Constance

I like that your observations raised many questions. It's very interesting to see everything growing on that stump!

1)I observed the wooded hillside below my house. I have been here many times to work on the hillside, but never to just observe. I filled only one page of my journal, but could have stayed for an hour and still had information to record. I would like to try this again when I have unlimited time. 2)I found it easy to make quantitative observations and verbal descriptions, but I didn't do much drawing. I think I need to practice that so I can sketch quickly and easily. Especially as I record changes in the deciduous plants and those that die down to the ground in winter, it would make for some interesting observations at this time of year.

1) I have not drawn anything since high school--about 50 years ago. I enjoyed my art classes then. So, drawing from the photo brought back a lot of those memories. I remembered how much better I got when I drew every day--that kept me encouraged. I think it would have been frustrating otherwise. Drawing perspective to make the bird look three-dimensional was challenging. Drawing the relative sizes of the bird's body parts (bill, head, eye, wings, etc) was easier than drawing the perspective. 2)The leaves look as though they have been eaten--I wouldn't have noticed it without drawing them. This might be important for information about the bird's environment. Does the bird eat the insects that eat the leaves? It made me want to ask more questions about the photo--what time of year is this? Is the bird migrating? Drawing the photo made me notice field markings for the bird--no eye ring, the color of the legs, the amount and color of the streaking on the breast,etc. This would be helpful if I were trying to identify the bird in the field.