Wild Wednesday … Gander

Posted on March 22, 2017 by foresterartist

Canada goose, gander, birds, birding, pen and ink, drawing

Canada Goose Gander in pen and ink.

Canada geese, geese, wildlife photography, birds, birding

One legged geese.

Bliss, retriever, golden retriever, dogs

Bliss can’t go to the pond with taking a leisurely swim.

Wild Wednesday … Goose Goose!

Posted on March 15, 2017 by foresterartist

geese, Canada geese, pen and ink, drawing

A pair of Canada Geese in pen and ink.

This was drawn from a pair of geese on the mill pond. Canada geese are great subjects for pen and ink. They’re already black and white.

Canada Geese, honkers, photography, nature, birds, birding

Canada geese can be found on the mill site constantly.

This gaggle spotted Sailor and Bliss over on shore. They decided to come over and cause trouble for my goldens, who were minding their own business. Typical rabble rousing degenerate geese!

You had to know this would happen.

Sailor couldn’t take it anymore and swam out to say hello. What’s a boy to do.

Well this isn’t going well.

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Wild Wednesday … Bear Skull

Posted on March 1, 2017 by foresterartist

drawing, bear skull, black bear, pen and ink, pen drawing, wildlife

Bear Skull in pen and ink.

This skull intrigued me with its bleached bone and hard shadows. I wondered what happened to cause it to be here. It was wild and dirty, and crying out to be drawn. So draw it I did!

bear skull, black bear, pen and ink, pen drawing, wildlife

The bear skull sitting on the running board of an older D6 Cat.

On our way into camp we often stop in a particular landing to give everyone a break from the ride. A D6 Cat tractor was parked there for several months. A local logger had been using it for road repair and erosion control work. During one stop at the landing we found a bear skull. It wasn’t a large skull, probably from a young bear or a sow.

bear skull, black bear, pen and ink, pen drawing, wildlife, D6 Cat

The Cat was parked in the landing for a few months. The skull is sitting on the floor in the entrance. Can you see it?

I couldn’t resist placing the skull in the tractor for the loggers to find. It sat there for weeks undisturbed. Until one day, while we were coming through, it had disappeared. Somebody or something must have taken a fancy to it and packed it off. When I first saw the skull I wondered what it’s story was, but it seems that it’s story may not be done. I wonder where it is now.

One of the locals. A relative perhaps?

Wild Wednesday … Green Heron

Posted on February 1, 2017 by foresterartist

green heron, heron, wildlife, birds, birding, photography

A green heron is one of our less common residents around the mill.

Wild Wednesday … Have You Herd?

Posted on January 18, 2017 by foresterartist

The deer that live around the mill always converge on the hayfield behind the log deck in the fall and winter. This year I’ve counted as many as twenty at a time. I’ve accumulated some photos over the last few months. Typically, I’m not very close so the pictures are a little soft. They just went through the rut and the bucks will soon shed their antlers. Click on a picture to enlarge the gallery.

Wild Wednesday … Waiting For Fish

Posted on January 11, 2017 by foresterartist

Scanning the Sacramento River, this bald eagle is fishing for breakfast.

I saw the eagle perched near the boat ramp scanning the river. I couldn’t get a clear picture that wasn’t full of branches. I slid down the bank next to the water. Slid being the operative word, since I almost took a morning dip. I had a clear view for this shot. The eagle never gave me a look. I wasn’t a fish!

Perched in the tree tops beside the river waiting for a fish.

Wild Wednesday … “cat without a grin”

Posted on January 4, 2017 by foresterartist

I had to go to the mill on Monday to do log inventory. It was a holiday and there were only a few folks at work. It was unusually quiet. I drove around the backside of the log deck only to have a large bobcat cross the road in front of me. Immediately, I stopped and grabbed my camera. Standing on the seat and door handle I had a great view of the cat. He’d stopped and was looking back at me. It was perfect ….. except, I had my SLOW camera. By the time it went through its agonizing start-up cycle the bobcat crept off. I managed only one picture before he slipped away toward the river, fading like the Cheshire Cat.

`All right,’ said the Cat; and this time it vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone. – Alice In Wonderland

Where Have All the Flowers Gone

Posted on December 21, 2016 by foresterartist

Wild Wednesday … Thinking of Spring on the first day of Winter

THE FORESTER ARTIST

doe, deer, lupine, wildflowers, spring, photography, wildlife Munched by young deer everyone! When will we ever learn.

lupine, wildflowers, spring, photography Lovely Lupine

doe, deer, lupine, wildflowers, spring, photography, wildlife Mmmm……nice bouquet!

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Wild Wednesday … Book Ends

Posted on November 30, 2016 by foresterartist

Two black-tail bucks looking like a pair of bookends. They were browsing just across our fence.

Wild Wednesday … Don’t Even Breathe!

Posted on November 9, 2016 by foresterartist

black bear,black tail deer, pen and ink, drawing, wildlife

Fawns are often killed by black bears in the Spring. Right after birth, fawns know instinctively to lay perfectly still. They have almost no scent. If the fawn doesn’t move a muscle and the bear is up wind it my not see the little deer.

I have you folks to thank, or blame for this pen and ink. It’s the third version of this fawn. You can see the two previous versions in the post Wild Wednesday Fawn Redo. First was a sweet vignette, which Mary told me was lacking. So I added more detail and asked if you all preferred the simple vignette of the more complete fawn. I received lots of great feedback and the majority liked the additional detail. If more detail is good then a lot more should be great. Truth is, I kept adding more and more because I had a vision. That’s when the bear came along to add some drama. The first rendition was lackluster. Now it tells a story, so thank you Mary and all you folks who commented before. Listening to a good critique only makes us better artist and writers. Even if I grumbled about it at first.

On a side note, if I’d known it was going to morph into this final drawing, the composition would have been different. However, I think it works okay. What do you think?