We fed the birds at the Tuileries Saturday morning, having been chased from the Luxembourg Gardens earlier in the week by a "controller".  I suspect it had something to do with the little man scurrying to his office who passed  with disgust as a starling sidled up to me.  Even the most timid of birds is friendly in this freezing weather.  The pretense for the no-feed rule is pigeon control.  If we don't feed them bread, they'll go into the specially constructed house and eat birth control pills.

Black and white terns (in breeding plumage) "thump" one another in midair to catch the morsels of pannetone I toss them.  The birds standing on the ice rush, tail-over-teakettle, to trap the errant crumb -- a fallen mass of feathers.

We walked down the park to check on the 8 year (so far) renovation of the Orangerie.  Blair has yet to see Monet's water lilies, which are housed there.  My favorite painter, Soutine, is represented in the collection, too.  It is not clear when we'll get to see these paintings again.

We called O for coffee, and bought a Herald Tribune to read Blair's ad:  "Fine Oil Portraits...", on the art page.  We scanned the recommended art shows.  "Have you seen the Bonnard exhibit?" O asked.  We headed at once to the newly renovated Museum of Modern Art, pleased with the remarkably short line.

Bonnard is a "happy" oil painter who worked in the first half of the 20th century.  He was among the first to depart from the red-blue-yellow palette in favor of cyan-magenta-lemon yellow -- I followed.  He is probably best known for his woman in the bathtub -- a twentieth century tub, white porcelain, surrounded by pastel tiles (painted umpteen times).  My favorite painting of his is of two dogs in the street -- it wasn't at this show, but hangs in Washington, DC.  He painted still life, often with a cat looking on; magnificent 7 foot square landscapes from balconies set for dinner in the south of France; scenes with figures.  He'll sometimes include birds or babies in the trees.  There were over 100 works in all.  My favorite was probably a jewel-like landscape from the Pushkin Museum, although there was a turquoise water painting that sticks in my memory.    A landscape reminds me of a week we spent in Tanneron -- I could never "get" that transition from light to shade like he did.

The show was also good for its presentation:  the rooms were spacious, the show well-hung, works not crowded together.  Even the guards wore bright, Bonnard-colored outfits, although that could have been my imagination.

With reluctance, we left, to head back out into the cold.  Shows like this inspire me but at the same time, intimidate me.  Will I be a bird who leads the flock, or land in a mass of feathers.  Will the Seattle Seahawks win the Superbowl?

Blair, Quentin and I will be rooting for them from the Hard Rock Cafe at midnight tonight.

Laurie (painting and text) and Blair PESSEMIER
"African Stork"  acrylic on linen  26 x 29 inches