Flying Colors watercolor by Meera Rao
The Great Backyard Bird count this year was on February 18-21 and the website says 'the world comes together to watch, learn about, count and celebrate birds.' I observed, counted and reported the birds I saw in our backyard. Over the course of four days, armed with a binoculars, I was lucky to see herons(great blue and night), an egret, ducks, ospreys, bald eagles, northern mockingbirds, cardinals, finches(purple, golden/yellow and house), pine warblers, mourning doves, Carolina wrens, sparrows, pelicans, cormorants, tufted titmouse, chickadees, woodpecker, red winged black birds and many crows. And I also heard one owl at night! I feel fortunate to have so many different kinds around our neighborhood. The birds I painted in the repurposed Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 though, are not true to what I observed - but mainly my experiments with painting them in direct watercolor without prior sketching. I am pleased how they turned out :)
Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 Week 8 February 13-19
It is indeed a fantastic coincidence that the photo opposite is a different kind of colorful flyer : Boeing Stearman N2S-5 Kaydet at the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center, National Air and space museum. "More than 10,000 Stearman trainers were built by Boing, which had purchased the Stearman company in the late 1930s- Kaydets, along with Fairchilds and Ryans served as the backbone of US army and Navy primary flight training in World War-II. This Kaydet was used to train naval aviation cadets until 1946.
Tasty Beauty Watercolor by Meera Rao
The 'Beautification of America' 6c block of four stamps January 16, 1969 on display at the National Postal Museum matched well with the beautiful yellow mustard flowers from our garden during this week in February 2021. But then we grow them also for the tasty leaves for cooking :) It is always exciting to get fresh greens in February from the backyard!
"The stamp block, designed by Walter Dubois Richards, was part of a commemorative set in recognition of First Lady Lady Bird Johnson's 'Natural Beauty' campaign. These stamps honored the accomplishments of Mrs. Johnson's initiatives which encouraged involvement from government and local community organizations. They proved popular with the general public and the initial printing of 120 million stamps had to be increased to 170 million."
Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 Week 8 February 14-20
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