Killdeer eggs. It’s kind of artsy don’t you think? I couldn’t improve on this.
Can’t Improve on Nature
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Category Archives: Art In The Forest And Other Oddities
Wild Wednesday … Downy Woodpecker
I drew this pen and ink while Mary and I were sitting in a ground hunting blind two deer seasons ago. It’s of a female downy woodpecker that I photographed earlier that season. I took it when we were in another blind. If you consider that I completed the drawing while waiting for deer you can probably deduce that no deer were harmed during the drawing of that picture. We always do most of our shooting with a camera.
Downy woodpecker.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
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Wild Wednesday … The Getaway Car!
Where do you park your getaway car? I find cars like this in the woods every now and then. If cars could talk. I wonder if there’s a mobster’s hideout nearby.
The Where the Wild Fern Growls!
Errrrrrrrrr!!!
Wild Wednesday … SpongeBob SquarePants?
I’ve seen some strange things in the woods. Not long ago it was the Pink Panther up a pine tree. Before that it was Jellystone park, home of Yogi Bear. Now it’s Sponge Bob! I can’t for the life of me, figure out how anyone thought SpongeBob SquarePants was a good idea for a cartoon character. I also can’t figure out how they were right! That’s why I’m just a dirt forester.
SpongeBob says, “say hello to my little friend!”
What’s next, Bullwinkle, Foghorn Leghorn or Barney the Purple Dinosaur? Lord, I hope it’s not Barney. Oh no, now that song is playing in my head!
Bliss, “That looks evil!”
Tasha, “I’ll get the big one. You get the little one!”
Wild Wednesday … Pretty Crazy In Pink?
I see a lot of strange things in the woods, but one day this summer I saw a creature out there that I had never seen before. It was a cat, but not a mountain lion or bobcat and it was pink. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right, it was the “Pink Panther.”
The Pink Panther up a tree. In case you don’t believe me, here is photographic evidence.
Yep, the Pink Panther was spotted by yours truly along Highway 3 on the west side of Trinity Lake. I don’t make these things up folks. There he was up a tall Ponderosa pine tree, way up!
If you look hard you can see him in the pine on the right side of the road.
He was about forty feet up the tree. I don’t know what he was doing up there. I don’t know how he got up there. He wouldn’t come down and he wouldn’t talk to me. So I took his picture and left him to his business.
I went by a few weeks later and he was gone. Keep and eye out, he may be coming to a tree near you!
Forestry Friday … Steam Donkey WIP
This huge steam engine has waited silently for years. Seasons passed, leaves turned, and its only visitors were the wild creatures paying it no attention.
The Willamette Steam Donkey. Photo courtesy of Mark Lathrop.
Steam donkeys were the cutting edge technology for powering logging operations a hundred years ago. Serving as yarders, they brought logs to the landing. They were the loaders, too. These huge machines provided any heavy lifting that needed to be done. Steam donkeys replaced horses and oxen for moving logs.
Steam Donkey work in progress.
I’m doing a mixed media watercolor painting of this steam donkey for a forestry education fund-raising auction. The auction will be held at the Sierra Cascade Logging Conference coming up in February. You can follow the progress on this piece in my future blog posts. I’m using a Canson Bright White 90 lb hot press cotton paper. I sketched out my pencil guide and am inking. I’m inking with a brand new Lamy All-Star extra fine point pen.
Mark at the historic site.
The pictures were taken by my friend, Mark, who has graciously given me permission to use them for this project. He had the awesome duty of leading a team of historians to the donkeys to record the site. Keep following for more on the story behind this steam donkey.
Forestry Friday … Come Along To The Woods
There is art in the forest no matter where you look.
I had a beautiful day to get out to the woods this week. Here are a few picture to share. No particular theme this time. I haven’t posted a lot of forestry lately, so it’s time to get my groove on. Just click on the gallery to enlarge the pictures
There is art in the forest no matter where you look.
I love my commute. The mountain road is framed by big gray pine.
Bully Choop rises above the surrounding mountains.
Naked oaks
Mt Shasta to the North is the highest point in Northern California.
Big pine on the ridge.
The delimber sits in the landing making logs all day.
One lane only, so pull off and yield the right of way. There’s a future house on the back of that truck.
Knobcone pine waiting to open. They can wait for decades sheltering the seeds inside.
This unit was logged three years ago and is now a young forest.
Douglas-fir and Ponderosa pine seedling planted three years ago.
An alder tree was cut out of the road and it was striking how orange the wood was.
Thank you for coming along.
Forest Violence!
The scene of the crime!
There is a mystery here that wasn’t reported in the papers. Please say a prayer for the “deerly” departed. 😉
THE FORESTER ARTIST 