More Bird Stories

Last week I spoke about our redbirds. This week I want to tell some more bird stories.

It is so amazing to watch nature as it takes care of itself. We have had an abundance of tiny frogs.

Living near a small lake increases our wildlife.  Yesterday I was surprised to see a hawk on the ground under one of our Leyland Cypress trees.  I suppose it was after the frogs.  It reminded me of a few years ago when we also had an overabundance of frogs.  My DH saw an owl perched on the post of our deck.  He came every morning for a few days and then was gone, and so were the frogs.  I only got one glance at him but he was majestic. 

Speaking of my DH – one day at work he stepped outside for fresh air. Evidently there was a bird’s nest nearby.  The male flew in front of DH and proceeded to walk about in a circle as if he had a broken wing.  He was protecting his mate and possibly offspring.  He remained until DH went back inside. 

Am I enamored with God’s nature? Absolutely!

Today I want to share a work in progress.  It is titled: Jesus – the same today as yesterday. Jesus is sitting upon a rock surrounded by youngsters.  What you see today is 3 of the children – a boy who had gone fishing, a girl with a basket of apples and another boy with an untied red sneaker.  It is painted on a cypress knee.  I have been painting these for several years but stopped and now am “seeing” the images again to paint. I use the bumps, gnarls, and overall shape to determine what is painted.  See my post

A Day of Learning on June 3, 2011 for another example of a painted knee.

 Thank you for coming by.  I hope my words lift your spirits. 

Have a blessed day – and please leave a comment!

Redbirds Make Good Model

As an artist I often watch nature for images to paint. We have a family of Cardinals who have been with us a long time.  I first noticed them when they robbed the dry dog food we had set out.  We have a Lab and an Australian Shepherd and neither were concerned with the birds taking their food.  I suppose both dogs knew the birds would take little.  Since then, we have set out birdfeed year-round.  I had always put out feed during winter when ice and snow covered everything.

As I have watched them I noticed some facts.  The male takes care of the female.  It has been so wonderful to see how the male and female relate.  The male will fly down either to the food or a nearby area making sure the coast is clear for the female.  Sometimes he retrieves the food and feeds it to the female.  I have seen the male hop among the branches to be sure the way was safe for the female to feed the young. Once I saw 3 females land on our deck, the male went to the food and gave it to one female.  She then fed the other two.  I don’t know if these two were their offspring or visitors as the two looked almost as large as the female.  

Photo from:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/cardinal/

While watching I compared them to human behavior and what a great model they make to follow.  So caring for each other.  Isn’t this a great example of following Christ? Loving and caring for others.  Watching over them.

Since I don’t have a painting of Cardinals right now to share and our temps have been in the 110 heat index, I thought I would share a painting to visualize some coolness!

Have a blessed day!

How It Got It's Name

The Merry Fox, that is.  It is named after my grandmother.  Her name was Mary Alice, we called her Mama Alice. She was born before 1900 and lived to be almost 100. She was a very pleasant woman who enjoyed playing the harmonica while the grandkids "square-danced". She came from a family of pastors and preachers. She played the piano and organ for her church. She also endured many hard times. However, she remained faithful and true in spirit. Her favorite saying was "Trust in Jesus and obey and He will lead you all the way."

I'll write more about her in future posts. Meanwhile I hope you enjoy the paintings I post.  I really appreciate your comments!