Thursday, May 29, 2008

Something Up My Sleeve



I recently finished a series of bird drawings that I started last year. The series began when I found a room of taxidermy-ed native Colorado native species in the CU Boulder Natural History Museum. Now that I no longer work on campus, visiting the museum would mean a drive rather than a walk, so I'm calling that series complete. Which means I need a new project! And I've started one - a series of drawings that I work on every day at lunch at a picnic table by Boulder Creek.



I sit here:


















Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Boulder Creek Trail Photos





This is the view on the Boulder Creek Trail, which is just outside my new office.

My Two Cents in exchange for Your Two Minutes

I like looking at pretty things. My new office is located in a building that is adjacent to the Boulder Creek Trail. This is what it looks like. It's very pretty.

Mama Mallard





Monday, May 26, 2008

Red-winged Blackbird Nests




On a trip to the neighborhood pond Sunday, I discovered several beautiful nests - some with eggs, others with hatched shells. Take a look:




Rabbit Rock Photos





Rabbit Rock

On my trip to the local pond on Sunday morning (it's a neighborhood drainage pond, but the wildlife that frequents it doesn't care) I discovered a rabbit warren. There are, I don't know, maybe dozens of them, hiding out from predators (coyotes, hawks) the Colorado sun, and from amateur nature photographers, in a man-made rock wall that borders the pond. Photos of the little critters are above.

I'm an Idiot

Gentle Reader,
I've discovered that I did not have the preferences set so that anyone could post to this blog, but now I do. So, post away! Or not. Either way, I've attended to that oversight, so I hope to hear from you about what's happening in your neck of the woods...

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Wednesday, May 13












I finally figured out how to add a slideshow. It's up there on the right. I am a genious...oh, wait, I can't spell. The weather in Colorado changes by the minute. On Monday it was 70 degrees and sunny. Monday afternoon and night a cold front blew in, and on Tuesday it was cold and rainy, with a high of only around 40 degrees. Today we had the sun again, but still the cold. The wisdom here is that annual plants only go in the ground after Mother's Day, but if I had put any out, they would have frozen. So I'll wait a little longer. Rain on the prairie usually means snow in the higher elevations, and that was the case on Tuesday. The prairie is green and the mountains are white. Time to feed the birds.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Monday, May 12, 2008

I recently received a promotion, and today was my first day on the job. My new office is located beside a walking trail that follows Boulder Creek. However, I don't have a window (where the squirrel waited in the tree for me to feed it), and I am no longer on the campus of CU Boulder, which is beautiful. Life is full of trade-offs. Once I settle in, I will take my camera to work, and record the wild life alongside the creek. I'll also take my drawing pad and make sketches.

I'm currently working on drawings that I started in the Natural History Museum on the CU Boulder campus. The bottom room is the largest taxidermic collection in the state of natural fauna, and it is full of birds. I started by making blind-contour drawings of several specimens: a bald eagle, an osprey, a magpie, a wild turkey, a snow goose (blue phase), and a greylag goose. I brought the original drawings back to my basement studio, where I vigorously worked into them. Those are complete, and I have started a new series of wading birds - a sandhill crane, and another crane - I forget the species. Plus a coot. (Some of) these drawings will be on exhibit in the fall in Greensboro; I will post more information as it becomes available.

I'll be in Greensboro during the second week of June. Hope to see everyone!

Greetings from My Back Yard!

Hello to friends and family around the world! After living in Colorado for almost a year now, I've decided that the easiest and most fun way to keep up with everyone, and for everyone to keep in touch with me, was to start a blog. Here I can give you a snapshot of what's going on in my backyard.
One of my favorite activities is birdwatching. Lately I've also been drawing and photographing them, so you'll be seeing a fair amount of bird-related posts and photos. Since everyone I know leads a busy life, my intention is to keep daily updates to a length that can be read in under 60 seconds, videos to those that can be watched in 10-20 seconds.
So, I invite you to take a look, and to post your comments or ideas. Let's keep in touch - and let me know what's going on in your back yard, too.