Zinnia Profusion Apricot

This is just one of the photos I took at Hidden Lake Gardens this weekend.  It’s not perfect….but I like it.  I took this photo the day my uncle died.  So this one is for him.  Love you Hector.

A Walk in the Woods

It’s been a rough week.  I came down with a cold, but that’s nothing.  I’ve been thinking about and praying for my Uncle Hector who is battling Cancer.  Last night I spent the night at Devils Lake.  I woke up early, with a sore throat and runny nose.  I kissed Kayleen and headed home.  I thought about my parents who left their home in Tennessee for Corpus Christi, TX last night.  I made a quick stop at the gas station on the corner of Round Lake Hwy and US 223.  The golfers across the street at the Devils Lake Golfcourse were laughing.  The world didnt seem to care that my uncle is taking his last breaths of life.  I drove on and stopped at Hidden Lake Gardens.  A friend asked me to stop by to pick up two Paw Paw trees that she had get rid of.  While there I decided to go for a walk.  I walked through the demonstration garden.  I walked through the Conifer Collection.  I walked around Hidden Lake.  It was early and the dew was still on the flowers.  I’m glad I had my camera.  I walked through the Arid House and thought of my Uncle Hector.  The dry desert plants always make me think of Texas.  While walking through the Hosta Hillside I stopped to listen to the water coming down the man made cascade of rocks.  I looked up and saw a small yellow bird.  It wasnt a goldfinch.  What was it?  I looked closer.  It was a Hooded Warbler….the first Hooded Warbler I have ever seen.  It flew away.  I walked on.  My cold was telling me to go home.  I picked up the Paw Paw trees and headed back to Tecumseh.  There was work to be done at home.  My goal for the day was to trim the bushes around the house.  It took most of the day, but I’m glad it’s done.  The yard looks good to me.  I cleaned the birdbath.  I put seed in the feeders.  I took a shower, ate some soup and fell asleep on the couch for three hours.  The cool night air coming through the window feels good.  Tomorrow I will call my parents to check on Uncle Hector.

Ring-billed Gull

I’ve been thinking about the Gull a lot this summer.  A lot of people think these birds are “crappy”, literally.  I admit this one has done his fair share of pooping on the pontoon boat.  But, that’s what lake living is all about.  I look past this fellas diarrhetic issues and think about it’s other qualities.  I love looking up into the blue and watching gulls circle high in the sky…their faint white silhouettes appearing and disappearing as I squint to see them.  On night-time boat cruises, gulls are like ghosts, floating in large numbers……barely discernible in the darkness.  And, what about the gull’s yalp?…a sound of summer, of water, of sun.  

This photo was taken at Devil’s Lake on Sunday.  I fished a little this weekend…before and after a friend’s wedding vow renewal at Hidden Lake Gardens.  I also finished a novel by Edward Abbey, “A Fools Progress”.  Ed is a strange bird himself.  They call him the Thoreau of our age.  I’m not sure he is as poetic but he certainly had passion.  Anyway, I’m on my 5th Abbey book and intend to read them all eventually.

Northern Flicker, Yellow-shafted Male

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rummaging through my photos I found this one of a Northern Flicker.  I took this last winter on a Sunday morning.  I’m running low on bird photos so tomorrow I’m heading to Dexter to hike some trails and get some new bird close-ups.  My goal is to capture as many Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, Titmouses or Chickadees as possible.  This weekend I’m starting on some sketches for a new woodcut relating to birds and trees.  Birds and trees are not new to me.  The playground of my youth was the woods around Beaver Creek just outside of Adrian.  So, birds and trees have always been a part of my life.  But, this year my friends will tell you that birds have really been on my mind a lot lately.  It started with a purchase of the “Peterson’s Birding by Ear” CD from the Sugarland Nature Center in the Great Smoky Mountains.  I’ve had an Audubon Bird Guide for at least 10 years and it’s received plenty of use.  We keep it in the kitchen next to the binoculars so we can spy on birds eating from the feeders.  After I studied the cd’s for a month or so I took a beginners birding class at Hidden Lake Gardens.  I found that birding by ear is a good way to spot new birds.  The instructor identified the unseen birds first by ear.  If it was one that we hadn’t seen we scanned the trees.  Sometimes we spotted it and sometimes we didn’t.  About the same time I took the class a weird thing happened.  I dropped my Nikon binoculars on the kitchen floor and broke them.  A few days later my dad gave me a pair of Leopold binoculars that he won in a raffle.  I hadn’t even told him about my broken Nikon.  So, now I have a new set of binoculars that are smaller than my old pair with excellent optics.  With all this new birding knowledge I broke down and purchased a new book, “Sibley’s Eastern Bird Guide”.  It just came in the mail today and the first thing I do after I write this is crack it open….that and a cold brew…ha! 

Yellow-bellied Sap Sucker

Last weekend K and I braved the rain and canoed the AuSable with some friends.  It turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL weekend despite what the forecast called for.  I kept a tally of all the birds I heard and saw while canoeing.  This beauty came to visit us at our campsite at Parmalee.  It’s a hair out of focus but I was also making pancakes at the time =)  Since I do not want to post my current printmaking work until after my commissioner’s wedding, I will post a few birds instead.

Birding at HLG

Today was a busy day.  I spent the morning taking a birding class at Hidden Lake Gardens.  This is a photo of a Grey Catbird which didnt seem too upset about my presence.  I also saw a few Indigo Buntings, a Scarlet Tanager, Eastern Kingbird, Pileated Woodpecker, Song Sparrow and Red-eyed Vireo.  I did see a bunch of other common feeder birds such as Robins, Cardinals, Downey Woodpeckers, Tufted Titmouse and Gold Finches.  We heard a Yellow Warbler but never saw him.  Along the trails there were also nice blooms of Trillium…

and Columbine….

Here’s that Eastern Kingbird….

 

Under the Maple Tree

I havent posted any photos of prints lately, but I have been working feverishly on a few.  They are for a friend who asked if I would make a few prints for her wedding.  I dont plan on posting the photos until after the wedding.  But, I will post this photo which I used as inspiration.  I finished an 8×10 linocut similar to this photo last night.  I made some compositional changes in the final design.  I’m also working on a small 3×5 woodcut, which I already posted.  Since it was my first woodcut I may or may not use it.  It depends on how the prints turns out.  Anyway, this weekend I hung a new wire frame shelf in my studio to use as a drying rack.  I made a new printing board to hold my block in place while printing.  And, I ordered some new water soluable oil based ink from Daniel Smith and some Rives BFK paper.  As soon as it all comes in I’ll start hand pressing the prints.   

White Crowned Sparrow

Bird of the day…the White Crowned Sparrow.  I have been seeing them in numbers around the yard this week.  I believe these guys are just passing by as they head to Canada.  K spotted a Northern Oriole this morning but I couldnt get the camera out in time to get his pic.

Rainbow Falls

Kayleen, family, friends and I hiked up Mt. LeConte last week for the second time in two years.  But, this time we hiked the Rainbow Falls route.  I didnt pack my tripod so I used a tree to steady this shot with a 1/2 second exposure.  We spend a lot of time in the Great Smoky Mountains since my parents live nearby.  Although the weather was still a little too chilly for fly fishing we got some great hikes in.  LeConte is always my favorite.  It always amazes me how very few people ever leave the comfort of their cars.  As for me I am happiest on a trail and away from the masses.  We hiked up to the Lodge and “Cliff Top” last wednesday which was only one of the two sunny days last week.  I wasnt so sure our view would be that good when we started up the trail at 8 AM, but the clouds burned off and the views at the top were great.  We spent a little over two hours at the top which was enough to get sunburned.  I didnt mind considering I’ve spent the last 4 months frozen in Michigan.  Anyway, we’re already thinking about what route we’ll take to LeConte next year.  We would have taken the Trillium Gap trail but it was closed due to storm damage.  

Easter Feathers

 

 

Titmouse

 

 

White Breasted Nuthatch

 

 

 Red Breasted Nuthatch

 

 Black Capped Chickadee 

 

Happy Easter!  I spent yesterday morning in a lawn chair near the feeders in my backyard.  I sat motionless with Nikon D50 in hand hoping not to scare the birds away.  All but the Cardinals were brave enough to come to the feeder to let me take their picture.  I plan on doing more of this in the future.  It beats having to buy an expensive super zoom lens for close up photography.  I’ll definitely use these photos for artwork, whether it be paintings or printmaking.