Melody stood on our deck in the late afternoon, and the sunlight set her red hair on fire. Not literally, of course.

I yelled, 'Don't move!' and ran for the camera.

The photograph made me think this one should be in color. Pastels, because I have never used pastels and really... what's the worst thing that could happen?

Using the right tools makes a big difference. So I went to the art store and bought the most expensive pastels I could find. $4.95 per stick.

As every non-over-optomist knows, you can't skip the practice part no matter how good the tools are. Who would have thought such pretty little blocks of color could make such a mess? So I started over with graphite, and the pastel Melody is a muddy memory.

I still have the evil pastels. They're back in their little individual protective sponges for now, but they and I are squaring off. War will be waged on a chihuahua named Carmelo. His photograph makes me think he should be done in color ...