Hi Nancy. I love the details of the mother deer and her fawn. Your texture & dimensions are exquisite and so life like. I felt such joy, calm and peacefulness, and that they could jump off the page at any moment. Thanks for sharing!
1. I feel much more comfortable drawing from a photo because my subject won’t move & I don’t feel like I have to rush. The drawing layout (composition) is set, I have a reference to look back at, which comes easy. My challenging part is size-perspective & drawing the fine details of feathers and textures, to give a 3-D look instead of the flat 2-D drawing.
2. Maybe the moss & lichen on the branches.
1. I've always loved being outside in nature, exploring, hiking, listening to the sounds of nature, enjoying the smells & sights, as a child, with my parents & grandparents. Nature journaling will finally give me an organized place to keep all the memories & older items, (pebbles, dried leaves, twigs, & the old feathers of birds), that my parents and I would watch for.
2. I think that I will be inspired by Shayna Miller (use the boxes for the drawings), Jewel Alston (add a watercolor key to some of my drawings), D.J. McNeil (use simple behavior drawings), & Holly Faulkner mostly (incorporate a monthly drawing, using both watercolors & pencil), but I've learned lots from all the journalists.
3. Surprisedly I do. I live on a 5-acre parcel of land that is bordered by my husband's family farm on 3 sides & the National Forest on the 4th. I grow lots of Native flowers & trees and I have pressed flowers, petals, & leaves that I hope to add some 3 dimensional texture to my journaling pages.
It was a little bit. I am feeling more comfortable putting marks on the page. I still need to work on feather features on birds. 
It was a little bit. I am feeling more comfortable putting marks on the page. I still need to work on feather features on birds. 
1. I feel much more comfortable drawing from a photo because my subject won’t move & I don’t feel like I have to rush. The drawing layout (composition) is set, I have a reference to look back at, which comes easy. My challenging part is size-perspective & drawing the fine details of feathers and textures, to give a 3-D look instead of the flat 2-D drawing.
2. Maybe the moss & lichen on the branches.