I'm "rave" only because "raven" was already taken as a screen name here. Raven is not my real name, but has been the only thing anyone other than the IRS has called me since I was in my early twenties (a loooong time ago). Exclusion: a couple of people that keep hanging around call me "Mom".
That's me in the tree back when I could still do that, and often did. I was always a tom boy, and loved hanging out in the woods watching the wildlife. I'm still hangin' out in the middle of a forest, but I have a roof over my head now.
Painting wildlife was my joy and full-time career for 15 years. The other wildlife artists were my best friends and we enjoyed many adventures together during off-times before and after shows. During one such adventure, myself and 4 other artists decided to go canoeing in an river crawling with alligators in Myaka State Park. The canoe that I wasn't in came around a corner too fast, and got rammed by a startled gator. The canoe (and artists) sank. It was great fun! Maybe not so much at first for them, but we were all laughing hysterically - until they realized that they had to go back in the river to bring up the canoe.
I've hiked in the Alaskan tundra with grizzlies about, chased caribou and dall sheep up a mountain, and wrestled with a Siberian tiger. The tiger tackled me around the knees as I was crossing the room, brought me down like a deer, and wrapped his mouth around my neck. He was playing. It was GREAT!!
And yet: I can't seem to parallel park, and spiders can make me dance wild exotic dances, and scream like a little girl. That's pretty much me in a nutshell.
