This gallery contains 10 photos.
Originally posted on Sneaking Bliss:
A phone call at 5:30 a.m. at our house is either from the East Coast (3 hours ahead) or someone needs help. At the first sound of Bernice’s voice, I knew Walt was in trouble.…
Linda Martin Andersen invited me to write a guest blog. Come check it out!
“March 21–International Day of Forests” with guest blogger, Tim Livingston.
International Day of Forests
View original post 414 more words
A pen and ink of my old boy “Hunter.” He was the best hunting dog I ever had.
The photo I used for this drawing appeared in the post Forestry Friday … What A Difference A Decade Makes.
Hunter’s motto was “It’s good to be Hunter!”
It must have hurt to be that cute. He was always Hunter puppy to me, even when he was old. Makes me kind of misty.
Pen and ink prints available at Fine Art America.
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/woods-dog-timothy-livingston.html
Mary the Backdoor Artist has a brand new blog. Drop by and check it out.
When I was 8-years-old I moved from Hoopa to Burnt Ranch, CA. The entire school, K-8, only had 48 students at the time. I was in 3rd grade and it only had five students. The school grew to over 60 by the time I exited 8th grade. I’m especially happy to make school visits to small schools in rural areas.
Sometimes we do science experiments related to my books and other times we read stories or do art projects. This visit was all about the stories.
Cox Bar Elementary is only about 15 miles from Burnt Ranch, and about 40 miles from Hoopa. I’ve made a few visits over the years. This year, the school has fewer than 15 students. The kids were pretty excited to know I grew up so close to where they live.
An artist’s thoughts are often very personal in the creation of art. When another artist had me and my family in their thoughts, I wondered what will this piece of art speak to me. This painting speaks of a memory. A memory of time spent together with one I loved.
This is a post from our yard by the Backdoor Artist. I held the ladder while Mary captured this great image of one of our resident turkey vultures.
Peering down the vulture hole, I am amazed at the ability of the turkey vultures to climb in and out of this nesting location. It is fourteen feet from the opening to the base.
It is unclear whether this brooding vulture is on eggs or new chicks. It should be nearing time for the eggs to hatch, if my calculations are correct. On March 5th & 6th , I recorded the pair breeding at the entrance and the female retreating inside the nesting cavity. I am making an educated guess that this was around the time of laying their eggs. Most sources site 34-40 days incubation. Sources are vague on the day count, but in all fairness who counts days for vultures hatching? The UStream Missouri turkey vultures incubated for 34 days in 2012.
Both parents incubate the eggs and share in raising the chicks. I do not…
View original post 49 more words
The Liebster Blog Award nomination came some time ago from my good blog friend Divya. Her wonderful blog is Divad’s Blog. Thank you Divya. She did a beautiful drawing of two of my golden retrievers, Artist’s Pets. It was so very touching.
I also received the Liebster Award from Flora’s Table. Thank you Flora. You are the hostess with the mostess.
Liebster Award Nomination-(modified) Rules are:
Those who get nominated must answer 5 questions asked by the person who nominated them… and tell 5 random facts about themselves. Then, each of them is supposed to pass on the award by nominating 5 blogs with under 200 followers and ask them 5 questions. I have over 200 followers now, but I’m way over do posting this.
5 Random facts about myself:
I am an optimist, no seriously.
I’m the youngest of 6 brothers.
I used to make ceramics (a long time ago.)
I share my french fries with my dogs (I don’t need all the fries.)
I really like working with the loggers. They are a great bunch of folks and they keep me entertained.
Answers to the questions asked by Divya:
1. What makes you happy? When Mary picks gold nuggets out of our sluice box.
2. Which is one country you’d love to visit? Australia, Iceland and South Africa, I know, that’s three.
3. What is your favorite quote? “Don’t live in regret”, by me.
4. Who is your hero? George Washington, a man of true character.
5. Which song do you hum the most? Mamas Don’t Let You Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys, this week, but I sing it.
Questions from Flora (She had eleven questions):
1. What’s your dream job? I love what I do, so I’m not sure how to answer that.
2. Would you like to live somewhere else? If yes, where? Not yet…..
3. You would never… Be unfaithful.
4. What’s your next project? Which one? I will go with, illustrating my next children’s book.
5. Do you read before falling asleep? Not usually.
6. What’s your favorite form of art? Easy, watercolor….no wait pen and ink, now you’re just confusing me.
7. You are obsessed with… Not obsessed.
8. What’s on your list for Santa? I don’t do lists just ask my wife.
9. Do you play any musical instruments? I started learning harmonica years ago, but never became proficient.
10. What’s the best gift you have ever received? My grandchildren.
11. What’s your biggest regret? You can’t change the past, but that is not a regret just a fact.
Now for my 5 victims….I mean honored recipients:
Lightly Spiced Photography This is a wonderful young blog by an excellent photographer who also happens to be a witty writer. Check it out.
Poppytump Poppy I don’t know how many followers you have and I don’t care. I’m nominating you anyway. 🙂
Gunslinger Poet Christina does some of the most unusual poetry I have ever seen. She also live on top of a mountain in the Summer as a fire lookout and she is practically my neighbor. I think that’s pretty cool.
Kodiak My Little Grizzly This inspiring blog is by a Mom raising her deaf blind son, and his brother and sister. A touching view of her life.
Galeriaredelius Gunilla is a creator of some of the most unusual jewellery that I have seen. What she does is really cool, so check out her blog.
Now for my five questions:
There you have it! 
Don’t go walking in those spooky old woods alone.
My Mary, The Backdoor Artist, posted a special birthday tribute to our grand daughter. I felt it only appropriate as a doting grandpa to reblog it. As you can see, she is on her way to becoming a great artist! Me biased… no way!
One soppy morning, on our way to the hen house to gather chicken eggs, my oldest granddaughter was just the right height to spot movement in the tall stasis near the duck pen.
“Grandma, what’s that? Something moved.”
It caught my attention about the time she finished speaking. A newly hatched duckling was attempting to get back into the duck pen. On the other side, floating lifeless in the water was another newly hatched duckling. The pen was not a safe place for the hatchlings. I quickly rescued the living duckling and wrapped it in my top against my belly to keep it warm.
“Is it okay? Is the duckel’ing okay?” GrandThing1 was very worried.
We hurried back to the house where we gathered a storage bin, some rags and a heat lamp. When the makeshift brood box was ready, I slipped the little bird from under my top. 
My…
View original post 163 more words
This Cattle Egret surveys it’s domain from a stack of poles as the Portal Crane towers over head.
THE FORESTER ARTIST 