It's been incredibly warm here right into November, but that's over now. So sitting outside poses some challenges, but I'd still like to try it as long as I bundle up!  I really enjoyed this exercise, but I do still find drawing a lot of work. I used colored pencils to enhance my drawings.

I love the sit spot experience. I will bring my watercolors next time and see what comes to me. I returned to our cabin at 10,000 feet empty, still, and calm. Thank you for this course. Cynthia Schoen

Too rainy and cold end of sept here (bancroft, ontario area) so I haven't made the time for the outdoor sit spot. I did make a sketch of an outdoor creature who decided to make my home his sit spot. He arrived one night, discovered close to mid nite on July 30th. And unlike the previous toad in the house, this one wasn't dog assisted. This toad was on his way up to my bedroom, sitting on the second stair up. After photographing and admiring him for a moment, I assisted him outside, which he met with an evacuation of his day's browsing. You'd think that was a sign he wasn't impressed with me and the house. But the next night I found him huddled against the front door. I sat and scratched his back. He didn't move. I wondered if he actually liked it so I scratched the rounded belly on his right side. I thought he moved into the scratch. I switched to the LHS. He DID move into the belly rub. I'm left wondering why he ventured inside and tried again to do so the following night. I haven't seen him since. Not my prince ;) .Did the weather turn colder those nights in July? Your thoughts welcome.

My sit spot was across the street in a 152 acre woods.  On a recent walk I noticed red-headed woodpeckers.  I was delighted since I had been looking for them since last year.  Last year I spotted the nest, saw an adult carrying food and later in the season I saw a juvenile.  Unfortunately this woods has been discovered by a youth on an ATV.  I wondered if their absence was due to the ATV.  I was elated to see them briefly and decided to return and "sit".  I observed their habit of perching alongside of a dead tree top.  I realized that this vantage point allowed them to look around for insects and to fly out and catch them.  I saw 2 adults and one juvenile.  I later read that a clutch of eggs is commonly 5.  I wonder if there were more juveniles that I hadn't seen.  I sketched in the field and later did a watercolor.

I went to the woods close by ~5 min walk away. I had been there lots of times, just quickly walking through, so it was amazing to slow down and see the woods come alive! (This was in May. I found out about these discussions after that, so I am filling in things retroactively.) I wrote down a list of all the birds I saw/heard, and there were so many! One, a black-and-white warbler, perched on a branch directly over my head. It wasn't afraid at all. The reason why it was extra special...it was a new bird to add to my life list on eBird. Most observations are easy for me, but I have a hard time describing the smells of the woods (like decaying leaves, new leaves coming out, rotting wood, etc.).

1.I sat not far from the sparrows. At first, most sparrows flew away in groups, so I waited on the ground.After seven minutes, the sparrows flew to the ground one by one to find food. I had the opportunity to observe.At first, they were far away from me, about 5 meters. As I sat on the ground for longer and longer, they gradually became less vigilant, only 2-3 meters away from me. The sparrows are hiding in the grass, and their color are very close to the ground. It was very hot at that time, and many sparrows took a bath in the small puddle. Unfortunately, I was too far away to see them clearly. There were so many sparrows that I was dazzled, so I shifted my attention to a few sparrows standing on the pine tree. They were combing their feathers (or scratching their heads). I did not hesitate to record these lovely little sparrows. They were so cute and hairy! Fortunately, I saw two sparrows scratching their heads. One of them was facing me in the front and the other was in the back, so I quickly drew it. Unconsciously, 40 minutes have passed. 2. Watching and listening is easy, but it's difficult to describe the smell and the sound with watercolor. So I often draw some pictures.

On an unusually  cold, wet  winter's day (11-12C) my sit spot was watching the Rainbow Lorikeets shelter on a bamboo pole we set up under shelter with some Lorikeet mix and cut up apple.  The birds were so wet, cold and tired they didn't worry about me.  It was so lovely watching them cuddle up and preen in pairs, and I was able to identify a few significant individuals, one from his injuries and others from their habits.  There were no smells that came to me but sounds and images were just lovely. I spent about one hour and had to drag myself away then!

I typically sit outside in early the morning. It is amazing how much quieter it is then in the evening. It definitely was a mix of nature and manmade sounds.

Spent 30 minutes in the backyard watching a whole cadre of carpenter ants work to demolish a fallen Ponderosa Pine tree. Sat on another nearby fallen tree until the ants there were too pesky, running up my feet and legs, breaking my concentration. These trees have been excellent places to sit for more than ten years - once the ants have them chewed up, we will miss them!  

I chose my front yard as a sit spot, for a rainy day. I actually used color pencils to capture the scene and feel like I saw parts of my front yard for the first time. :)

Today is raining, a steady wet rain. I sat outside on our deck which is covered by a plastic roof and listened to the rain drumming on the top of a garbage can and tinkling on the top of the roof. The sound of water was loud, however, I also heard birds. My visible visitors were mostly pigeons and doves, landing on the wires, calling, flying and landing. I heard towhees and saw and heard crows. A robin perched on the top of the cedar tree. Rain drops are falling on the fresh leaves on our fruit trees and blossoms are falling to the ground. Lilac and Rosemary are in bloom. It is a very grey day, but not chilly, rising from 11 - 12 degrees C as I sat outside. I was surprised that 25 minutes had gone by when I returned indoors. Sounds and sights come easily to me. I did not taste anything, and smell was something I had to concentrate on...I smelled a very mild earthy smell, and I felt tiny spots of rain on my hands, which were likely splashes from the main drops on the deck. I sat on a dining room chair, which seemed ludicrously human! What a beautiful way to spend a while.

After a chilly weekend the weather was finally warm and sunny today. Perfect for a backyard sit spot experience. I sat for a while and noted the date, time, temperature, followed by the sounds and smells. The first sound I heard was the chattering of a magpie, the second the distinct whirring of a wild pigeon's wings followed by its cooing. Both birds were high up in the branches of trees and on rooftops so I could not see them closely. After sitting for a while I decided to take a walk around the yard followed by my two curious cats who had their nose in anything I grabbed to take a closer look at. I drew a dry leaf, a violet flower, white feather, Thuja cones, empty snail shells, ivy climbing up the oak tree and a swarm of midges. The dry spider I picked up using a small piece of paper. A magnifying glass helped me see more of its details. Finally I added some color swatches using watercolors. As a conclusion the observation and drawing of objects that I could pick up and hold was much easier than drawing things that were far away. I barely caught a glimpse of the birds I heard. Binoculars would have been very useful. 

It was cloudy and cool for a Tucson morning. I was out with the pup and sat down to sketch. I am used to paying attention to birds, looking for motion in the trees and registering calls and bird song. This time all senses were expanded; I paid attention to the breeze, how cool it was. I really thought about the greens and blues and yellows of the agave and shades of ochre, terra cotta, brown, tan and grey that made up the bricks of the patio. It was easy to lose track of time. A wonderfully peaceful start to the day.

I sat in my back yard in Oakland, California on March 1st 2022 and just listened to the birds. I used MerlinID to identify each voice and provide fixed images to supplement my fleeting glimpses of the live birds. Drawing the birds helps me remember details that will help with identification in the field, where you often get only a second to view a bird on the wing.

I sat outside in my backyard in Garden City, Idaho on 3/7/2022.  It was a partly cloudy day with some warm sun and about 55 degrees.  I heard birds chirping and ducks quacking on the small lake behind our backyard.  I felt the warmth of the sun on my face.  I noticed the lake has ripples on it from the ducks chasing each other.  The sage plant leaves are gray green and the mint is still brown.  The grass is turning green with spots of yellow.  I felt the wind blowing gently.  I see the green tips of the daffodils starting to poke up from the earth about 3 inches high.  The grape hyacinth leaves are green and very full on the edges of the bark.  The clouds are white and very soft and round.  The roses have dried green/gray leaves.  The lake has sparkly diamonds shimmering from the sun and light breeze.  The cottonwood trees across the lake are dark brown and look very stark.  I drew in pencil the grape hyacinth poking up from the bark and the lake shimmering in the sunlight with cottonwood trees in the distance.

As you can tell from the date, this is from 2021, but I'm finally uploading it. One thing that was more outside of the box for me was looking at the ground. I typically only look out for birds, so it was definitely new to look to the ground for  critters as well.

I sat on the balcony and saw a jackdaw standing on the fence of the windowsill, and I took a picture and drew this against that picture. I just sit there and draw regardless the past of time. When I finish my drawing, I suddenly realized that it's beed 40 minutes. It's quick pleasure and relaxing to sit there and spend a while for looking out of my balcony and catch one moment of the nature.

The plans for my sit spot changed quickly! My initial plan was to sit at a pile of decaying wood to observe the fungi and wood forms of non-moving subjects. That plan was scrapped as the sounds of Canada Geese arriving at the pond in front of my home grew louder and more hysterical. So much was happening… a n d … very quickly. I’m used to having a camera in hand and shooting rapidly when Nature drama unfolds. This time, all I had was a pencil and my sketchbook. At first, I feared that I would be unable to capture any of the events that were quickly unfolding in front of me. Then little scratch marks started to appear on my sketch page… then more… then more. As the scratch marks were annotated I began to appreciate the story I was capturing.  

A lovely warm day in Houston and decided to sit in the backyard with my dog. It is hard to draw a black dog who doesn't sit still for long! Enjoyed the activity and will start to do more regularly. 

My SIT SPOT EXPERIENCE plans for today, were automatically changed when i recieve an unexpected visit located on the terrace wall. First sensation was surprise, as allways, an irremediable curiosity about what I found, and of course, very lucky. I took several photos in differents angels, and at last, I worked in the drawing that I present as exercise. Data of interest: Menophra Abruptaria.  

This was very meditative, and I enjoyed how so many different species of birds I was able to observe in just a few minutes. I confess I looked up a picture of a hawk in flight as they didn't linger and had the sun directly behind them. I also prefer using a pen, as the pencil marks tend to smudge for me.