Take a Walk on the Wild Side....

Yesterday was, once again Studio Tuesday. I did not get to work for a great deal of time, but I worked one petal to completion, and worked on another today. This is the one I finished yesterday. I have been having some back pain, so am being smart and not working too long.

Yesterday was also the beginning of several #100 Day Challenges, on Facebook and Instagram and various other social sites. I did not officially join one, but have decided to challenge myself to walk every day for the next 100 days, and either sketch or take photos to document the walk. Yesterday I walked in the nearby city park. Today my husband, Booker, and I took one of our annual 'owl search' walks. We found the Mama Owl in her usual nest on the Audubon Trail, which is part of the Colorado Riverfront Trail. This nest is the one that, several years ago, got blown down, so the Audubon Society replaced the nest with this platform and basket, which she has happily used since then. Isn't her camouflage amazing?

We always see other fun things on this trail. Today, my favorite 'drama' was this one: First, the squirrel peeking over the top of this dead cottonwood tree...

... then she disappeared, to reappear looking out the hole. Then a flutter...

... and she was chased away from the hole by this Flicker. Whose nest is it?  I'm not taking sides, but we did see a flicker nesting in a similar hole several years ago. Just saying....

This is a photo of a dove observing us, that my husband took. We love these photo walks!

Studio Tuesday, revived.....

Yesterday I 'reinstated' Studio Tuesday, knowing life does sometimes interfere, but hoping to keep at least that one day as a day when studio work is top priority for me. I have still been struggling with bad-back issues, so did not weave too long, but I did reach the half-way point on the December tapestry yesterday! Today and tomorrow are not days I can weave, but I hope to get back to the loom by Friday.

Gus has been rushing out the door whenever he can, to roll in loose garden dirt, so today he got a bath. He is actually a very clean cat, and I think the dirt rolling is part of his cleaning ritual, but spring cleaning applies to him, too, and it caught up with him this afternoon. He tolerated it, but it was not the best part of his (or my) day. The little sketch in my sketchbook was fun, though!

Moving on into April.....

March was a busy month. We had company: my sister, my high school BFF, then my brother and his wife. A blessing of guests.

We went and watched the crane migration. And I have sketched a tiny bit in my sketchbook; mostly experimental, trying out techniques and materials I haven't used before, as I'm a bit tired of my 'same old sketches.' This one was trying pastel pencils. I've had them for many years, but I am so messy with them, I never use them. I was afraid to put them in my sketchbook, because I thought they would just smear onto the facing page. But I used fixative, and so far, so good. However, I don't think this style or these materials suit me.

This was a lazy sketch, using watercolor and ink. But I wanted to 'document' all the time, and pleasure, we've had watching the live cams of "Mr. President" and "The First Lady" and their 2 babies on the eagle cam at the National Arboretum. Watch this amazing family here. We have watched them since before the eggs hatched.

My sketch was 'lazy' because I have, once again, done something terrible and unforgiving to my back, and pain is making me quite creatively lazy, I am afraid. It hurts to knit, to weave, and even to sketch. Which is why the 'December' tapestry has not progressed much.

I also did this simplified sketch of my beautiful granddaughter, getting a new hair color recently. She is a to-be-envied natural blonde, but she looks just as gorgeous with purple or bright red hair! 

Since her experimental bravery inspired me, I decided to try sketching her with a heavy black marker, rather than with the tentative pencil scratchings I usually use. I do love the simplicity of this style, and will try it again.