New blog

     

February

Everyone disses February but it's become one of my very best months. There's real time to work on projects and to see important things such as our Snowies and backyard flocks- and when you get a snowy afternoon like this- well- It's the skiing month, the dunes are snow hills and the marsh tundra. And all the holidays! Valentine's, Winter vacation, Chinese New Year, and more. Now on Saturday, it's a good day to post. It's snowing again- a light fine fast one. I've been so involved with these birds I haven't been able to put my mind to posting- but here you can see why on one of the leaves of this project seen above. I have five of these going for my Nature Folio plus a new painting, with its main subject the blue bird flock of a few weeks ago. With birds- well any living thing really- it's all about angles of things as they move. A feather marking changes shape  constantly as the bird hops around.

A hawk has found us. It first showed up a couple of weeks ago- I think I blogged about it. I've seen it take a few passes through our sanctuary here several times since. You can see it on the bottom right corner in the photo.

Bird log- Today- Hawk.
Pair of hairies.
Pair of downies. One very graciously came right up to the window, as has a robin who's letting me see his exact eye ring.

Kitchen Studio

   The Studio is now the kitchen. Even if the barn had heat, the bird feeder in all this snow would be holding me fast at the window.  Each time I sit, something marvelous happens despite the invariable    slow starts. Yesterday I had a flicker- very unusual- and today- amazingly a hawk strike! It went after           I'm sure one of the small birds and landed in the old kitty cage- yes- that one of the cat painting on my Facebook page- Was gone too fast to identify but I'm drawing up what I can remember.

The little drawings in the foreground are on a sheet in my Wildlife Folio, my series of sketches of the wildlife all around me. I started it last year, and it is important because if I've drawn something quickly  I can go back to them to see if colors, markings and such things are falling correctly on the animals.

I think a bird log is in order here. I'll set it up as part of this blog. First entry is one from the other night.

Bird log, January 28 - Dusk 

Owl- first sighting for this year. Flying before me towards the end of the road- white, very long wingspan. Went to the top of the famous Snowy owl pole, then across to the marsh when I got out of the car- don't do that!

Calendar 2015

This photo is more washed out than I would like but I got the 2015 calendar, which is really the basis    for the 2016 calendar which will be ready by this spring, ready for the orders I received at the end of December thanks to my aunts! It's getting the whole thing going again, and this one has details of the paintings coming up, which actually look pretty cool. By that time it'll be a lot glossier too! A lot has changed in home printing since we were making them back at the turn of the millennium- Next is to get it on the website along w/ some kind of paying arrangement (like Paypal)- got a bit behind this weekend  having to go to a family function this weekend, and having here- the Big Storm-

A Pause

A Pause

I had so many entries to write and post since my last November one, but holiday season as we

all know gets past us so fast- with titles such as, "Sunday before Thanksgiving" "After Thanksgiving" "December the First" and so on…  Well they'll go in the book, or be for next year. It's nice to have this ;little pause time before January- a bit of reflection's in order before the new year. Was just too busy creating 2015 calendars for which I got some orders- above is one of the months- which I'm sure is pretty guessable! It's late I know but they are available- 17.95, 8 1/2 x 11. Contact me through this site if interested. As we make the yearly turn, this is the re-starting of the "Year in a Country House " line so, yes much more to come!

Something's weird with this margin maker….  

           

                                                             Colombus Day Weekend

      I like the space of the weeks before Thanksgiving. In this one I've had time to put some color onto a sketch I did of Barea and Bruno and the two dogs when we were at the farm in mid-October, having one of the nicest times we've had there in quite a few years. I'd just completed a cleaning and reorganization of my Mom's 200+ year old farmhouse (one of the featured ones in my book) this summer, and we were taking full advantage, having been able to put in and use a chiminea in the fireplace (chimney needs some work). You can see it in full force on the right! The colors here have come out kind of an odd combination of neon and washed-out, but if you tilt back the screen 10 or 20 degrees you'll get a better idea of how cozy it all was. It was your idyllic October evening before supper- definitely drawing-worthy, and an example of why it's helpful when you've cooked ahead! (Can't remember now which concoction it was that night, but it'll show up in the book I'm sure.)

     Posts now will be following the progress of "A Year in a Country House" calendar, which I must complete in a week! Ack! Finishing an angel one now, as rumbles of the approaching season become more and more audible…..……

Barn Tight

     At last we have the roof H2O proofed. 

     As I clear and clear, I'm welcoming in new energies. It's been ongoing this year, and it takes all my faith to see it as part of the whole project. But- the library actually looks like a library now, and I should be able to start thinking about how to make the hole in my kitchen roof the genesis of the greenhouse I've always wanted.

    To celebrate, it's kale chips. These are the best I've ever made and I think lemon pepper has something to do with it. These had chopped up sunflower seeds too- just with a knife! Definitely a recipe for the calendar /cookbook.