laurel
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Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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I have a new feeder, not very popular yet. I think I have to experiment with types of seed. As for plants--lots of mustard garlic, and many black walnut trees. Not much light. Many volunteer plants like snow drops, winter aconite, squill, dafs, forget-me-nots, dame's rocket, a few strawberries. Not very bird friendly. I'd like to add coneflower, spiraea, other natives. But I don't know if there's enough light. Maybe I have to cut down some walnuts? I'd like to have different kinds of trees, but walnuts are very pushy. I've noticed as I walk down my street that the block to the south of me sustains more birds than our block. I think it's because there are lots of sheltering trees and bushes and shrubs. I'm always struck by the birdsong that becomes apparent as I walk south.
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My favorite bird in my neighborhood is the robin. As I was walking around yesterday I found this whole egg on the ground. It was cool (in both senses). I wanted to warm it up but decided it had been abandoned because it was infertile, so I left it for another creature. -
My favorite bird in my neighborhood is the robin. As I was walking around yesterday I found this whole egg on the ground. It was cool (in both senses). I wanted to warm it up but decided it had been abandoned because it was infertile, so I left it for another creature.
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Mixing the colors was fun. I’ve been to the zoo a couple of times, doing some sketching there, and also taking pictures for later. I need more practice with negative space; yellow frog came out a bit crumpled. In a backpack I carry little bottles of water around as well as my paint set and brush and paper towel. Also a little stool. Sketching and painting from a photo is way different than real life—I was trying for a buffalo outside, but it started to snow, and my wet sketchbook would accept neither pen nor pencil.
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I couldn’t find 2 lovely flowers, so I used 2 trees that were side by side—an oak and a cottonwood. It was almost like they were living in two different forests—the cottonwood was very flexible, blowing in the wind, with many of its leaves blown off. The oak barely moved in the wind, and still had most of its leaves. I found it challenging to suggest the texture of the two different trees without drawing individual leaves. I like having the inset single leaves; they make each of the trees more present to me.
The structure of the trees really varied. The oak had sturdy branches that reached up, and was dense with leaves. The cottonwood had fewer, more fluttery leaves, very responsive to the wind. Its branches drooped and swayed. I thought its wood is probably softer than the oak’s.
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I gathered some autumn detritus—acorns, maple seeds, black walnuts. Such bounty! I also raided the fridge for a carrot and found an onion. Shadows are tricky! I feel like this will take a lot of practice.
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I noticed a lot of bees darting around some small daisy-like flowers. They were shiny and black, not honey bees. They didn’t seem to notice each other, although there were many of them all around the flowers.Later I looked them up and I think they were carpenter bees, solitary bees who nest in wood. Every female is fertile (no queens); they rarely sting.
My favorite bird in my neighborhood is the robin. As I was walking around yesterday I found this whole egg on the ground. It was cool (in both senses). I wanted to warm it up but decided it had been abandoned because it was infertile, so I left it for another creature. 
My favorite bird in my neighborhood is the robin. As I was walking around yesterday I found this whole egg on the ground. It was cool (in both senses). I wanted to warm it up but decided it had been abandoned because it was infertile, so I left it for another creature. 
Mixing the colors was fun. I’ve been to the zoo a couple of times, doing some sketching there, and also taking pictures for later. I need more practice with negative space; yellow frog came out a bit crumpled. In a backpack I carry little bottles of water around as well as my paint set and brush and paper towel. Also a little stool. Sketching and painting from a photo is way different than real life—I was trying for a buffalo outside, but it started to snow, and my wet sketchbook would accept neither pen nor pencil. 
I couldn’t find 2 lovely flowers, so I used 2 trees that were side by side—an oak and a cottonwood. It was almost like they were living in two different forests—the cottonwood was very flexible, blowing in the wind, with many of its leaves blown off. The oak barely moved in the wind, and still had most of its leaves. I found it challenging to suggest the texture of the two different trees without drawing individual leaves. I like having the inset single leaves; they make each of the trees more present to me.
The structure of the trees really varied. The oak had sturdy branches that reached up, and was dense with leaves. The cottonwood had fewer, more fluttery leaves, very responsive to the wind. Its branches drooped and swayed. I thought its wood is probably softer than the oak’s. 
Later I looked them up and I think they were carpenter bees, solitary bees who nest in wood. Every female is fertile (no queens); they rarely sting. Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)