Sketching in Nature

Early Signs of Spring

2012-02-29T15:53:00.002-06:00

The Redbuds started blooming 2 weeks early this year. The Red Maples and Yellow Jessamine started popping in late January and the other day I saw a Dogwood in bloom!

We've had a mild winter but goodness, what's the rush here?

insects and beetles

2012-02-29T03:10:00.005-06:00

For Christmas I was given a box of feathers, leaves, a nest, seed pods and a few beetles. In the last few days I have finally put aside time to draw some of them (in watercolour pencil in my Moleskine watercolour sketchbook) .

Unfortunately I am unable to provide very much technical information about them.I can tell you they were collected in Toowoomba, Queensland,Australia, probably along suburban footpaths, waterbird habitat or my mothers backyard !

This top page is what I always called a Stag Beetle. I have found out they are part of Rhinocerous Beetle family which covers many similar looking beetles with varying degrees of spiky and spiny features.

This second page has a few mysterious small black and brown insects. I know the highly un-technical name of the "click beetle" (middle left) which (when we were children) we used to put our finger on their back they would click and jump . The green cicada is also a familiar insect . Maybe the one above it is a Christmas beetle ???

I really enjoyed drawing ( or is it painting?) these. I also wanted to write all over it with notes. I have kept most of the beetles and bugs to draw again another day....

Sandy Williams -- Tracks in the Snow

2012-02-28T17:27:00.000-06:00

I often wonder what my dog senses on our walks out in the open fields. I feel that I'm at such a disadvantage, with only my human eyes to scan the landscape. But all that changes when it snows and all the visitors leave behind the tracks that give away their presence. This sketch was done with a crow quill pen and Higgins ink along with Derwent and Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils. The words were written with Noodler's Lexington gray ink and the pen they give away for free when you purchase the ink.

Cactus Monday - Blooming Agave

2012-02-27T08:59:00.001-06:00

Cactus Monday - Blooming Agave, a photo by Teri DC on Flickr.

A few years back our neighbor had a blooming agave and it was fun to watch the bloom stem grow and blossom. The desert has so many wonderful surprises to share.

Happy Cactus Monday.

Cedrus deodara - Himalayan cedar

2012-02-27T07:45:00.002-06:00

Cedrus deodara is a species of cedar native to the western Himalays in eastern Afghanistan. It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching 40-50 m tall. the leaves are medle-like, mostly 2,5 - 5 cm long.
The female cones are barrel-shaped, 7-13 cm long and 5-9 cm broad, and disintegrate when mature to relase the winged seeds.
It was imported in Europe as ornamental plant since 1800.

I found pine cone and branch in Subiaco, near Roma. The branches were on the ground because of snow in recent days.

Angela Maria Russo watercolour on Magnani sketchbook

American's Hooded Crane

2012-02-26T20:43:00.002-06:00

Hooded cranes are native to Asia but we had a hooded crane wintering in southeast Tennessee from December 14th 's to February 5th, 2012. Following that period, it was next seen at the Goose Pond Wildlife Management Area in Green County, Indiana from February 8th to 12th where it was last reported by birders. No one actually knows how this rare visitor ended up in the eastern United States.

I saw this crane at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge during our TN Sandhill Crane Festival. As I was researching this endangered species, I remembered that I first saw a hooded crane at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 2005. I remembered that this small crane, only 3.3 ft. tall compared to our 4-5 ft. sandhill cranes in the east, became excited and leaped into the air while I was viewing her. In the sketch, she has just landed and is holding her tertiary wing feathers fluffed up into a bustle over her tail.

A secretive bird whose breeding territories were only first discovered in 1974, the Hooded Crane primarily nests in the remote and inaccessible sphagnum bogs scattered through the taiga in southeastern Russia, and in China, in forested wetlands in mountain valleys. These remote habitats are currently threatened by progressive dams, mining, and draining for agriculture in both China and Russia.

To learn more about this endangered crane and its habitat, how scientists are helping, and see the beautiful images of Dr. Guo Yumin, of Beijing Forestry University, visit my blog series: America's Hooded Crane at Vickie Henderson Art, and my introduction to this sketch at Vickie's Sketchbook.

Links and References:
International Crane Foundation: Hooded Crane
Dr Guo Yumin's work: Grus Monacha International Aid

Squirrels Again.

2012-02-26T18:04:00.002-06:00

Squirrels Again., originally uploaded by Cathy (Kate) Johnson.

More quick studies of the squirrels that enjoy my offerings of corn...unlike some, I invite them to share our goodies. I love sketching them!

These were quick colored pencil sketches, with watercolor, colored pencil, and ink added later...whatever it takes!

Mushrooms!

2012-02-25T19:54:00.000-06:00

It's been crazy dry here in northern California this winter. We had some promising rain early in the season and then high pressure systems wheeled around above us, pushing storms to the north or the south or the east, essentially anywhere but here. As a consequence, I haven't seen much fungi this winter, partly because there just wasn't enough moisture and partly because the lack of rain kept the fallen leaves from decomposing, leaving ankle deep piles of crisp, light leaves which, in turn, hid the mushrooms that did fruit. As I've walked through the woods I've occasionally seen withered old specimens uprooted in areas that have been disturbed by squirrels or other creatures rooting around for food.

However, the other day, as I walked through an area in Howath Park where children get pony rides on weekends, I noticed a large pile of horse manure with several mushrooms sprouting merrily out of it. Imagine my joy at finding mushrooms, any mushrooms! That they were fruiting in manure was an added bonus because it meant that I would be able to more easily identify them.

Most mushrooms are saprophytic. That is, they nourish themselves by growing on dead organic matter such as fallen trees, dead insects and animals, fallen leaves and excrement. In the process, the mushrooms decompose the material they feed on, providing what I like to think of as essential janitorial services for the forests and meadows that I walk in. Saprophytic mushrooms are often specialists, so if you find one in, say, horse manure, then it won't be too difficult to find out that you're looking at Panaeolus papilionaceus. Oh, and if you like learning new words then you'll be happy to know that mushrooms that feed on manure are coprophilous.

Disturbingly, during the research for this post I found that this is considered an edible mushroom. Uh, bon appétit?

The sketches were done with graphite, ink, watercolor, gouache, colored pencil on 8.5 x 11 inch Canson mi-teintes paper. The black circle at the top right is a spore print from one of the mushrooms, an essential identification aid.

More about the ways fungi nourish themselves:
The Royal Horticultural Society
The Hidden Forest

Especially the coprophilous varieties:
Wikipedia

And about Panaeolus papilionaceus:
Wikipedia
MushroomExpert
The Fungi of California

Birdwatching at the Orchard

2012-02-24T06:49:00.000-06:00

©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, Greenfield as seen from Colrain. Pen in large handbook journal.

My husband took me to a nearby apple orchard to do some nature sketching the other day. The orchard sits upon a high hill which has a 180° view of the mountains surrounding Greenfield, MA. It's too bad that I didn't have my colored pencils or watercolors with me because they would have been great for this scene. All I had in my purse were some pens, which are my favorite sketching tool, but it felt a bit awkward for drawing all these trees.

When we were sitting in the car sketching, we noticed three or four bluebirds on the nearby apple trees. I was amazed because bluebirds are very rare. Then, the bluebirds started acting crazy and they all scattered when a giant hawk swooped down right near us. The hawk was being attacked by two crows, which chased the it all the way down into the valley. The hawk must have been threatening the crow's nest or something along those lines. This happened too quick for me to make a sketch or even take a photo, but it was exciting to watch.

My husband snapped a photo of me in the car sketching, looking very serious with my coffee!

Hellebores - Lenten Roses - Lin Frye

2012-02-24T05:37:00.001-06:00

Hellebores - Lenten Roses, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

9" x 12'"
Arches 140#CP

We may be playing the fool this year to think spring has arrived this early -- but with temperatures that reached 75F yesterday and returning to that same high today, and with flowers, trees, insects, and the rest of nature behaving as though spring HAS begun, it's hard NOT to follow along ....

The gardens are abloom with helebores ... white, pink, purple -- the nodding heads of these pretty flowers resembling roses, but they actually belong to the Ranunculaceae or buttercup family.

Hellebores have been grown for years - originally because of their medicinal properties for use as either a poison or a purgative. They're deer resistent - great for those of us who live with wildlife as neighbors! Helebores have roots in Europe but also grow in Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, Greece, Italy and even China. Helebores thrive in good, rich, moist, organic soil, but can also do well in acidic soils as long as they have good drainage and prefer light shade. There are dozens of varieties in wonderful colors ...!!

I don't yet have any of these in my own gardens, but I think THIS may be the year I plant a couple! These were painted from the gardens at Fearington Village, about an hour south of my home.

We're to have more rain today with temps falling a bit this weekend. We had a huge storm the other night with thunder that popped me right out of a deep sleep. There is an old belief that if it thunders in winter, snow will follow two weeks later ... well, we'll see. According to the Farmer's Almananc, I won't be getting a 'real' snowfall this year ... but just to be on the safe side of folklore ... I'm keeping my snow shovel handy!

Have a great day!

Lin Frye
North Carolina

Pruning before Spring

2012-02-23T15:03:00.001-06:00

We were asked to be on the local garden tour to raise money for our hospital. This hospital is actually the hospital that saved Jennifer's life back on that terrible day in July 2000, when a drunk driver decided to drive drunk. They were a new hospital with state of the art equipment. We are eternally grateful to them and excited that we will be able to give back in support of their extraordinary efforts. What is funny is that this pressure to have the yard look perfect is going to kill me! LOL We have been working on pruning and planting and just things that we seem to keep putting off until you have about 800 people coming to look at everything! I have wanted to tie up my bougainvilleas so that they just lay across the tops of the wall above the rose garden. Last year I did get them tied but not trimmed so before they become out of control I trimmed off all the lower growth and I am tying them to the tops of the wall so that they lay across the wall and bloom only above the roses. I feel very fortunate to live where these amazing tropical plants live and flourish. Living here in Southern California we almost take them for granted as they glow almost all year long. They come in many colors but are very aggressive and they will easily over grow an area and become messy, woody and unsightly so they take some work but are well worth the effort. They are also full of nasty thorns as are many of the things I love to grow! If you have never seen these papery flowers you are missing out on an amazing color display. I am saving the petals to add to my homemade papers.
Some info on Bougainvilleas;
In 1768 Louis de Bougainvillea bagan a long journey to the Pacific Ocean where he discovered the vine that now bears his name. Although normally climbers they can be trained to stay bushy or as potted plants. The vibrant color comes not from the small white tubular flowers, but from the 3 large paper-like bracts that surround each flower.

Although the colors are hard to capture in paint here is my interpretation.

Feeding the Green River

2012-02-21T10:16:00.003-06:00

©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, Feeding the Green River. Pen and watercolor wash, 13.5 x 10 cm.

This is not a nature sketch, but I thought you would all like to see it anyway, so I'm posting it here. I would have loved to sketch this on location if possible, but it was situated right on the edge of a steep dirt road next to a winding river. I did this from a photo I snapped after Hurricane Irene, when the river and streams were especially high.

I sent this small piece along to Norway, for the Twitter Art Exhibit which is raising money for charity. It is worth checking out.

Bright Pansies - Lin Frye

2012-02-20T04:16:00.001-06:00

Bright Pansies, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP

It's been a weekend of 'go-out-ing' - dinner on Friday where we met some friends for a really nice, chatty, dinner; a folk art show on Saturday where we also met some friends for lunch, long drives in the country and temperatures that had us in sweaters. Flowers abounded - daffodils, Lenten Roses, and pansies everywhere! Wonderful pansy colors to delight the eye --- dark purples, blues, yellows, oranges, creams and red/burgundy ... inspring these bright flowers.

Sunday was a day of rain ... a good day to relax. Rain turned to sleet and then to the hush of snow as I continued my flower paintings ...I took some photos - barely a dusting at picture-taking time - with a bit more snow to fall during the night. I was so excited to see snow falling -- the first for this winter --and while it can't compare to the rest of the world's record snowfalls ... for this snow-starved wee one, I was thrilled! LOL This morning, we had to scrape the 2" from our steps, the lawn is covered -- but darn, the roads are clear and it's off to another week of work. Sigh.

Despite the BRIEF dip into snow and winter, temperatures this week return to spring - with the end of the week to reach 70F ... so we'll be seeing more of the spring flower-parade ....and probably more and more flower paintings as these beauties rarely fail to inspire me.

But in my dreams, I still hope for one REAL snowfall ... before all the meadows are covered in color ... just one REAL snowfall .....

Have a great week!

Lin Frye
North Carolina

Feathers

2012-02-16T10:26:00.001-06:00

Feathers, a photo by Teri DC on Flickr.

I found these feathers when I was walking so I brought them home to paint. The one on the left was on the island at the lake so I'm guessing it belongs to a duck.
I found the reddish one hanging on a bush and have no idea where it came from. The shaft was broken so I'm not even sure how long it was.
Feathers are always fun to paint.
I cropped this from a journal page I am adding to everyday. The background is pre-painted.

One woman's treasure...

2012-02-13T20:17:00.001-06:00

Graphite, colored pencil on 8.5 x 11 Strathmore paper

I've loved to walk since I can remember. I love to put one foot in front of the other and propel myself into the known or the unknown. It's a simple act that we mostly never even think about. For many years illness has limited my ability to go walking, which has only made me appreciate it more. I'm thrilled when I can go to a park and walk even for just a half mile and ecstatic when it's one or two miles. I've learned to appreciate every single walk I'm able to take, even when I can only go around the block.

Last Sunday I did just that early in the morning before the neighborhood was awake. I listened and watched as birds began to move about, looking for food and mates, not necessarily in that order. I noticed that the leaf buds on many trees were nearly ready to burst and that many lawns had been mowed. On one of those lawns I saw a pristine dead Roof rat (Rattus rattus) looking so natural that I hesitated before collecting her to take home, afraid she would leap up and take offense as I placed her into a bag. She didn't and I spent a couple of days sketching and admiring her.

I know I'm not really supposed to like rats. As I write this I'm listening to the rustlings of a family of them that we've been unsuccessfully trying to evict from the attic above my studio. As my work day is ending I can hear theirs beginning as they exit through the (not so) cunning trap door we put in to let them leave but keep them from getting back in. I really do admire their ability to adapt to adversity. They've traveled far from their original place on the planet, yet thrive and multiply. And multiply. Where once they lived high up in trees and foraged in fields and forests, many now live high up in our buildings and get a ready supply of food from our gardens, homes and refuse. These tiny creatures have caused us much bigger creatures an awful lot of grief for a very long time without even trying. Pretty impressive, if you ask me.

Graphite, ink on 8.5 x 11 inch Stonehenge paper

Snow again

2012-02-12T11:41:00.000-06:00

It snow again in Rome, less than last week.

it will melt soon and these little birds will begin to build their nests

Japanese quince, sparrow, robin and wren - watercolour and pencil on sketchbook Magnani

Some finches out of the window

2012-02-12T10:45:00.002-06:00

At last this winter becomes very very cold and snowy, and brings me at the studio's window some new rarities for my garden...Nature is very hard out the window especially this year when cold was unespected...

I still dont know when i have to use watercolor, but not in this case... I think.

Hawfinch, Great tit, Long tailed tit attracted by the feeders, with black sunflower seeds.

Apricot Trees are blooming

2012-02-12T00:56:00.001-06:00

With warm days and cool nights our fruit trees are starting to bloom. I love to prune when the trees are budded up and I bring the long cuttings inside and put into vases in the house. Within a few days the branches start to bloom inside! Filling my house with wonderful flowers early in the year. The blooms don't last long but are well worth it!

Foggy Morning at Plat I

2012-02-11T23:09:00.000-06:00

A plein aire painting done at a little reservoir near here. I sketched the cormorants first, and then when the fog started to lift I had the opportunity to paint while my husband photographed.

Here are my notes: "Damp. Chilly. Greyness fills the valley. Snags on the far side of the pond are so pale, I can’t see if any eagles are perched there today. The water lies still, repeating every bird on its surface. Sounds carry through the fog, bringing me more birds than those I can see. Above me rides the sun, a faint glow in the grayness. I can see the dark forms of cormorants resting on a spit, great blue herons fishing, and some ducks."

For me this is sketching in nature at its very best ... capturing the mood of the moment; saving the memory for the future.

For more about that very busy day/week go to my blog:
www.elvafieldnotes.blogspot.com

Goldfinches!

2012-02-11T09:16:00.000-06:00

We have a LOT of American goldfinches at the shed this year. I've never had the opportunity to see so many, so close, and it's interested to see them in mid-moult, from winter colors toward spring.

In a month or so, this little guy will be bright yellow in the places he now shows an olive-y brown, and he'll wear a jaunty black cap that's just now coming in, a few feathers at a time.

They're amazingly bold little birds, taking over the feeders and refusing to give ground, fussing among themselves, and staying put when I go in and out. Very much UNlike the chickadees, which seem to travel mostly alone, and do a quick snatch-and-run!

Blackbirds

2012-02-10T11:45:00.007-06:00

I came across these studies of a baby blackbird I raised last year, and thought I'd share them. This is the perfect age to use chicks as models. At this stage, they perch and remain still for long periods of time, waiting to be fed, happy to be near you.
It is an Old World blackbird, belonging to the genus Turdus - a Turdus merula - unrelated to the American blackbirds. They are quite common in urban gardens, and given the chaos of urban life, plenty of chicks get separated from their parents in the spring.
I used watersoluble graphite pencils; they are a great tool, allowing for fast, flowing lines. I filled in the form using a water brush once the sketch was done.

Barbara Bacci

found on my walk

2012-02-09T12:34:00.001-06:00

(62) found on my walk, a photo by vickylw on Flickr.

At first I thought I was looking at a strange rock . . . . then realized it had wood grains. So I picked it up and continued to walk my dog. A couple blocks later, I found another one. Neither one near any tree.

ink and watercolor wash on Niddigan paper

Bits and pieces...

2012-02-07T16:45:00.000-06:00

I'm still a big kid...I'm fascinated by small things, close up, nose-to-nose--if a branch HAD a nose...


This branch blew down in our recent winds--I knew the woodpeckers had been active, but I didn't realize HOW active till I was able to see this up close...and lots of ear fungus along the branch, too.

Wood ear, tree ear, jelly ear--whatever you call this dark brown fungus, it apparently grows
almost worldwide, and is considered edible, in some areas. (It's an ingredient in traditional moo shu pork.) I'm big on wild foods--even wrote a cookbook about it when dinosaurs roamed the earth--but I have to admit these have never made it to my dinner plate. They're kind of cold and clammy and just not that appetizing...anyone tried 'em?

And I couldn't resist sketching the bittersweet that came down from the highest branches at the same time...my mom used to love these bits of natural beauty, and I must have inherited it from her. My usual source of bittersweet is gone now; the fencerow where it grew every year has been bulldozed away, so I was delighted by this gift of the wind.

The birds have been enjoying the berries, as well...only one left on this little sprig!

Great birding day! (Paula)

2012-02-07T11:00:00.000-06:00

Hope you can read the text on this page. I had to do the journal/sketch entry after I got home but I wanted to capture the adventure. The hawks below are a compilation of some of the 14 I spotted:

Winter Aconites

2012-02-06T13:45:00.004-06:00

The little yellow Winter Aconites are in bloom. It has been the most extraordinary winter, here in southern Ontario. We have had hardly any snow, perhaps six inches altogether. Right now the ground is not frozen at all! Not frozen? In early February? we were out today gardening- pruning off the old hydrangeas that didn’t get done last fall and cutting back the stalks in the perennial garden: we leave those on for the winter to give texture to the garden. The snowdrops and aconites appear together. The earliest I have ever seen either of those previously has been the very end of February,usually mid-March. It is quite astonishing. The hellebores are thrusting up their fat rosy buds, and the rhododendrons, usually struggling to survive around now, are looking quite contented, also with a profusion of big buds.
I must admit that I did not paint this sketch ‘en plein air’. Even though it is 7ºC today, and sunny, I wouldn’t be able to sit out that long; can’t take the cold like I used to. So I took a couple of reference photos and spent a pleasant interlude in my studio.

Snow, snow, snow!! from Italy

2012-02-05T08:13:00.000-06:00

Snow, snow, snow (-7-8°C), this is a sketch of the guests (including cats!) in our manger. The Robin is the more curious and intimate, the acrobatic and frenzied Great tit and numerous finches squabbling!

Snow in Rome!

2012-02-04T10:01:00.000-06:00

Today Rome woke up solidly white, playful, quiet, calm...so much snow to fill with enchantment a normally neurotic and rushed city. My garden looked perfect, immaculate: no traces of the works and of the poor lawn...
The medlar tree in the neighbouring garden had acquired an interesting pose, all bent by the wind and weight. So I dedicated a few minutes to the dark areas, with a Tombo pen held lightly. I could have done better but my feet were freezing!

January 2012: Squirrel's Nest

2012-02-02T23:14:00.002-06:00

January 2012: Squirrel's Nest, a photo by apple-pine on Flickr.

A few days ago I noticed a rather serious squirrel on my way through the park. It was early morning and all other squirrels were running like crazy. This one though was gathering some dry leaves from under a tree (and that required some digging under frost-covered top layer (yes, we had some frost here is California). Then it would put a good dozen or so leaves in it's mouth and run up the willow tree. And disappear. Then appear again. After I made a few circles around this tree (squirrel kept running back and forth all this time) I found a hollow part of a big brunch which probably will be a home to a new family soon :)

Kahara, Mauritania

2012-01-31T14:46:00.000-06:00

I´ve been travelling in Senegal and Mauritania and some of the sketches I did there are here

http://www.4ojos.com/blog/?tag=mauritania

http://www.4ojos.com/blog/?tag=senegal

More to follow as soon as I have yet to scan the sketchbooks...

Watching White Pelicans

2012-01-30T23:00:00.000-06:00

I got behind on a lot of things during the past couple of months. Here are two sets of sketches I did when we had white pelicans using a small reservoir about twenty miles from where I live. Watching white pelican fish is fascinating. They can hold nearly three gallons (about 10 liters) of water in their gular pouch. Pelican swim in a group, chasing fish to each other or corralling them near the shoreline. A pelican repeatedly dips its long bill into the water, filling its pouch with water in the process. Up comes the big bowl full of water which the pelican strains out as it raises its head. If a fish is inside, it tips its bill up to swallow.

For more about my pelican experience, go to www.elvafieldnotes.blogspot.com

Falcon

2012-01-30T14:30:00.001-06:00

Falcon, originally uploaded by Cathy (Kate) Johnson.

A sad story...I wish I could have seen him better...

LICHENS

2012-01-30T10:45:00.000-06:00

It seems that the lichens grow where there is humidity and no pollution.

This little branch was taken near my house, there are not doubts about humidity, about pollution I don’t know.

It’s true that around my house there is a lot of green, but maybe lichens are just used to the smog.

Xanthoria parietina e Chaenomeles japonica - watercolour on Magnani sketchbook

The Crescent Moon, Earthshine and Venus

2012-01-26T11:27:00.000-06:00

Earthshine?

Best seen during Crescent Moon phases (the one to five day period before or after a New Moon), Earthshine is caused by direct sunlight on the earth that reflects onto the Moon which creates the smoky glow of the shadowed portion of the moon.

Click on the Earthshine link above for great information from NASA including these goodies:
Scientists in recent years have found that Earthshine is most intense during the northern spring months of April and May. I could only see a milky glow even through binoculars. But during the spring, you'll be able to see the Moon's features :)

Leonardo Di Vinci explained this phenomenon nearly 500 years ago!

This sketch by Leonardo is part of the Codex Leicester, written by Da Vinci between 1506 and 1510! Oh, the mind this Renaissance artist had. Leonardo's journals and notes show what an "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination" he possessed.

After sunset tonight, take a peek at the sky to see Venus, the Crescent Moon and Earthshine for your very own. Venus will be to the lower left tonight. Happy viewing and hopefully painting!!

Carolina Wren by Paula

2012-01-25T13:18:00.000-06:00

This little guy (there may have been two different birds) was on the porch outside my office yesterday. I sketched them quickly then touched them up after looking at my bird book. So cute! and such big voices for such little bodies.

A Robin Sketch Becomes a Painting

2012-01-25T08:16:00.003-06:00

Thrushes are a fun family of birds. Bluebirds, American robins and the flute-y thrushes like the hermit thrush and wood thrush, are all classified into this family. The American robin is perhaps the most overlooked of these species because we see them so commonly. But if you take time to watch them, you will find not only striking beauty, but delightful behaviors.

We are fortunate in Tennessee to have not only our resident robins year-around, but many robins who migrate from the north to winter in Tennessee. The above painting was inspired by a flock of wintering robins that descended upon my dogwood trees in late fall. The memory of the experience was captured in the sketch you see below. Creating a sketch deepens the memory with all its sensory detail and adds to the enjoyment of the experience.

I was intrigued not only with the robins and their behavior, but with the incredible beauty of the dogwood's fall colors. A tapestry of red, maroon, purple and orange, and in their midst, the robin's red breast and contrasting dark gray plumage. While selecting birds to include in an autumn note card series, this sketch readily came to mind. Even though I had photographs, as well, for reference, the sketch formed the basis for the painting and was my guide throughout the painting process.

Links and resources:
More about this painting: The Yellow Glow Behind the Robin at Vickie's Sketchbook
To see my original post on these robins: A Party of Robins at Sketching in Nature
American Robin at Vickie Henderson Art
American Robin--Cornell's all about birds
My Autumn Birds Note Cards

Road Trip Sketch

2012-01-24T09:11:00.001-06:00

Road Trip Sketch, a photo by Teri DC on Flickr.

When I am not driving I like to sketch scenes along the road.
I love painting mountains and there are plenty between here and Phoenix. Only problem is the road was quite bumpy making my paint hit the wrong areas.

Trumpeter Swans

2012-01-23T20:21:00.003-06:00

I headed out to Cooley Lake today to see if I could find the swans my friend Phil Jeffries photographed the other day...sure enough, I did, but couldn't get really close. It was cold and very windy, so I sat in my car to sketch these huge birds...

This is the view from my Jeep "studio." If you look close you can see the swans out there in the mudflats.

I couldn't see that well, even with my little binoculars, but this was my start, with my old rehabbed Winsor & Newton sketch kit.

A bit further along, working in cramped--but warmer!--conditions.

I managed to get some decent shots with my new Canon, which is what I used to work from on the right hand page of this spread. Even with the binoculars I really couldn't see much. The camera did a much better job!

I'm glad Phil got such a great photo of the immature swan...if it had been younger, the beak would have retained some pink color, so it much have been almost fully grown.

Thank you, Phil Jeffries, for sharing this wonderful photo...Phil's photographs are often in Missouri Department of Conservation publications.

Trumpeters are returning to their historic territories, from the brink of extinction...they were very rare only a few years ago.

Sparrow by Paula

2012-01-23T15:03:00.000-06:00

I have lots of these little fellows in my garden but this particular one was done from a photo by a friend. This was a first for me...I "drew" him directly with brush and watercolors. No pencil or ink drawing first. I just pretended that I was sketching from life and didn't have much time. I found it to be much quicker and looser. Maybe it was the glass of wine I had first...

Sketching and painting at Fakahatchee Strand

2012-01-23T13:50:00.005-06:00

Fakahatchee grassy marsh, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

“There are still remnants of the old wild Florida. There is always something. Anytime. Day or night, cold or warm, in the rain or shining sun you can find bits of the old wild left around, if you can only get away from your fellow man for a spell.” ~ Archie Carr

One way to rediscover the old wild Florida is to visit Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, which I did as part of the En Plein Art – Arts in the Fakahatchee event last Saturday. Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park has many different types of habitats: strand swamp, marl prairies, cypress strands, tropical hardwood hammocks where one can find royal palm groves, pine rocklands, and even an estuarine system. A group of us met on the south side of US 41, just across from the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk, where an old remnant of the highway bordered a vast sea of gold and green grasses.

There were remnants of charred cabbage palms along the roadside, with interesting textures. I found myself sketching one of the palm trunks near the ground because of the dried palms fronds and grasses arranged around it. We are in South Florida’s dry season, and one can find this reflected in the plants and grasses. Things aren’t the crunchy dryness of late spring quite yet, when fire danger is high, but the ground beneath the sea of grasses is only damp, not wet or marshy.

As I painted, I found myself thinking of what it was like when men and women first encountered these habitats, and how their environment shaped their days and nights. Another artist and I walked out into grasses, which was hard going. They were taller than they looked, head height and higher in some places, the ground so low that we couldn’t get to a vantage point for painting. I settled for coming back to the road and painting along the edge, while she remained, creating a lovely intimate watercolor of grasses framing a clear blue sky.

Off in the distance I observed wood storks flying in low over the grasses. Along the edge of the road, orange, white, and yellow butterflies nectared on the Spanish needles and rattlebox wildflowers in bloom. Overhead flew two large groups of tree swallows in seemingly random patterns. Later a trio of black vultures circled the sky. The sun was out all morning, with clear skies and occasional puffy clouds that soon vanished. Our high was 79 degrees (F)! What a beautiful day!

~ Elizabeth Smith, Naples, Florida, USA

Cactus Monday - Journal page

2012-01-23T11:16:00.001-06:00

Cactus Monday - Journal page, a photo by Teri DC on Flickr.

While we were in Phoenix I took a walk to see if there were any interesting cacti and found this one, probably a night blooming cereus. What made it interesting were the seed pods hanging on the branches.
Cropped out of my daily journal.

Cardinals in FLOCKS!

2012-01-22T09:51:00.000-06:00

Busy times at the shed!

There were nine males when I did the sketch, but ELEVEN by the time everyone had showed up for dinner...plus 5 or 6 females.

I don't remember EVER seeing this many cardinals all in one place before...the males are quite territorial, but it's winter and we offer them lots of feeding options and different stations around the yard. I'm entranced by the bright colors and the interaction between them, and find myself sketching them again and again.

These are all graphite-free, no preliminary sketching, just hurrying to get it down--the male above isn't all that successful, but it WAS a challenge. I was trying out the new Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal on the bottom two images...it's very smooth paper meant for writing, but I love the puddly effect of watercolors on smooth paper.

African Snipe

2012-01-22T04:56:00.003-06:00

Between the two seas the sea-bird's wing makes halt,
Wind-weary;
while with lifting head he waits
For breath to re-inspire him from the gates
That open still toward sunrise on the vault
High-domed of morning.
- Algernon Charles

HB Graphite pencil and colourwash in Moleskine notebook

Sketches of various angles and detail of an African Snipe I spotted in St. Lucia (Zululand, South Africa).

The African Snipe, Gallinago nigripennis, also known as the Ethiopian Snipe, is a small stocky wader. It breeds in eastern and Southern Africa in wet mountain moorland and swamps at altitudes of 1700 - 4000m. When not breeding it disperses widely, including into coastal lowlands.

Some other interesting information on the Snipes : After following the birds’ migration south from Sweden to central Africa using tiny tracking devices, Swedish scientists found that the birds fly non-stop over a distance of around 4,200 miles (6,760km) at a phenomenal 60 mph (97kph). Now how great is that?!

Chechesee Creek

2012-01-21T20:59:00.002-06:00

A Wedding Day Walk, a photo by PJBee on Flickr.

It was a beautiful, balmy day here in the lowcountry of South Carolina. Almost 70 degrees. Earlier in the day it was sunny but when I finished at work and made my way to check out the marsh view, the clouds began to pile in.

My coworker was married today and I happen upon the newly weds at this spot. I shall give them a card with this image on it :)

at a bus stop-ball point pen.Concetta Flore

2012-01-21T07:54:00.000-06:00

I love ambiguity when it's the choice of style or technique that determines it.
This quick sketch of the trunk of a prunus (in poor health) and the light pole next to it, with all its rust and writings and traces of scotch from past notes, makes these two , the living and the dead, the natural and the artifact, look rather similar, doesn't it?

Story of a little winter rose

2012-01-20T11:31:00.000-06:00

During the night has blossomed this little, delicate, modest, delightful rose.

The rose now is open, for a few days it gaves me the dream of spring.

My little rose has lost its petals. I hope spring comes soon to see new roses bloom.

Witness Trees

2012-01-19T08:17:00.000-06:00

I sketched at Chatham Manor in Stafford Co., VA, on Saturday and was fascinated by these two, very old Catawba trees. In case you can't read my text with the sketch, it says: "These gnarly old Catawba trees were alive during the Civil war. Chatham was used as a hospital and these two venerable old trees stood just outside the surgery. As limbs were amputated, they were tossed out the window to land at the base of these trees. Walt Whitman visited (during the war) and wrote that the pile of human limbs would fill an oxcart." Barely standing, full of holes, and rotting from the inside, the trees are propped up with steel bars (I didn't draw them) and in danger of disappearing altogether. I felt compelled to be witness to the witness trees.

I also sketched this little statue in the garden at Chatham. It stands about 4 feet tall from top to the bottom of the base. Both of these sketches were done very quickly because it was 40 degrees F. and my fingers didn't want to work properly.

Introduction

2012-01-18T16:14:00.000-06:00

Hello Fellow Artists,

I am very excited to be a part of this wonderful blog. I have been "lurking" in the back ground for sometime. I have enjoyed reading all the wonderful contributions that all the artists have made.

I am a botanical artist and natural science illustrator by training. I specialize in relationships between animals and the plant world, mainly butterflies and insects with their host plants.

In the New Year I decided to "get serious" and I have created a 52/52 Painting Challenge for myself. I will be doing 52 paintings in 52 weeks and posting them to my blog. I thought I would share my first painting with you. My favorite color is PURPLE and I find it very hard to resist anything purple.

I paint in a variety of techniques and mediums and share my experience and tips on my blog. I look forward to sharing my journeys with you and am thrilled to be a part of this group of talented and passionate artists!

Happy painting!

Mindy

Dried Pomegranate Fruits ~ Linda C. Miller

2012-01-16T16:25:00.000-06:00

"Holding On"

Pomegranate Fruits

Transparent Watercolor on Hot Press Paper

Size: 22 x 30 inches

Specimen: Williamsburg, Virginia

Fall is my favorite season for its bounty is everywhere. This pair of Pomegranates were so much fun to paint. I just love this contemporary composition. The fruits completed with a series of transparent washes and the branch using my dry brush technique.

I left out a few small branches to reduce overlap and allowing this pair to take center stage. All the other pomegranates in my studio are singles and dried with their rich yellows, reds and oranges. This pair turned a leathery brown in color and texture.

It will be on exhibit this February, just awaiting word from The Virginia Watercolor Society to learn if this piece made the cut!

Happy Painting, Linda

Linda C. Miller

Artist ~ Naturalist~ Instructor

www.lindacmillerbotanicalarttoday.com

Pacific Lamprey by Gay Kraeger

2012-01-16T13:48:00.004-06:00

My firm, Wildways illustrated, was hired to create a mural in a visitor's center in San Jose, California. I often use my journals to practice drawing creatures I will use in my work. The Pacific Lamprey and the crawfish were on the species list for this job, so I put the journal to use.

I was curious about the Lamprey so I looked him up in one of my reference books. I learned the Pacific Lamprey is a native species living in our local creeks. In the mature phase of it's life it is a parasite. It attaches itself to the side of fish in the creeks and sucks. Yum.

The Lamprey spawn in the gravel like the salmon they prey on. The newly hatched larvae move downstream and bury themselves tail first in the gravel. They use their large oral hood to filter feed. They stay buried because at this larvae stage they can easily be consumed by the fish they will attach to if they live to grow up. They are also anadromous (freshwater and saltwater going) Amazing creatures!
I liked the position of the crawfish I drew in the journal, so I redrew him. I used the Pacific Lamprey right out of the journal. I scanned the various elements and combined them in Photoshop to create a mural.

This is a small section of the large panel I am working on now. The final panel will be 5 feet high and almost 14 feet long. It will depict life in and around the Guadalupe River in San Jose. The Guadalupe is an urban oasis. Most of the folks who come to the visitor's center in the Guadalupe River Park are amazed at the variety of wildlife that lives in our backyard. Or wait, maybe we are living in the wildlife's backyard!

Belizean Beach

2012-01-16T13:07:00.004-06:00

On a recent trip to Belize, I was fascinated to discover that nearly all Belizean beaches are man-made, created by removing the mangroves that would normally extend out into the water.

On Ambergris Caye, which extends south from Mexico and is easily reached by water-taxi from Belize City to the south, the beaches look like this one, with coral sand beaches that would quickly be reclaimed by vegetation if they weren't discouraged by the groundsmen working at the resorts and residences which line the beach.

Although a golf-cart track parallels the Atlantic back behind the rim of buildings, the beaches serve as paths and bike trails, and sunbathing isn't an good option.

Freeze Damaged Saguaro Cactus

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

Last winter in Arizona/Tucson there were several days of freezing weather, 19 degrees F. Some of the tall old Saguaros suffered a lot of damage and are in the process of dying.

I decided to sketch a study of the damage.

First the summer fruit production is drastically reduced. Then the outer shell starts peeling away, the arms fall off or leave remnants of the inner structure. The inner ribs are bare sticks. The holes that the birds make for nests create a 'boot' inside the cactus and when the outer cactus layers peel away the boot is left hanging.

So sad to see these old giants dying but that is part of life and death in the desert.

A death in the park

2012-01-14T20:28:00.002-06:00

I was at the end of a walk when I heard, then saw, a mob of American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) circling nearby. It sounded and looked as though they were mobbing a predator so I decided to investigate further and walked quickly to the spot the birds seemed to be circling. In a little grove of oak and manzanita I found the fresh remains of a crow. The mob had disappeared and gone silent as soon as I arrived on the scene. There was no sign of the predator though I guessed that I might have interrupted the meal of a hawk or an owl.

As I looked around I saw that I was being regarded by a Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) with what appeared to be dignified indifference. I got out some paper and a pencil and began to draw. The vulture proceeded to take care of some personal grooming then gathered herself together and lifted off with enviable grace.

I returned to the spot where I first heard the ruckus. The crows had begun flying about again, though this time over a larger area while still making a lot of noise. There were more of them, too. Then most of them disappeared, though I could still hear them. Finding an open area, I found them roosting in a tree at the top of the ridge I had walked off of just before all of the excitement. I watched for a while as the crows flew out and about then returned to the tree, calling out their harsh cries. After a while, there were only a handful still in the tree, mostly silent. I packed up my sketch gear as the last of the crows dispersed.

Some January Sketches

2012-01-13T11:15:00.000-06:00

Here are some recent sketch experiments of the lake. The weather this winter has been very mild so far. From time to time the lake has started to form a skin of ice. It hasn't frozen solid though as we've had many days in the forties and even fifties. It snowed about two inches yesterday; a wet, slushy snow. This morning everything was blue and it was super foggy.

Tina Mammoser has done some nice abstract drawings of the (New) Jersey Shore. You should check them out.

Winter Visitors

2012-01-12T18:17:00.003-06:00

It's that time again...when the snowbirds, avian and human, head south for the winter! This year has been so mild that we'd only seen a few juncos, but now that it's finally icy, we had a flock of them. Last year it was a month earlier, at least, as I see in this POST.

I always love watching them against the snowy path, mining for seeds...

And I ALWAYS seem to misspell the plural of juncos...

A New Arrival

2012-01-11T16:39:00.000-06:00

Click to enlarge

Quite a treat at the beach yesterday. According to the regulars that walk the beach, this tree washed up overnight during the spring tide of January's Full Moon.

The east coast shoreline is always in constant flux. On Hilton Head Island the beach erodes on the north end and the south end gains beach.

Just south of Charleston, South Carolina, there is a plantation that's now wildlife management area called Botany Bay Plantation Heritage Preserve. It has 4,687 acres and part of it runs along the Atlantic ocean. It recently opened to the public in 2008 and we've only just begun to explore this treasure.

I mention this place because along the plantation's shoreline there are many dead trees that protrude out of the sand. Land that's been reclaimed by the sea. It's eerie and fascinatingly beautiful at the same time. I was thinking that it's totally possible that this tree traveled the tides from Botany Bay down to our beach on Hilton Head Island. What stories this beauty of a tree could tell!

Chook (and Doris) - Maree

2012-01-11T02:25:00.002-06:00

This is Chook, my other rooster (besides Artemis) and he's a Silky x Bantam, and almost twice Artemis's size. But he runs like the wind if Artemis should even just look in his direction! Out of my 8 hens, he's got three that dare to defy Artemis and hang out with him - Doris, Babs and Ginger. They're actually very brave, because besides incurring Artemis's wrath, Chook is rather large and almost squashes them while "having his way with them"!

CHOOK AND DORIS PLANNING AN ESCAPE :

Chook: You know what the problem is? The fences aren't just round the farm. They're up here, in your head. There's a better place out there, somewhere beyond that hill, and it has wide open places, and lots of trees... and grass. Can you imagine that? Cool, green grass.
Doris: Who feeds us?
Chook: We feed ourselves.
Doris: Where's the farm?
Chook: There is no farm.
Doris: Then, where does the farmer live?
Chook: There is no farmer, Doris.
Doris: Is he on holiday?
Chook: He isn't anywhere! Don't you get it? There's no morning head count, no farmers, no dogs and coops and keys, and no fences!
Doris: In all my life I've never heard such a fantastic... load of tripe!
- Extract from the movie "The Chicken Run"

Scavenging - Laura Gillis

2012-01-10T23:23:00.000-06:00

Well, it’s another new year and time again to get back in the groove. One groove I am trying to get back into is eating right. No more chocolate cake, sugar cookies, holiday dips and snacks. So, I while I was scavenging through the freezer, trying to find something good to fix for supper, I found this fabulous water scavenger beetle that I had forgotten about! No, I didn’t fix him for supper. (You will all be relieved to know that we had chicken cacciatore.)

But, back to the beetle. Not only is he large and shiny with feathery legs he is pretty interesting also. When you look at him from the underside he looks remarkably like Darth Vader and he has a keel-like spike that runs down his middle. When I looked this one up, the Kaufman book says that they swim by moving their legs alternately and surface “heads-up,” using their short antennae to channel air to a bubble on their belly. I don’t know if the center spike has anything to do with that or not. They also say that not all of the Hydrophilidae family are aquatic, nor are they all scavengers. I find that interesting because I found this guy in the parking lot of our building at work.... not near water at all. I don’t know what he was doing there or how he got there but I was a lucky girl to find him!

In other news, a few members of the Western Trail Art Association and I took a trip to Altus, Oklahoma to meet with Jennie Buchanan and check out the gallery space at the Museum of the Western Prairie. The Association will be having their first show there on March 24th, 2012 and we are all pretty excited about that. (This is a really nice museum – if you ever find yourself in Altus, you should stop by.) I will post more about this show soon.

I hope everyone is having a good new year! I think I will go clean out the freezer.....

Woodpecker Condo

2012-01-10T19:23:00.000-06:00

Noodler's flex pen and watercolor...

Our old cabin is surrounded by walnut trees; for years I'd watched the woodpeckers build their homes above my head, knowing that they'd hollowed out the tree beside the deck. This winter, our howling winds took out the top of this one, and I dragged it up onto the deck to sketch.

This particular nest had two entries...the one near the bottom of the photo probably led to another hollow like the one between these two...

Our friends were out cutting wood--another tree that had fallen near the cabin--and Joseph was fixing the broken window, so I sat on the deck and sketched.

A few days in the Lepini mountains-Concetta Flore

2012-01-09T15:37:00.000-06:00

We left Rome to spend a few days at some friend's house, in the low mountain chain some 100 km. south, called Monti Lepini, relatively close to the sea. The chalky rocks make the ground brittle, and though many different kinds of trees grow on these high hills, they are scattered and don't grow tall.
Unfortunately it is a heavily hunted area, and apart from some wary passerines, there isn't much wildlife around nowadays. Horses and sheep fill the air with the sound of their bells, which is nice when there's no shooting.
I just hate the idea that there are persons who love going round and taking the life of innocent creatures, just for fun.
The weather was sunny and the air so clear that the view went as far as the sea, Monte Circeo and the islands behind.
Anyway, the cold wind didn't stop me from sketching some gloriously coloured bramble leaves , and a hilltop with a sanctuary and a large iron cross on its rather dramatic tip.

The Magic of Sandhill Cranes--Vickie Henderson

2012-01-09T10:25:00.002-06:00

Below you see my recent painting of a pair of sandhill cranes floating in for a landing. It was created from observations in the field in two different locations, Tennessee and New Mexico. Cranes fly with their legs and necks out-stretched. When they are ready to land, they drop their legs down and hold their wings like parachutes, floating down with the wind until they touch ground.

This is one of my favorite crane postures, one of many that made me fall in love with cranes! And that was not a small love affair but the beginning of changes in my life that launched me into wildlife conservation projects and my love for art.

I use the sketches I make in several ways, chiefly watercolor, gourd art and, in recent years, fun illustrations that can be used to teach youngsters about birds. So I also arranged for this image to work double duty as the cover of my Discover Birds Activity Book, a twelve-page booklet created to help get young people excited about birds.

It feels like magic when you see your illustration come to life with digital coloring. Add the fact that all the pieces of the production puzzle were put together by volunteers, and you have a real labor of love.

The activity book is sponsored by the Tennessee Ornithological Society and will be available to kids this weekend, January 14th and 15th at the Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival. It is also one of the reasons I've been so scarce lately! If you only knew the guilt I feel and how I miss this blog when I haven't posted regularly!

Visit Sandhill Cranes and Art at Vickie's Sketchbook and the Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival Celebrates Three Cranes at Vickie Henderson Art for more information.

River House

2012-01-09T08:08:00.000-06:00

I spent Friday night with my friend at her little cottage on the river. In the late afternoon we took a walk and when we got back to the house the sun was just setting behind it and the welcoming porch light was on. I tried to capture it before it got too dark, but lost the light. Fortunately, I had taken a photo so I was able to finish it inside by the fire with a glass of wine. The tree with leaves to the left of the house is the biggest privet I've ever seen. The weather was unseasonably warm here this weekend (almost 70 degrees F on Saturday) so I spent a lot of time outside. Now the weatherman is calling for snow tonight!

Greetings latecomers! from Maria Elena Ferrari Italy

2012-01-09T08:03:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to all! This is the first painting (January) of a 2012 calendar made for the Regional Park of Curone and the Montevecchia Valley. This is a

wintering roost of owls (Asio otus), gouache on paper.

From Grand vistas to a single leaf

2012-01-09T00:46:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to everyone!
I haven't posted for a long time here... no excuse except trying to do too many things at the one time. I have been on my summer holidays here and last week (or was it the week before) I escaped the city and had a few days up in the mountains - the blue mountains(plateaus is more accurate)...it is only 1.5 hours drive from the center of Sydney. Wonderful vistas looking down into valleys.

A consistent sandstone escarpment separates the tourist from the valleys - so any hikes involve a steep climb down and then back up again. As I was on my own I stayed on the top. Still plenty to see and sketch.

The mountains are supposedly bluer than normal due to the haze of the eucalyptus oil from all the gum trees - sometimes the blueness is very strong.

The most famous rock formation is the three sisters

...but my favourite place is pulpit rock which few people know about - you can walk down to an exposed rocky outcrop and sit on a bench and feel like you own the valley.

There is the scary 'pulpit' itself... I wasn't quite up to sketching way down there this time.

From sketching the grand vista I picked the most ordinary leaf and tried to describing it using the coolest 6 page laminated card that I got at a nearby shop. I can see that I am going to use this card to appear very knowledgeable! I never realised that there were so many different types of leaf bases and that they all have names. I am rather discovered by this discovery...

More details here

Fungi on stick

2012-01-08T00:06:00.003-06:00

I was given this fungi on stick to draw. It was picked up off a footpath in Toowoomba, Queensland Australia and probably came from an oak or plane tree, as there are lots of those planted along the footpaths there. Unfortunately that is as specific as I can be.

For Christmas, I was also given lots of nature objects that my family had been collecting for me from the walks around the waterbird habitat, parks and footpaths. They had as much fun picking things up off the ground as I will have drawing them . These include seed pods, leaves, feathers , eggs, a nest, insects. (many are still to be identified......) The BEST Christmas present !

2012-01-07T10:58:00.000-06:00

Collared dove sketches from the window, singing from the garden as in springtime, first drawing of the year :-)

see also here to enlarge
http://sandrosacchetti.blogspot.com/2012/01/tortora-dal-collare.html

Artemis relaxing

2012-01-07T01:29:00.001-06:00

Red rooster in your gray coop,
O stately creature with tail-feathers red and blue,
Yellow and black,
You have a comb gay as a parade
On your head:
You have pearl trinkets
On your feet:
The short feathers smooth along your back
Are the dark color of wet rocks,
Or the rippled green of ships
When I look at their sides through water.
I don’t know how you happened to be made
So proud, so foolish,
Wearing your coat of many colours,
Shouting all day long your crooked words,
Loud . . . sharp . . . and beautiful!
- Unknown

This is Artemis relaxing on the lawn, Kiep's husband and love of her life. They hang out together most of the day and he protects her against Chook, the other rooster, keeping a vigilant eye on anybody that strays too close. He has actually gotten quite tame since hooking up with Kiep, as he sees how calm she is with me and will come right up to me and take food out of my hand.

Unidentified plant

2012-01-06T13:47:00.000-06:00

This sketch is of a plant I'm hoping one of you will recognize. So far, I've been unable to identify it. It's rather unusual. The stems the seeds are on appear to come out of the middle of the leaf. The seeds are about 8 mm tall and they have a "dusty" brownish-grey color. The leaves are about 10 - 12 cm long with smooth edges. They were found on the ground of a college campus but the tree from which they came could not be determined. Unfortunately, a friend found them and brought them to me so that's all the information I have. Thanks for any help you can give. Thanks, Paula in VA

FIRST FLOWER

2012-01-05T04:15:00.000-06:00

Chaenomeles japonica - watercolour on Moleskine

Sandy Williams - a change in the weather

2012-01-04T17:08:00.001-06:00

Winter weather came late this year, but it's finally here. Our first big storm in Michigan started slowly but kept up over a two day period so I had plenty of time to stay home and sketch. Here are two sketches done a day apart, and you can see what a difference a day makes. The bottom sketch is from January 1st, and the top one is from January 2nd.

Tulip Composition (Work in Progress)

2012-01-04T12:40:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I noticed a small tulip appearing in the grass. We have a very soft winter in Belgium and that explains it. But it doesn't feel right to go from fall to spring without a winter.
It does cause tulip-mania and during the next few weeks I'll built up this flower composition.
I hope you enjoy the start with 3 tulips.
Paula Kuitenbrouwer

French Marigolds - Maree

2012-01-04T00:30:00.005-06:00

My Marigolds (I have the French Marigold (Tagetes patula) have grown in utter profusion this season. Some I planted in one corner, the rest sprung up from last year's seeds.

Annual Marigolds can be used anywhere to deter beetles and many harmful insects. They are also known to repel harmful root knot nematodes (soil dwelling microscopic white worms) that attack tomatoes, potatoes, roses, and strawberries. The root of the Marigold produces a chemical that kills nematodes as they enter the soil. If a whole area is infested, at the end of the season, turn the Marigolds under so the roots will decay in the soil. You can safely plant there again the following spring. The flowers are hermaphrodite (having both male and female organs) and are pollinated by insects. They are noted for attracting wildlife and the wild hares visiting my garden often eat them. And for some reason, the rats like biting off the flower heads and spreading the petals and seeds all over the ground! The leaves of the marigold are coated with oily glands that produce a pungent scent.

Did You Know? Marigolds, which are from the Aster family and the Calendula genus, were first discovered by the Portuguese in Central America in the 16th century.

Some interesting info :
In addition to colouring foods, yellow dye from the flowers is also used to colour textiles. The whole plant is harvested when in flower and distilled for its essential oil. The oil is used in perfumery; it is blended with sandalwood oil to produce 'attar genda' perfume. About 35 kilograms of oil can be extracted from 1 hectare of the plant (yielding 2,500 kg of flowers and 25,000 kg of herbage). The oil is also being investigated for antifungal activity, including treatment of candidiasis and treating fungal infections in plants
This info from "Wikipedia":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_marigold

The Pied Butcherbird

2012-01-03T16:45:00.000-06:00

This bird may be considered the singer of the bush, with its huge repertoire of calls and songs of its own but also borrowed from other sources. For some reason they are aware that when a human is gardening there might be insects and worms around, so they come and perch very closely to the working gardener and carefully observe the surroundings until an insect runs away from the digging and pruning. The hunter then quickly flies down and grabs its meal.Their calls and songs are made up of a wide range of mellow, sweet, mysterious and sad whistles and it is one of the most characteristic sound of the bush and suburban gardens.
www.matteogrilli.blogspot.com

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T12:19:00.000-06:00

I spent the last day of 2011 doing what is dear to my heart ... outside and sketching. Here are yesterday's journal pages. Picture me in the back seat of the car, my little box of paint on one knee, my journal on the other knee, water in one hand and pen or brush in the other .... too damp and chilly to sit outside while I was sketching. I wanted our friend, Eleanor, who is 90 years old now, to have the front row seat with my husband, Dale, while we sat and watched.

Plat I: December 31, 2011 --
.... a fitting way to end the year. We picked up Eleanor in the late morning; then picked up sandwiches at 'Subway' and drove to Plat I (procounced "eye"). A promise of sun triggered this little expedition, but it was well hidden by the time we reached the reservoir. No matter. Spent the afternoon watching and sketching and talking. Two adult bald eagles were taking offense at the presence of an immature bald eagle. Even the kingfishers were chasing each other. Mist rising out of the distant hills, nearby robins feeding on the wet lawn. Closest of all was a black phoebe flitting from one perch to another searching for little insects. Eleanor love being out with us. We are kindred spirits savoring the damp day, the birds, and each other's company.

May the New Year be a good one for you all.

Snowy Lake - HAPPY 2012! Lin Frye

2012-01-01T06:58:00.001-06:00

Snowy Lake - HAPPY 2012!, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP

2012!
A new year
A new start
A new hope for all the best and brightest in this
New year!

May 2012 bring everyone joy, creativity, prosperity and good health!
May we all enjoy the little, everyday things that make a life,
May we spend more of our precious time with those we love ...

Here's to 2012 ... May it be wondrous!

Lin Frye
North Carolina

1 Jan 2012 - Waking the sun every morning - Maree

2012-01-01T03:16:00.003-06:00

Artemis waking the Sun every morning at 4am on our smallholding in Tarlton, South Africa (or so all our other farm animals believe!)

"Chanticleer is a proud rooster whose singing wakes the sun every morning (or so the other farm animals believe). His singing keeps the other animals happy and the farm free from downpours. However, one morning, Chanticleer is attacked by a rooster sent by the "Grand Duke of Owls". Chanticleer wins, but forgets to crow and the sun rises without his singing (it is not greatly hinted, but it is believed the Duke raised the sun with his powers as a means to help his plans of getting rid of Chanticleer). The other animals reject him and drive him out of the farm, causing a perpetual rainstorm and the beginning of the Grand Duke's reign of terror on the farm."
- From Edmond Rostand's comedy, Chantecler

Here's wishing everybody a beautiful sunrise every morning in the years to come and may your 2012 be filled with LOVE, JOY and INSPIRATION!

The Chicken Run - Maree

2011-12-30T07:58:00.001-06:00

Ginger: So laying eggs all your life and then getting plucked, stuffed and roasted is good enough for you, is it?
Babs: It's a livin'.
- Extract from the movie "The Chicken Run"

Two of my hens taking refuge on top of the fence surrounding my wildlife pond, trying to get away from the onslaught of The Roosters. I had far too many roosters, seven (for 8 hens) but was lucky enough to find a good home for five of them.

Just some roadside scene... Maree

2011-12-29T02:48:00.003-06:00

You say life is a dream where we can't say what we mean
Maybe just some roadside scene that we're driving past
There's no telling where we'll be in a day or in a week
And there's no promises of peace or of happiness
- Extract from "Life is a Song - Patrick Park

A gravel road leading through Spring Farm, about 3kms from us on the way to Magaliesburg for our Christmas breakfast. This is one of the short-cuts I often taken instead of the main road, which has lots of trucks, traffic and a railway line to cross. Going this route I see lots of little animals. Happiness moments...

A flicker of red

2011-12-28T15:48:00.000-06:00

Red-shafted northern flickers (Colaptens auratus) are one of the first birds I learned to recognize. Their distinctive call heralds the coming winter here in northern California and the bright red under their wings as they fly is like a neon sign on a gray autumn day. Unlike other woodpeckers, this species often forages on the ground, turning up leaves and earth with a slightly curved beak, to find insects, flying up in a frenzy if you disturb one as you're walking. In the eastern United States flickers are yellow-shafted and in between the east and west the two color forms hybridize to make various shades of orange.

I never really thought about the name of this bird until the other day when I found this colorful cluster of feathers in the woods of Howarth Park. After a moment thinking the color was artificial and had been left by careless humans, I recognized the color and pattern as I really grasped what was red-shafted about the northern flickers in these woods.

Birds: ballpoint, colored pencil, on 8.5 x 11" Hahnemuhle Ingres paper
Feathers: graphite, watercolor on Fabriano Artistico HP

Flamingos in the Osmannoro marshes - A reported painting

2011-12-25T16:13:00.000-06:00

This is the best time for delivery of the paintings booked, but I am happy they will go to a good friend of mine....
The history of this painting is very simple: flamingos seen last fall in Osmannoro marshes, one of the few times that occur in the plain of Florence, where incredibly, despite the degradation of this area they show up every year .... Let's go back to painting, that day there were many photographer friends attracted by the beauty of these birds, especially those in favorable light, the dark background of vegetation. I also took photos with the camera... and heart. With the camera I picked the color pink and the dark background that accentuates the contrast; with heart I drew the white plumage of many different colors, the ones that I have remained inside and before they disperse from my mind....

Winter Roses - MERRY CHRISTMAS! Lin Frye

2011-12-25T11:31:00.001-06:00

Winter Roses - MERRY CHRISTMAS!, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

9" x 12"
Arches 140# CP

MAY THIS SPECIAL DAY AND SEASON BRING EACH OF YOU THE MOST PEACE, JOY AND LOVE YOUR HEARTS CAN HOLD!

May you be filled with peace and blessings!!!

We are sharing this day with our grandchildren - and thus have returned to the wonder of children and the delight of the holiday.

We pray for those who are ill, sad, depressed, lonely....that the holiday season may fill them as well with hope and with love.

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lin Frye
North Carolina

Wishing Everyone a Joyful Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:49:00.000-06:00

A Merry Christmas to you all!

2011-12-24T08:26:00.001-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS - BUON NATALE dall'ITALIA
Angela Maria Russo

The Starling and Christmas in Africa - Maree

2011-12-23T02:34:00.003-06:00

A bit of fun with one of my sketches - The CAPE GLOSSY STARLING (Lamprotornis nitens) having a wonderful festive season with his friend Tweetie in my garden! (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa).

I’ve already bought all the presents for my garden birds : suet, peanuts, minced meat, meal worms, wild birdseed, mixed birdseed, apples, bananas, paw paw and peanut butter!

A Merry African Christmas and a stunning 2012 to all my friends here on Sketching in Nature!

Best wishes assembled drawing

2011-12-22T06:27:00.000-06:00

My graphic soul plays every year to assemble on pc drawings for friends, to reach them from far, this is my little present for this year
Ciao
Sandro

best wishes!

2011-12-21T07:30:00.000-06:00

A few years ago, spending some time at the Paneveggio Park in the Alps in june, I drew, on grey paper using a fine tip pen, the imposing root of a larch, part of its lower branches, and the housekeeper: a male chaffinch, whose song I learnt by heart, even I who have a poor memory!
The hours spent, sitting on the grass, were under the spell of the intricate pattern of branches and bark, and mesmerized by the looping tiri-tiri-tiri-chiùchiùchiù of the bird. Moreover, I kept asking myself if it wasn't a stroke of madness to tackle such a graphic quest.
I sold the drawing and somewhat forgot about it, when a print proof emerged while tidying up, and I thought: here's this year's card!
Greetings are sung by the chaffinch....

Bear Tree

2011-12-20T16:16:00.000-06:00

I've been walking by this interesting Live Oak, Quercus virginiana, for a year and a half, and finally, just the right day arrived to sketch it! I don't know if I achieved the look of a bear face in my drawing, but in real life it really does resemble one :)

The tree stands along a sidewalk in our neighborhood. I had to set my chair right in the middle of the walkway to capture the entire tree. When I stood in front of the bear face for the close up, a delightful Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger, peeked from behind the tree. It was quite curious about the human standing there. At one point I thought it was going to leave the tree and inspect me up close!

Our lowcountry weather has been so absolutely balmy this November and December as compared to the last two years. We really need a freeze. Our early spring wildflowers are thinking it's time to bloom!

E. grandis - Maree

2011-12-20T08:19:00.002-06:00

Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer
is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible
exception of a moose singing "Embraceable You" in spats.
- Woody Allen

Blue gum tree (Eucalyptus) on our property in Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa.

Summer is in FULL swing with temperatures way up in the late 30°C and early 40°C in parts of the country! Here in Tarlton I've been struggling with the heat at only 31°C, so if I want to do some field sketching, I go out to our blue gum bush early in the morning, about 5am, where I found this lovely tall tree - he's one of the straightest on our property and I just adore him!

Here in S.A., Blue gum trees are popular with bee-keepers for the honey they provide (I just LOVE Bluegum Honey!). However, in South Africa they are considered invasive, with their water-sucking capabilities threatening water supplies. They also release a chemical into the surrounding soil which kills native competitors.

The following Eucalyptus species have become naturalised in South Africa: E. camaldulensis, E. cladocalyx, E. diversicolor, E. grandis and E. lehmannii.

Rainy Winter Day - Lin Frye

2011-12-20T05:50:00.001-06:00

Rainy Winter Day, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

1/4 Sheet
Arches 140#CP

In the denser air of grey, brooding clouds
I smell the coming rain.
Muted autumn colors are saturated, yet
Dulled without sunlight’s bright touch.
There’s a somberness to this winter's day,
A foreshadowing of the season's advance, creeping
ever toward us
As the earth slides away from center.

We've seven days of rain predicted for this last of the pre-holiday weeks. It's warmed up again, with temperatures in the mid 60s - and tomorrow, we're to reach 70F! Though I welcome the warmth - I really dislike being cold - there's something un-Christmasy about it.

Each Christmas when I was a girl, my father, who also disliked the cold, used to take our family from the frigid, damp New York suburbs to the sunny, warm sands of Florida. We'd wake up Christmas morning to swim in the Atlantic, while we bathed ourselves in bright sunlight. After a week, we'd return with our holiday 'tans' ...

While it was fun and felt good to be warm in the middle of winter, the palm trees and Santas in airplanes instead of sleighs somehow made us long for snow and cold even more! (go figure! LOL)

I suppose I am still that little girl longing for 'chestnuts roasting, sleighbells and white Christmases' .... and if it's going to be damp and wet and grey, it'd be more enjoyable if it were white and snow! LOL Guess I'll be painting my own, this year!

Today is my last day at work before holiday break. Already the students have left for a couple of weeks and most of the staff and faculty will leave after this evening. The campus is quiet, and it's a good time to get a few of those 'never can get to' things accomplished.

Hope your day is terrific!

Lin Frye
North Carolina

Lunar eclipse

2011-12-18T16:54:00.000-06:00

6:10 a.m.

Our local paper reported that there would be a lunar eclipse on Saturday, December 11, 2011. The total eclipse was to occur between 6 and 7 a.m. The report said that the event would only be visible if you were at a relatively high elevation or at the coast because the moon would be so close to the horizon at the time of the eclipse. Over coffee on Friday my friend, JoAnn, and I decided to meet at the top of a hill (Fountaingrove) that's 800' according to Google and is near both of our houses. I got up at 4 and looked out the window to see if the sky was clear. I could easily see the beginning of the eclipse just below the canopy of the Valley oak in our backyard. It was hard to imagine that the moon would be very close to the horizon in only two hours. JoAnn, thinking similar thoughts, called me at 5:45 to say that she could see it from her yard, too. We considered meeting at her house to watch but decided it would be more fun to go up the hill as planned.

6:35 a.m.

It was 35º F (2º C) so I dressed warmly, packed my binoculars and sketch gear and scraped the ice off of my car windows before heading out. JoAnn and her family were already parked when I arrived. We were near an area designated as an open space with some homes on the other side of the street. A young German shepherd was roaming about and seemed very excited to have company. The eclipse was well under way and I got out some paper and a pen to begin sketching, using a nifty head lamp I'd bought for just such an occasion. I seemed to be having a hard time seeing the moon and commented to JoAnn about it. We both tried looking through binoculars but that made it worse. It was past 6 and it was our understanding that the moon was supposed to get bigger as it neared the horizon and turn a strong red color. Oh, and be fully eclipsed. My first sketch showed the moon way too big. The actual size appears above the sky. As we watched the moon sank lower in the sky and grew harder and harder to see. As the sun rose and the sky grew lighter we were able to see that a thin haze of clouds hovered low in the sky, causing the eclipsing moon to look hazy and blurred. The moon did get a bit bigger as it went lower but it never seemed to be totally eclipsed. At about 6:45 we decided that a nice warm breakfast sounded a bit more interesting than the fuzzy, eclipsed moon. I took one last look, cranked up the heater in my car and went home to eat breakfast then had some fun coloring my sketches from memory.

Cardinals

2011-12-18T09:22:00.003-06:00

Cardinals, originally uploaded by Cathy (Kate) Johnson.

I don't remember ever seeing this many cardinals all together, and especially not 5 males all together. They're very territorial, except in family groups--and this would have been a BIG family!

I used VERY quick gesture sketches to get their poses, and then firmed them up with color...

Sketching the Lake

2011-12-16T08:02:00.001-06:00

©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, 12-15-11 Lake Sketch. Colored pencil in large handbook sketchbook.

I bought some Derwent Coloursoft pencils recently and I did some sketching of the lake yesterday to try them out. I had never used these pencils before but I can tell that they are my new favorites. I love their buttery texture. They also have a ton of muted, nature inspired colors that are great for nature sketching.

It was a rainy, windy and overall gray day. I really wanted to try out a lot of different colors though so I wasn't entirely accurate in my color choices.

Pink Poinsettias - Lin Frye

2011-12-16T05:40:00.001-06:00

Pink Poinsettias, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP

Poinsettias - the icon of the holidays! The greenhouse program at our college (run by Johnston County Mental Health as horticultural therapy) grows HUNDREDS of poinsettias each year. A walk through their greenhouses is a visual delight - poinsettias in all styles, colors, sizes - pink, speckled, ruffed, red, marbled and more!

I chose to paint PINK this year - perhaps influenced by the unseasonably warm weather we've been having. For our holiday parties yesterday - the temperature reached 70F!!!! And here we all were with Santa, jingle bells, bright red, holiday fashioned sweaters and scarfs! LOL

Still, the poinsettias SAY 'Christmas' - and are always such a delight!

Lin Frye
North Carolina

Pippin, the Bushbaby - Maree

2011-12-15T21:01:00.002-06:00

“Very little of the great cruelty shown by men can really be attributed to cruel instinct. Most of it comes from thoughtlessness or inherited habit."
- Albert Schweitzer

W&N watercolour in my Moleskine 200gsm Folio (A4) Nature Journal

Galagos, also known as bushbabies, bush babies or nagapies (meaning "little night monkeys" in Afrikaans), are small, nocturnal primates native to continental Africa and
are almost exclusively seen only at night.

This is Pippin, whom I was lucky enough to have in my life for a few weeks after I rescued him from children who were stoning him, as a result of which he lost the use of his left eye. After nursing him back to health, he spent a couple of weeks living in my indoor garden in my lounge, often bounding onto my shoulder for a snack. When I was satisfied that he had fully recovered, I released him in the thickets on the banks of the Magalies River, which was in the vicinity where I had found him. I just hoped and prayed that he had learnt a lesson about people and would stay out of reach of the children ...

I did this sketch from a photograph I took of him, as he NEVER sits still long enough to be able to sketch him!

Artemis Fowl - Maree

2011-12-13T23:47:00.003-06:00

Though quite intent in his pursuit
He has a merry tune to toot
He knows a song
Will move the job along
- From "A spoonful of Sugar", Mary Poppins

Artemis trying to entice Kiep to come and have a snack - he's discovered a few stray mealie pips and after much clucking and coaxing, she did eventually condescend to pick up a few!

My chickens are fully grown now, supplying me with gorgeous, free-range eggs and hours of pleasure watching their antics in the garden!

Christmas Swag - Lin Frye

2011-12-13T07:07:00.001-06:00

Christmas Swag, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP

Everywhere I go, the homes, rooms, restaurants, towns, buildings, stores, even PEOPLE - are bedecked for the holidays. Red and green are the predominant colors, and Christmas carols and music, specials on television and radio, have taken over the airwaves.

The newscasters give daily countdowns for the number of days until Christmas, and the lines at the Post Office and UPS stores are as long as those at the food kitchens.

The weather has turned cold - no snow predicted - yet (fingers crossed!) - and frosty mornings envelop the fields, and windshields need scrapping.

Work remains intense as the list of 'get done by this week' grows as long as those other lines. And in between the push for the year's closure, are the celebrations of food, gift exchanging, and visiting.

And all the while ...

I wish for snow

and that quiet cloaking,

so the frenzy of the season can slow a bit,

the white, peacefulness

still the racing and the madness,

and the world return to center.

Lin Frye
North Carolina

Peek a boo: Tree Swallow

2011-12-11T16:50:00.000-06:00

Normally I post sketches drawn right in the field, or at least out my window; but I decided to post this right away, partly to say 'thank you' to Kate (Cathy Johnson). I have a new fountain pen ... and Kate gets credit for my finally taking the plunge and ordering the pen of my dreams. I commented recently of the lovely lines in a simple tree she drew. She reminded me that a flexible nib makes all the difference. She has written some very helpful posts on the subject.

This little tree swallow is drawn from a photo we took in the Klamath Basin, Calif a spring or two ago. The birds were incubating. I watched from a distance for over an hour and was amazed at how often they changed places with each other. I assume they need to frequently take turns in oder to catch enough insects to keep their own reserves up ... or maybe they are just nervous Nellies. I know the babies hadn't hatched because no food was going in and no little poop sacs were coming out.

Drawn with a Pelikan xxxF nib customised for full flex by Richard Binder (www.richardspens.com) and Platinum Carbon ink. The pen is a joy! It takes a light touch to draw with. I tried a Noodler's flex pen first, but it seemed so stiff after working with good dip pens. A Gillott 290 dip nib behaves very much like this pen but the Gillott has a tad finer line and requires an open bottle of ink -- not handy for field sketching, but a whole lot cheaper!

For more about my pen saga, go to my blog: www.elvafieldnotes.blogspot.com

Impala in the Game Reserve - Maree

2011-12-11T00:32:00.002-06:00

There will be no justice as long as man will stand with a knife or with a gun and destroy those who are weaker than he is.
~Isaac Bashevis Singer

Ink sketch with Pilot Black Fineliner and W&N colour wash in my Moleskine 200gsm (A4) 'Nature Journal'

Another sketch of one of the Impala grazing close to the road in the Krugersdorp Game Reserve. A drive through this Game Reserve reveals all sorts of treasures. We also spotted a huge Mountain tortoise in the distance behind the Impala herd and it seemed to be heading straight for the water-hole, where there was also a flock of South African Shelduck (Tadorna cana), making quite a noise over something in the water, probably a Hippo, although we didn't see it.

ROSE BERRIES

2011-12-09T11:23:00.001-06:00

a little watercolour - Rose berries

Hypericum perforatum - Maree

2011-12-08T22:58:00.003-06:00

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
- by Albert Einstein

St John's wort is the plant species Hypericum perforatum, and is also known as Tipton's Weed, Chase-devil, or Klamath weed and is widely known as an herbal treatment for depression. Indigenous to Europe, it has been introduced to many temperate areas of the world and grows wild in many meadows and in our South African gardens.

The flowering tops of St. John's wort are used to prepare teas, tablets, and capsules containing concentrated extracts. Liquid extracts and topical preparations are also used. Today, St. John's wort is used by some for depression, anxiety, and/or sleep disorders.

France has banned the use of St. John’s wort products. The ban appears to be based on a report issued by the French Health Product Safety Agency warning of significant interactions between St. John’s wort and some medications. Several other countries, including Japan, the United Kingdom and Canada, are in the process of including drug-herb interaction warnings on St. John’s wort products.

Read HERE how effective St John's wort is.

Oh, rats!

2011-12-08T22:34:00.001-06:00

The neighborhood I live in has seen a slow but steady increase in rats, mostly Roof rats (Rattus rattus). Roof rats are also called Fruit rats, Black rats and Ship rats and have been traveling alongside humans for so long that no one is exactly sure where they first lived, though it's believed they started out somewhere in southeast Asia.

Most everyone in my neighborhood can tell a horror story involving a rat so I wasn't too surprised to find one dead in someone's lawn early one Sunday morning in August. I bagged it and took it home to make some sketches and find out more about the neighbor no one wants.

Roof rat

Our family has had intermittent interraction with Roof rats for several years. We kept what we thought was a compost bin for a while, until we realized that we'd actually opened up a McDonald's for rats. They came to eat and party then moved into the attic above our garage. When I worked in my studio, at the back of the garage, at night or early in the morning, my soundtrack was the scritching of little feet overhead. In desperation we dismantled the compost bin and evicted the troublesome tenants. They seem to have taken up residence nearby, though. When our lemon tree has ripe fruit we can sit in the living room and watch as the occasional rat climbs the tree, neatly eats all of the rind from a fruit, leaving a perfectly peeled lemon behind. Apparently, if our tree bore oranges the rats would carefully suck the flesh out and leave a perfectly emptied peel still hanging on it's branch. They approach our apples as though they were wine connoisseur and take a bite of one fruit, then another before moving on.

With several cats in the vicinity, the population seems to stay fairly manageable and, for the most part, invisible. However, the other night I heard some familiar scritching sounds above my head as I worked in my studio so another eviction may be in order soon.

Roof rat

Recently, as I was wandered about one of the old rock quarries in Howarth Park I found a dead rat. I immediately assumed it was a Roof rat or maybe a Norway or brown rat, another immigrant rat from across the ocean. Looking closer, though, I saw that it didn't look much like our neighborhood rats, and decided to make some sketches to take home and help me identify it.

Dusky-footed woodrat

The large ears, long tail, ochre colored fur and the "dusky" patches on his hind feet (dark hairs) suggest that he's probably a Dusky-footed wood rat (Neotoma fuscipes), also known as a packrat. This mostly nocturnal native rodent favors brushy oak woodland and builds a large nest out of twigs, called a midden.

In a woodland area such as Howarth Park the nest might be on the ground, in a tree or in a rock crevice. I searched the area, looking for an above-ground midden, with no luck. However, there's a large opening into a rock crevice near where I found this little fellow and Chloe has always been extraordinarily interested in it, leading me to believe that might be where the packrats live.

For more about Roof rats :
Wikipedia
sfbaywildlife.info
Sacramento Press
Davis Wiki
Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management

To learn more about packrats visit these sites:
Wikipedia: Pack Rat
Wikipedia: Dusky-footed Pack Rat
California State University Stanislaus
Animal Diversity Web
Jane Goodall: Hope for Animals and Their World; Key Largo Woodrat
Camera Trap Codger: A ratty flashback
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: Neotoma fuscipes