Ducks Unlimited. Wall space? Not so Much...

I really need to curb my enthusiasm. Last spring, at a seminar in Orillia, there was a huge art print in the Motel lobby, a silent auction fundraiser for Ducks Unlimited. My friend Ginny and I both admired the picture, of a ring-necked pheasant, beautifully framed. The minimum bid was $250.00. you couldn't wrap a frame around the print for that kind of money.

While we both commented on both the print and on the beautiful way it was framed, I was the only one of us to shove a bid into the box. Ginny meant to, but was distracted. I put in a low bid. After all, as I said to Ginny, the object wasn't so much to get the print as it was to encourage Ducks Unlimited, so they'd think lots of people were keen to participate in their fundraiser efforts. I went to $275.00, and thought no more about it.

Until later in the spring, when the auction closed, and I got the phone call. Then we had to figure out where to hang the piece... which now decorates the wall in the Lodge lounge. (a place where it is almost impossible to photograph without reflection, but you'll get the idea!)

This October, I was judging a horse trial in Hawkestone. With a very early start time to the competition, I spent the night in the same motel. There was another print on display. Well, secure in the knowledge that lightning rarely strikes twice, I bid on this one. Spent a restful night, had a great day watching horses dance, gallop and jump, and thought no more about it.

So when the print arrived yesterday, we were all standing about with quizzical expressions, trying to decide where best to hang this one...

Called Fire and Ice, by Daniel Smith, it is a lovely thing, with a trio of wolves emerging from the dense forest into a sunny, frosty clearing.

And, even more exciting, I've discovered that I don't have to drive to a motel in Orillia just to bid on Ducks Unlimited items... It can happen right here, at the computer, with their on-line auction.

Now, no wall space is safe...