This hike was such an adventure that I’ll never forget! It was long and had so many great views that I have quite a few photos to share with you before you see my sketch and watercolor painting at the end.
Hike up the valley
First we parked the car near an old Medieval church that in itself is very interesting and I’d like to go back to explore it and it’s graveyard with old stones. We hiked up this valley along all those pine trees you see…past all those white dots, those are sheep!
The tough looking sheep closed in on us
I’ll be a little silly here and tell you when we walked past these sheep, they kept coming closer and closer like they were ganging up on us. It’s my silly side that thinks they look like thugs in tight wool sweaters, not very attractive sheep! The one who doesn’t have to short pig-like look is a different breed, he must be wondering what he’s doing with all those thugs! haha.
The hill we need to climb
We passed the sheep and went up a very gentle sloping hill, but it was huge so it took us awhile. It may look all sunny and pretty but it was really cold and extremely windy that day. You can see the beautiful line of Scotch pines up on the hill, that’s where we’re headed to the ring fort.
Old walls of the Celtic Ring Fort
Well we made it up, the hill seemed to never have a top to it…we walked and walked but enjoyed the views. If you look at the photo above you’ll see a mound of dirt with grass on it, looks like a dune at the ocean, and there’s a spot you can walk through. That’s the Celtic Ring Fort entrance and the mounds are the walls, they used to be much taller and had deep ditches dug all around like a moat for protection. It’s such a huge site, it’s hard to imagine the layout of the fort, but if you look at it on Google Earth it’s really cool to see the image of the rings from above.
Steep hillside defense of the ring fort
This is the view off the front of the hill fort, it’s a very steep hillside which would have given them protection from enemies. At the top of the hill you can just see several mounds of dirt, those are remains of the walls.
First stone we found
Now this is the best part, there is ancient rock art on the stones found around this site. These were carved around 3,000 – 4,000 years ago by the ancient Celtic people who made the hillfort. They are generally called ‘Cup and Ring Marks’, the ones above are ring marks. It’s so beautiful to see the symetrical designs carved into the rocks but they are so worn with age and covered with lichens that they just look so natural.
I'm measuring the rings with my sketchbook
Here I’m showing how I use the ruler I drew on the back of my homemade sketchbook to measure one of the rings circumferences.
This is the larger stone on Old Bewick
This is the second rock we found and probably very photographed by hikers. If you do an image search for “Old Bewick Rock Art” you’ll come up with a lot of interesting stuff.
Drawing rings
Here I’m sketching some of the rings of the second rock, gosh it was really cold, if you could only imagine it was hard to stand still because the wind was blowing on me so hard!
Sketch of the rings
Here’s the sketches of ring marks. I tried to hold my pencil lightly and used the side of the tip so I could sort of lightly scribble the forms and build up darks as I went.
Drawing the line of 'cup' marks
Just as we were getting ready to leave I looked back at the huge stone and noticed (with my keenly trained nature sketching eyes!!) the little ‘cup’ marks along the front of the stone.
Old Bewick field sketch
I had to go back, even though we were tired and ready to go, I sat and did a quick pen sketch with permanent ink of the outline and basic cracks.I’m just getting used to using my new homemade sketchbook and I like that I can draw across two pages instead of having a spiral in the way.
Painting of Old Bewick Rock
This is the finished painting of Old Bewick Rock. Once I get home I only have my laptop to look at for reference from photos I take. As I now had time to sit in a warm house with a hot cup of tea I could see where I was a bit ‘off’ with my cracks and added maybe two extra cups marks! But it’s a field sketch, no big deal. So I had fun painting it with watercolors and you can see I left color testing notes in the upper right corner. While I sat there I did note the direction I was facing with my compass and wrote it on my paper.
I hope you enjoyed coming on a great hike with me, I’m inspired to study more of the numerous ‘rock art’ sites all around Northumberland and do some paintings.
I thought I should add a note here about the ancient sites like this, in case you ever visit one please remember they are irreplaceable. Gary and I talked about how soft the sandstone is and crumbles very easy if you just touch it. It’s my opinion that you shouldn’t really touch it too much or especially do rubbings on paper, I think it’s too much abrasion for the stone. Please never climb on it and encourage others to consider it’s delicacy too. Thanks!
Today we visited Howdiemont Sands beach along the coast of the North Sea in Northumberland England. We walked across Sugar Sands and climbed up to a point where we could view the point at Howick Haven. I wanted to sit and try to do a small watercolor landscape so I bundled up and brought the usual field kit.
Water color painting "View of Howick Haven"
Here’s the finished painting, I did most in the field sitting on top a windy, grassy cold hill. I’ll share the photographs with you of what I saw and tell you a bit about how I did the little painting.
We walked along this beach
When you first arrive at Howdiemont Sands you can choose to walk either right or left. We chose left because it was new to us and we always wonder at what new views might be found or other discoveries.
Sugar Sands
The beach here (called Sugar Sands) is unbelievable, a pretty color of ‘sand’ shade, (hahah…) clean, soft and inviting even on a cold sunny October day. You can see many other people and their dogs found the beach irresistible today too.
Bird tracks
There were lots of interesting bird tracks too, gulls leave a track with a little web foot. This one? It was big and looked like it would drag it’s front toe in the sand when it stepped; I wish I knew what it was.
Looking back at Sugar Sands
Here’s a view looking back on the beach we crossed, sometimes you have to go up over the grassy banks to get past areas that are under water still.
The red rocks below me
This is looking down from where I decided to paint, how beautiful the patterns and colors are in these rocks. As the tide continues to go out the rocks will be more exposed.
View from my painting spot
This is the gorgeous view from where I decided to sit, light was fading fast and I had to pick a place quick. It’s really hard to pick a scene when there’s so much to see around you. It helps to hold up your hands and make a little opening like a rectangle and pretend that’s your paper. Move your hands around until you find a cropped scene that you like.
View I painted
Because I wasn’t working really big I tried to limit what I was going to paint, also I didn’t have tons of time with the sun leaving soon as it was about 4:30pm when we arrived.
my sketch
I sat on a picnic blanket with a waterproof bottom, wore my wind/rain pants over my regular pants, this helped to cut the cold and wind. I also had on my fingerless gloves as usual, sorry no picture today! I’m using a homemade sketchpad that I created so it would be extra long. It’s great for landscapes! I worked with my field pan and regular watercolor brushes, usually when in the field I use my waterbrush. I don’t like the waterbrush for larger works needing big washes of color. You can see in the picture a baggy just off the blanket, tucked into the grass. I forgot a watercup to rinse my brushes in, so I used a baggy with some water in it, it worked great!!
My watercolor field pan
This is the painting/sketch laid out at home, you can see this is how far I got with it in the field. The pan watercolors I used is an old metal kit that I popped the large pans out of and replaced with half pans of Windsor Newton brand paints. I use a bit of sticky tack or blue tack to hold each one in place and you can see the handles on my brushes are cut, so I can fit more “things” in it. I brought that one long brush with me and used only that to do all this so far.
My set up to finish from photo at home
Now I set up my laptop with a photo I took while there, and worked on details with smaller brushes while looking at it. I didn’t touch the sky, just left it the way I did it in the field. If you start to mess around with all of it, it can get stiff looking. Notice I put my coffee on the left side…if your right handed, water should go on that side and you don’t want to be dipping into your coffee by mistake! So, I worked on trees and details of that main area; I also used a razor blade to scrape fine lines for the white fence. Also, you may have noticed a funny looking cone shape that looks like a child’s’ painting of a tree? It’s a recreation of one of the oldest ‘houses’ in Britain probably from the Bronze age. Remains of one were found on this very spot! They made their homes from tree limbs in a sort of tee pee style, with turf for the roofing material. I’ll try to find a link about it to add here.
Go here to see the finished painting in the GALLERY.
I am not sure when I started to be fascinated by mushrooms and fungi, but when I go hiking I find I’m always stopping to notice them tucked away under branches, logs or leaves. Sometimes they’re right in front of you on the sides of dead or dying trees or right on the path, or they may be hiding waiting for your keen eye to catch them.
I spotted this pair right in the lawn (that needed cutting!) and what an interesting mushroom. My best guess is a “Shaggy Ink Cap”. I wondered why it was named that until I saw it a few days later.
Shaggy Ink Cap watercolor sketch
I did this little sketch with just watercolors, I wanted to avoid doing a careful pencil sketch and just kind of block in some green to form the light shapes of the mushrooms. I used a waterbrush which is handy but can be a bit limiting; it’s not as easy to mix quick pools of color in your pan and you must have a paper towel handy to clean between colors. Also I usually use just the one size waterbrush when doing a quick sketch so you use it to make wide and narrow lines or marks. The challenge on this set of fungi was the shaggy part, how to paint it without fussing too much? The “shags” were light and pointy, really their form was created by the darks around them…above and below. If I was doing a careful study I’d spend more time on that feature.
Me working on the sketch
Here’s a picture of me working to show my set up; I’m sitting on my blue foam pad because the grass is damp and chilly, it was early morning still. It’s not the best posture for someone with a ‘bad’ back, no support, but what are you going to do? That’s partly why I worked so fast, I get achy!
Looking over my shoulder
You can see my new little field kit there, I use it as a purse and carry my bare essentials for field sketching. The art supplies take presedence I have to admit…no make-up just some money, credit card and the rest is for drawing! My motto, “Be Prepared”! I’m holding the watercolor pan in my left hand, waterbrush in the other. I have regular brushes in the pan in case I want to use them or have water with me.
Shaggy Ink Cap
This is how it looked the day I painted it.
Two days later
And this is just two days later, I was shocked! I guess that’s where it gets it’s name, INK cap. It was eerie looking, dripping black goo, like it had melted.
Two days later close-up
I would like to learn more about this, and why it does that. Any of my readers know?… leave me a comment please. I didn’t have a chance to draw it at this stage, been too busy going off on hikes. I have been photographing many types of mushrooms, my favorite so far is the Fly Agaric…bright red cap with white flecks on it. I hope to do a painting of that one too.
On Sunday, September 20th, I went on a carriage drive with eight different buggy’s and all kinds of horses, through Coquetdale (or the Coquet river Valley) all around Rothbury.
Graham's Boys
This is a drawing I did after the drive while looking at one of my photos on the computer screen. It was WAY too bumpy to even consider sketching while on the drive. This was done with a permanent ink pen with no preliminary pencil sketch, so I had to plan as I sketched because you can’t erase.
View above Coquetdale
A bit about the carriage drive. It’s hard to pick out just a few pictures. As you can imagine on an 8 mile pony trek through some of the most beautiful English countryside while in the back of a 4 wheeled horse cart, left me with lots of photos. The day was perfect, a bit breezy but no rain and no dark clouds!
Sheep above Coquetdale
Through a farmers field with gorgeous views of Coquetdale below.
I got to ride in a 4 wheel buggy as I said, pulled by a team of two, half-brother horses. They were perfectly matched though, both dark brown. They were only 4 years old so young by standards of experience and the owner, Graham, was thrilled at how well they did.
Butterknowes Mare
This is a water color pencil sketch I did once again after the drive. I used one black pencil and a waterbrush to do it. It was a mare in the field we passed, the gate read, “Butterknowes”, that’s the farm name. Any time we passed a field with horses they all galloped around and bucked, you could feel their excitement! This mare had a foal and they did the same thing, running along the fence as we passed, it was really exciting.
Driving a buggy can be dangerous stuff though, all in the cart had riding helmets on in case of a tip over, me…well I didn’t have one. I had to just hope the horses and terrain would cooperate! There were some parts where we had to duck from tree branches over an old railway line, where the steep bank was just a step away; and parts where the road was so bumpy I held myself up off the seat by partial standing and using my arms. I just couldn’t take the bumps with my back. But other than that it was relaxing and fun.
On the highway
This is the buggy that was just behind us in the first part, then we switched positions so our horses could feel secure and follow.
We went through farmers fields, on a two lane paved ‘highway’, on old railroad lines, on country dirt roads (complete with pot holes!), through many field gates, up past the Simonside Hills and moors covered with bracken and heather, to swing down through gorgeous mature pine forests and then into Rothbury, a quiet little town in Coquetdale (the River Coquet valley).
Pausing at the parking area of Simonside
We had a brief pause at the parking area near Simonside in the open moorland areas. We were trying to let the others catch up. It was windy and cold up here, but we couldn’t stand long or the horses would chill.
Tower at Rothbury
This is the old tower just outside of Rothbury, I’m not sure if it was used to look out for invading Scots or not? I have to find out.
Coming home
Everyone filed in after the drive to June’s farm at East Raw, June’s the shepherdess who hosted the drive. The buggy in the back with the gorgeous chestnut horse is June with her groomswoman (or gate opener!) Becky. The cart in front is a lady from Scotland who came down just for the drive, with her Shetland Pony.
Chester sweated
What can I say? Is this not a perfect looking horse?! (June’s horse Chester)
After the drive
I’ll leave you with this picture of the buggy I rode in, with these two chaps having a talk over it, under a huge ancient tree. Sigh…a perfect day. I feel some horse paintings coming soon.
The feeling of standing on top of a cliff with the wind blowing through your hair, out to the North Sea, can really clear your mind, your body and your soul.
Standing on Scottish Soil
Leave behind all worries, breath deep and let go, (just don’t let go of that nice shawl that you’re holding as the wind whips!)
Clear your mind, your body and your soul.
The beginning of any good journey should have some time to assimilate and absorb, relax into the moment and be happy.
Breath deep and let go!
Don’t just rush into it with a vengeance, you’re probably too tired from the flight anyways!
We had fun shooting these pictures on the drive down from Edinburgh to Northumberland. The day was windy, cloudy and cold, but it felt so good to be out in the fresh air and know that I was there at last. My wonderful boyfriend Gary shot these photos of me, he shares my love of nature and the countryside.
Town of St. Abbs on Scottish east coast
On our drive we stopped at some small port towns, watching the fishermen’s boats and thinking of how tough that life must be. This is in the town of St. Abbs in Berwickshire Scotland, in what they call the Scottish Borders.
St. Abbs Wildlife Reserve
Then we stopped at St. Abbs Wildlife Reserve along the coast. It’s very exposed but popular for bird watching and seeing the beautiful cliffs. We sat for awhile in the car looking out to take a break from the cold wind, while we sat I spotted a Stoat just running along the top of the bank you see in the photo. Gary said it’ll be after rabbits, it was an attractive animal, one worth doing a little painting of.
Stepping closer to the edge
We walked around and then closer to the edge, being very careful of course! The water was a gorgeous deep aqua blue color and the cliffs were a flurry of activity from the birds coming and going.
A row of Kittiwakes on the cliff face
A nice neat row of gulls. At first glance I thought these were black headed gulls in winter plumage because they have the tell tale spot behind the ear. (Ah…didn’t wash behind the ears, don’t tell mom!) But when I looked in my field guide (“The Hamlyn Guide to Birds of Britain and Europe”) I saw that they have yellow legs and a light beak. When you bird watch the fun part is deciphering the markings of birds and figuring out what kind of bird it’s NOT. Process of elimination many times is what works. See more description below.
Immature Kittiwake
Kittiwake immature + adult
At first it looks like two different species of birds, but the one in the forground is an immature and the one behind is an adult, both Kittiwakes. They have both have black feet, the immature has a partial ring around the back of it’s neck a black spot behind the ear and a black beak; the adult has a yellow beak. It’s like solving a puzzle, that’s why I like birding. Though I am NO expert by far, especially at shore birds as I don’t get to see them often. But I like to show how you can enjoy them and figure out what kind they are by looking up clues in your field guide or going online to search.
More of the northeast coastline
Well here’s one last photo of the coast.
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Have you ever gone for a walk on a beautiful day, listening to all the wonderful birds singing around you, and there’s one that seems to be singing right in front of you, but won’t show itself? Sigh. That’s what happened today at the midpoint of my hike, standing quietly listening intently, trying to ‘see’ this mystery bird. So, I think I found a new species, we’ll call it “Invisible Warbler” , perhaps with a Latin name of Invisibulus? Haha, anyone else seen signs of this bird? Well enjoy reading my pages below and the added photos, I’ll add a few notes here and there to explain.
This page from my sketchbook shows a quick watercolor sketch where I was standing. It’s a very wet area filled with these swamp type grasses or sedges and surprisingly I wasn’t bothered by mosquitoes here! As I stood painting, Ginger flushed two Woodcocks at separate times, I guess they like wet areas as they use their long beaks to probe the soil (mud) for worms. My dad said that’s why Woodcocks don’t taste good and I can attest to that! When he used to hunt we had some for dinner…very strong tasting meat. I remember he said they were also very challenging to hunt as they are a hard target; when I see one explode from the brush I can’t imagine how you could actually shoot one! ( I never would anyways!!)
Yellow Throat (2)
Now here’s one of my favorite warblers, a Yellow Throat. I still remember the first time I saw one down in Pennsylvania at Lake Sheridan.
Yellow Throat
He was so difficult to see in the brush, I’m just happy I got these two pictures though they are blurry! I really need to paint this warbler.
Burr
Did you know, the guy who invented “Velcro” got the idea from this little plant? Next time you see some prickly headed Burrs, take a closer look at it. You’ll notice the prickles have little hooked ends on them, not so nice when you go hiking and they stick all over your socks!
Hairy Woodpecker ?
I saw him on “Memory Lane”, heard his tapping before I saw him.
Flycatcher
I’m not very good at identifying Flycatchers, though I got a lot of great photos of this one if anyone wants to help me. Is it just a Phoebe? I found him by my pond.
Eyed Brown
I’m so excited about finding TWO new butterflies, for me that is! The first is this “Eyed Brown Butterfly”, a very simple and plain looking creature. Sometimes it’s looking closer at the ‘plain janes’ that you can appreciate their subtle colors and patterns. I like the combination of light brown with the dark brown spots and the rings with dots. If I was teaching children to notice this, it’d be fun to draw these dots and rings. Also notice the repeated lines of the veins on the wings, a nice pattern.
Eyed Brown (2)
Rose Breasted Grosbeak (fem. or juvenile)
This was a great capture! I was standing quietly on “Oak Lane” and saw him up on a branch at the edge of the woods adjoining a field. It looks like a gigantic sparrow if you were to compare it to something familiar, but notice the heavy beak. This is either a young Rose Breasted Grosbeak or a female, I’m not sure. I’d guess a young one because it looks so ruffled.
Rufus Sided Towhee (m)
Another favorite of mine, the Rufus Sided Towhee. I still remember the first time I saw one of these too, also at Lake Sheridan in Pa. So many great birding memories from Pennsylvania when I was a teenager! My family is originally from the Scranton area…I spent lots of time at Lake Wallenpaupak too…anyone familiar with these lakes?
Rufus Sided Towhee 2 (m)
Wasp
To get this picture, I was a lot farther away then it may seem! I used the zoom on my tiny Olympus camera to capture this one, I just love the pose…looks very elegant actually!
Common Wood Nymph (mating pair)
This is the second new butterfly discovery of the day for me, the “Wood Nymph”. This is a pair mating, I don’t know if the male of female is the larger one, but one was definitely larger and more pronounced markings. On closer look (in real life) the wings looking rather plain here were actually slightly irridescent and rather pretty.
Common Wood Nymph (mating pair) 2
Well I did not find that invisible warbler, let me know if you ever find one, maybe I can figure out a way to get a picture of him?? haha….
Please leave me your comments and if you may know any of the things I asked about…lets hear your thoughts!
Today I went for another walk on Long Lane Farm with my 4 legged companion Ginger. Below I have a page from my sketchbook journal where I show a fun technique of using a frame as a design element. If you keep a few ‘frame’ templates in your field kit you can have some fun tracing them. Some template ideas could be a post it note, an index card, maybe the lens cap from your camera (I thought of this one while sitting and drawing today) and what I used here was a simple refrigerator magnet that has the center that pops out. I think if you take more time to play with this you can really do some nice designs!
field-study-flowers
Clockwise from the top left you can see a Daisey in the grass, then the male Oriole popping his head through the oak leaves at the top of a VERY high old oak. Above that a yellow wildflower that I think is ‘King Devil’ a type of Hawkweed, then ‘Fleabane’, the little pink flower underneath the Oriole. The bottom right is a very pretty wildflower that I found in the Maze..anyone help me with this one? (I have photos of these wildflowers coming up.) In the frame are ‘Common’ or ‘Tall Buttercups’ and around the frame I listed the names of birds I saw or heard today.
field-study-grasses
On the second page I just used the micron permanent pen and drew some grasses. On the right are ‘Soft Rushes’, their pliable stems are what would be used to weave mats or baskets and next to it some type of sedge. The rushes are more closely related to lilies than grasses, my field guide says and I know the stem is round. It’s neat to follow the stem to the top with your fingers and feel how absolutely perfect a point it comes to. The sketch next to it is of some type of sedge, honestly I can’t find it in my guide. They had a most interesting design in their growth, three leaves jutting out from the top in different directions and the clustered seed pods looking like spikey critters! It had a triangular stem which reminds me of the saying…”Sedges have edges”.
tree-swallow-youngster
I snapped this shot as I was leaving the yard, just after his mom or dad had visited the hole. What a face! haha!
fleabane
And here’s the pretty pink ‘Daisy Fleabane’, people used to hang it in their houses to keep away the fleas…not sure if it worked! I have a big clump of these sprouted up in my front flower bed and they are really pretty. Many people would have yanked it thinking ‘weed’, but well, it has lots of company with all the other weeds!
white-flower
This is the mystery flower, can anyone help me identify it? I love the fine fuzz on it, as I look at a close up picture, it catches the sun. They were growing together in a patch in the middle of the Maze.
King Devil-Hawkweed
I think this is called King Devil a type of Hawkweed; I found it growing at ‘Aspen Hall’ a shady area along the lane just before the Maze. It has fine bristly hairs all over it and the flowers were all confined to just the top of one long stem. I had to move grasses to find the leaves, which were tucked low at ground level.
white-moth
This white moth was interesting to study. I spotted him when Ginger and I were returning along ‘Oak Lane’, it was flitting eratically along the path, as butterflies do. I kept following it to try and get a picture and I’m sure it knew it was being followed. I thought about how strange it is for a WHITE butterfly to be amonst so much green! It stands out like a sore thumb, well I have a feeling this photo will teach you something. When it landed instead of staying on top of the leaf and closing it’s wings, it very quickly flipped under the leaf and laid it’s wings out. Now you’d think oh I’ll still see the white, but no, the green leaf reflected on it’s wings and it now looked green! How cool is that? If you ask questions as you stand and watch the bugs and critters around you, you’ll start to notice details you never thought of before.
oriole-male
Here is the gloriously beautiful male Baltimore Oriole! I love seeing them, such an intense orange and yellow breast set off by deep black like velvet! He’s way up in an oak tree looking down at me, can you tell? I love this picture of him. This was along Oak Lane and I ended up standing still here for quite a long time. I kept hearing several different birds give their warning chirp like they had babies near.
oriole-nest
I’m glad I stood as long as I did, I caught sight of what I guessed was a female Oriole and studied where she disappeared to. Aha! They have a nest way up in the oak tree, hanging out over the path! It’s amazing that birds can actually weave a basket nest like this in the tree and it supports the eggs and adult, later all growing into heavier fledglings. If you look close you can just see the female through the leaves, leaning down into the nest to feed the babies.
green-bug
I think this little green guy who came to visit me while I was eating and painting was really neat! I haven’t found him yet in my field guide, I think I need another bug guide to cross reference.
black-beetle
And last we have a very black, very shiney beetle…no I don’t think it’s this beetle but I’d love to hear some suggestions? Closest I’ve come is either a ‘Ground Beetle’, or ‘Red Legged Ham Beetle’ or a ‘Blue Milkweed Beetle’.
I hope you enjoyed the walk with me today, so much was seen and discovered in what looks just like an ordinary field and woodland edge. Take time to stand or sit still and just watch what the creatures around you do. And you’ll see so much more if you look a bit closer at the ground, grasses or flowers as there is always something living there.
Please post a comment if you like and if you may know what my bugs or flowers are, please lets have a stab at it!
Here’s the books I referenced after my hike today:
Reader's Digest Wildflowers Guide
Nat.Wildlife Fed. Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of N. America
The day was gorgeous, it was flying by too quickly while I worked inside, longing looks out over my field. Finally I grabbed my cameras, sun hat and rubber mud boots and said “That’s it! Let’s go for a walk Ginger!” Ginger goes nuts of course at the word ‘walk’; I feel relief already and a whole new energy coming in as we leave the yard behind. Sometimes it’s good to not plan, I’m an over planner. Having a field sketching kit ready to grab at a moments notice or your camera and extra battery ready is all you need.
Here I have my new favorite camera slung across my body, I find if you let the strap out all the way carrying it this way is less stress on your neck. I usually walk with the lens cover off, tucked into my back pocket. It’s ready to slip on if I go through brush or kneel down to investigate something where tall ‘stuff’ can scratch the lens. The camera is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28; I have an adapter on it so I can use that big Teleconversion Lens. Everything I shoot is hand-held so when I get clear shots I’m so happy, I just can’t set up a tripod while birding, bugging etc. but all the years of birdwatching comes in handy as I find it easy to spot and zoom on just the right area. The other little camera you see on my belt loop I find to be such a help and compliment to using the big lens, it’s an olympus FE 230 and I love it to peices! It’s great at taking super up close pictures and little movie clips. The movie clips on this blog are all mostly taken with it. (If you want to see all posts with clips, go to my Catagories list and click “Video Clips”) I took this pic by balancing the Olympus camera on a fence and used the timer…it’s a blast to take pics of yourself while out hiking. You are there in your element, why shouldn’t you remember that great big smile on your face?
Song Sparrow Male Watching Me
The first exciting thing was spotting this male Song Sparrow, he was constantly perched about the tops of these small bushes in the middle of my field, around 40 feet away. I took snap after snap of one of my favorite little sparrows, I can’t wait to do a painting of him.
Male Song Sparrow-warning call
I point out here, he was not singing but constantly giving that little “CHIP” call they do when disturbed. Being that I was nowhere near him, I thought maybe he had a nest over there. BUT…..
Song Sparrow Fledgling
Look what I saw as I turned to go…just down in the bushes right near me was a fledgling song sparrow! He was hot out of the nest I presume and sitting still as a statue. NOW I knew why the male Song Sparrow was calling. I carefully took slow steps all around the baby and took pictures, I had to move back a few steps in fact because of that long zoom lens I had. I also whipped out my little Olympus and took some snaps then after I was sure I had captured his mug for posterity from all angles, (picture me creeping around him step by step through heavy brush) I shot a short video clip of him (find it at the end of this post!).
Red Winged Black Bird Male
Moving on. A male Red Winged Blackbird was scolding from way up high in a seed laden tree as Ginger wandered beneath him, not noticing. Then I turned my attention to what was below in the grasses and shrubs. I didn’t need to go far today to find a myriad of wonders. When you go into a field next, just stand still and start to count the number of things you notice; bend down and move some grasses and see what bugs you surprise.
12 Spotted Skimmer Dragonfly
I love Dragonflies, did you know they’ve been around since the time of the dinosaurs? This is a female 12 Spotted Skimmer, each of it’s four wings has three spots, do the math and you get twelve! That’d be great for a math lesson…3×4=12. The female has yellow lines on her sides and black spots on the wings, the male has black and white spots and a pale blue abdomen. If I hadn’t caught a photo of her, I’d never have identified what it kind it was later. It was difficult to catch her though, she flew, landed and disappeared each time; I had to point at where I ‘thought’ she went and zoom in hoping to find her…well you can see I did.
Butterfly on a Daisey
I still need to identify this butterfly I think it’s a ….. What a perfect shot to show how the butterflies coloring and pattern help to protect it. He’s poised on a daisey to feed, notice the color of his back wings (‘hind wings’) match the color of the flower center. Then in his forwings you see little marks of white that make a stripey pattern, just like the petals! If you start to question why something behaves the way it does, or looks the way it does, you’ll find nature around you to be immensely more interesting! And if your and artist, studying these details even if you don’t paint them, helps in understanding your subject.
Moth
Here’s a what’s either a Yellow-collared Scape Moth or a Grapeleaf Skeletonizer. I’ve seen these around the yard over the years and never paid much attention to them. Now I look closer at everything since I’ve started Nature Sketching. I would never have known this was a moth, as I went back to study him further I found two species that look similar. Time to call in reinforcements on this ID!
Spittle Bug
Next we have the unromantic Spittlebug! I have to further investigate further to see if it’s a ‘Two Lined’ or a ‘Meadow’ Spittlebug. I learned this one when I was in girl scouts, away back when. Funny thing is, in England I found out they call it “Cukoo Spit” because it appears around the time the Cukoos come back in Spring! At the center of this mass of ‘spit’ bubbles is a larvae that surrounds itself like this while feeding. The adult feeds on the sap of grains and grasses.
Grasshopper
I never would have seen this little guy if I wasn’t poking around in the grasses looking at Spittlebugs! For a grasshopper he’s handsome and trim..haha..if one can describe a grasshopper that way. If anyone knows what kind it is I’d love to know, I am not versed in grasshopper! I had a good look through my “Feild Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America” (National Wildlife Fed.) and couldn’t find one just like it. Notice the leaf next to him to the right, it’s dying off and looks as though there may be eggs laid underneath? Interesting to note the color, it changed to a Cadmium Yellow to a rosy pink (Alizarin Crimson would work nice here). There is new fresh life and at the same time decay supporting more life all around us. It’s just nature’s natural cycle.
Birdsfoot Trefoil - from above
Birdsfoot Trefoil - underside
I now turn my attention to the beautiful wildflowers in the grasses. This is Bird’s Foot Trefoil, leaves in threes (‘tre’) and named Bird’s Foot because the flowers form a cluster of five at the top, when they turn to seed pods it looks like a birds toes.
Daisy Fleabane
This is Daisy Fleabane, my “Readers Digest Guide to Wildflowers” says that it was once hung in houses to help rid them of fleas! Most people would look at these popping up in thier gardens as weeds, but there are really pretty. They grow with the blossoms in clusters at the top of a delicate stem. As I took this photo I was returning from my hike with Ginger down “Pasture Lane”, the grass is very long and it’s shady and right next to a ditch of water, a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes! They came up in clouds around me but I still nabbed this photo with my tiny Olympus camera…taking some bites on my arms! OUCH! One insect I don’t enjoy studying!
Young Growth in Deep Woods
And we end here, looking into the deep woods. This scene is the type that inspired my paintings like “Mystic Woods”, “Secret Woods”, and “Raven Sphere”, see them in my Fantasy Gallery.
I promised a video clip…it was too big to upload, I’ll learn how to resize it then add it here! Sorry, it’ll come!
Below are the field guides I referred to, both are great!
Today was gorgeous so I set out for a nice long trek on my farm property. There is a lane that runs the length of my property called “Long Lane” and halfway along it is “The Maze”, an area that I cut circular paths on with a brush hog, that intersect and create a sort of ‘maze’. My boys liked to use it years ago for paint ball games, but I find that it’s a great place to see certain birds. The “Maze” is surrounded by relatively new bush growth and two tree lines, one containing old growth oaks. I have found the Rose Breasted Grosbeaks like it, and every Spring I can find the Rufus Sided Towhee singing there. Just along the “Oak Lane” bordering the “Maze” I hear the wonderful melodies of the Wood Thrush and sometimes a Veery.
Long Lane Farm Hike pg2 5-22-09
I’ve been searching for that elusive Wood Thrush to catch his picture, but it’s much easier to hear him than see him. Today I saw and or heard 26 different birds! I have them all listed on my sketch page, I use a dot showing I’ve heard it, a check mark for those I’ve actually seen.
Long Lane Farm Hike pg3 5-22-09
I do have photos I took while sitting at the Maze; the great thing about sketching or painting in nature is as you sit quietly birds can surprise you out of nowhere. Here are a variety of photos from my hike though some may be a bit blurry, I was so excited to be able to zoom in so close with my camera, but hand holding a big lens when zooming is tough. But I have found that when I look at them on my computer I can see so much more than in the field, and they’re great to use for painting references. Enjoy!
Dandilion
Eastern Kingbird
Field Sparrow
Field Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow
The Eastern Kingbird was sooo far up in a huge oak tree that I wasn’t sure what it was at first…so beautiful to watch; he’d fly right up into the sky from the tree top and do some acrobatics to catch his bug dinner, then back to the tree top. The Field Sparrow has such a pretty song, a song to me that means summer. The Song Sparrow just sat on the branch for a bit, all fluffed up, then he settled down even more and puffed like a fat little plumpkin!
Hawthorn in Bloom
Ginger Resting at the Maze
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 2
After our time at the Maze we walked out to the “Enchanted Forest”, sometimes called “The Emerald Forest”; the trees there are so mystical almost, it’s so green and beautiful. It’s there that I saw the Veery, wow! , I caught sight of it on the tree not far from me, and I think it was trying to hide by not moving. It didn’t sing, but moved around a bit, I can’t tell you how lucky I was to snap a few pictures!
Enchanted Forest
Veery
I hope you enjoyed this beautiful walk with me today! Please leave me comments and don’t forget to visit my shop to see my paintings, sketches and photographs on note cards, mugs, t-shirts…many gift items!
I thought I’d start out this post by letting my sketch page tell you what’s happening. You can read about the awful mosquitoes and tiny flies that bite and try constantly to get into your eyes, oh what a bother they were. I also started a list of birds as I heard or saw them. I did a fast sketch of a yellow wildflower that I still havd to look up, fast I say because of the bugs. Sometimes this can be good training, working quickly and just going for overall shapes of things. I gesture sketched the placement of the ‘ball’ shaped flower clusters, and drew one in detail, then later sitting at my kitchen table added details and colored it. Here’s a photo of the flower:
yellow-wildflower
So Ginger (my dog and hiking companion) and I pushed onward…away from the bugs! As we made our way to the Maze (I’ll have to post a map of my land so you can follow where all these places are!) I took some photos of more birds.
yellow-warbler
yellow-warbler-4
Above you can see two pictures of a Yellow Warbler, what a beautiful bird with the reddish streaks on his breast. I found him at the Maze and my next blog post you’ll see even nicer pictures of him. After I caught him on film (ahem…digital) I turned and did a sketch of the “Sister Trees” along side Long Lane in the Maze. First I drew a simple rectangle and then sketched the part of the trees I wanted into the box. Later I doodled around and added the frame look, see it below. It is not a drawing of the trees in the photo below it.
sketch-page-2-5-16-09
And then there’s my wonderful old oak trees; one growing along my property line in the field, the other is part of a long line of oaks along the other property line with a path called Oak Lane. Oak Lane is my favorite part of my property besides the Enchanted Forest. We call it that and at times it’s the Emerald Forest. Yes, it’s a magical place!
oak-trees
old-oak
You can see in this photo the sky was getting grey, and the air got cooler, a rain storm was coming. Ginger and I hurried our pace down Oak Lane then up Memory Lane…We made it home just in time to run across the yard in a downpour, my camera tucked under my fleece jacket. I don’t mind getting wet but NOT my camera!
Before we left for our hike, I took a few bird pictures around the yard and barn.
song-sparrow
One of my favorites the Song Sparrow, he loves this one particular post to sit upon.
tree-swallow-on-branch
And here’s Mr. Swallow in the tree above his nest box home, he sat there preening for a bit.
tree-swallow-in-box
And here’s the happy home, a Blue Bird nest box that the swallows are very happy to use. This is the third year at least they’ve nested here. If you walk near they will fly circles around you and come quiet close depending on how close you are to their box. Last year I assisted them in chasing away a pair of very pushy (and not very nice) House Sparrows that were aggressively trying to take the box.
house-sparrow-male
Here’s Mr. House sparrow, he and the misses decided to nest in a metal pole left from an old satellite dish. At least this year all the birds seem to be getting along, within feet of each other there’s a Starling nest in the wall of the barn, the House Sparrows next to that, then Starlings in one of my blue bird houses and the Tree Swallows in that other. I have two nest boxes out in my field, one has Tree Swallows and the other I think the Blue Birds were able to get. Pictures of them coming up soon! Hope you enjoyed the photos, soon I’ll start some small paintings of the birds.
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