If Then She Can

#ifthenshecan sketch pit markers and ink by Meera Rao 

When we went for our walk in the National Mall in Washington DC, I came across a few orange life like statues scattered around Enid A Haupt Garden by the Smithsonian Castle. Turns out, #ifthenshecan-the exhibit “is the largest collection of statues of women ever assembled together, to be installed on and around the National Mall. The 120 life-size 3-D printed statues are of a diverse coalition of contemporary women STEM innovators and role models leading a variety of fields, from protecting wildlife, discovering galaxies, building YouTube platforms, to trying to cure cancer.” 

I had picked the two statues by the castle entrance to sketch because they were the first ones I came across! Yasmina Pressller PhD is a Soil Scientist and an Educator, and Jessie Rack PhD is an Ecologist, Environmental Educator and. Naturalist. These statues were  among the many in the Garden. Later when I got home I read that during the opening weekend earlier in the month, visitors were able to explore all the 120 statues placed in the castle, garden and AIB.  Starting March 7, select statues were then spread out to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and National Air and Space Museum along the National Mall through the end of the month.  #IfF/THEN is an initiative of the Luda Hill Philanthropies designed to activate a culture shift among young girls to open their eyes to STEM careers.

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 week13 March 20-26

I think it’s pretty interesting that the photo in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 week 13 is from an Smithsonian traveling exhibit that explores how another minority in USA, Latinas and Latinos have used baseballs to chase their dreams, challenge prejudices and build communities.  The photo is of Filipe Alou baseball card 1963, produced by Topps Company Inc. 

Northern Mockingbird ink and graphite by Meera Rao 

We have a sunroom and glass doors, windows on the back of our house and have taken care to not have birds crash into it. Unfortunately once every few years a bird does fly into it the glass and gets stunned. This mockingbird stayed still for an hour or so on the deck and then slowly recovered and flew off. I watched the bird to make sure it was ok and sketched - as it is not often I get to see a live bird sit still for any length of time. 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 week 13 March 21-27

The 54-48 million years old bird fossil pictured is on the left in the Calendar is of Primobucco mcgrewi from Green River Formations WY - now at the National Museum of Natural History. According to the information in the book  “The fossil from Cenozoic era is an extinct relative of modern Coraciidaerollers, so called for the intense rolling dives they perform to attract mates and intimidate threats to their territories. Unlike its descendants Primobucco mcgrewi had shorter wings that would have made such aerial feats impossible”

Backyard Bird Bulletin

Camouflaged Baby Birds in the Nest watercolor and ink by Meera Rao

I have to catch up with my postings - I am a year and some months behind with posting the 2021 sketches and about 20 weeks late with 2022 sketches! But I am sketching :)  

I always get excited when the sketch of the week serendipitously matches the concept shown in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar that I have repurposed for sketching the ongoing pandemic years!! For this week it is birds and nests.  It is not a surprise that spring days means I will find a nest or two tucked away in the trees and bushes in the yard.  I am not sure if the four baby birds I saw in this nest in the holly tree are Carolina wrens or Northern Mockingbirds - both were near by chirping away. So I am sure there was another nest near by as well.   I was being very careful not to disturb the chicks or alarm the parents but hearing the birds call insistently I guess that did not work!  

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2021 week 12 March 14-20 

The hand colored lithograph shown in the Calendar is by John Gould(1804-1881) from Smithsonian Libraries and Archives: Campylopterus delattrei  Plate 42 from A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of  hummingbird, vol 2, 1849.

  

"The five volumes of Gould's 'A Monograph of Trochilidae feature breathtaking illustrations of hundreds of hummingbird species. Gould was a prolific British ornithologist known for identifying 'Darwin's finches.'  For this book Gould drew and lithographed all the plates with British printer Henry Constantine Richter (1821-1902)"

I hope some day I will be able to check out the lithographs in person! 

The Osprey Returns!  Ink and watercolor by Meera Rao 

I had marked on my calendar to check for Ospreys' arrival and they migrated up north a week earlier in March. They started work on their nest right away, finishing it within two days. They nest on the same post in the river every year.  They had to build the nest from scratch this year as the nest from past years had been blown away in one of the storms earlier in the year.  I was delighted to find the Osprey in its perch on the pine tree in yard where they regularly enjoy their meal of freshly caught still alive wriggly fish held securely in the claws.  (Unfortunately, we lost that tree couple of weeks ago in a storm and now his/her new perch can't be seen from my kitchen window.) 

Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2022 week 12 March 13-19 

The Red eyed tree frog Agalychnis callidryas , digital photograph by Steve Paton,  November 2019 is from the collection of Republic of Panama Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.  "Red-eyed tree frogs distract predators by flashing their bright red eyes, orange webbed feet, and blue and yellow racing stripes. whether they survive habitat destruction is another story, one in which Smithsonian research plays a leading role."  I doubt though that the fish the osprey catch get any kind of warning signs before they are scooped up!