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| Bearded Collie Watercolor |
High flying flocks of geese heading south, honking their connection to one another; red, yellow, and orange trees overhanging tall rock slopes; Catskills clothed in shades of lavender, standing majestically to the north; the fragrance of fall making the air sweet to breathe.
Yesterday Stephen and I headed for Sam’s Point Preserve right after church to spend a perfect fall Sunday afternoon hiking, but when we got there, we found that everyone else had had the same idea and the parking was full and they weren’t allowing anyone else in. Figuring that nearby Minnewaska would also be overcrowded, Steve pulled out his geological survey map collection and did some searching. He found a small back way into Minnewaska through tiny Berme Road Park in Ellenville. We found our way to the park and headed up the Smiley Carriage Road– not one of the well-maintained carriage roads we’re accustomed to in Minnewaska, but not full of the Columbus Day weekend crowds either.
We hiked up and up, along a very stony, sometimes rutted carriage road, slippery with leaves in some places, surrounded by beauty everywhere.
At one point we met a couple coming down, who told us there was a three-foot rattlesnake coiled in the path a few minutes farther along the trail. I grabbed my sketchbook from my backpack, thanked the couple, and headed up the trail, watching closely for the snake. Sadly, he had left by the time we got to wherever he had been, so my rattlesnake sketching will have to wait for another hike.
We made our way to Naparoch Point, a rocky overlook complete with the deep crevasses one expects in Minnewaska, opening to a view of the blue and lavender Catskills in the distance, the gold-tinged Shawangunks nearby, huge rocks with twisted pines and oaks in the foreground, and blueberry bushes in fall shades of red carpeting the ground.
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| Watercolor 5×7 |
One
morning before dawn my children and I went to a nearby county park to see if we could see
a Barred Owl that reportedly was in the area. We waited quietly a half hour or so, before
an owl suddenly swooped in on silent wings, then perched in a tree in plain
sight. We observed and sketched him for over half an hour, before he left as
silently as he had arrived.
Here is my journal page from that day in 2001, when I observed a Barred Owl with my children. We also found a dead weasel right near the owl’s area, and we wondered whether the owl had killed the weasel.
This watercolor is currently on display
at the East Fishkill Library in Hopewell Junction, NY. If interested in
purchasing it, please contact me at naturepainter@hotmail.com.
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| Watercolor 12×8 |
One day, feeling down, I walked outside hoping
the fresh air would lift my spirits. One of these magnificent birds swooped low
beside me and landed on a tree just feet from me—the first Pileated Woodpecker
I had seen on our land! We now have a pair in our woods, and every time I see
them, I am reminded of that gift.
Pileated Pair is currently on display at the East Fishkill Library in Hopewell Junction, NY. If you’re interested in purchasing this painting, please contact me at naturepainter@hotmail.com.
(This painting is based on reference photos by me and by Samantha Keith– many thanks to Sam for permission to use her photos of the wildlife she sees around her home.)
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| Watercolor 7.5×5 |
I was out cross-country skiing on a golf course today and kept hoping to see a Snowy Owl, but if there were any in the area, they stayed well camouflaged. This has been one of those winters when there are many sightings in our general area, but most seemed to have been when I was in Florida, so I missed them.
Snowy Owls are the heaviest owls found in North America. They spend summers north of the Arctic Circle, where they hunt lemmings, small rodents, and other prey. Often hunting during the day, unlike most other owls, when they migrate to the northern United States during some winters, they can frequently be spotted on open fields and airport runways. Young have dark bars, with males becoming whiter as they mature, while females keep some dark bars throughout their life.
Thank you to my friend Carol Hickey for the use of her beautiful photo for a reference for this painting.
My paintings are on display this month at the East Fishkill Library, and we had an opening reception last Friday. It was a wonderful and fun evening with many visitors– my parents were there, as were many friends, including a few whom I hadn’t seen in many years, so it was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect. Over the next few weeks, I’ll post some of the watercolors that are on display at the library, along with the little write-ups I’ve done to go with each painting.
Last week I spent two soul-refreshing days in the quiet and beauty of the Adirondacks. A friend invited me to her place in the North Woods Club, accessible only by a 10 mile long dirt road that gets progressively narrrower and bumpier the closer one gets to one’s destination. Of course there was no cell signal along the road, and I was hoping (at times doubting) that I was on the correct road. Nevertheless, as my car bounced along over stones and rocks, I marveled at the scenery on all sides, from the small scale beauty of a stream gurgling on rocks beside the road to the breathtaking vista of a spruce-lined pond with a backdrop of bluish mountains. I figured that even if I were on the wrong road, it was a fine place to be lost.
Happily I was not lost, and eventually arrived at my friend’s house, already awed by the place and eager to pull out sketchbook and paints. Within minutes I was on the deck, sketching the mountains, while sampling a variety of delicious cheeses and chatting with my friend. As evening drew near, we drove to nearby Mink Pond, loaded up a rowboat with provisions, and rowed across the pond to a fire pit on an island, where we cooked steaks and home fries (and, of course, I sketched). Steaks grilled over a campfire taste better than almost anything else, especially after a long day of travel. Only one party at a time is allowed to sign out a rowboat for a given pond or lake, so we had Mink Pond to ourselves. As I watched the reflections on water and the colors of sunset, I marveled that there was no sound of traffic anywhere around– such a welcome sound of silence.
–Click on photos to see images large enough to read notes–
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| Polaris Mountain from the deck of the house |
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| West Bay of Mink Pond from Mink Island |
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| Sunset over West Bay of Mink Pond |
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| Sunrise from my bedroom window |
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| Looking toward Mud Pond from Prospect Rock |
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| Stormy afternoon view of Beaver Mountain |
On my final morning visiting, I again woke early enough to watch the sky turn from dull gray to pink-tinted gray, to a full-blown wash of pink, orange, and purple. Both mornings I was there, I heard loons start calling on the lake just as the first hint of color appeared in the clouds.
I departed reluctantly but well-refreshed, having thoroughly enjoyed good time with friends, the splendor of nature, and the quiet of the deep woods.
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| Periodical Cicada– the first I’ve seen this year; I know there will soon be many more |