Strike a Critter Pose



Pooh Corner



So I tried the "drop-everything-and-

draw a corner of a room project from my

last posting. It turned out to be more

like a study of bears.

And just like the lesson mentioned, we go around these

familiar things every day and are not totally

concious of what is REALLY in our space.

("I didn't know we had a bear with antlers!" said Lisa)

Yoga Pets

All of us walk past the familiar daily and fail to really take notice. Or maybe we try not to notice--say the dustballs on tables, kleenex bunnies, or ledges of fantastic spiderweb  architectural wonders (that are so intricate that you hate to remove them)!

So, to honor the familiar folk--how about sketching pets. OK, so a pile of bears is easy--they sit still. How about tackling (artistically) a house-bound pet or two? Pets happily pose for us daily! Do we really notice their antics?

When we do yoga in the morning, everyone has to get in on the activity. (It's hard to be mindful of breathing when a cat tail is tickling your nose and to stretch out in corpse pose and compete with the dog for the floor.) Try sketching your own Buddha kitty or Down Dog some time. 



Our pets have it easy--warmth, food. What about the wild ones? Wild critters make themselves known but you can't see them. They leave "sign". Scat, food leavings or tracks. Tracks are the next best thing to being there. We've had wild critter action here all week.

The night before last, we had a predawn concert production from a local family of coyotes. It was rather exciting to hear them so close, although our chickens might have been a tad nervous.

The 'yotes held a party on the hill--and all were invited. Rabbits, too.

I went out early in the 16 degree morning and sketched the fresh tracks and activity I found there. Tracks are fabulous for telling animal stories, especially in snow! Later in the day I took out my long sketchpad to get more of a landscape scene. It was warmer to sketch then and as I climbed the hill I was greeted by a turkey call from the marsh directly across from me.

Another moment of nature caught on paper. It doesn't hurt when you have a fresh canvas of snow--perfect for getting animal track stories.

This morning there were turkey tracks on our deck!

Critter Thanksgiving Stroll

Day before Thanksgiving and out to Howell Nature Center for animal sketching and creative blockbusting. I wanted to get over to see the coyotes this frosty morn and thought the animals would be a little more active.

It was early and my nose alerted me to the fresh pine scent of a shipment of Christmas trees. It was quiet, too. A few birds and little activity. Entering the Wild Wonder Park I saw that the deer munching on a pile of pumpkins as the coyotes paced their pen. 

 

A young coyote I called Little Big Head, with an injured forepaw, ran the loop of his pen on three feet before stopping to nibble on a bone. The other bigger yote with her face and snout poking out from her thick winter coat seemed interested in the Christmas tree goings on and nibbled from a bucket every so often. Both were different and interesting characters to sketch. Each with their own personality.

Then off to see the rest of the animals. When we come out here to cage clean we seldom get a chance to see the rest of the animals so this was a fun and relaxing stroll with just me talking to the animals.

The beaver who had been active last week was nowhere to be seen this morn. The wild turkey pair dined quietly. The bobcat sat staying warm and its head would snap around at the crunch of a leaf. The motionless female fox stared out from her curled body wapped in its warm fluffy tail.

But the curious male cocked his head and following me about posed quite prettily. He seemed to be enjoying the crisp day and gave me plenty of photo opps. Gray squirrels rifled through leaves looking for acorns as I waited to see if the porcupine would come out. Today, even the beaver slept in and must have been in his hill condo and not his usual place.

Everybody was sleeping in or staying snug--which sounded good to me--an animal holiday, a critter day off. Then it's back to performing for visitors when they come to pick out their Christmas trees.