG) is to "sign up" (link on top right corner of web page. You can automatically sign up with FB (As FB owns IG now) or create your own IG account, as I did (since I only have a biz FB page but not a personal account). After signing up, you coudl then leave comments from your ocmputer, but using you phone, if you download instagram) allows you to see more things, like the videos that Alex and I put up which are accessible by clicking on our profile icons. Still, then one has yet another media to track.
All that to say though, that as it is, as rather outlined in my "join Scribble Picnic" FAQS, I don't really expect people w/o IG to go on IG to leave a comment and vice versa. they are differnt realms, but some of you might like to see what Andrea did anyway, even if you cant comment. So, for her recent addition, I woudl leave a comment from my IG account, using my phone. Some people, like Serena, Alex, adn myself, use both and comment on both and Alex and I even use Twitter for that alone.
Anyway, soooo nice of you to be such a brilliant participant/guest at these events. In fact, Alexandra and I were jsut commenting on how glad we are you play along as you offer so much to the experience. I always love it when people take the time to write a lovely post to accompany whatever piece it is. I know I certainly had fun writing the above, let me tell you...when Toad wasn't interrupting me that is. :)