Well where to begin? This is a very late entry about my weekend at the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage, May 30, 31, June 1, 2008. I wanted to make sure I share it with you because it was such a fantastically wonderful weekend filled with great people and plenty of new things to learn about nature. I’ve decided to break it up into several posts so it’s not too long. This one will be about the wildflowers I saw. Below is just one of the fabulous views in Allegany State Park.
I feel giulty for not having more drawings, but let me explain what it was like. From Friday until Sunday you could show up for hikes or classes lead by experts in their field, all day long! There was one after the other, some at the same time, it was so hard to pick and choose which I wanted to go on. I filled 13 pages in my sketchbook with notes about birds, flowers and plants! We were constantly walking as a group so it was very hard to draw, the small amount of sketching I did was while I was walking! Seriously…you have to watch the ground so you don’t trip! haha…
This page of my sketchbook shows a drawing I did while on a guided birdwatching hike. It was lead by Tim Baird of Salamanca, he’s a retired science teacher who knows more about birds and plants than anyone I know! He has such a wonderful casual manner when you ask questions about everything you see….well um…that was me! I asked him about everything I saw! He was so patient!! haha…must be the teacher in him. Most of the flowers, plants and birds I learned about this weekend were from his walks. Thanks Tim!!
Dwarf Ginseng, shown in the little sketch above, a pretty little woodland flower.
I learned about this flower on a wildflower hike led by Mary Alice Tock, down by the lakeside. It’s Cinquefoil, cinque (5) as in five leaves, five petals slightly heart shaped. Mary told us some things to look for when identifying wildflowers: 1. color 2. shape of leaves 3. # of petals 4. arrangement of leaves on stem, and how they’re connected to the stem.
This is Clintonia, a woodland lily, also called Yellow Corn-lily or Blue Bead for the fruits it bears. I took this picture up at Thunderocks on my last day…more about that amazing place in another post!
This is Golden Alexander, shown in the sketch I did above while walking. It has a complicated flower head like Queen Anne’s Lace, I forget the technical term…I’m sure someone can remind me in the comments.
This very pretty flower is Golden Ragwort, looks just like something that’d be growing in your garden.
This is Star Flower, found in the woods also, like a hidden gem just waiting to be noticed.
And this is a very well known wildflower, Trillium. I was lucky to catch sight of it in bloom here and in the Adirondack mtns.
It’s a gorgeous day! 65-70 degrees, sunny and breezy. The first journal page is done with watercolor pencils and a waterbrush…I found it hard to get the greens I wanted. A gorgeous bird, the Black Tern; I took so many pictures of them swooping over the water, with their very elegant coloring. The other picture is a bit more sad but shows the real life of nature, it’s a Red Tailed Hawk being chased by Red Winged Black-Birds because he’s stolen a youngster from the nest! I saw him land into the tall grasses on the marsh, and noted the huge commotion of the Black Birds. When he took off I figured something was up, and sure enough he was carrying a chick.
I spotted this little butterfly in the field as we walked and I’ve narrowed it down to two butterflies-either the Pearl Crescent or Gorgone Checkerspot…anyone help me with an ID?
This painting was done with watercolors. I used my little watercolor kit that’s tucked into a tiny “Altoids” tin if you can believe it! I’ll have to post a picture of that soon.
Some bird photos I took, two of a male Tree Swallow that was sitting by it’s nest box. A picture of a Song Sparrow on the left, and a Swamp Sparrow on the right.
This flower was drawn with a micron pen then colored with watercolor. I had to wait till I was at the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage (more on that later!) to indentify it, showing it to some wildflower experts…they told me it’s a Evening Lychnis. Click here for the link to Iroqouis Nature Refuge.
This is about the morning I spent at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve in Cheektowaga, NY. It’s from back in May, but I wanted to put it up to keep my posts in order. The very first thing I saw, well heard, was a House Wren…busy little thing! I kept watching it flit around until it showed me where it’s nesting hole in a dead tree was. (Don’t forget to click on my sketchbook pages to see the enlarged views.) I did a really quick sketch of a fern leaf and flowers on mint. I looked in my wildflowers book and still haven’t found a ‘blue’ flower, they say it should be pink. I need to find some more books!
May really is the month to see and hear birds when you’re out walking! Some of the birds I heard or saw: Catbird, Yellow Warbler, House Wren, Canada Geese, Baltimore Oriole, Mallard ducks, Turkey Vulture, Red Winged Black Bird, Nuthatch, Wood Ducks, Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher.
I also took a few pictures of the gorgeous wildflowers including the pink ones with the bee on it, those are Honey Suckle, the pale lavender ones are Dames Rocket if I’m not mistaken. You look for the four petals it has, not five.
I came upon a Baltimore Oriole that had just had a bath in the shallow area of the pond. He was up in the branches at my eye level, just preening and shaking off. I took some pictures with my tiny camera but he was really too far away; but what in inspiring sight, I can’t wait to do a painting of one.
Then down by the wooden bridge on the Lily Pond Loop, I shot a short video clip just to show how gorgeous the day was. It was sunny but cool, the lily pads were out, no flowers yet, and birds flying everywhere. Check it out because I have another video clip taken on July 5th to show you soon…lilie flowers in full bloom!
Today I went birdwatching with the Audubon Society at Iroqouis Wildlife Refuge in Gasport, NY. This is north of Buffalo. a very beautiful area to hike around. The weather today wasn’t gorgeous as it rained off and on and was quite cold…but we saw birds. There were a few expert birders leading the informal outing, they were so good at naming birds just by their song. I’m using a new bag that my friend in England sent me. It’s a military bag that feels really comfortable, holds my drawing supplies but not the sketchbook. It’s nice because it takes the weight off my shoulders. I had to put up one of my sketchbook pages so you could see, just how little sketching I get done when on a hike like this. There is no time for stopping to sketch when you’re with a group of determined birders! haha…that’s ok, I have listed most of the birds we saw and heard. The check mark means I saw the bird not just heard it. Here you can see the group coming to the area where Ospreys are nesting. We had a good look with a scope on a tripod. There were areas in open fields with chicken wire around them, I pointed out to everyone that they (the Wildlife Refuge) were trying to grow lupines there, a very important host plant for butterflies, and beautiful too! Here’s the link for the Iroqouis Nature Refuge: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/iroquois
This post, and the next few from me, are being put up late…but I wanted to keep the hikes I took in sequence….more exciting things coming soon! I couldn’t resist starting off with Ginger coming up the lane…it’s so green and lush in Springtime! You can see the buds are just coming out on the trees. Well, it was a very wet, rainy day as you can see by my raingear and barn boots! I always keep a plastic garbage bag in my pocket when hiking, this makes a great surface to kneel or sit on when the ground is damp or if you want to put your camera or bag down, it protects it. The page below shows a very, very quick sketch of moneywort…it grows all over my land in damp or wet areas and in spring + summer it’ll have the prettiest yellow flowers. You can click on any picture to read my notes closer…yikes the mosquitoes were rampant!!
This is a video clip about the Mayapples and one of my old oak trees. This is another one of my old oak trees on “Oak Lane”. I love walking up to each one and checking on them, touching their bark, feeling their power and strength.Growing under the oaks were these plants that I think are Adderstongue…I didn’t get to make a final identification yet. What I did was sketch the upper leaf at actual or life size in pencil. I shaded then smudged with my finger then used a kneaded rubber eraser to ‘wipe out’ where I wanted the light spots. Because the leaf had a mottled look I thought I’d try a little watercolor technique to recreate it. I painted the leaf green then as it was drying I dropped water onto it, this makes a nice mottled effect. It also had a fruit that was green colored. Sorry to say I didn’t get back out there to see what the plant did as far as flowering. You can see where I tested my colors in the corner of the page.At the end of my walk I came to the only Crabapple on my property, what a pretty sight when you find it in Springtime! It’s hidden in an out of the way place in the “Maze”, a field I have with paths that go all over like a maze. I didn’t get to finish the painting properly, I tried to work on it as rain was starting. But it was good practice anyways! I do have some ‘sweet’ pictures of the blossoms for future use. By the way, this was done with watercolor pencils that I then wet with a waterbrush.
The final video clip below is a nice bit of music by one of my favorite singers…the Wood Thrush!!
Well I’m finally getting some pictures up from my day of exploring at Evangola State Park, in Brandt NY. (it’s near Angola) My photographer friend Mark Baker and I are picking areas around Buffalo to go explore, he concentrates on photography while I grab some pictures and then try to sketch. It is nice to spend time with a friend this way but it is a little harder for me to settle down and draw things. I guess as we explore more together I’ll get more comfortable with just saying, “I’ll be sitting here for awhile while you go shooting”. He got some neat shots of me working and I took the ones of my hand holding the palette in the creek bed and the cool “hanging by a root” photo.
It was a very overcast day, windy but pleasant enough. Sometimes that’s a great kind of lighting for photography or drawing, no glaring sun to deal with. I sketched the covered bridge and wanted to work on it more at home, but never got time. That’s why I waited so long to post this!, ah, the best laid plans of mice and women….ahem.
The picture of me standing in the stream, I’m sketching the scene very quickly using a permanent ink pen, then the close up of my hand holding the palette and pad shows how I hold it to use the watercolors. I just kept bending down to rinse my brush in the water flowing past me, no watercup necessary!
Then I sat down on the bank to do a quick watercolor of the lake using my Chinese brush, the colors were really dull because of the type of day it was. But I wanted to experiment and practice painting outdoors. You can see in the picture that Mark took looking over my shoulder that I’ve spread my bag out in front of me, but all within quick reach in case I have to pack up suddenly and go. Um…rain, creepy men …you ladies know what I mean! haha…another good reason to have a male friend on the exploration trip with you. A side note here to my painting, drawing, exploring lady friends, ALWAYS pay attention to what’s going on around you!! Don’t be naive, believe me you don’t want to run into trouble out by yourself, better to be paying attention to who’s around you.
Ok, back to more pleasant thoughts! I’ve also included an OK clip of the lakes waves. It was my intention to get a clip of the sound, but my friend Mark was diddling around next to me with his camera…made some noises. I’ll shoot a better one next time!
Here’s a link to Mark’s phenomenal website www.mhbaker.com and Evangola State Park link: http://www.evangolastatepark.com/
Today I couldn’t resist the sunshine, it was a ‘balmy’ 40 degrees so I took my field pack and told Ginger we’re going for a hike! She, of course could barely contain her excitement! If you click on any picture you can see the enlarged version, and read my actual notes. There were Red Winged Black birds calling from the tree tops and some Turkey Vultures sailing overhead silently. I sketched a tree with a hole that lookes perfect for something to have a nest in, I’ll have to watch this spring. The second page is further out, in “The Maze”, a place on my land where I cut all these paths that intersect. It’s a great place to explore. The sketch at the top of the page was done first with permanent marker then I used Derwendt Inktense watercolor pencils and a few Prismacolor wc pencils; I noted the colors used on the page. I noticed the buds on the trees coming forth…like pussy willows…all soft and grey, but smaller. I did some sketches on both pages, very small. The next two pictures show me holding my sketchbook. Now it’s impossible to take a picture of oneself while both hands are occupied, I told Ginger I wish she could take the picture! So, first picture shows my hand holding the pencils and sketchbook at the same time.
The second picture shows me drawing with the wc-pencil and holding the waterbrush at the same time. The small buds I painted using the watercolor pencils and a small watercolor brush. The waterbrush gets frustrating, it’s a bit large and the water amount is hard to control.
The next ‘cute’ picture is Ginger fetching a stick, she was bored while I was setting up my supplies for a picture so I had her play fetch.
The next picture is of my field bag with the contents laid out. I numbered them so I could describe what they are. 1)watercup attached to strap 2)sandpaper block 3)watercolor pencils 4)sketchbook 5)watercolor field set 6)natural sponge 7)paper towels 8)square magnifier 9)eraser 10) slide holder for composition 11)retractable knife 12)watercolor brushes 13)tiny tripod 14)pepper spray 15) various pencils, pens, waterbrush 16)palette watercup 17)biscuit treats for Ginger 19)garbage bag to sit on.
Then there’s a picture of the ice and bubbles, I had to stand in water to take it and YES, my boots leaked! Even with the plastic bags my sock got very wet and squishy! Oh the adventures of a Naturalist Artist!
Then there’s a picture of a fern head …I love these things. Then a picture of the ‘tools of the day’, my sketchbook, watercolor pencils, waterbrush, watercolor brush, and permanent ink pen. The last picture is a Turkey Vulture that flew over, I know it was checking us out! It circled, riding the updrafts, and kept coming back over us. I’m really surprised I could catch a picture with my tiny camera.
I hope you enjoyed the walk with Ginger and I, “Come Walk With Me” again soon!
On Saturday, March 15th, I went on an “Owl Prowl” with the Buffalo Ornithological Society. We started at the Niagara Airforce base..looking across the field (through chain link fence) trying to spot a snowy owl. All we saw was a coyote..looking for some lunch! Then we drove all over Niagara county, pulling over sometimes to look at Snow Buntings or Horned Larks. The stops were so quick that you’d no sooner pop out of the car, and they were ready to drive on again! I didn’t even get to see the Horned Larks to add them to my list.
Short Earred Owl
We tried to spot a Great Horned Owl on the nest, but I think with so many people walking into the woods to see it, it got spooked. A few crows were chasing it around in the near by field. We left right away so it could return to it’s nest. The photo of shadows on the snow is from the woods where the nest was. I just loved the dried golden leaves with the cold shadows on the snow.
The big disappointment of the day for me was that I had no time to what-so-ever to stop and do sketches! We were constantly on the run. I seriously hope to do some small watercolor sketches from the photos of the Saw Whet Owl.
The next stop was to see a Short Earred Owl that was known to roost in a pine tree next to a house. (see the picture of the owl with the dead branch in front of it) It was quite difficult to see without the experienced members pointing it out. When he did fly off, I was amazed at how large his wings were!
Saw Whet Owl
Saw Whet Owl
The next photos are of the Saw Whet Owl…oh that was exciting! We went to see it roosting in a pine tree at the Wildlife Preserve in Gasport. I read in the field guide that these owls will roost in the day and be very docile, it’s true. I was amazed at how it didn’t budge with all these people photographing it, talking quietly, creeping around. The darker picture of it I took while laying on my back in the snow! Well, sometimes to get a good shot, you have to be creative! Lucky I had my snow leggins on that day. What I find interesting, is if you look at the owls markings, his head blends in with the pine needles. His breast is heavily streaked and you’d think this would make him stand out, but no, it ‘broke up’ his profile, made him sort of disappear. It was really amazing how hard it was to see him at first. I was about 15′ away and had to look very hard, I looked for his shape to stand out from the tree branches around him. Once you had him spotted, if you moved to get another view, even just two feet, you’d lose him again. Everyone struggled with this and I thought it was pretty interesting, as we are all experienced birders! By the way, this is a tiny owl, measures 7″ and that is from head to tail tip! He’s a very cute little thing! I will definitely be doing some kind of painting of him.
The last little picture is on our way home, taken at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. As we came out of the woods where we viewed the owl, the sound of the Canada Geese was deafening! Wow! We had to pull over and just experience it firsthand, you can see in the picture they were swarming…the sky was alive with them. The picture reminds me of a Vincent Van Gogh painting, I can almost see the curls in the sky of where the geese are flying together…it looks like they’re moving when you stare at it. Maybe I’ll do a painting of that too. I hope you liked the photos, sorry there’s no sketches, I’ll have to work on some soon. There is a small video clip of the group also…
Don’t forget I have nature sketching classes starting in May, email me for more info. I’ll be teaching at the Burchfield Nature Center, Reinstein Woods, and at three nature centers in Clarence. mary@marymcandrew.com
Today I felt like I just had to get out of the house! There was a bit of snow on the ground so before winter weather leaves us completley I decided to go snowshoeing with my dog Ginger. I decided to leave all the colors behind (watercolors, color pencils etc.) and just bring some non permanent ink, micron permanent pens and my waterbrush. I really like sketching with a NON permanent pen because you can create some nice effects with a little water and a brush after. You can rework or redraw on top of it after to add details or more value. The ink I’m using is called Brilliant Brown by Pellican. I put it into an expensive little Rapidograph pen, it has a very fine tip for details. The ink is nice though it gets a bit ‘pinkish’ when you wet it, but I still like it.
Page one of my sketchbook I talk about wearing my dad’s old hunting coat, oh I love that coat but mostly because it makes me think of him! When we were kids he’d dress up in the red plaid overalls and coat and chuckle like Santa! We’d all laugh!
The sketch shows a little deer path across my field that the foxes have been using. Then I used ‘comparative measurements’ to draw an exact size of the track. This is something I teach in my Nature Sketching classes. The branches were rubbing in the wind and they sounded like frogs calling! The picture of me I took myself! I experiment all the time with my camera, this time using my trusty Olympus FE230. I hung it in a tree, on a branch, by it’s little strap. I turned it on, and checked to see if it was pointed in the right general direction and then set the auto timer. Once you set it RUN!! and get in the picture. Then you can check to see if it came out. I was lucky and this one came out first try! haha…
Page two of my sketchbook (click to enlarge) shows a drawing of Ginger’s footprint. I did this to compare to the other print I drew, and to show that a dog will have claw marks. The other print I couldn’t see any. The other drawings on the page were done with a Graphitint water soluble pencil (cocoa). I like the color of this a lot! The clouds were high and puffy, I tried to draw them, but it was hard! Then I sketched a flock of geese going over, at first they sounded like yipping coyotes in the distance.
Page three I switched back to my rapidograph pen and non perm. ink. I found a tiny nest and on the page I indicated it’s actual size by measuring with my pen. Then using my sketchbook, starting at the ground and going up I counted how many sketchbooks tall it was. Knowing the size of my sketchbook I was able to very closely estimate how far off the ground it is. 21″. This is using comparative measurements in another way. The oak leaves are still hanging on, still pretty in their dry form.
The two photos (click to enlarge) are from my return walk home. The one shows a view of what it looks like when you hug a tree and look up! It’s pretty cool!! TRY IT! The other is a view of Long Lane on my way back home. Ginger is actually up ahead in the bushes on the left, can you spot her? I have a video clip that I’m goint to attach, lets hope it works! I really enjoyed sharing this walk with you, please leave me your comments and questions. I have classes starting in May for Nature Sketching, please email me for more information mary@marymcandrew.com
Today after my trip to the pet shop…it was so gorgeous I had to swing by the Clarence Nature Center and then the Clarence Escarpment. The temperatures climbed to an unseasonable 63degrees or more. I had a hard time finding much to draw at the Nature Center, I think I was distracted by the awful noise from all the construction trucks! It was deafening especially because I was still nursing a headache…it didn’t improve believe me.
I found some interesting tracks to draw and some beautiful hawthorne branches. I walked around the path and spooked two white tailed deer.
Next stop was the Clarence Escarpment, now there’s a little jewel! The Escarpment is on Greiner Rd in Clarence just East of Goodrich Rd. You pull into a little paved area and just walk down the slope. There’s water held at the bottom of the escarpment (cliffs) where you’ll find waterfowl in breeding season and other assorted critters.
I found a wooden railing to sit on and sketched using my micron pen. I pulled out my field watercolor set and did a tiny sketch of the shadows in the woods. It’s a relatively peaceful place here, you can hear the traffic a bit but you can also lose yourself just looking, drawing, listening, smelling and hearing. I say hearing because as I stood very, very still drawing the burrs…I heard a splash right near me and I saw a muscrat running along in the tiny stream! I let out a big “OH!” in surprise and it scared him, he dove under the water and disappeared!
Some local kids have found a good use for the ice as long as we have it, can you see the hockey net on the ice? It’s not a deep area so at least it’s safe for play. I can never resist the heads of the ferns, fascinating.
As I painted with my field watercolors, I dropped the lid to my jar off the wood deck I was sitting on. Thank goodness the water was frozen, as I reached down to retrieve it, I got caught up in finding the most interesting forms in the ice! There is frozen life under that thin shelf of winter.
For a great list of LINKS to parks in the Buffalo area visit my Nature Links page, also links for lots of Nature Sites and Blogs from all over the world!
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