Thanksgiving Day

...and I was very happy to see the first juncos (or snowbirds as my mom used to call them) at our feeder!  It's been warm here, but apparently not so where these little birds come from.

We were also delighted by the red-breasted nuthatch--we normally see its less colorful cousin, the white-breasted variant.  I keep a variety of bird books at the shed--my favorite is still Peterson's--and hadn't realized this little guy was as common as he is!

I've been enthralled by John Muir Laws' wonderful book, Laws Guide to Drawing Birds*--among dozens of other inspirations, one pearl of wisdom I especially liked was "if you can't see it, don't draw it."  So I'm trying to remember only to draw those things I actually SEE, and not worry if the bird flies before I can finish.

The basic shape and pose is all you can expect in a field sketch--a touch of color fleshes out the image.  And of course quite often the bird will return so you can capture a bit more!

I have a lot to be thankful for, and one of the most important things to me is the opportunity to see and sketch the creatures around me.

*Please note John's comment below--if you use the link above, you'll be able to get a signed copy of his wonderful book, and it will benefit the artist/author!

Chilly Shed Update

So...found a company to do the insulation under the floor, probably next week unless the weather goes completely wonky.  Almost $400, but it will save on electricity (and cranky, frozen Kate) in the long run.  The one that was going to call me on Monday 2 weeks ago never called, even after another contact, so I imagine how dependable they'd be to actually do the work.

(At this point, all but one of the rigid Styrofoam panels have let go and are lying on the ground under the shed.  Grrrr.)

Still planning to put a wool rug in there...this is the one I want, LOVE the Renaissance feel it has and soft sage green, but having trouble finding the owner of the booth to find out the PRICE.  Must be out of town...

Kinda like the goofy rooster, too...J. thinks I'm nuts, and it IS a lot darker than I'd planned to use in there.  I like checkerboard, though...and I KNOW how much this one costs (very affordable.)

I bought a cheap, small throw rug to put under the desk where I work, and the difference it makes is amazing.  Like between comfort and not.

Meanwhile the ground feeders and squirrels are much appreciating our bounty.  It was 45 degrees this morning, below freezing and snowing now...

And fooey, although it seemed as if the waterlogged board had FINALLY dried out and I put spar varnish on it, mentioned in THIS POST, this is now it looks now.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER USE RECYCLED MATERIALS THAT ARE NOT SOUND.

Brrrrr...

Winter DOES come to the shed...and it isn't even officially winter yet, but the other day it was 39 degrees when I got there.  With BOTH heaters going it doesn't take long to warm up, though, and today I go rug-shopping again.  Bare floor in the winter is nuts, especially when it's just 3/4" plywood!  I found one secondhand for $30, or we may trade out the one at the cabin...

Meanwhile my fleece robe, down comforter and heating pad keep me happy till the heaters do their work...

The birds have found the little platform feeder...nice to watch them crowding around...

Lovely working out there, though...ideas really seem to flow. 

The shed and nature

This is the feeder I mentioned in THIS POST--and it's working!  We had our first visitors a day or two after I put that up...and now there have been cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches and titmice in addition to this little sparrow.

 

I like it that it's working to do artwork out there, too...NICE.

Susan and her just-past-toddler daughter Birgitte (who is my fairy godchild) came for a visit yesterday...Susan's a good friend who does wonderful, quirky decorating.  She and her mom Jytte used to own Scandinavian Country in our town, and I'd thought of her often while working on the shed.  No big surprise, she loved it!

Birgitte loves to collect rocks and feathers and weeds, so I let her pick a rock from my path for a keepsake...

Shed Prezzies!

 

Godchild Ann Brown gave me this wonderful velvet pumpkin for my birthday--she said it was for the shed, and she was right, it looks great!  Just the perfect combination of elegance and nature (that's a real stem...)  Thank you, Miss Ann, I love it.

And Joseph put up my new birdfeeder, right outside the work window--PERFECT.  This isn't where I'd imagined it, it's infinitely better.  I'll be able to watch the birds and maybe even get some decent sketches and photos as they get used to me...

It looks cool, too!  It should be safer from raccoons and squirrels (yes, resourceful little acrobats as they are!), it's easy to get at to fill...perfect.  Thanks, babe!