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Spring Walk, Nature Notes and Poems

It’s been weeks since I’ve been out in the field sketching, and now that I’ve been out I feel renewed! I guess that’s how we should feel in Spring. I put on my Wellies or “Mud Boots” grabbed my sketch kit and camera and set out. Come with me and I’ll show you my walk with sketches and photos! (Please click on pictures to view clearer.)

Dried grasses in “Pasture Lane” on the way to the pond.

The first lane I walk in follows the pasture so it’s always been called “Pasture Lane”. No animals in the pasture now but still lots of wild things to look at. This lane has lots of nice dried rushes and sedges in it; I love this color, especially with the blue sky. It won’t be long I’ll be spotting all kinds of Nursery Web Spiders and underwater little nymphs and creatures.

Natural arch of branches on Long Lane

This is on “Long Lane”, looking towards “Aspen Hall” and it’s a natural archway of branches that’s been forming the past few years. I keep breaking branches when I go under it to keep it a bit under control! I’ve done sketches and paintings of it before, and not too long ago photographed it covered with snow! But as I was standing here I decided to go up “Memory Lane” to my left. This leads me to “Oak Lane”, one of my favorites, where I thought I’d check things out.

Woodpecker hole in dead tree by “Memory Lane”.

Just at this intersection the woods are quite wet and I always see dead trees with lots of woodpecker holes. This one looks like it’s been freshly pecked at.

One of the ancient oaks in “Oak Lane”, standing tall and strong.

I ended up in “Oak Lane” my favorite place on my property where the oaks are huge and tall, standing for many many generations. I made a little place to sit right up next to the tree at it’s base, by spreading my trusty garbage bag out, first checking for pokey sticks and bits. There I sat, ate a snack and enjoyed the peace, then did a small sketch of the grapevines growing about me. Hmm…funny but that seems sort of rhymy to me…lets see:

“Here I Sit”
 
Before I sat down
Upon leafy ground
I gave the spot a good scour
Where I’d while away the hour.
 
There were pokey sticks
And hard little bits
I had to clear before I sat,
So I could sit and have my snack.
 
Well, now here I sit
With favorite sketchkit
Having a think and a good look,
At what will go in my sketchbook.
 
by Mary McAndrew

Well that was fun! I just made that up!

Here’s the start of my “Grapevine” sketch

I put my sketchbook on my knees and decided to draw the big grapevine branch hanging near me…that’s it by my leg.

My watercolor palette, I just love the colors!

There’s a close up of my watercolor palette I take when I go afield, it’s getting pretty stained now and I’ll have to look for a new one. Some of my colors I have in temporary little plastic containers, just to see if I want to add them to the kit.

Using a waterbrush to paint.

This is one of my waterbrushes, it’s actually not one of the more expensive ones but it worked great for me today. It has good juicy water-flow and the tip stayed sharp for details. I also wrote words about the grapevine on the page that I’ll type out below:

“The grapevine grows greatly
reaching upwards with twisted limb.
It’s rough bark twisting tightly tense
along it’s sinuous length.
Great muscle of wooden rope reaching right up
to entangle and strangle it’s host.
And gentle innocent long trailing tendrils
Hang down from above,
stirring in the breeze
to tease.”
by Mary McAndrew

As I wrote the words I let my mind think poetically and freely. I knew later I’d like to write a poem from some of the words I found because I liked the way they sounded together. Here’s the finished sketch below and then the new poem follows:

Grapevine sketch and words done in the field.

Here’s my little poem I wrote just now while looking back at the words:

“The Grapevine”
 
Grapevine growing greatly
Reaching upwards with twisted limb,
Rough bark twisting tightly
Tense, sinuous and slim.
 
Great muscle of wooden rope
Reaching right up to entangle,
Clinging to unwilling host
As you wind about to strangle.
 
Gentle, innocent tendrils trail
Stirring in the breeze.
Stronger than you look so frail,
Climbing any tree you please.
 
by Mary McAndrew

Watercolor started in the field of purpley red bushes.

The watercolor above I did half in the field and half at home.  On my way back I stood in an field we call “The Maze”, because of all the intertwined paths in it, all cut by me years ago using a tractor and brush hog. It was very difficult to paint the stems while standing there in front of them, tired, cold…but I loved the colors so much and wanted to try and ‘study’ it. When I got back I looked at photos I took using my computer, and did more detail and study. I found myself using Dioxizine Violet mixed with Alizarin Crimson for most of the purpley colors; mixing it with Sepia made a nice shadow color. I had to use a bit of Cadmium Red to brighten up the color here and there. You can see my color notes on the left side there. By the way, I can’t really recall what the name of the bushes are, I think “Red Pannacled…something or other! Sorry, I packed all my field guides up, I’ll see if I can look for them.

The old stick bridge at “Aspen Hall”

This is the old stick bridge in “Aspen Hall”, I add to it every spring and summer, tossing on dead branches to go over the ditch. “Aspen Hall” is located along “Long Lane”, so I’ve done a circle and am coming back towards home now.

A very old car frame.

This is a very old car frame just sitting by the pasture, it’s been there ages! I think the former owner of the farm told me it was Model T or Model A …wooden spokes! How cool!

I’ll leave you with one more picture from my spring walk…

Ahhh…this is the life!

I didn’t want you to miss my favorite picture! I love taking pictures of my boots when I go hiking, wherever I am. In my shop I have pictures of my boots in England too! Go here to my shop then scroll down left side column and click “Hiking – Walking + Boots”

Hope you enjoyed our ramble!

Click on the pictures below to see my photos as note cards, it has a nice ZOOM feature that’s lets you look closely.

“Great Old Oak Tree” glossy note cards
“The Old Stick Bridge” glossy note cards
“Old Wheel” glossy note cards

“View From Aspen Hall” 5-4-11

Before too much time goes by I wanted to get this post out, especially because I already have another waiting in the wings! Gee it sure has been a productive spring with getting out for walks and doing sketches in my journal!

Today I walked on my land and sat in “Aspen Hall”, a clump of trees that grows along “Long Lane” that the boys and I used to walk to when they were little. It became a special place to picnic, clear little paths and just feel adventurous. To anyone else it would just look like a clump of trees; some dead and broken, many new little ones coming up, a bit weedy but with the odd clump of daffodils and crocuses that we planted so many years ago. But to us it was a special place and as they grew and started to venture out for hikes on their own it was as far as they were allowed in the beginning. To get to Aspen Hall from the lane you have to cross a big ditch that is always filled with water. Over the years I would do a bit of house cleaning by tossing dead branches and trees across it. As they piled up we could gingerly walk across, while holding onto the wild grape vines that hung nearby.

View From Aspen Hall - watercolor crayon + ink pen

I’ll type out what my text says on the sketch above:

“May 4, 2011  Very, very wet walk, the land is saturated. Sloshing all the way! Sitting in Aspen Hall now on my pile of logs. I got pics of the Oriole near the barn! Sitting here I can hear: Song Sparrow, Towhee, Crow, Goldfinches, Yellow Shafted Flicker, dogs barking in the distance, cars droning, bubbles softly popping in the water of the wet ground, Red Winged Black bird, Blue Jay, House Wren, American Robin, Chickadee.”

“I can hear a lot but it’s not a great place to draw from, bushes all around, uncomfortable seat of logs.”

I wrote this first as I settled into the spot. It’s good to settle in and listen before you draw or write, absorb your surroundings no matter where you are. I use a permanent ink type pen to write then I can paint right over it. Then I did a light sketch of all the trees using a brown ink pen, Faber Castell Pitt. Then I took a clear wax (birthday candle) and rubbed on the paper where I wanted the clouds to be. Next I used watercolor crayons to put in the blues and greys of the sky and colors of the bushes and grass in front. I darkened the distant trees by adding crayon to them too, though it’s hard to keep it detailed using them if your in a hurry. To use the crayons you just color like a coloring book and then wet them, you can choose to color softly and leave no lines, or use the lines and marks as part of your sketch. I’m finding as I use my new watercolor crayons, the sets I have don’t have a good brown! They both have reddish browns which I find limiting. As I keep working with them I might just come up with a combination of using them with watercolor pencils.

Yellow Warbler

Now as you read on my sketch page, I did meet a few beautiful birds today! This picture isn’t super clear but I had my long lens on and was hand holding the camera. This Yellow Warbler was constantly on the move and very hard to capture but I just had to share him with you! He was flitting around in the reeds by my pond, wow was he pretty!

Baltimore Oriole

And there’s the Baltimore Oriole, oh wow, one of my favorite summer birds! He was way up in a tree along the lane, but I caught a few pictures of him as he sang his loud, clear song. Click on this pic to see it as a note card that you can customize.

Baltimore Oriole

I’m always amazed at the deep orange on his throat and the contrast of the velvety black with hot (cadmium) orange on his body.

Baltimore Oriole

I keep saying, “Someday… someday I have to paint an Oriole!” It’s on the list, believe me! Click this picture also to see it as a note card.

Swamp Sparrow

Now I was excited about this little guy, a Swamp Sparrow VERY quietly and demurely hopping around under the bushes. I was standing in the flooded area in front of my pond, in about 8″ of water (wearing my rubber boots of course) and taking pictures of the Yellow Warbler. I kept seeing something out of the corner of my eye moving like a leaf in a light breeze. Just here and there a tiny movement, I started to let my eyes roam over the area until I saw it again, and yes, it was a little sparrow. I had to put the camera on manual focus because of the branches in the way; the camera will focus on them, not on him.  I was able to catch enough pictures of him, though each picture caught a different part of him, to identify him later at home. I think, with all the water I have here, his name is befitting him! haha 😉

Well another nice walk on Long Lane Farm, glad you came along with me on this cold day. If you like sketching or it’s something you want to try, I encourage you to get out and just start. Take time to sit and absorb, listen and then just write about what you hear, what you’re thinking. Then add some sketches or colors, the more you do the faster and better you’ll get at it! And if you’re like me, if it’s cold outside you’ll learn to sketch even quicker! 😉