The Beginning of the End

 

Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches



Location: Duluth, MN 55811, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Boreal Mischief

Image
Oil on Panel - 4 x 4 inches.      This is an oil painting of a Canada Jay as seen in Sax-Zim Bog, MN, during a visit in January, 2022. These birds have several defining characteristics. I was struck by the number of nicknames this bird has. Whiskey Jack may be its most common nickname, a word derived from the Indigenous North American Cree word ‘Wisakedjak’ meaning “an adventurous and humorous trickster afforded prestige as a teacher to humankind. Wisakedjak is also rebellious.” (Robinson, 2018) Other nicknames include camp robber, moose bird, meat hawk, venison bird, and gorby. Gray Jay was its official name for a while, and I’ve heard that name used often.       Canada Jays live in cold climates and can be found in every Canadian province, and in higher elevations in the western United States, as well as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, Maine, and New Hampshire. They are non-migratory, but occasionally irrupt southward. They will eat just about...
Read more

Soft Landing in the Meadowlands

Image
 Oil on Panel - 16 x 20 inches. This is my oil painting of female Bobolink. My photograph of her alongside Dart Road in Minnesota's Sax-Zim Bog in July of 2022 served as my reference.  Below is a poem about Bobolinks written by the distinguished poet William Cullen Bryant in March of 1855. It was published in Putnam's Magazine that same year. Punctuation, spelling and grammar were left unchanged. ROBERT OF LINCOLN. Merrily swinging on brier and weed,    Near to the nest of his little dame, Over the mountain-side or mead,    Robert of Lincoln is telling his name :       Bob-o'-link, bob-o'-link,       Spink, spank, spink ; Snug and safe is that nest of ours, Hidden among the summer flowers.                   Chee, chee, chee. Robert of Lincoln is gayly drest,    Wearing a bright black wedding-coat ; White are his shoulders and white his crest.    Hear him call in h...
Read more

Woman is Fickle

Image
Oil in Panel - 4 x 4 inches      It’s New Year’s Eve and some of you might be indulging in celebratory food for the occasion. So, it seems appropriate to bring up the variety of ways birds feed their young... or don't.       There are birds that feed their young for months, some only a matter of weeks, and then there are those that don’t feed their chicks at all. Bald eagles are examples of birds who feed their young for months before they fledge. On the opposite spectrum, brush turkeys don’t feed theirs at all. Their babies must fend for themselves upon hatching in order to survive. That’s right. No parental help whatsoever. Chicks, find your own food, we’re outta here, says mom and dad. Crazy, right?       When it comes to Eastern Towhees, they’ll feed their young for almost two weeks before fledging occurs. Nothing unusual about that. However, Eastern Towhees belong to a group of birds that will feed other bird species, too. The...
Read more