My artist partner is sketching alongside me and decided to do comparative studies on bird beaks, since some of the previous bird exercises had him noticing that they're a very weird structure and crucial to communicating the specific type of bird being depicted. (I did some different mosses we found on a hike). Aren't they cool!

I could keep track of how many birds are at feeder at different time of day, plus type of bird.  I could track how many different animal prints I find in the snow over the course of the winter months.  I can count how many times I spot a hawk, either red tailed or coopers, and where I saw them.  Also a bald eagle!

This was an interesting exercise, and really made me think about why two items are similar and yet different.  Both of these digger wasps were feeding on the same patch of mountain mint on different days, and it was amazing to see the size and coloration differences, making me wonder why certain adaptations are needed in a species and not in another.  For example, the Great Black Digger Wasp was so much larger than all the other wasps, bees, and moths at the patch that it was instantly recognizable from my periphery when it flew in.

I recall these tiny beautiful jewels darting by at a stream in a forest. At first sight I thought they were dragonflies but I knew something was off about them, something different. I took a photo. Before I started this course and nature journaling. But I remember it like it was yesterday because I was fascinated by these tiny, flying blue gems. I went home and looked for quite a while until I found them Damselflies. I never knew what set them apart in particular, just that I knew as a whole they looked different aside from the obvious overall size difference between a Damselfly and a Dragonfly. So I dug out my photos (as it is currently way too hot outside 98 F) and used that instead. And this worked great. Drawing both made me pay attention, much closer attention, to the tiny details what makes them actually different. Great exercise. Loved it. Will come in real handy with some of the songbirds that look so similar. And so many other similar beauties.

1. I learned to observe far closer then usual, but it also took the easier observation out of the landscape as a whole. Being so focused on a single object reduces the amount of attention that I could give anything else. 2. I think that there should be a focus on the art on the page, so you can remember the details later.

I headed out to my backyard to compare two types of container plants that grow well in my shaded woodlands. Through the comparison and observation I learned a lot about the plants themselves, and about my wrong assumptions.

• I had the plant names wrong (what I thought was lady slipper was actually bleeding heart) and I was misspelling fuchsia.
• I assumed that these plants were in the same family as they both had similar dual-color petals and similar filaments. Both are also deer resistant and attract hummingbirds.
• I also noticed that they flower very differently - the fuchsia has very round bulbs that come from stem clusters of three or four leaves. The bleeding heart flowers from a very delicate stem that shoots up from the roots, not connected to the flower clusters.
• I learned both of these plants are perennials when I assumed they were annuals.
• I learned to name the parts of the plant (i.e. filament instead of pollen stem)

The observations and questions that this exercise create for me allowed me to learn about both plants, how to care for them, their history as garden plants and also the scientific differences between the two even though they appear to be very similar on the surface.  My sketches are getting better (still not great, a lot of detail) but I started this course so that I would learn to slow down and live in the moment. That part is going well

This was a fun activity, it led me to look closer at each of these two ornamental non native flowers.  And looked to see how they could be pollinated and wonderedwhat their seeds looked like.

April 12th, 2023, Connecticut. I noticed a little Sanguinaria blooming, and had to sketch it - and then I compared it to another, growing in different corner of the yard. Your prompt questions are super-pertinent to my effort - Balance is the key word. My writing took over the page. Next time I'll try those boxes! and write neatly, and perhaps make my observations more precise. Part of the problem may have stemmed from the fact that when I started the left half of the page, I hadn't chosen a subject for the right half yet (oops) and didn't really have a plan...

I collected a pine cone on my walk today. I planned on getting another one form a different pine tree to compare them. I then realized we only have that type of pine tree in our neighborhood. I decided to improvise, and just use the one pinecone and compare the side view versus the top view since they do look a lot different. The top of the pinecone really had a pretty pattern, but I couldn’t really replicate the swirl of the pattern like the real thing.

I did two comparison studies, one indoors (left) and one outdoors (right).  I need to work on my outdoor sketching.  It seems that the sun and wind moving the objects around made it more difficult for me to focus on drawing.  I feel my outdoor sketch was more of a gesture drawing.  Maybe the idea would be to take a photo of the outdoor items and refine when back indoors.  I was able to take color notes and to make comparisons between the leaves, petals, etc.

It does make me notice more details as in smoothness and stiffness of leaves, which can't be determined in a drawing or you wouldn't notice when looking at one plant at a time.  If a detail is hard to draw then more writing is required.  Dimensions would help if you can't draw each item to scale because of a size difference.

Great project. Really delved into the nitty gritty of anatomy and saw so many things I never noticed before.  I find I am too verbal!  I write too much even though I try to draw in detail,  I need to find a balance.

I was working indoors today (mobility issues) and realized that, despite seeing these house plants daily, there was so much I never really noticed prior to this study! I had never really paid attention to the tiny details, or asked questions about the plants beyond "do they need water," and, "is this good light for them?" I definitely wonder how to balance drawing and recording numerical data- I think the subject matter might aid that, though. Or maybe the questions that arise.

Decided to do a backyard bird feeder comparison of a Dark eyed junko and Black-capped Chickadee.  Two birds that are common at my feeder.  Taking the time to draw each bird helped to bring out differences that I hadn't noticed before.  Feeding strategy, size and even their beak color and structure are a little different.  

This is a very useful strategy for comparing similar species, in particular.  I didn't have the opportunity to see two similar species on the same day, but I would like to now practice this exercise with photos of Scaups and Ring Necked Ducks or American Wigeons and Green Winged Teals for example.  As for balancing drawing, writing, and recording data--I think its about taking the time and creating a habit around the practice.  Sometimes it's easier to draw than to write or collect information, and the other takes more effort.  When I'm rushed or feeling unmotivated, I can rely on a routine.  3,2,1

The weather kept me in.  I drew 2 similar house plants.  I noticed both plants had purple undersides on their leaves.  One had striped, almost heart shaped leaves and the other had long slim leaves that had copious leaf shaped marks.

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The weather kept me indoors so I observed 2 of my house plants.  It was fun to discover the different aspects of these plants I see and care for daily. And a lovely spider dropped by for a visit.  I am trying to play with light and shadow to do more justice to the subjects.

First day this week without rain, so walked up the hill behind my house to a granite plateau that has a moss and lichen bed surrounded by hardwood trees, mostly maple. I sat where I had a good close view of at least two distinct mosses and one lichen, some clumped solo, some patches where two or all three were together. The lichen was identifiable as coral lichen, a pale grey green, very soft in the moist ground but seen elsewhere in Ontario on the Canadian Shield of Georgian Bay. The other two are mosses. When I returned home, I tried to identify from one book I have and found the moss id language a little overwhelming but I believe the one that looked like a lime-green feathery mini flat tree-like form is called a plume moss and the third, either a hair cap moss or a juniper moss. I suspect the former as there are no juniper bushes here. It has swirls of spiky close to bottle green leaves and a bit of a root system. The other two were very shallowly connected to the ground with no discernible roots when a sprig or two were easily removed from the clump. On the way home, I also noticed two other kinds of moss and will sketch them soon. I wonder if these three are indigenous to Ontario only? Or to the Canadian Shield?  I wondered why the lichen and plume moss had such shallow roots that mean that they come off the ground in clumps. Is this a survival mechanism, allowing the patch to be kicked up and resettled on a different shallow bed of humus and rock? [looking forward to learning how to use watercolours, especially when it comes to shading and fine details]