What Bird is that ?

Owl sketch in Mixed Media by Meera Rao 

I have not seen an Owl in our backyard but I hear its calls late at night and early mornings.  Recently the app  Merlin Bird ID from the The Cornell Lab added a feature to record the bird calls. The app then helps you identify the bird using its sound bank! How cool is that?  That's how I learned that it is a Great Horned Owl that is in our backyard! I have been using the app on my walks(Identified Cooper's Hawk call just yesterday), in the backyard, or anywhere else I hear a bird call that I can not recognize (which is 99% of the time!) 

I sketched this owl (Screech owl?) during a draw and paint along with Jack (John) Muir Laws  about a month ago. His website, You Tube channel, and books are  treasure troves of information on nature and nature journaling. I used pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, and my new Derwent Grahitint  paint pans set. Sketching often has definitely helped me improve my 'seeing' and drawing skills. 

 

Sketching the Pandemic Year 2020 : Week 37

Sketching the Pandemic Year 2020 :Week 37 Sept 6-12 

Nature is just so awesome with a never ending supply of surprises ! Summer means there are so many insects in the yard singing away merrily- katydids, cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers …along with the chorus of chirping frogs. I have to often get  help at songsofinsects.com. with identifying the insect songs and I have spent many hours during the pandemic stay-at-home year doing just that - though I may now be more confused as well ;) 

This cicada - Neotibicen davisa davisa (identified by insect experts in INaturalist ) was by the pine tree (alive) in the yard by the pine tree. It stayed around just long enough for me to photograph. I had misidentified it when I first saw and sketched it - hence the wrong info below the cicada. The photograph of the Rhinoceros spearbearer (Copiphora rhinoceros)katydid in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2020 paired nicely for the week.  Unlike the cicada I found in the yard, these awesome conehead  katydids are found in the rainforests of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. They have powerful jaws to feed on plants, other invertebrates and even small reptiles. Staying home during the pandemic though has helped me see  and document by either sketching or photographing so many different creatures in my own yard ! 

 

Sketching the Pandemic Year week 33

Sketching the Pandemic Year Week 33 Aug 9-14 

Four O’Clock ( Mirabilis Jalapa) flowers true to their name bloom in the evening and spread a fragrance in the yard. As summer progresses, the plant is full of blooms. They come in different colors and even as ‘kaleidoscope wheels’ variety.  We planted these in the garden because they reminded me of my childhood  home in India.  But I have since learned that they are native to Peru and  have been naturalized in most tropical countries, Europe and Asia - it is a perennial in the tropics but grows as annuals in temperate zones. 

I vaguely remembered from basic genetics class in college that they had some peculiarities regarding passing of traits. Wikipedia helped out: “Around 1900 Carl Correns used Mirabilis as a model organism for his studies on cytoplasmic inheritance. He used the plant’s variegated leaves to prove that certain factors outside the nucleus affected phenotype in a way not explained by Mendel’s theories. Correns proposed that leaf color in Mirabilis was passed on via a uni-parental mode of inheritance. Also when plants with dark-pink flowers are crossed with white-flowered plants, light-pink-flowered offspring are produced. This is seen as an exception to Mendel’s Law of Dominance because in this case, the dark-pink and white genes seem to be of equal strength, so neither completely dominates the other. The phenomenon is known as ‘incomplete dominance.’

FourO’Clock watercolor and ink by Meera Rao 

More wonderful oddities about this flower from Wikipedia: “ Usually the flowers are yellow, pink and white, but a different combination of flowers growing on the same four o’clock plant can be found. Another interesting point is a color change phenomenon. For example, in the yellow variety, as the plant matures, it can display flowers that gradually change to a dark pink color. Similarly, white flowers can change to light violet. Despite their appearance, the flowers are not formed from petals - rather they are a pigmented modification of the calyx. Similarly, the calyx is an involucre of bracts. The flowers are funnel-shaped and pentalobed, they have no cup (replaced by bracteal leaves) but are made of Corolla…. The flowers are pollinated by long-tongued moths of the family Sphingidae, such as the Sphinx moths or hawk moths and other nocturnal pollinators attracted by the fragrance.”

The glass and ink ‘Our River’s Ancestors’ by Marvin Oliver is the featured photograph for the week in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar2020. I had concentrated mainly on the colors when deciding what to sketch for the week. But I found a different connection while reading the explanation of the piece in the calendar: “In ‘Our River’s Ancestors’ , Marvin Oliver uses glass to evoke the rivers and salmon that have intertwined Quinault lives for millennia. The etched image is from a photograph of Native fishermen at Celilio Falls on the Columbia River.  This piece is a part of ‘Ancestral Connections’ an ongoing exhibition at National Museum of American Indian in New York which explores how contemporary artists draw on aspects of their heritage to create new and compelling works of  art” 

Sketching the Pandemic Year 2020 week 32

Sketching the Pandemic Year 2020 week 32 Aug 2-8

Grey Hairstreak Butterflies Strymen melinus were all over the garden. I was trying to photograph at least one. It was a very windy day and nothing stayed still long enough for me to photograph. I was really surprised when I slipped my hand to steady a leaf hoping for a shot and the butterfly did not fly off :) It was thrilling when seconds later the butterfly crawled on to my hand. I stayed still - I did not want to scare off the butterfly by trying to take a photo! 

It was pure serendipity when weeks later I discovered that the photographfor that week in the Smithsonian Engagement 2020 was of Herpetologist Doris Mable Cochran holding a live frog, c1930s.  “Cochran (1898-1968) started as an aide at the National Museum of Natural History in 1919 and had advanced to become curator of reptiles and amphibians by the time of her retirement in 1968. She was known for her expeditions throughout Latin America as well as her artist contributions as a scientific illustrator and textile weaver.”

 

Sacred Serenity

Sacred Serenity watercolor by Meera Rao 

Sacred sites and Temples dot the landscape in India. For Hindus Nature itself is a living goddess and Devine energy surrounds everything.  ‘Sacred Serenity’ shows a tiny glimpse of this beautiful concept. Traveling in India I see these sights every few minutes.  These small shrines hold as much awe and spirituality as any of the huge ornate temples. I hope these quiet places don’t get lost in the midst of fast moving modern encroachments.     

Behold the Universe in the glory of God:

And all that lives and moves on earth.

Leaving the transient, 

Find joy in the Eternal.

~ Isa Upanishad~

Geese and Goslings

Canada Geese color pencils by Meera Rao

A pair of geese have been a presence in our neighborhood over the past few years. They arrive early spring and I am assuming it’s the same pair! They dine all around our and our  neighbor’s yards and leave droppings everywhere :) This year though one day in May, they came as a family with tiny four fur balls of goslings in their midst.  I still don’t know where their nest is.  They always have the goslings in the middle with at least one parent on very high alert!  The goslings are growing up fast and now are rounder and taller even though still have downy feather. They seem to be eating machines. I have watched them for a few weeks now and sadly there are only three goslings - never have found out what happened to the fourth one :( It is a lot of fun to watch them all eat, move and lounge around as a family. We usually postpone yard and garden work when they are out and about as they get very territorial - Besides, we don’t want to be chased by a goose ;) 

Swallowtail Tales

Black Swallowtail Butterfly colorpencil By Meera Rao

In mid April, one day for garnishing my pasta I brought in a bunch of parsley from the garden. Being a Vegan, I always check to make sure nothing is crawling around among the leaves. This time I found a bunch of tiny black dots and couple of  little larger ovals with a white band in the middle! Looking at them using a magnifying glass confirmed right away my suspicions. Those were the Black Swallowtail caterpillars :) I had to rescue them. So the bunch of parsley went into a vase and I now had new pets to watch over! A new page idea for my 'covid diary' obviously.

It was amazing to watch the tiny little caterpillars with voracious appetite methodically chomping away the parsley leaves! I had not seen any butterflies in the yard yet so I researched and found out that the eggs may have been hibernating during the winter waiting for the right signal from mother nature. We had to constantly restock the parsley leaves to keep up with the chompers and clean all the droppings that seemed to rain down constantly! It took about ten days for the caterpillar to be full grown. 

Then one started getting restless and racing up and down the stems. My husband guessed it was looking for a sturdier twig and brought a couple from the garden. And he was right! Next, one of the caterpillars did a 'purge' and then settled on a twig.  First its hind end was attached to the twig and then it spun one single thread and attached itself like a telephone linesman! (or a coconut tree climber) We kept checking on it for many hours. While we were away for about an hour to go pick up the groceries we had ordered, the caterpillar discarded its outer skin to reveal the chrysalis shell. In the lower left box of the photo montage above, is the discarded skin(top left corner ) and 'the purge'

Unfortunately, one of the caterpillars fell victim to a spider - I guess we were not vigilant enough :(  It happened soon after the caterpillar became immobile after attaching itself to the stick.  The spider must have come in with the twigs and leaves ! I guess the natural cycle has many aspects.

Chrysalis about ten minutes before the butterfly emerged (hindsight!) 

Last night the chrysalis started turning dark in color.  It had been about twelve days and my research informed me that in the morning as the sunlight and warmth come about the butterfly may emerge. We both checked the chrysalis around six in the morning and again around 6:20 when I noticed beautiful dots and design. I took a photo and assumed it was not time yet thinking it had to turn darker. I went to make myself a cup of coffee. Next thing I knew, the butterfly was already out of the chrysalis and hanging next to a leaf. We took it outside and waited.  It took its own time warming up and stretching its wings. About three hours later it hopped to a flower close by and in no time at all flew off!  And I found out more blue in the wings makes it a female butterfly :) 

We have one more chrysalis indoors.  Hoping we will be able to see the butterfly emerge from this cocoon from the start !  Meanwhile we have to make sure there is plenty of parsley and dill growing in the garden. 

Natural Instincts

Mallard journal page graphite and color pencil by Meera Rao 

Last month at one point there were three duck nests with eggs in our yard - one by the back door tucked under a boxwood, one at the end of driveway hidden by the iris plants and the third one under an azalea bush near the front entrance to the house. Before nesting the Mallard pairs walked around the yard scouting for an ideal spot.  They even tested out deck corners and planters. 

We routinely got spooked by the female duck who flew off from her hidden nest every time we stepped out the door.  We went out of the way to not walk by the driveway, walkway, anywhere near the nests. I did take a quick photo of the eggs once when the duck flew off the nest. We would check routinely to make sure the eggs were ok and the birds came back to incubate.  The females often left the nests - I am guessing to feed.  

Then one day I saw an egg rolled on to the driveway and there were no eggs nor duck anywhere near the nest by the irises. The nest under the azalea was empty couple of days later. I saw bits of egg shells and no sign of the female.  I was hoping the last one would make it but unfortunately a day later, we spied a healthy black rat snake slithering away from the nest up a tree close by :(  I also know that there are other egg devouring critters in the neighborhood as well !  

So instead of a duck and its brood, after all those weeks of waiting and watching, the final sketch on the journal page ended up that of a black snake!  I guess we have to respect nature and natural food cycles.  

Couple of days ago there was another pair looking for a nesting spot.  I don't know if they were successful. I am praying and hoping I will  see a brood in a few weeks like we have seen in the years past.  

Winter Gift

Sugar Snap Pea Flower  Pen and color pencil by Meera Rao

Flowers like winter camellias that stay blooming through December and January, Johnny jump-ups, pansies,  and a few confused stray azaleas (global climate warming?) brought color to our yard this winter.  In the vegetable patch,  this was one of the first times my husband tried growing winter sugar snap peas and a few flowers bloomed on the plant ! The sight of  blue tinged delicate flowers and the curly tendrils meant pulling out my sketch book :) 

Fury of Fire, Wind and Water

Fury of Fire, Wind and Water  20x16" Mixed media by Meera Rao 

This painting titled Fury of Fire Wind and Water  is a visceral response to the fires, tornadoes, and hurricanes in the recent past.  I am acutely aware of the awe inspiring, fear inducing chaos,  destruction and surprising beauty in the fury of the moment as the elements go about altering the landscapes and lives. Nature is demanding we pay attention to the delicate balance and vulnerability all around.  Are we? 

Fury of Fire, Wind and Water  20x16" Mixed media by Meera Rao Mixed Media Pebeo paints. 

Fiddleheads and Frost : Nature photography

Fiddleheads photography by Meera Rao 

The above photograph was taken earlier in the year.  I saw the  beautiful Cinnamon Fern Fiddleheads at the Nature Conservancy site at Piney Groove Preserve in Waverly, VA during a field trip for the Virginia Master Naturalist class.  We had gone to see the successful restoration of the Long Leaf Pine forest and come back from near extinction of the Red Cockaded Woodpecker.

Frost photography by Meera Rao 

The frosty leaves were in my backyard glistening in the morning light when they caught my eye early in spring.  

The Fiddleheads was the winner of the Plants and Fungi category and Frost in the Macro and Night Category in The Peninsula Master Naturalist Photography Contest in July -August 2019.  It was an honor to have these photographs voted as the winners!  

Repurposed

Repurposed 12x16" watermedia by Meera Rao 

One day in April while on my daily walk (before the fractured foot!) I came across a lush green plant growing inside an abandoned and marooned falling apart boat . I just loved the resilience of the plant and the colors still hanging on to the boat.  There was so much drama  and beauty! Nature never hesitates to creatively repurpose  :) 

I used transparent watercolors, casein, and watercolor pencils. 

Nature Journaling and Virginia Master Naturalist

Backyard Birds (1-8) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao 

The past few months, every Wednesday and a couple of weekends each month were taken up with classes or field trips. Three days ago-Tuesday was graduation and now I am a member of Virginia Master Naturalist - Pennisula Chapter :) I loved every minute of the course learning about Virginia's rich and varied natural wealth. 

One of the requirements was to keep a nature journal.  After a class on local birds, when I decided casually for that week's entry in the journal, to sketch the birds I see in my backyard, I was in for a big eye-opener.  I thought there would a dozen or so birds that visit or live in my backyard as I had never really kept count until then. But as I started watching more closely, and listing them, I was pleasantly surprised! I pulled out the binoculars and my bird book and was excited to see the variety as I identified them one by one.  It took me a more than a couple of weeks to do these quick sketches.  

Backyard Birds (9-12) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao 

I stared to see the difference between different finches and warblers; sparrows and Carolina wrens; Barn swallows and Purple Martins; the many different gulls, Vultures and even crows!  So many 'black' birds - starlings, Ravens, crows, blackbirds, Purple martins, cowbirds,  orioles, even an Eastern King Bird! 

Backyard Birds (13-18) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao 

I am beginning to recognize the different bird calls - but that is proving to be harder than I thought! It has been great fun to discover the wealth of information available on line to help with that.  

Backyard Birds (19-24) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao

I used color pencils and graphite to sketch these as the paper in the journal was too thin for watercolors.  I had decided to use the journals we were given at the start of the class - I had to spray the drawing with  a coating of Krylon clear varnish to fix the graphite and color pencils to keep the sketches from smudging and paper from curling.

Backyard Birds (25-30) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao 

There are a few other varieties of ducks other than mallards that visit the river but those will have to wait! I saw on the iBird page for our area that there are about a hundred more varieties/species that have been seen and identified.  I am excited to watch and learn more about all these birds :)

Backyard Birds (31-36) graphite and color pencils by Meera Rao 

There is always so much drama that is going on with the backyard birds. And now the butterflies and dragonflies are out flitting around :) 

Sacred and Secular

2013 India Sketch Journal Page 19 by Meera Rao

In India all living things are looked upon with gratitude since time immemorial.  Many trees and plants are held as sacred and used in religious ceremonies and many others are cherished because of their medicinal and health benefits. 

2013 India Sketch Journal July 13 by Meera Rao

 The Peepal/Aswatha/Bodhi tree -Ficus religiosa - is one of the most sacred trees in India.  Worshipers of different faiths whisper their desires and tie  either yellow or red thread, cloth around the tree trunks in hopes of seeing it realized. Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment under this tree.  The leaf is dried and used by artists as a canvas with beautiful images painted on them.  My niece caught me on one of my walks doing a double take to pick up a leaf on the road side -- and here it is sketched  in my journal. 

2013 India Sketch Journal Page 19 by Meera Rao

Shigekai  - Acasia Concinna - literally 'hair fruit'   is another tree which is considered to have medicinal properties and the fruits, pods, leaves barks are dried powdered, made into paste and  then used as soap or as hair care.  It does not lather much but is considered very good for skin and hair.  I remember once when we had moved to a new house the yard had a Shigekai tree and I tried to use it to care for my hair - not much success I might add :(  Now I see that  there is a shampoo available with my name on the bottle except unlike the lady pictured, I have short very curly hair!!!! 

Dewy Feathers

Dewy Feathers Digital Photography 

Last week one morning when I went to get the paper, I found these beautiful dewy feathers strewn around  our driveway and lawn. It looked like there was some kind of struggle wherein a few feathers were lost ! I didn't see any other signs or bird parts and am hoping the creature escaped worse fate from whatever that was after it! When something like this happens, I always wonder whether I notice things around me since I took up photography or did I start toting a camera because I see things around me that I want to capture :) 

These beautiful feathers reminded me about something I read a while ago:  'feather money - tevau' from Solomon Islands. We are familiar how Native Americans, Indonesian Islanders, and many many others hold feathers in high regard and use them in rituals. But in Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands,  feather is currency!  As many as 50,000 feathers from smallest scarlet honeyeaterer birds are fashioned into coils and used 'as a form of currency for settling important obligations' .  Check the link to see a photo of the coil in the British Museum website.   In ancient Mayan culture, the quetzal bird's tail feathers were used as currency and hence the Guatemalan currency is known as 'quetzal' ! Its amazing how many little beautiful birds have been sacrificed not for food but for their treasured feathers by various 'collectors' all over the world.  

Dancing in the Light

Dancing in the Light  digital photography

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

 -Albert Einstein

Messages for Life

A Day In the Life -sketchbook project page 16 color pencils 

Once again, I am given a new perspective on life - life that is exceedingly fragile, unpredictable and where change is the only constant. We were away in India coping with the untimely, unexpected loss of my  husband's beloved brother when we read about the earthquake that shook our area. Two days later, it was hurricane warnings and evacuation orders for our area as we landed back in USA, hours before the airport closed  due to inclement weather. 

We were lucky to wait out Hurricane Irene at our son's house just far enough from the dreaded path. I fretted and watched the Weather Channel with memories of Hurricane Isabel's destruction too clear in my mind, bracing for the worst but hoping and praying for a miracle. I am thankful for our wonderful neighbors and friends who generously secured our house and yard as Irene furiously spiraled her way up the Eastern seaboard. In the end, Irene spared us - our town, our house and our yard is intact. We drove back home on bright beautiful dayafter and  now only have to clear a bit of debris. And we did not loose power, water or gas service.

For days, sorrow, worry and fear has gripped my heart as I struggled with the uncertainties of life. Now, I am forced to learn to appreciate every single moment; to not take anything or anyone for granted; to be just grateful.

Unexpected Pleasures!

A Day In The Life... sketchbook project  page 14 color pencil

I had a pleasant surprise last week when the talented artist Crystal Cook tagged me in her post The Seven Links Project , which is "to unite bloggers from all sectors in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve the light of the day."  As a result, my Seven Links Project - which is in the making right now - will be revealed in my next post :) In the mean time, please do check out her project  and admire her beautiful sensitive paintings!

Regarding page 14 of my Art House Co-op's Sketchbook project "A Day In the Life - in Blue Jeans with Gold Embroidery" :  it is the first time I had sketched a heron in color.  I always hesitated to paint the big beautiful birds because I didn't think I could do justice to their grace and elegance.  The surprising reward of the sketch book project is that it has been wonderful for my skills and self confidence. It forced me to tackle subject matters that I kept putting aside and pushed me beyond my comfort zone just so I could fill the book up!! Now, my newest resolve is to just sketch everyday without regard to subject matter and to paint some of those sketches from my book "A Day in the Life -in Blue Jeans with Gold Embroidery " on bigger sheets of watercolor paper :)

Framing Nature

Framing Nature : A Window at San Antonio Museum of Art - digital photography 

I think most of the time it is hard to improve what nature has to offer.  Copying nature is challenging and I often feel humbled as I sketch and paint.  Nina Tandon in a TED talk experiences this in a completely different way in what she calls 'Biomimetic Paradigm" - as she copies nature in the lab. She engineers artificial tissues for transplants and therapies.  Watch her short video as she talks about this amazing process.  

Perfect Patience

Perfect Patience  digital photography

We often think that it is impossible

to develop perfect patience; however

 if we know our nature and our qualities,

and if we train ourselves in them,

it is completely possible to do it.

-Bokar Rinpoche