All posts by Joni

Ice Statues

Around Home, Birds, Blog, Seasonal, Trips and travel

On a COLD and sunny day last weekend, Alan and I decided to visit one of our favorite day trip places.  Squaw Creek is about a two hour drive north of Kansas City.  This marshland refuge hosts spectacular waterfowl migrations at different times of the year.  It is also the home of dozens of bald eagles in the winter.  You never know what you will find there.  That is one of the most interesting things about it.

As we had hoped, there were several dozen bald eagles there.  Most were sitting on the edge where ice meets water way out in the middle of the lake.  Tens of thousands of mallard ducks bobbed along in what was left of the unfrozen water.  The eagles posed like sentries, waiting for a mallard to make the wrong move.

Although I have very good camera equipment, I don’t have anything that can bring an eagle that is three football fields away up close.   So we enjoyed watching them through our binoculars.   There is nothing quite like watching a wild eagle fly…

As we continued our travel around the lake, we found a group of several hundred snow geese right along the shore.  I just couldn’t get over how beautiful the contrast was between the white of the geese and the dark, brilliantly blue color of the ice.

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The following goose is still in the gray phase.  He will whiten into his winter feathers as the cold season progresses…

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Like Fine Wine…

Around Home, Blog, Mammals, Seasonal, White tail deer

My friends hear me speak of monsters.  Some of these friends have even witnessed them for themselves.   When mature whitetail bucks float about in the darkness of our woods they seem almost bigger than life.   But even the biggest monsters come from humble beginnings…

In the autumn and winter of 2005-06 there was a young spike buck who for a reason unknown to us, attached himself to our home.  Maybe he spent his days as a spotted fawn here and had no reason to leave.  Our home was his home.  His home was our home.   Everyone involved seemed to like it that way.

There was something special about “Teenie Tines.”   I knew it from the very beginning.   Little whitetail bucks litter our woods like hickory nuts.  But I knew when I first met him that Teenie Tines was no ordinary little hickory nut.  He was a constant fixture at our fence often peeking over it to watch us in the windows as we admired his adorable little face.  He was unusually calm and tame and almost seemed to enjoy our company.  His appetite was voracious.   It seemed that Teeny Tines couldn’t consume enough to keep his fat tummy satisfied.  He gobbled down acorns like a 200 pounder.  He was the only little buck that the big bucks allowed at the fence while they too, pigged out on acorns.   Teenie was to this day the tamest deer we’ve had here.  I used to joke that I could have put a leash on him and walked him around the neighborhood.  How I adored him…

(Below) Teenie at the fence saying “Hello” one winter morning.

Whitetail bucks change a great deal from little spike tykes to the monsters that some of them later become.  But I know our deer by their faces.  This fall a HUGE buck showed up at our fence that we had not yet seen this season.  I grabbed my camera as I always do and started shooting away despite a shutter speed that was really too slow to yield much success  .  It was dusk so my camera ISO was as high as the national debt, but I took my chances and shot away.  Sometimes you get lucky.  I was hoping that this would be one of those times.

It wasn’t until I put the pictures on my computer that I recognized him…OH…MY…GOD…IT’S……….My TEENIE TINES!!!!   We hadn’t seen him since he was a little spike tyke.   That explained why as we stood so blatantly in the window and talked in normal voices he barely noticed us.  He looked at us with casual interest and then proceeded to eat every bur oak acorn he could find under that tree…just like the HUNGRY baby Teenie Tines.

(Below) Teenie Tines has aged like fine wine.  It is ironic that a little buck I once called Teenie Tines (because of his unusually tiny tines) now has some of the longest tines I’ve yet seen.   Maybe his new name should be “Titanic Tines”.

Another look (below) at our boy.  Teenie has once again become a frequent visitor here.  He comes often, stays long and casually saunters away, just like old times.   It will be interesting to see if he is big enough, and BOLD enough to hold this area against some of our other monsters.

No matter how big and impressive he gets, he will always be “Teenie” to me…

CHAPUNGU…………nature, man and myth

Africa, Around Home, Blog

My husband and I made a visit to beautiful Powell Gardens (just east of Kansas City) last weekend.  We went to see the fall flowers and amazing landscaping that Powell is known for.  We had no idea what a WONDERFUL surprise awaited us there.

I have had a life long passion for primitive, abstract and contemporary sculpture.  I feel that some of the most beautiful sculpture of all is done by indigenous cultures from around the world.

Powell Gardens is currently featuring a FABULOUS collection of stone sculptures from Zimbabwe.  This sculpture style is called Chapungu (cha-POON-goo).   Chapungu is a metaphor for the Bateleur eagle.  This powerful bird can fly up to 300 miles in a day at up to 50 mph.  It lives in the semi-deserts of central and southern Africa.  The Shona people of Zimbabwe believe the Chapungu is a good omen, bringing protection and good fortune.  These massive stone masterpieces are carved from opal stone, cobalt and springstone.

(Above) A captive Bateleur eagle.

I will share with you some of my favorite pieces in this collection:

Like many of the Chapungu sculptures, this one (above) towered over our heads.  It is easy to see how important family is to the Shona people.

An expectant mother (below).

The family below almost seems to be bracing themselves against a hostile world.

A family of quail (below).

This next artist gives a contemporary twist to their Chapungu carving.

A little group of singers.  I loved the quirky nature of this piece.

The Time Has Come

Blog

This  web log was added to my website to showcase the beauty and sometimes harsh realities of nature.  I add things as the inspiration hits me.  I have resisted posting “hot button” issues… that is until now…

As anyone knows (who does not live in a cocoon) there is a rather important Presidential election fast approaching.  While I will abstain from bombarding you, my readers with my own personal pick for President, I am at this time compelled to react to one issue in particular.  That issue is the proposal to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

I am continuously disappointed in the short-sightedness of the  human animal.  I am also disappointed in our perpetual conceit.  Contrary to the beliefs of some, the ANWR is not a “useless place” on this planet.  It may have no use to humans for development or as a vacation hot spot.  We may see this drilling area as “an ugly, vast wasteland”.  It is easy to justify destruction of an area like this by first ridding our consciences of any guilt.  After all, what good is a land like this anyway?  And it isn’t very big…really…

If we look into the future, I mean WELL into the future, hundreds maybe even thousands of years from now when our great grandchildren’s grandchildren will be here as we are now, it seems to me that the wise thing for our species to do at this time is to reach beyond what we know today and seek solutions that are sustainable for our lives now  and for those who follow us.  Drilling in ANWR is a temporary fix at best.  It may not seem so  temporary, as it may bring us our beloved oil for awhile.  But what about later on?  Isn’t this as good a time as ever to be bridging the gap between destruction and sustainability?  If not now, then when?   We have the technology.  We have the brilliant minds who are ready and willing to take that technology to the next step into implementation, which will indeed bridge that gap.

The problem here lies in the funding.  My husband has worked in the alternative energy field and we have good friends who are blazing new paths that will benefit all of us in the future.   But a lack of funding has these brilliant minds in a stranglehold.  I am not just saying this out of ignorance.  I am experiencing what is happening on the front lines of this issue, because my husband is on the front line of the alternative energy issue.

When oil is drilled, it then has to be piped somewhere so that it becomes a “usable” commodity.  Pipelines run for hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles.  So one cannot simply show a photograph of a drilling area and say “well, this is IT folks.”  That is simply not the truth on this matter.

I have traveled around the world.  I have spent real time in “barren” places.   It never ceases to amaze me how much life thrives in places that seem at a glance to be uninhabitable.  It is an ignorant point of view that land like this has no value.  Life is everywhere, even in “useless” places.  It may not matter to us, but it does matter to the many creatures, some great and some very small, that call places like this home.  Why does land have to be of some kind of value to man to be worth saving?

The real issue to me is the idea behind our desire to drill in Alaska, or anywhere else for that matter.  If we allow this kind of thinking to prevail, it will be business as usual for our species.  It seems that until we no longer have a choice on matters like this one, we just can’t seem to step up and push ourselves to be at our best and do what is really right.

The time has come.  It is here.  I believe it is now time to rise up to the best of our potential and put the propaganda behind us.  We are not mindless robots.  We are thinking beings who are now faced with tough choices.  It is my hope and dream….that we make wise ones…

Butterflies flutter by…

Around Home, Blog, Bugs, Seasonal

September is a wonderful time to watch butterflies.   Some migrate south in autumn.  Others end their life cycles right here a bit later in the season.

The beautiful Monarch butterfly begins his long journey south to Mexico in September.  They can be seen just about anywhere flying clumsily along in the often brisk winds of autumn.  Food sources such as this are a very important part of their migration.

A Golden-banded skipper (below).  This little fellow is showing some wear on his wings.

The amazing Pipevine Swallowtail (next photo) is an iridescent blue over black.

The male orange sulphur butterfly (below) creates stunning contrast against a purple backdrop.

A little female orange sulphur butterfly appears almost white until the sun shines through her beautiful translucent wings.

This stunning male Giant Swallowtail has the same flower nectar on his menu as the Monarch.  This is a very large species of butterfly.

Giant Swallowtail butterflies can be a challenge to photograph, as their wings quiver in a constant fluttering motion, even when they stop to feed on nectar.

A fast shutter speed freezes the constant flutter of those big beautiful wings…

Itty Bitty Attitude

Around Home, Birds, Blog, Seasonal

The fall hummingbird migration is approaching.  Tiny hummers become especially ambitious around our feeder when they sense a need to tank up on calories before their long flight south.  Aggressive competition among them increases too, usually with a female taking the top position as queen of the feeder.

This little female Ruby Throated Hummingbird shows off an itty bitty attitude that is so classically seen in hummingbirds in September.

Below she sticks her tongue out at me as an apparent display of her sassy, diminutive character.

It is easy to forget when viewing close up photos that are enlarged as these are, that her tiny head would easily fit into a thimble.

Charlotte ain’t got nothin’ on this lady

Around Home, Blog, Bugs, Favorite Misfits, Seasonal

Late summer in east-central Kansas is spider time.  Summer begins to loosen its grip and signs of autumn are felt in cooler, dryer air.    Huge  webs created by an assortment of orb spiders begin to emerge en mass, draping themselves high in the tree tops, in our gardens and all over our decking.  Some spiders spin in the evening and take down their great webs each morning.  The beautiful black and Yellow argiope (often referred to the zipper spider, yellow garden spider, banana spider, or golden orb weaver) is one of the most beautiful of these great web engineers.  Her web stays up day and night while she hangs upside down patiently waiting for dinner to come flying or crawling by.  “Welcome to my home, said the spider to the fly…”

An adult female golden orb weaver (photos above and below) positions herself nicely for yummy things to come.  A light misty rain rolling through in the morning lit her great web up with sparkly diamonds.

Females of this species are much larger than males.  Although she is big enough to deliver a bite, she is not poisonous or aggressive.  She liked my camera too, and proved to be quite photogenic.

The Golden orb weaver is capable of creating as many as seven different kinds of silk using several different glands that supply her spinnerets.   The different types of silk have varying amino acid compositions and can vary in the stickiness of the silk as well as it’s thickness.  She uses these differences as a capture strategy while building her great web.

In order to grow, spiders must periodically shed their exoskeletons.   When the spider is about to shed, the inside layers of its skin are digested.  The spider anchors her legs on part of her web, hanging upside down.  The top of the carapace splits and the spider literally falls out of her old shell.  She doesn’t fall to the ground because she is anchored by a strand of silk from her spinnerets.  She expands in size as her new skin dries.  She can even grow back a new limb at this time if one was lost before.

These beautiful creatures have a life span of only a year.  So when the cold of winter begins to set in, our beautiful girl will see her last days.

Farewell Mr. Twisty

Around Home, Blog, Mammals, Seasonal, White tail deer

Monsters roam in our woods like phantoms in the night. They arrive without warning, stay as long as they please and then vanish into thin air.

We have grown accustomed to living with monsters. In fact we have given each one a name. We have learned over time however, that it is not a good idea for one to name their monsters…

“Broad Beams” and “Twisty Tine” were two mature whitetail bucks at the peak of their prime. We most often saw them together, first under the cover of darkness and then as their confidence in us grew, at dusk and ultimately in daylight. They haunted our woods and ruled everything in sight.

We watched these two monster bucks grow bigger and bigger each year. By the winter of 2006-07, their ultimate size had become nearly ridiculous. They were an unrivaled pair that traveled together for a very long time.

One December morning I went for a stroll in our woods. I followed the deer trails as I usually do and stopped to study an old dead tree trying to decide whether or not it would make a good background for a painting. Suddenly, movement about 20 yards away caught my eye. It was strange movement in the tall grass, frantic and flailing. Then the movement stopped. This repeated several times before I realized that a huge buck was down, lying on his side on the ground kicking his legs, trying desperately with no avail to stand. His great head and antlers would repeatedly lift up into the air and return to the earth again with a loud thump.

Being the period of rut for whitetail, I gave him a wide birth. A burst of adrenaline could create panic and cause further harm to him and maybe to me. I checked back several times that afternoon. The state of things there had not changed. As evening came I could get closer and could see the life draining from the eyes of this great monster buck. By the next morning the buck had crossed into that unknown place where we ultimately will all find ourselves.

It was my husband who first recognized him. We hadn’t seen our monster bucks since the spring before; in the summer, the woods are thick and lush and the deer are mostly hidden from view. The antlers of a whitetail buck grow back differently each year after a shed. We realized to our surprise and disappointment, that this was our beloved Mr. Twisty. His antlers were different this year, but it was indeed the face of our old friend.

(Above) Twisty in his prime, sporting his whopping 16 point antlers (one tine is hidden).  This is a post-rut photo.

Nature has a way of taking care of things. The death of one means life for others. Foxes, raccoons, bobcats, turkey vultures and coyotes were all able to reap benefit from Twisty’s demise. They all ate very well throughout that winter.

I had seen our other monster Broad Beams shortly after I found Twisty dying. Deep scars all over his face and wounds on his legs told a story. With the ladies around it apparently was finally time to decide once and for all who was going to be King. I could tell by looking at how beat up Broad Beams was, that his was not an easy victory.

(Above) Broad Beams in his prime, the old man of the forest who became the unrivaled King.

The King’s sward (above). My husband found the shed weapon of Broad Beams that likely finished off the great Mr. Twisty.

(Above) Mr.Twisty as he lives on today…the beautiful sculptural remains of a once great giant.…     FOND FAREWELL, OLD FRIEND…

Glacier National Park

Blog, The Rocky Mountains, Trips and travel

On a recent trip to Montana, I was fortunate to have some extra time to visit majestic Glacier National Park. It is hard to sum a place like this up with mere words. Photos really don’t do it justice either, as no matter how great a photo is, you can’t smell the cool mountain air and sense the grand scale of things. But this doesn’t stop me from taking lots of pictures!

This is a panoramic view that consisted of four photos taken from the same spot. I hadn’t tried this before now and am pretty pleased with the results, although some degree of distortion is an inevitable result.

The stream below was full of beaver activity. I saw a beaver at close range, but a fisherman unknowingly sent him off in a scurry…

About two feet of snow fell shortly before I arrived at the park (in the middle of June). For that reason the main road that runs through the park was closed towards the top. A friend and I walked a few miles up the road until we reached the area where the snow still covered it. The views were AMAZING from here!

Evening light rivals only the lighting of early morning for it’s beauty.

June and early July are wildflower time in the mountains. There were bright splashes of color everywhere!

I’m not used to seeing white tail deer in the mountains. When I think of western deer, it is the mule deer that comes to mind. This young white tail buck was grazing on vegetation just under the water’s surface. He jumped around like a rabbit from one place to another looking for food. He was so much fun to watch.

We ran into four good sized Big horn rams hiding in the brush near the road. The largest three were shy but this younger one stuck his head out in plain sight. We waited for them to emerge, but they stayed hidden until we continued our journey on foot down the mountain. When we had finally left them, we turned and looked back just in time to see four big butts trotting up the road in the opposite direction from us.


Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Around Home, Birds, Blog

During Spring and summer here in Kansas we are graced with a rainbow of vivid color splashed about in the treetops. Songbirds that span most of the color spectrum come to breed and raise their young. Their songs fill the warm air as they dart about flashing brilliant colors throughout the greenery. The following is a photographic tribute to this beautiful rainbow of color…

Scarlet Tanager (male) and American Goldfinch (male)

Baltimore Orioles (male and female)

Cardinal (male) and Indigo Bunting (male)

Orchard Oriole and Baltimore Oriole (juvenile males)

Eastern Bluebird (male) and Yellow Warbler (male)

Not too bad, for “fly-over” country! 🙂

Leaping Lizards…and a very cute face

Around Home, Blog, Favorite Misfits, Reptiles

It’s reptile and amphibian season. That means it’s lizard season.

Many of the lizards we see in this part of the country are wide spread throughout the eastern half of the US. Because of our wooded surroundings, skinks are especially happy here, as there is much for them to eat. They seem to favor our decks. They are quick and agile little hunters. Now and then I find one skittling about during the warm days of summer.

This is a Broad Headed skink which is the largest of the eastern skinks. This is a male, who in breeding season has a red head. This particular animal is not fully mature. He will eventually grow larger and will loose the pale stripes on his sides. His little feet stick to the wooden decking like they are covered with glue.

The following fellow is a male Side Blotched lizard. I photographed him in north-western Colorado last summer. He too is very quick and blends in quite well with his sandy surroundings. In late summer when this photo was taken, his colors become less intense.

This is a female Prairie/Plateau Lizard. She cocks her head from side to side to watch for tiny insects. Like all lizards, she uses the sun to regulate her body temperature.

What in the world does this next guy have to do with lizards? Absolutely nothing. But being a reptile, I guess he kind of fits in. I included him for one simple reason. This snapping turtle has an ADORABLE face!

I found this guy crossing the creek at the front of our property. He was minding his own business, as turtles do. When I encountered him and he encountered me, he became a bit frustrated and snapped up a chunk of grass. This photo reminds me of my husband at meal time! 🙂

The Whistlepig

Around Home, Blog, Favorite Misfits, Mammals, The Rocky Mountains

Nearly everyone has seen a groundhog at one time or another. But I don’t think that most people ever really stop and take a good look at them and notice how adorable they are.

Groundhogs have lived here just outside my studio windows for the past several years. One summer mother groundhog even used our hot tub deck as a playpen for her babies. Groundhog babies are just about the cutest things around. I’ve pictured one below.

The groundhog (also known as the woodchuck or whistlepig) is a rodent, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. In areas where food is abundant a groundhog can grow to up to 30 pounds. These animals see the winters through in hibernation.

Here a groundhog is climbing up onto our deck rail. It looks like she is strumming the strings of a horizontal harp. She is surprisingly agile for her plump posterior.

Here she has made it up onto the top of the deck rail. When she decided to descend, she jumped down and landed with a loud thump!

This baby groundhog poses for a picture. He and his little sibling grew up on and under this deck. It was fun to watch them mature…

Yellow-bellied Marmots have the same basic physiology and many of the same habits as the familiar groundhog and are in the same family, but marmots inhabit rocky areas often at very high altitudes. They too, hibernate in winter.

My painting of a yellow-bellied marmot entitled “Inquisitive”…

Out For a Peek

Works in Progress

This first photo shows what my paintings start out like. After doing a series of sketches to achieve the idea and layout that I want to do, I do a simplified tracing on vellum paper over the final chosen sketch. I then redraw the tracing on the back of the paper in a soft pencil led so that when I lay the vellum over my board and rub, the drawing then appears on the board. I will keep this vellum drawing taped onto my painting until each part of the painting has been started. Then it is removed. I have blocked in the dark green around the subjects that I wish to remain light and vibrant which are the chipmunk and flowers. I have made sure that the dark green overlaps the edges of my subjects a bit.

In this next step, I have used gesso to reclaim my edges. The large grasses in the background have been started and the leaves are starting to appear.

Next, I continue to add the lighting values on the flowers and grasses. I have also started sketching in the taupes and browns on the dead tree stump. My paintings tend to look a bit like paint by numbers at this point, as there are not many subtleties yet.

Here I’ve started on the chipmunk. I’m drawing in the hair coat direction here in dark values and laying in cool and warm tones.

Here is a closer look at the under painting of the fur.

This next step shows a process that I think is very important. I was not liking where the tail was coming out of the rump on the chipmunk so I completely painted it out and redrew it in gesso. It is NEVER too late to change the structure of an animal on a painting.

This is the completed painting entitled Out For a Peek. The main subject in this painting is the chipmunk. I used the wide grasses and lower flower stem on the right to move your eyes in a circle around the painting, always landing back on that cute chipmunk face.

High Winds and Serpents

Blog, Favorite Misfits, Reptiles, Snakes

It is no secret that wind is a major force in Kansas. Of course this state is famous for big black twirling funnels that make for great monsters in movies. Indeed we do have more than our share of tornadoes. But strong wind that is unaccompanied by storms is also quite common here too.

My husband and I took a recent weekend camping trip with friends to a wetland refuge in the middle of Kansas, which is in essence the middle of nowhere. We camped under a small stand of cottonwoods on a creek in the middle of the prairie. What we didn’t know when we left and were totally unprepared for, was the weather that was to come. By the middle of the first afternoon, the winds had picked up to 30-35 mph with gusts of 40-45 mph. By dark the temps were down to below freezing. It was not storming where we were, although we learned later that south eastern Kansas and Oklahoma were having devastating tornadoes.

It starts to become difficult to stand up in wind gusts of 40-45 mph. We were there to photograph wetland birds and other wildlife. Holding a camera still in whipping winds is challenging to say the least. And of course the birds we went there to see wanted no part of it. (The next day when the wind died down the birds reemerged in mass).

The stars of the day, who seemed unbothered by the wind, were snakes. I am simply fascinated by snakes. This place was a herpetologist’s dream. In less than 24 hours we saw five different species and that was without even looking for them. They seemed to be everywhere. I’ve included photos below of some of the species that we found. For anyone who is squeamish about snakes, I suggest that you scroll down to the next web log entry…

This stunning beauty is a large Gopher Snake, also referred to as a Bullsnake. This is a non-venomous species that catches rodents with constriction. The Bullsnake is considered to be the most economically beneficial snake in Kansas, consuming large quantities of rodents such as mice, rats, rabbits, pocket gophers and ground squirrels. He also enjoys an occasional bird egg.

A close up look at that pretty Bullsnake face…

The fellow below is a Northern Water snake. He is a lizard and frog eater…

This decorative serpent (below) is the Prairie Kingsnake. He is usually a secretive fellow, but we were fortunate to find him soaking up some rays on a sandy roadway.

Prairie Kingsnakes are non-venomous constrictors, and eat a variety of prey such as small mammals, lizards, frogs, birds and other snakes including venomous ones. They are immune to the venom of North American venomous snakes and such snakes will use methods other than striking to escape kingsnakes. This makes the Prairie Kingsnake VERY beneficial to farmers, as not only will this species rid the farmer of pests like rodents, but also of venomous snakes.

This red striped beauty is a common Garter Snake. This was not only by far the largest Garter snake I’ve ever seen (she was HUGE) but she was also the most foul tempered snake we encountered on our trip. This was a snake with an ATTITUDE. She was all puffed up and very strikey.

This venomous beauty is the gorgeous Massasauga Rattle Snake. The word Massasauga means “Great river mouth” in the Chippewa language. This is the smallest rattle snake species in Kansas, although this one was a pretty good size. We found a much smaller one later in the day.

Here is his pretty face…

This feisty beauty is a black rat snake. I found him prowling around very near a nest of baby Eastern Phoebes. Eastern Phoebes are small birds of the open grasslands and are fabulous insect eaters. This rat snake most likely had his eye on this next. But the Phoebes were resourceful enough to build their nest out of reach of even this most talented of climbers. So for the time being until the baby birds fledge, they are safe…at least for now….

Guess Whose Coming to Dinner

Around Home, Birds, Blog

Each year in east central Kansas the month of May is ushered in with the brilliant color and especially beautiful song of the Baltimore Oriole. These birds typically are nectar lovers and are often attracted to hummingbird feeders. But this gorgeous fellow loves the sunflower chips in one of our feeders. Seeing a sight like this one right outside your window is a true shock to your senses. The orange is so bright that it has illuminated the feeder in orange too. I can’t imagine any creature anywhere that is more beautiful…

Like father, like son… This juvenile male Baltimore Oriole poses at our feeder just like his dad. He is a recent fledgling.

Here two of our most colorful birds enjoy a meal together. Gold finches are the most common year round bird at our chip feeder. I wonder what he thinks of this colorful newcomer…

Baltimore Orioles are right up there at the top of my list of favorite birds. Not only are they a feast for the eyes and soothing to the ears, but they are also unusually intelligent. And the acrobatics they are capable of are extraordinary. There is no position they can’t contort themselves into when solving complex problems. The phrase “bird brain” doesn’t apply here…

This bird is so cleaver that he has figured out a way to reach the nectar in our hummingbird feeder. The holes meant for feeding are too small for him. So he sips nectar from under the rim. I am impressed by his tenacity and ingenuity. I felt badly that he was having to work so hard at it. So he now has his very own Oriole feeder complete with nectar and grape jelly! He seems very happy about that and brings his whole family to “his” new feeder!

Yep, that grape jelly sure is GOOD!

On the opposite side of the color wheel to the Baltimore Oriole is the amazing little Indigo Bunting. He likes chips too. His feathers are actually black. They refract blue light thus making the bird appear to be blue. Like many colorful songbirds, his little wife is a drab brown. This helps her blend into the background while on the nest.

As it turns out, this little guy likes grape jelly too… 🙂

Spring Redbuds

Around Home, Blog, Seasonal

Crisp air, warm sunshine, vivid blue skies and blossoms all around…who can resist being outdoors? My dogs and I walk in a huge park only a stone’s throw away from our home nearly every evening as weather allows. But our recent weather is what we really wait all year for.

The nearby park that we enjoy so much is truly wild as far as the echo system goes. Because hunting is not permitted inside city limits, the animals enjoy a much more relaxed life style than those in the country can. A whitetail doe takes a peek at me as my dogs and I stroll by. The deer here actually know me and my dogs and we can often get almost within spitting distance of them. Because I live in the woods, my dogs are quite used to wild animals of all kinds. Deer are frankly a bit boring to them now…”oh, THOSE again…” So the dogs pay them no mind. All wild animals are masters at reading the energy and intent of others. They seem to know that my dogs and I are harmless and often barely lift their heads to watch as we stroll by.

Redbuds reflecting on a pond…

Wager and Kip pose in front of a backdrop of Redbuds.


Our Long Lost Friend “Mr. Springtime”…

Around Home, Birds, Blog, Seasonal

I enjoy winter. Well I might correct that statement with “I USUALLY enjoy winter.” Over the past decade and a half winters in eastern Kansas have become mild to say the least, confirming the whole global warming thing, (not that it ever needed to be confirmed to me). Just when we were all getting used to the idea of lots of sunshine and mild winter temps, Mother Nature had other ideas. The winter of 07-08 has been COLD and LOOOONG. Winter seemed to simply refuse the release of it’s grip…well until about 5 days ago that is.

With rain coming down in rumbling torrents and an occasional glimpse of the sun, the world is going green, and going green in a hurry.

There are many things that are living icons of spring but two of them enjoy unusually loyal notoriety. One is the tulip and the other the robin. Just to confirm that winter is FINALLY over and Mr Springtime has come at long last, I’ve included a photo of each here. What a nice way to lift one’s spirits out of the winter dull drums…

Are these tulips mine you ask?…not a chance. I have never been able to grow the darned things (squirrels digging them up don’t increase the odds) . These belong to a neighbor. The squirrels in our neighbor’s yards must be really lazy or they have all come to some kind of strange agreement or something… 🙂

This little gal is feeding her recent hatchlings. She and her mate diligently tend to these babies all through the day. Songbirds are very devoted parents.

Here, only about four days later, the babies have more than tripled in size. Their eyes are now open and fuzz has formed on their tiny heads. Baby birds literally are “eating machines.” The parents poke insects all the way down into the little birdie’s stomachs. They can’t even swallow on their own at this point. Believe it or not, these babies will fledge in a little more than a week from when this photo was taken. That is why such rapid growth is necessary.

Just three days later than the photo above, the baby robins (below) are now huge and have developed wing feathers and the orange breast feathers for which this species is most known. This brood started out with four babies. It is now down to three and those three barely fit into the nest.

Three days later than the photo above, the baby birdies now really look like robins. There are still three of them, and they are jammed into that nest. They are stretching their wings and even starting to flap them. Because they are ready to fledge, I didn’t visit them again after this. When baby birds are just past this point, a visit from me could send them out of the nest a bit earlier than what is best for them. Most likely, they left the nest the very next morning.

Meanwhile, only yards away under the nest this Northern Water snake basks in the long awaited sunshine. Water snakes usually dine on frogs, lizards and fish. But they do occasionally make a meal out of small birds. Luckily the robin parents are very discrete about approaching their nest. After all, you never know who might be watching…


Morning Calm

Around Home, Birds, Works in Progress

People sometimes ask me about my creative process and how I paint. I have included below, a painting in progress, showing different stages of the piece as it develops.

Every painting first starts with an idea. I decide before I begin what I am going to say with the painting and what mood I want to invoke. One of the things that I most love about being a wildlife painter is getting to know my subjects. I want to know everything I can about them before I begin. This involves quite a lot of observation in the field, reading and sketching. When I feel that my understanding is complete enough to portray the animal, then I begin.

With this painting of a Pintail drake entitled “Morning Calm”, I wanted to invoke that “Zen” feeling you get when you sit on the shore of a calm lake or pond in early morning. There is not a sound to be heard except for maybe the rhythm of your own beating heart. To capture this feeling I decided to include only the bird and the soft ripples he leaves behind him. I’ve positioned the bird far to the left, almost like he is swimming out of the painting. This painting is as much about the subtle ripples as it is about the bird itself.

I start with a sketch. It is in this phase that the painting layout is decided. I transfer my sketch down on masonite. I’ve primed this board with an ivory color. This is an experiment. I like to “play” with my foundation colors.

In this first photo, I’ve blocked in some color, almost like a paint by number. At this point I’m making many decisions on color and value. I’m deciding what areas I want to “pop” and what areas are to remain subtle. There is no form or dimension in the painting at this point. Here the ivory base color is still showing on most of the duck.

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Next, I begin to add more detail. I’m still blocking in color in the empty areas at this point too. I like to work an entire painting together. I build up detail gradually over the whole painting, making constant decisions as I go. My paintings are really ugly at this phase…

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This next photo shows more detail still. I’m starting to lay washes of color into the water to show different plains as the water ripples. Detailing in the duck’s feathers is still moving along. Again, a really ugly phase of the painting…

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The water is becoming more dimensional as darks are added behind the duck. I have started to give the duck itself more dimension by adding darker and lighter washes where they are needed.

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This is the finished painting. I used purples and pinks throughout, as those are the magical colors of morning when the sun has recently risen. “Morning Calm” is complete….

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A long, long way to go…

Around Home, Birds, Blog, Seasonal

April, May and early June are such interesting times here in eastern Kansas. Birds of all kinds migrate through here on their way to summer breeding areas far up north. You never know who may “drop in” even if only for a few days.

I am familiar with the songs of our local birds. When I hear something unfamiliar especially at this time of year, it warrants a closer look. In spring, the familiar becomes diluted with an assortment of strange sounds that ripple through the woods like waves of change.

For the past couple of days we had a visit from this little fellow and his small flock of “identical” friends. This is a Yellow-rumped Warbler (also known as the “Myrtle” Warbler). He has come all the way from Central America, perhaps as far south as Panama. He and his buddies will fly on tired wings until they reach Canada, where they will stay for the summer, until it is time to make this journey once again in reverse. Seeing this little guy here in east-central Kansas tells me that he has traveled for a very long distance. He has come so far…however… he still has a long, long way to go…

The Masked Bandits of Bell Road…

Around Home, Blog, Favorite Misfits, Mammals

The Godsy household is home to furry masked bandits of two kinds. One kind lives in the great outdoors and is the absolute OBSESSION of the other, who lives indoors.

We have raccoons here in great numbers; big ones, little ones. We have all sizes. This little bandit scrambled up a tree just as a big storm was rolling in. The other little bandit, my dog Wager was about to pop outside of himself with excitement. To Wager, a raccoon is just about the most entertaining thing on the planet. He watches them through our windows for HOURS. The raccoons make for great “dog TV”!

This is our INDOOR bandit Wager, posing in our driveway…….would somebody please hand him a Kleenex?……

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