tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629556056881205422024-03-14T01:14:03.694-05:00Prairie Hill Farm StudioPainting, Photography and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for all can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.comBlogger457125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-71143455802218835342024-01-09T14:58:00.000-06:002024-01-09T14:58:14.244-06:00A Most Uncommon Year it Was...<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3i0HR_c7AtN_0jsJhSS3q-P-GNbHIDiczAIfH_jT9vdz8qWMpiH8yOimQeZexR8Pm9xF2Wa5MFpyOREJsQ_69SrpTRaHki1JS9BvqU0L1GXXmo3vO_qDaLWuykox3bteeAE3WD_1NtB1NHKM7Uodz5CEhmJFJu6xqx0OaQMktsaMSxhZks9J1Q7KW0dI/s1296/BlueJay-snowfall-10-28-2023-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="1296" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3i0HR_c7AtN_0jsJhSS3q-P-GNbHIDiczAIfH_jT9vdz8qWMpiH8yOimQeZexR8Pm9xF2Wa5MFpyOREJsQ_69SrpTRaHki1JS9BvqU0L1GXXmo3vO_qDaLWuykox3bteeAE3WD_1NtB1NHKM7Uodz5CEhmJFJu6xqx0OaQMktsaMSxhZks9J1Q7KW0dI/s320/BlueJay-snowfall-10-28-2023-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Winter Blue Jay - photograph <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto">©Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"> </span></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><br /></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>A
New Year has been with us for a bit over a week and I'm still pondering
what just happened...for one, last year was over before it began...for
another thing, it was good and not so good at the same time. Confusing
huh.</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>We
had entered our 4th straight year of drought here; the spring and
summer weren't what we needed to change that, but still there was some
moisture at opportune times...it helped the garden, and helped the
farmers "just" enough to quell our tendency to dwell on our
circumstances.</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>The
Herons returned to the rookery here, the neighbor's fields were
prepared and planted, and the pastures started greening up - things
seemed "normal". How we've grown to expect things to move along as we
are so accustomed! </b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>Then
drought repeated...the Herons abandoned their rookery for the first
time since the nesting colony was established well over 20 years ago.
(The Waterman dried for the first time in memory in 2022, and went into
winter with a vulnerable fishery pooled up in small isolated pools -
which froze to the bottom in the 22-23 winter temps.) The Waterman quit
flowing once again this past summer after Labor Day.</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>The
small birds of the yard and pasture were still a joy; we had Bluebirds
nesting again for the first time since the drought began in 2021.
However it was the first year we've witnessed Tree Swallows failing to
nest here. We arrived here over 20 years ago and became accustomed to
20-30 Barn Swallows patrolling the acreage; this year we had 6 pairs,
down from 7-8 last year.<br /></b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>Some
notable plants in our pasture, having gone dormant 3-4 years past,
still did not reappear. However our gravel esker hillside still offered
up amazing color, albeit shorter stature and blooming time.<br /></b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>"Another" year saw historical warm global temperatures.</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>The world once again roiled in turmoil. </b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>As summer progressed, our family suffered joy and great loss. </b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>As
fall came into it's time, we saw warmer temps and an unusual gift of
6.5" of rain in 2 days...it was appreciated and celebrated by everyone
here! It got the Waterman flowing once more, however small the flow may
be - its a good thing.</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>Then
the warmest November and December I've ever remembered myself. The
ground stayed receptive (unfrozen) and we got an inch and a half of rain
here on Christmas Eve day and Christmas day!</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>We did manage a south pasture burn in November;</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>
I had been picking seed all fall and had finally decided to broadcast
it over the top of the south pasture on the 23rd of December. Hopefully
this planting will see fruition!</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>And
now we start this second week of the New Year with a return to what we
are always accustomed to here - frigid temperatures and snow. Lets keep
that sowed seed covered!<br /></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" dir="auto"><b>Yes
it was an uncommon year - at least for us. We are thankful for the
Blessings from it, and pray for all those around us who have loved and
lost, toiled, reaped and harvested. May this New Year be kind to you
and may you be kind to others. We are all of one family and this world
is our only home.</b></span></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-62110907260015998862023-11-21T16:05:00.000-06:002023-11-21T16:05:33.252-06:00Thanksgiving Time All Around<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dPiMXMNEZBB6zfVjvflRn-tvmYDID2z_je7F7xutmag37D_AZOqvwsT4NDuFh7LPwCEJlEh7QU70jgSs6VZxmN74VRDaXVx7DDt5arpDgp-Cehcq10oyJhdqxLc4ek2Xgz2Of2lr5_WLm1mJ3_TYmLUc8iVZfHi4k66VoRxT-m6DXydQcfuV6Qmtt3g/s1296/WatermanWA-10-23-2023-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1296" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dPiMXMNEZBB6zfVjvflRn-tvmYDID2z_je7F7xutmag37D_AZOqvwsT4NDuFh7LPwCEJlEh7QU70jgSs6VZxmN74VRDaXVx7DDt5arpDgp-Cehcq10oyJhdqxLc4ek2Xgz2Of2lr5_WLm1mJ3_TYmLUc8iVZfHi4k66VoRxT-m6DXydQcfuV6Qmtt3g/s320/WatermanWA-10-23-2023-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">"Autumn in the Waterman Valley" photo - <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">©Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></b></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>It has been a hard year for many; continues to be so for the planet - yet I want to be thankful for what blessings our family has received...not just this year but throughout our lives.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Firstly I am thankful for my life, my family my friends and neighbors...for this place that we were brought to over 20 years ago now. Georgie never liked uneven years; although I never gave it much thought, I don't think she was far off on this one. But although we lost loved ones, or suffered some hardships, we are so thankful for every blessing! We have no guarantees in this life, but I am grateful everyday for taking breath and witnessing the beauty of it all!</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I have been absent from the blog since mid-summer; I will throw in a smattering of what keeps our spirits going, with a few descriptions where warranted. Happy Thanksgiving to each of you out there!</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tQyObQawA7aaWoBZ0omcGtlOXq1QaPQpG-mWlYffmQaPlgkPt2qYoZZUu-U8dnE72TwFroHmRXnjBkN-CJsD5tP8LOTjYCD3ngLwLe8fh8BJ-IhGMpbPlMHHLEf8-XuA5znactTvmQJVqBQjwvzB2BOvI1xwT68zFyAozbM77tmUibJRe_tOH1Ff2Wk/s1271/BumbleBees-Frenzy-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1271" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tQyObQawA7aaWoBZ0omcGtlOXq1QaPQpG-mWlYffmQaPlgkPt2qYoZZUu-U8dnE72TwFroHmRXnjBkN-CJsD5tP8LOTjYCD3ngLwLe8fh8BJ-IhGMpbPlMHHLEf8-XuA5znactTvmQJVqBQjwvzB2BOvI1xwT68zFyAozbM77tmUibJRe_tOH1Ff2Wk/s320/BumbleBees-Frenzy-72dpi.jpg" width="295" /></a></span></b></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5Q47Grkp6Hl9qiAfATs_sy4kKU5Y9YC_Wa9pwX9dch_mnplWKy6GGK1lv12kuDm0OFVeFvXhZHqodOzgo1GQ-uu_GwvcZ5Nd_2vdfS3XXJGx9tao_7ZhcdAtFBm_2hmoe3vlB8kYgV3MMCEqmyb_cKi-V4QxIY0af1NmcankdrUJQ-ZQ6z2ELKkYi_o/s1270/LAspera-w-TreeCricket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1270" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5Q47Grkp6Hl9qiAfATs_sy4kKU5Y9YC_Wa9pwX9dch_mnplWKy6GGK1lv12kuDm0OFVeFvXhZHqodOzgo1GQ-uu_GwvcZ5Nd_2vdfS3XXJGx9tao_7ZhcdAtFBm_2hmoe3vlB8kYgV3MMCEqmyb_cKi-V4QxIY0af1NmcankdrUJQ-ZQ6z2ELKkYi_o/s320/LAspera-w-TreeCricket.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Bumble Bees and Tree Crickets enjoyed our pasture in late summer as much as we did!</b> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><br /><br /> </span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></b></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGK4-Iq-viFzFNgDxK9pqwXRqc_1zvISBw2prz1LAnB82QH6yY24IO2kUi-N_c7N0QeJoIJF3k4F7Dv3hYHiG_a2LH2EfNWBu8Ydrfg9PixL45gSsvRBmZAeWqSQvyeAIV0oNuaJsGaUWsawJHNGXkmdBNM8ukBWM7hgY3buKoyW5iEKzrZd1XaI24JO4/s1188/5-Monarch-Roost-morning-8-27-2023-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="716" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGK4-Iq-viFzFNgDxK9pqwXRqc_1zvISBw2prz1LAnB82QH6yY24IO2kUi-N_c7N0QeJoIJF3k4F7Dv3hYHiG_a2LH2EfNWBu8Ydrfg9PixL45gSsvRBmZAeWqSQvyeAIV0oNuaJsGaUWsawJHNGXkmdBNM8ukBWM7hgY3buKoyW5iEKzrZd1XaI24JO4/s320/5-Monarch-Roost-morning-8-27-2023-72dpi.jpg" width="193" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The Monarch roosts returned in late August</span>.</b></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0wgTxoQ0VPfSfCIqA94nBtZweL239dJstvyOkMnbb4WMF-LgI4oRGfZVXACq8KTQ2KChmCedm0xhR-wYC9RSfB9VE9gRfBMUF3UWsE9T40mEoqeHo7jXYvsfzm7noxWqM8DOfU65gvq8UrDOHrfC8OapEUCfeYQjSkm9wqERZfj6hIc0M5luBo2tens/s1296/Sub-Adult-Bald-Eagle-9-10-23-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="1296" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0wgTxoQ0VPfSfCIqA94nBtZweL239dJstvyOkMnbb4WMF-LgI4oRGfZVXACq8KTQ2KChmCedm0xhR-wYC9RSfB9VE9gRfBMUF3UWsE9T40mEoqeHo7jXYvsfzm7noxWqM8DOfU65gvq8UrDOHrfC8OapEUCfeYQjSkm9wqERZfj6hIc0M5luBo2tens/s320/Sub-Adult-Bald-Eagle-9-10-23-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Bald Eagle activity always picks up here beginning in late summer - this one in the yard!</b></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmwB_GtI9wlgAmeWkOaBZO_xRR_WonoyGajXoWm6KTwlRsKqa0ZmUKTVrfpSlgEs_lCT1o7gUcyPkVZRKN7_4BFb-a7ws10ls_Od4_zi_xDcYraut3dRSdIufroK771GSR6cotUhchdrgcVDhG58JsPXo8GJ1jxe5oTsmhAiZD_fp27tMELUUkODSN114/s1296/Waterman's-Mouth---Dried-Up-9-14-23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="1296" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmwB_GtI9wlgAmeWkOaBZO_xRR_WonoyGajXoWm6KTwlRsKqa0ZmUKTVrfpSlgEs_lCT1o7gUcyPkVZRKN7_4BFb-a7ws10ls_Od4_zi_xDcYraut3dRSdIufroK771GSR6cotUhchdrgcVDhG58JsPXo8GJ1jxe5oTsmhAiZD_fp27tMELUUkODSN114/s320/Waterman's-Mouth---Dried-Up-9-14-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Drought still a concern in September as the Waterman quit flowing again this year...</b></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5khcK04VHO0PGgECCjFDFeVP2pnW99ZORmTB8gwn7zwWjN7jM56CLP3PQxHFgLpvXHEmUldAPpbllLCK25ybi82EoHI28IY1qjP4Ia1vCQ-aQiPSZEN1ke7LHT6TDNJFDVuOcvNQKfAFWK5tzkLL6CgYYWrezatzPwEXxIJQbcjf4GUG7w1IhdIXuQm0/s1296/10-17-23-trail-cam-composite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="1296" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5khcK04VHO0PGgECCjFDFeVP2pnW99ZORmTB8gwn7zwWjN7jM56CLP3PQxHFgLpvXHEmUldAPpbllLCK25ybi82EoHI28IY1qjP4Ia1vCQ-aQiPSZEN1ke7LHT6TDNJFDVuOcvNQKfAFWK5tzkLL6CgYYWrezatzPwEXxIJQbcjf4GUG7w1IhdIXuQm0/s320/10-17-23-trail-cam-composite.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The trail camera watches all the traffic passing the barn at night</b></span>.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm26_ymO1XJAXotwhFkjF3cocdqUBhsIJzfA-St3ISh0G3osjvg09aLdTV5h8NebtWw8ywgDy4dbuI_DmvqRveLuttWG2vuf6XKjiTF9T1dH6x305PT5NE-qg6kkNUy7z9SffcTWo192vF6GIH2Kpn54_jDA9uQ60DfgCZIDmWmRexLxbb35362fNwqZc/s1285/SNOW-Comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1285" data-original-width="1010" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm26_ymO1XJAXotwhFkjF3cocdqUBhsIJzfA-St3ISh0G3osjvg09aLdTV5h8NebtWw8ywgDy4dbuI_DmvqRveLuttWG2vuf6XKjiTF9T1dH6x305PT5NE-qg6kkNUy7z9SffcTWo192vF6GIH2Kpn54_jDA9uQ60DfgCZIDmWmRexLxbb35362fNwqZc/s320/SNOW-Comp.jpg" width="252" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Things change, and then change again - this was fleeting - gone now.</b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQda-CemZZlCwCRF59UxTvT4U-lP81H1jElAOI5WjAGLtGWAdN0h-s9xk2uZGM7ltZ1P8owwWgjdS8i0OIe0JnlGkbThaAzYuolRa2HldaJ5Fh9lDSrDCwAW914ebxt4WciB-EsRULakcK5VaSjUlCsgHid-9zfDGabzAWZf0YBjHfXmL-X6BFCvBWay0/s1296/Junco-Comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="1296" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQda-CemZZlCwCRF59UxTvT4U-lP81H1jElAOI5WjAGLtGWAdN0h-s9xk2uZGM7ltZ1P8owwWgjdS8i0OIe0JnlGkbThaAzYuolRa2HldaJ5Fh9lDSrDCwAW914ebxt4WciB-EsRULakcK5VaSjUlCsgHid-9zfDGabzAWZf0YBjHfXmL-X6BFCvBWay0/s320/Junco-Comp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLm-_6A9Rzx2VsnuZnS8NlU9BOxwCKSmvKVCwSvUeKs4iXUfcxL6LtwueFPQdbAsMZfn_jAPN4v4BMFj228ZZTAvrWJCSdek8oz17CVNyoqao2lh49jhbbATybnLoJ8epWhlPwYSCNGF1uNsg7yVljPIubFt_g8WIjBfBhGT49angmgcrb683ntyqVjVs/s1296/Skunk-11-01-2023-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="1296" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLm-_6A9Rzx2VsnuZnS8NlU9BOxwCKSmvKVCwSvUeKs4iXUfcxL6LtwueFPQdbAsMZfn_jAPN4v4BMFj228ZZTAvrWJCSdek8oz17CVNyoqao2lh49jhbbATybnLoJ8epWhlPwYSCNGF1uNsg7yVljPIubFt_g8WIjBfBhGT49angmgcrb683ntyqVjVs/s320/Skunk-11-01-2023-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Lots of friends return or pop by for a visit!</b></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Georgie and I were able to burn the south pasture for the first time in 3-4 years due to an amazing rain event that lasted about 3 days! I hope to plant seed I've been collecting for the past month or more...waiting for a "lasting" winter event before seeding that pasture.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The Waterman is flowing once more but is still in need of a return to normal rainfall.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>So much has been put to bed here and just awaiting winter.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I hope this finds you and yours well - ready for a celebratory Thanksgiving feast or just a grateful break to reflect on what is good and welcome in your lives.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Think about those things - this world cannot exist unless we are good to one another. Isn't that what life is about? There is no "them" and "us"...we are all of one family. There are no "scores" to be kept nor settled, no "even" to be gotten. Ponder the good in your lives and spread it out to those in need - they are your brothers and sisters...we are all one...</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>...Being Thankful.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-21452964305908093872023-07-08T13:19:00.000-05:002023-07-08T13:19:22.268-05:00July Only Comes Once a Year...<p> </p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCtG-St6doq848M1Fyx_4R2lWncqNC0dfkWaugfNDCM618-neg7tMgdWhCZis2GczXEYQDfQF355cuV17ILSzyzvLVslO9fRjnwoOgbUHAJCo9EWfe2BeUskZjgDuNFvHk8n470xPMOPATRAJo9hX3CjbzdvH0ihNmK8biU1CsjreKI6YaFlpYzA2az0Q/s1296/RHWP-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1267" data-original-width="1296" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCtG-St6doq848M1Fyx_4R2lWncqNC0dfkWaugfNDCM618-neg7tMgdWhCZis2GczXEYQDfQF355cuV17ILSzyzvLVslO9fRjnwoOgbUHAJCo9EWfe2BeUskZjgDuNFvHk8n470xPMOPATRAJo9hX3CjbzdvH0ihNmK8biU1CsjreKI6YaFlpYzA2az0Q/s320/RHWP-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-headed Woodpecker - photograph - <span class="textAlign-center" contenteditable="false" data-block="true" data-editor="aqn39" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0" style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><span><span data-style="{"color":"rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt))"}" style="color: rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt));"><span data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span data-text="true">©Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br /></b><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b><span style="font-size: small;">Of
course it does! I guess I'm trying to be metaphorical...or maybe
melancholy? Even I don't know. Maybe getting older has me thinking
about things too much. I was so used to saying to myself things like
"I've got to try and see those next July." Or maybe "We really should
take that trip to (fill in the blank) next summer. I'm not quite there
yet but so many things are now out of my reach - they were great ideas
but now no longer in the cards. Especially things like that long hike
or trek I always thought would be great to do...even some places I've
long had permission to walk with my camera are beginning to be out of
the question any more. If you haven't reached that place in your life,
it is sobering when they confront you, and you realize fully, I
shouldn't have kept putting it off. That is "life". </span></b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceJyxVQtjjwP9p6k_ZlFegkYtH6mSOLz2zS49zm-kQvtrC55AAkARuEQ4VWfYpuN39Z5tX7o-mChNhbTeiplXm7vUy5P4c5NdT2_K12yFJzNOMDL5qamVAO2wfCqt9sTOJ1WJRf-1dRCkWxWG7Yg3LLNmqH8CdCdyOGCiVL5iMR50F7q_8RVXcIFv_cs/s1296/Home-Transition-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="806" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgceJyxVQtjjwP9p6k_ZlFegkYtH6mSOLz2zS49zm-kQvtrC55AAkARuEQ4VWfYpuN39Z5tX7o-mChNhbTeiplXm7vUy5P4c5NdT2_K12yFJzNOMDL5qamVAO2wfCqt9sTOJ1WJRf-1dRCkWxWG7Yg3LLNmqH8CdCdyOGCiVL5iMR50F7q_8RVXcIFv_cs/s320/Home-Transition-72dpi.jpg" width="199" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b><span style="font-size: small;">Lately,
when I'm up to it, I have been trying very hard to take each moment and
have fun with it. When I was younger, I was busy with things that
seemed important. Now I know so much of it wasn't. And now, everything
is (important).</span></b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9exkeHV5WpOaLTJ_RPXLMsX1nIie08iM9S85NrkuztwrpQAmKL5sHFPt9afIQDqNiFPVUadH2tcwxusCe6WgTCfKnQMhONGiNM7rwaCNL7gNmPeoooYIk2m0llOJ9Q-rhNzTJpkGJX-UgmXTaPlwJAnlUj04VQD_cI3eacufkrH0Yz9IRv54HuIJ9JKM/s1152/FBB-comp.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="732" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9exkeHV5WpOaLTJ_RPXLMsX1nIie08iM9S85NrkuztwrpQAmKL5sHFPt9afIQDqNiFPVUadH2tcwxusCe6WgTCfKnQMhONGiNM7rwaCNL7gNmPeoooYIk2m0llOJ9Q-rhNzTJpkGJX-UgmXTaPlwJAnlUj04VQD_cI3eacufkrH0Yz9IRv54HuIJ9JKM/s320/FBB-comp.jpg" width="203" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Female Eastern Bluebird - photograph - <span class="textAlign-center" contenteditable="false" data-block="true" data-editor="aqn39" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0" style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><span><span data-style="{"color":"rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt))"}" style="color: rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt));"><span data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span data-text="true">©Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><b> </b><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b><span style="font-size: small;">We
have had such a fun year with nature here on our little postage stamp
sized acreage. Every day I try and watch and catch things before they
pass. </span></b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTVSM0bGFeehg_H3EMuOF-hqXJs17trIvqwV5si0IfMFJb8ktyU6X6hb_253jipUdrNo62mVVenOGNdgth3DTWQb2lAxsxs2TZEtfsW_CDMCAXcOPEmhjk0hj7WefC3j8TsLNiVFePbPzeTgQst3NIOo9b6kElAkUi7f585pYufRd52YyAFsUpm9j2JYA/s1296/Common-Milkweed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1296" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTVSM0bGFeehg_H3EMuOF-hqXJs17trIvqwV5si0IfMFJb8ktyU6X6hb_253jipUdrNo62mVVenOGNdgth3DTWQb2lAxsxs2TZEtfsW_CDMCAXcOPEmhjk0hj7WefC3j8TsLNiVFePbPzeTgQst3NIOo9b6kElAkUi7f585pYufRd52YyAFsUpm9j2JYA/s320/Common-Milkweed.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguLBzr4Okq-QW9bDjXgrARy76wL9uUbfyxuIRqeK_G9sONT5sBCN-P4ZIha99LjU6gyZeM7V_hq1XyCfSnyeDAXXUhEwJPUOlecdIiGIfNjxkjDXC5Ek7SuDglxf2nrEnIjMNyugAkAxaLTOPAUxUJ7flnnX8tDiknf6-no8d3pJkR-yf8TV60SlzK1sI/s1296/Compass-Plant.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1296" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguLBzr4Okq-QW9bDjXgrARy76wL9uUbfyxuIRqeK_G9sONT5sBCN-P4ZIha99LjU6gyZeM7V_hq1XyCfSnyeDAXXUhEwJPUOlecdIiGIfNjxkjDXC5Ek7SuDglxf2nrEnIjMNyugAkAxaLTOPAUxUJ7flnnX8tDiknf6-no8d3pJkR-yf8TV60SlzK1sI/s320/Compass-Plant.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReOUx1X5c7FyZoDEIk4ngPUF45vdVrN3wGXwUpumdrW4sJyaDtm-Dly9avOK0pTulgNT5Vc-kMOYRgBSbB3VRAGtncj93xYU6MFuwbpN2ct57MbUVu5FL4fnjmBhzGNHWsCHBi2pUqD3imLbIqSAtbLj04YGeCN35-BGYlUlmYSwLLxjsMyXZt22X9wU/s864/Cottontail.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="674" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhReOUx1X5c7FyZoDEIk4ngPUF45vdVrN3wGXwUpumdrW4sJyaDtm-Dly9avOK0pTulgNT5Vc-kMOYRgBSbB3VRAGtncj93xYU6MFuwbpN2ct57MbUVu5FL4fnjmBhzGNHWsCHBi2pUqD3imLbIqSAtbLj04YGeCN35-BGYlUlmYSwLLxjsMyXZt22X9wU/s320/Cottontail.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cottontail Rabbit...rabbits make Georgie crazy! - photograph - <span class="textAlign-center" contenteditable="false" data-block="true" data-editor="aqn39" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0" style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><span><span data-style="{"color":"rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt))"}" style="color: rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt));"><span data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span data-text="true">©Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnrp2_5jT3w6ZxkIw45ha4OmhYy2Gvwq7WOzGGClGXTz0teFNCspiO2UO16MGzgBgoWdnvhRTDiLatd1MY-9QZ6Hxw7Z08y3TXOuRAZWUcSjpJ4PMB7MsmbjEg1rCNVWYK9yUBM-F4DIHpmnChTOQTRf1I8rF5zQqaeUac66O3Kmh_xntJZIeinVKe9M/s1296/Showy-Tick-Trefoil.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1296" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnrp2_5jT3w6ZxkIw45ha4OmhYy2Gvwq7WOzGGClGXTz0teFNCspiO2UO16MGzgBgoWdnvhRTDiLatd1MY-9QZ6Hxw7Z08y3TXOuRAZWUcSjpJ4PMB7MsmbjEg1rCNVWYK9yUBM-F4DIHpmnChTOQTRf1I8rF5zQqaeUac66O3Kmh_xntJZIeinVKe9M/s320/Showy-Tick-Trefoil.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><br /></b></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1qiTEPowt1KBPjmkM55Im-RnhQa1_eIquZXsQSnZ6RorsrIcC-Kx9wOxE9BVj1PhowZ-MjvrFkPxHKcD3qMJRX1oNNkp0wufA7Bd1h0Lzf_7aZC3N5P0sAgi2te7rx3riknsLecwB-Z2DL6WMTJPbTbzyleKJ67Nj96NCBhJeBHAKl_Ny_GUzorBhcY/s1296/EAngustifolia-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1qiTEPowt1KBPjmkM55Im-RnhQa1_eIquZXsQSnZ6RorsrIcC-Kx9wOxE9BVj1PhowZ-MjvrFkPxHKcD3qMJRX1oNNkp0wufA7Bd1h0Lzf_7aZC3N5P0sAgi2te7rx3riknsLecwB-Z2DL6WMTJPbTbzyleKJ67Nj96NCBhJeBHAKl_Ny_GUzorBhcY/s320/EAngustifolia-72dpi.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Echinacea angustifolia in our pasture<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"> - photograph - <span class="textAlign-center" contenteditable="false" data-block="true" data-editor="aqn39" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0" style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><span><span data-style="{"color":"rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt))"}" style="color: rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt));"><span data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span data-text="true">©Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPO7BKWBR2sY2c7kJnf1hZhLuon4JtO5Mukm4obsLMdOYRI1BMCbM7kmaCT2hZzHGiZL4z55w-d4fcMyHDs9lH-9qY9PwcwDiPIV9pZOG1ne_7SJZRrALzZ_tdniLVZR-NiLv6962a_irC477TSvMJGnZKsYebXU0habv0P-qSMgCGi18cKEJGkPz11I/s1296/Crescentspot-Pearly-maybe-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="1296" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPO7BKWBR2sY2c7kJnf1hZhLuon4JtO5Mukm4obsLMdOYRI1BMCbM7kmaCT2hZzHGiZL4z55w-d4fcMyHDs9lH-9qY9PwcwDiPIV9pZOG1ne_7SJZRrALzZ_tdniLVZR-NiLv6962a_irC477TSvMJGnZKsYebXU0habv0P-qSMgCGi18cKEJGkPz11I/s320/Crescentspot-Pearly-maybe-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">Pearly Crescentspot (Phyciodes tharos) </span><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">- photograph - <span class="textAlign-center" contenteditable="false" data-block="true" data-editor="aqn39" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0" style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><span><span data-style="{"color":"rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt))"}" style="color: rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt));"><span data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span data-text="true">©Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAqAqSmlwwv4gY_pFMKBfq5BaQeFoEMGBqIF2t7F4g_OzgAgkwf6T_4pSqTTEcjCk0AeEkwwgTXuLH9x9F7c-8j8fjFlHrMwZZt3gEWwPDjsRgV5nAY63oyZEIlm_JanzKKuif-ZzWXTuqXgss0XjS2yzHC1tdLz1i1AbgPWm1tBMd-XJEQ6Rt_1g3d8/s1296/Cinquefoil-comp-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="1296" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAqAqSmlwwv4gY_pFMKBfq5BaQeFoEMGBqIF2t7F4g_OzgAgkwf6T_4pSqTTEcjCk0AeEkwwgTXuLH9x9F7c-8j8fjFlHrMwZZt3gEWwPDjsRgV5nAY63oyZEIlm_JanzKKuif-ZzWXTuqXgss0XjS2yzHC1tdLz1i1AbgPWm1tBMd-XJEQ6Rt_1g3d8/s320/Cinquefoil-comp-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHR2BQBtESOg51Gp8MO0CRQ3bL69qUIoupBSdzn6OD1radOnz1oNxRuG42E8EEhYJJVOXiTgbhW_4rQR8By5hwLC1EkerO7QHfWABhWCOXbssixkgPynrsC65y8-b65RVkwXiswM8XIqKm82i6XxmoRMqCWVaCReTSkElA5mB2YaxwHTfFySpN-bnnv-Y/s1296/AsclepiasTuberosa-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="885" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHR2BQBtESOg51Gp8MO0CRQ3bL69qUIoupBSdzn6OD1radOnz1oNxRuG42E8EEhYJJVOXiTgbhW_4rQR8By5hwLC1EkerO7QHfWABhWCOXbssixkgPynrsC65y8-b65RVkwXiswM8XIqKm82i6XxmoRMqCWVaCReTSkElA5mB2YaxwHTfFySpN-bnnv-Y/s320/AsclepiasTuberosa-72dpi.jpg" width="219" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Asclepias tuberosa <span style="font-size: small;">in the pasture here </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">- photograph - <span class="textAlign-center" contenteditable="false" data-block="true" data-editor="aqn39" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0" style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><span><span data-style="{"color":"rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt))"}" style="color: rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt));"><span data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span data-text="true">©Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="textAlign-center" contenteditable="false" data-block="true" data-editor="aqn39" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0" style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><span><span data-style="{"color":"rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt))"}" style="color: rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt));"><span data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="textAlign-center" contenteditable="false" data-block="true" data-editor="aqn39" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0" style="line-height: 2; text-align: center;"><span><span data-style="{"color":"rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt))"}" style="color: rgb(var(--preColor_textAlt));"><span data-offset-key="fdsfsdf2-0-0"><span data-text="true"> <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b>Now
I haven't caught everything with the camera or easel of course...it's
just not possible. But what I miss stays with us in other ways - the
Yellow-billed Cuckoo which calls from high in the grove, we know its
there as it sings for us each day. Then there's the Eastern Wood Pewee
that we also hear each day; we do see it "fly catching" from the lower
branches around the yard, but often we only hear it talk to us. </b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b>The
morning chorus has been amazing. I used to try and record it with
audio equipment in past years...maybe succeeded in a small way but could
never do it justice! Always first seems to be the Robins, then the
Catbirds and Mourning Doves, then the Chipping Sparrows and the Orioles
and Meadowlarks and Dickcissels, House Wrens, and so many
others...sleeping with the windows open is a blessing!<br /></b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b>We
have noticed those missing this year...we no longer hear the night time
calling of Sedge Wrens, and this year no juvenile Great Horned Owls or
summer Redtailed Hawks. Although the Great Blue Herons returned to the
Waterman Creek rookery this spring - they abandoned the rookery in June
and none raised their young here.</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b>Not
every year is the same..some things change, and not always as we'd
wish. Although we still have our ash trees here in the acreage and in
the valley out front - there are farmsteads only a 5 minute trip from us
that are losing all of theirs as I speak. We are not far behind. </b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b>But
I will try and take in and enjoy in any way I can what is given to us
each day as it happens...each day is a gift! There is so much to see
and do and</b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b> July only comes once a year.</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></b></span></p><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Be good to one another out there - we truly need each other.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></b></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-23197781391337163492023-06-24T13:38:00.000-05:002023-06-24T13:38:04.919-05:00June is "Dickcissel Month"...Just Say'n<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHoyaT2oUQEFir7bAW37HlSbB8cI2VyjGhtOivGoj-j9S2aovcebhWDlNlXwddnlvL1VvMi8mRZ1WsrBt-bfN8vrhDxAzx9gmjRj1CM0CFQQ4_8MGd1acIqpIYIsgaLlUIDuR08R28Ql10Ojo45pesIjdTxt2wsvQ9mOYMw6kM69DAy2NdDDJZGT2GXGw/s1152/Dickcissel-Class-of-2022-Comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="1152" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHoyaT2oUQEFir7bAW37HlSbB8cI2VyjGhtOivGoj-j9S2aovcebhWDlNlXwddnlvL1VvMi8mRZ1WsrBt-bfN8vrhDxAzx9gmjRj1CM0CFQQ4_8MGd1acIqpIYIsgaLlUIDuR08R28Ql10Ojo45pesIjdTxt2wsvQ9mOYMw6kM69DAy2NdDDJZGT2GXGw/s320/Dickcissel-Class-of-2022-Comp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">(color pencil drawing - ©Bruce A. Morrison)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"></span></p><div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I got an idea last summer, reveling in all the Dickcissels living along our road and pastures. Nothing deep or serious mind you...and selfishly - something just for my own fun. I have to keep reminding myself - if you aren't having fun, then knock off what your doing and get to it...life is too short! </span></span></b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I don't exactly recall why or how I came to this idea? Maybe it was all the perseverance these birds were being educated to each day - forming and raising families...staking <span></span>their territorial claims and announcing that every day...all day long. Its really quite something to see and hear throughout the summer months.</span></span></b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I decided to just have fun and dedicate this artwork to them...all the graduates of Prairie Hill Farm - Class of '22. They wouldn't all pose for their class pictures but I got a few of them...mostly the guys of course, but a couple girls showed up as well.</span></span></b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Making this reminiscent of an old country school class composite did present some issues for me. Color pencil is not a good tool for lettering nor graphics...I almost gave up the silly idea half way through, even before getting to the birds. I should've farmed that part off to someone who is actually "Good" at lettering and calligraphy...like our Daughter-in-Law Amy, she's a "Natural" at design and lettering - just look around our house!</span></span></b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The birds were fun - as was the central image representing their "school grounds"...putting everyone in a oval was "not" fun...not an easy shape constraint for my tired eyes and hands.</span></span></b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But here's to the "Prairie Hill Farm Summer Academy - Dickcissel Class of '22" - of whom many graduates returned this year and every year, to school their young and bring them up to be proud little Dickie Birds (as someone once called them)!!!</span></span></b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXN8E0EO1blAgr-p5qgnHllUJLLFJSxox2W0KFBWcM6tC7YoNCuyOhjfnA7AlQkTSailcQCs6EuH6kZFy7QfzzeZQqWZbXMCW4-PMLUb_XCuohhqgWQpESBeI4cC5XsiKfWRjBt7R8jfxO0yjBuCy3fqV4u8NItnBJzYfyxi4w6g4UVbwC8DiV_R5TaQ/s648/Dickcissel-Portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="568" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXN8E0EO1blAgr-p5qgnHllUJLLFJSxox2W0KFBWcM6tC7YoNCuyOhjfnA7AlQkTSailcQCs6EuH6kZFy7QfzzeZQqWZbXMCW4-PMLUb_XCuohhqgWQpESBeI4cC5XsiKfWRjBt7R8jfxO0yjBuCy3fqV4u8NItnBJzYfyxi4w6g4UVbwC8DiV_R5TaQ/s320/Dickcissel-Portrait.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">(color pencil drawing - ©Bruce A. Morrison)</span></td></tr></tbody></table> </span></span></b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I decided to declare June as "Dickcissel Month", in honor of these little birds and the memory they leave behind after they head south at summer's end. I still have a glimmer of a seed to sprout a more serious Dickcissel piece someday...maybe a painting, who knows?<br /></span></span></b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But I still remind myself not to take things too seriously, and have fun in the moment!</span></span></b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Be good to one another out there - we truly need each other. <br /></span></span></b></div></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-84620437915956055852023-06-15T14:08:00.000-05:002023-06-15T14:08:05.655-05:00Mid June...Not Bad!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHW9T_xuavCsQLj7bnZzUosBGRN3qFhXv6SCSsb8oahf2LHq1SNxg3Vzn3-zoRQEdNlJONvEbp9wctbhH8ig0HwGVWBEZxGKwjWZsRqEE1qRUvd292dHyhkrVVNzl0Q2pLpwLiacSMC_7g3zYY7rmsHkr422K8fVpm1uY6l1DPHi18O5unevZW4PJ/s1152/Dickcissel-Comp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="1152" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHW9T_xuavCsQLj7bnZzUosBGRN3qFhXv6SCSsb8oahf2LHq1SNxg3Vzn3-zoRQEdNlJONvEbp9wctbhH8ig0HwGVWBEZxGKwjWZsRqEE1qRUvd292dHyhkrVVNzl0Q2pLpwLiacSMC_7g3zYY7rmsHkr422K8fVpm1uY6l1DPHi18O5unevZW4PJ/s320/Dickcissel-Comp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Things come on fast once the weather turns hot and even more so if the rain actually starts. We aren't out of the drought "woods" yet but it has improved from the past 3 years...very grateful for that!</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The Dickcissels are back this June and are a happy lot once again - I swear we have one every 50 feet down the road and several in the pastures as well...its great! They are even nesting in the pasture here - very fun!<br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3tzM0zWbQibNSFZ48l5tIOWVr50gMQ_eM_EHOhZ_m4yWStEbVya0dyb8jBqaGU6BOsLkRTHMVPxYihrgfPtFRVCdnAXH1Sj91_dHtLRb_N56DmY0fl0DsH_WCFlrVp9LVRcem93VKjZoR5Rs1h_IFccCq0jiCa8Xl_cCpVCsOydCGBLSgx3A0sNq/s1212/Bobolink-in-song-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="1212" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3tzM0zWbQibNSFZ48l5tIOWVr50gMQ_eM_EHOhZ_m4yWStEbVya0dyb8jBqaGU6BOsLkRTHMVPxYihrgfPtFRVCdnAXH1Sj91_dHtLRb_N56DmY0fl0DsH_WCFlrVp9LVRcem93VKjZoR5Rs1h_IFccCq0jiCa8Xl_cCpVCsOydCGBLSgx3A0sNq/s320/Bobolink-in-song-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></b></div><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">And the Bobolinks did show up in the pasture across the road...occasionally they'll chase one another across the road to our place so we can get some enjoyment out of their company! It was a special time when they nested on our place and when we'd see them up the county blacktops and highway pastures as well, but, again...I am grateful for what we still have.</span></b></span><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHuh5xP7hjXQ-1YFlelC0xQbAuRZFWtYg3k8ovePABpwMbGMof2ihR4b20b9wLNEs1wGCU-2oKbapFOOvP7kB_9uOnWhlH4bCipzJMioOixB0__ZZBseoETpbndRyiTAlgAo-rEBjRsUpgy0bd9lN503pmVUo92hAQCmCtNhY0ysJb9h3kOoaZfavp/s864/Hummer-with-WWIndigo-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="864" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHuh5xP7hjXQ-1YFlelC0xQbAuRZFWtYg3k8ovePABpwMbGMof2ihR4b20b9wLNEs1wGCU-2oKbapFOOvP7kB_9uOnWhlH4bCipzJMioOixB0__ZZBseoETpbndRyiTAlgAo-rEBjRsUpgy0bd9lN503pmVUo92hAQCmCtNhY0ysJb9h3kOoaZfavp/s320/Hummer-with-WWIndigo-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;">The spring prairie flowers are happy with our rain too, and the heat is moving them along faster than I can keep up...every time I find something new blooming, its finished before I know it...help!!!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMS3ngaM39eRE4v7v15AhopuCZr7GfSaoJRkjWyWPEbar2qHIlqMwG0i6NoQ6w7tZFb_KulcyAANU97DbPSJ0vXYHStLeDLHNWI03CSQboCR2GpeFiXk6gd_NIHVJCBXFQE2lYqPCq1T5BuzNGcrBvH_wQysg4KvdqsCxIfzB5vVXbP6AYh4b_Dia/s1152/Hummer-with-WWIndigo-3-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1152" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEMS3ngaM39eRE4v7v15AhopuCZr7GfSaoJRkjWyWPEbar2qHIlqMwG0i6NoQ6w7tZFb_KulcyAANU97DbPSJ0vXYHStLeDLHNWI03CSQboCR2GpeFiXk6gd_NIHVJCBXFQE2lYqPCq1T5BuzNGcrBvH_wQysg4KvdqsCxIfzB5vVXbP6AYh4b_Dia/s320/Hummer-with-WWIndigo-3-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;">One evening I was down in the SE corner of the north pasture shooting the While Wild Indigos and just as I started walking away a beautiful female Ruby-throated Hummingbird was suddenly right in front of me - feeding on the White Wild Indigos! The light was subsiding as it was mid evening, but I had the camera on the tripod already and managed some nice photos of her - really fun!</b><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0AxqtjjV_ZA_qwX1la5hRIzbHxVIiIoqsBARiCIwDCtwPT2gO9hef--md9tm7gjQTPDIllrL2cb8tfJHQlkHM227OmxH6jmjLp0Kusoa5czIYRRpF9e6Z68YF5NMz9KeUAsc0FDiiMo_zK7MvUqO1mY9VkbuFka4VB7VrglfhCadFhFqGK2dHGWS/s1008/WMeadowlark-6-3-2023-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="945" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0AxqtjjV_ZA_qwX1la5hRIzbHxVIiIoqsBARiCIwDCtwPT2gO9hef--md9tm7gjQTPDIllrL2cb8tfJHQlkHM227OmxH6jmjLp0Kusoa5czIYRRpF9e6Z68YF5NMz9KeUAsc0FDiiMo_zK7MvUqO1mY9VkbuFka4VB7VrglfhCadFhFqGK2dHGWS/s320/WMeadowlark-6-3-2023-72dpi.jpg" width="300" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>We are always fortunate to have Meadowlarks in our neighborhood. I do have difficulty telling "Eastern" from "Western" - UNLESS they sing...Western Meadowlarks are so much more vocal and melodious than Eastern's are...and we get Westerns here quite often each summer. </b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>One day a week or so back I was in the studio working and heard a beautiful Western Meadowlark belting it out, and it sounded so loud I thought it must be on the barn roof. I stepped out the door and it was right in front of me on the grass across the driveway...maybe 20 feet away! We've never had a "Lawn" Lark before!!! Crazy neat! I stepped back in and grabbed the camera only to see a Robin dive bomb it...maybe it was stealing his thunder? But it flit just another 20 feet or more toward the crib so I walked over by the barn's corner and took a few pictures of it in the fresh mowed grass. I watched it pull a worm up and it commenced to beating it into submission...maybe that's why the Robin didn't want it around - encroaching on its food supply?!</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It sang in the yard for another day or two but is now back to it's normal perches around the pasture and down along the road. </b></span></span><br /></div></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9BJGuaPa_2DjftRpuqPVcpMHIrTYsa0yF-NdDLmFq0GIXqj2h0YsRHqmbV8njv3SVliMguHAY-uBt26nKozG0A-6lrIvve8bSx0lHMw-fDL28i0_yfJKLHpj2CGXDKVHJpVgzrb0wUL1-TsLVvjQ5dQIpR89e6PS_o3ND4CXM4cN5ElzGYkGiR8W/s1152/Eastern-Kingbird-72dpiy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="734" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx9BJGuaPa_2DjftRpuqPVcpMHIrTYsa0yF-NdDLmFq0GIXqj2h0YsRHqmbV8njv3SVliMguHAY-uBt26nKozG0A-6lrIvve8bSx0lHMw-fDL28i0_yfJKLHpj2CGXDKVHJpVgzrb0wUL1-TsLVvjQ5dQIpR89e6PS_o3ND4CXM4cN5ElzGYkGiR8W/s320/Eastern-Kingbird-72dpiy.jpg" width="204" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Another fun change this year has been the Eastern Kingbirds. We always see them down along the road...flitting from fence wire to fence post to electrical wire and back. This year they have taken up residence in the yard! During noon time Georgie and I would be sitting at the kitchen table having lunch and we watch the Kingbirds flycathing right outside the kitchen windows! We noticed the favored perches the birds would use to dart out and catch bugs on the wing. One spot was an old Common Mullein stalk from last year...made a great perch for them.</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to get some closer shots of these guys...I set up the tripod out side and set the camera on it with a electric remote transmitter/trigger. While I sat eating lunch that day I was holding the trigger in one hand and eating with the other...click, click, click - "Wow that was a good one!" </b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Went through quite a few shots and missed quite a few too, but very happy with the results...fun birds!</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The days are moving quickly now, even though there's more daylight time - it's still packed with chores and work...inside and out.</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I hope you have a good summer ahead yourselves...be good to one another!</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-1915567762333087862023-05-10T09:06:00.000-05:002023-05-10T09:06:15.565-05:00They Just Keep a Comin'!<br /><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><br /><b style="font-family: arial;"></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZIzufg_R1n2dVmuTpIP94xxI4l3V4Xeln-DSdZ0J5Vp0JjallmRdNiVvqDepGZGUUBzDdXoF-c6_tFIM8EioTTLAu1B79p_N2FnNA0wWVC12Bs77MIdmqMB3vR4cd03YSTLL7lJrsylDfWqiMaBcoBdWOGPBq6nTgeuxZOk7YUa2aN1Pn9lRqEBc/s1015/Paying-Momma-a-Visit.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1015" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZIzufg_R1n2dVmuTpIP94xxI4l3V4Xeln-DSdZ0J5Vp0JjallmRdNiVvqDepGZGUUBzDdXoF-c6_tFIM8EioTTLAu1B79p_N2FnNA0wWVC12Bs77MIdmqMB3vR4cd03YSTLL7lJrsylDfWqiMaBcoBdWOGPBq6nTgeuxZOk7YUa2aN1Pn9lRqEBc/w400-h291/Paying-Momma-a-Visit.jpg" title="Wood Duck drake visiting the "Mrs."" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><b style="font-family: arial;">Wood Duck Drake - Visiting the "Mrs."</b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px;"><b style="font-family: arial;"> </b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Have I ever been lax!!! Well, not really, just shirking my blog responsibilities I guess. It is so easy to get behind on things - especially when Spring arrives with all its distractions and perks!!!</span></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;"> </b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">They just keep coming!</span></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;"> </b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2v53MK_WS3aIlbJpjzIWGlNRvgwNGHkaS_q-hCK3t9kiFuYkiWj-qGIHn6zTHh1IG-aO7Olxc7OvuLmnHA_GIigofnvXvV6ZGvH_JEYQCVyQhl-FpI6NY6eA_l_qAZrpizejHlYOncKWbLotHYr0euTih7xmZkK3BlnPM9PoctibHl2av_qUI41QN/s1152/GBH-sky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="1152" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2v53MK_WS3aIlbJpjzIWGlNRvgwNGHkaS_q-hCK3t9kiFuYkiWj-qGIHn6zTHh1IG-aO7Olxc7OvuLmnHA_GIigofnvXvV6ZGvH_JEYQCVyQhl-FpI6NY6eA_l_qAZrpizejHlYOncKWbLotHYr0euTih7xmZkK3BlnPM9PoctibHl2av_qUI41QN/s320/GBH-sky.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Waterman Creek Great Blue Heron Rookery</b></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAduZWAXyVpqkVbDXBj9pRrFpChCh5vf7YKao9GNYgFX8snLM5qCAUaiYhVKNzX7idyy9HwUUs4gXUfZixcuW9tmNBUjR5stgs6t27DuPbNCaLtkJLhrYNG4H-JwVT8d4s0V6sZ0zlZ0QOY2FUsRE2OEYOoKPCIx2qZvzBsazKbEIsziCIV5GLIM4/s1152/GBH-TwoFer-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="1152" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAduZWAXyVpqkVbDXBj9pRrFpChCh5vf7YKao9GNYgFX8snLM5qCAUaiYhVKNzX7idyy9HwUUs4gXUfZixcuW9tmNBUjR5stgs6t27DuPbNCaLtkJLhrYNG4H-JwVT8d4s0V6sZ0zlZ0QOY2FUsRE2OEYOoKPCIx2qZvzBsazKbEIsziCIV5GLIM4/s320/GBH-TwoFer-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Nest Building Time<span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><br /></span></b></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_2FJnFLFvS5jhqPPYYVw8kaoK3Zh2Re3v4UypemPmtG5LuKfqTsJ25wUpVwTQKoC4H3CdFzDZICxomahfYM_BnOLBY70OJfyfRKjVeBWl866l7O9c-rA_pioBNbZqBcrVH0ooYdoP_YVplXbB3PhcLr5V0_pQzq2o3GgaA8J586YZ4MaV1gzeiKL/s1152/GBH-NestBuilding-A-4-10-2023-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="979" data-original-width="1152" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_2FJnFLFvS5jhqPPYYVw8kaoK3Zh2Re3v4UypemPmtG5LuKfqTsJ25wUpVwTQKoC4H3CdFzDZICxomahfYM_BnOLBY70OJfyfRKjVeBWl866l7O9c-rA_pioBNbZqBcrVH0ooYdoP_YVplXbB3PhcLr5V0_pQzq2o3GgaA8J586YZ4MaV1gzeiKL/s320/GBH-NestBuilding-A-4-10-2023-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">First it was the Great Blue Herons returning to the Waterman Rookery across the road from us. I'd fretted all winter about them; they'd had so many set backs here the past two years. Two Derechos in a 7 month period destroyed 2/3's of the rookery...but nest building has taken place in April...not as many birds but around 30-36 we believe at this point.</span></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2UMEPla3jgT-LILugDJIE974ZthK-brFW08KSzfIG4m9yt04fMgON6RFOBoNPFoX1gF05Pc54CbrAQxWJ5i4VOIufHl69UJBYHCVAmuOIX0_uJ5JzWMxHojMi021sZ3qmx0ddWeGlVPI3qlk0j5bfVDTrGq7iUJJu4-IIVEITZ2EK9WbeF-Pqa2J/s1152/TrumpeterSwans-Comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1152" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2UMEPla3jgT-LILugDJIE974ZthK-brFW08KSzfIG4m9yt04fMgON6RFOBoNPFoX1gF05Pc54CbrAQxWJ5i4VOIufHl69UJBYHCVAmuOIX0_uJ5JzWMxHojMi021sZ3qmx0ddWeGlVPI3qlk0j5bfVDTrGq7iUJJu4-IIVEITZ2EK9WbeF-Pqa2J/s320/TrumpeterSwans-Comp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> </span></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">After the rookery grabbed our attention then the other bird travelers got our attention. This year was a banner year for Trumpeter Swans! We observed flocks every day here for nearly 2 weeks - so neat to see that here.</span></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-family: arial;">As of today nearly all our spring visitors and summer residents have returned...I believe the Eastern Kingbirds, Bobolinks and Dickcissels are the main characters yet to return, but I know there are others - they just keep a comin'!</b></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-family: arial;"> </b></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="font-family: arial;">Enjoy your Spring and be kind to each other! <br /></b></span></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">(All images - </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto" style="font-family: arial;">©Bruce A. Morrison)</span></span></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"></div></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"></span></b></span><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><br /></span></b></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><br /></span></b></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"> </b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"> </b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"> </b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"> </b><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-28728647974372512202023-03-04T10:51:00.000-06:002023-03-04T10:51:01.969-06:00Gett'n Close!<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD3avmGNuGrsJOfU-WgM83BdPzGmG19OoSRMB-5rE-nbISpZvbZpipJlJbe12IAfj5Mrbp3HWX2E33hY_omG6BdILJv8QoUUILyV-z4WrT9a8CGSOxwgo-GwqXMWYFmbCv8vj453uMny7u49oCzBcyf87yNvlDSCp4KDyBpZRpjVPzg3bHx0LdTdE1/s1008/McCormack-Sunrise-signed-for-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="1008" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD3avmGNuGrsJOfU-WgM83BdPzGmG19OoSRMB-5rE-nbISpZvbZpipJlJbe12IAfj5Mrbp3HWX2E33hY_omG6BdILJv8QoUUILyV-z4WrT9a8CGSOxwgo-GwqXMWYFmbCv8vj453uMny7u49oCzBcyf87yNvlDSCp4KDyBpZRpjVPzg3bHx0LdTdE1/s320/McCormack-Sunrise-signed-for-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"McCormack Sunrise" - oil painting - <span>© Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> </span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span> </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">It's finally March and we had our first Robin of the year this morning! Things are looking up...well, sort of. Next week we're to have another 2-3 days of snow...maybe not much but still...ugh.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Really I'm not feeling as grumpy as I make it sound. We are finally in a zone of precipitation, something that just hasn't been the norm here the past 3 years. Although the ground remains frozen, we still have hope that some of this winter's snow and rain will make it into the soil. Maybe some of the seeding we did again in the north pasture will actually take this time??? One can certainly hope!</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">My easel has been hopeful this winter as well, I figure if you can't have warm weather - just paint it!</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The image above is of a nice little conservation area maybe 7 or 8 miles south of us "as the crow flies". The McCormack area was donated to O'Brien County about 30 years back by Francis McCormack. Francis was a native to the area having grown up in the vicinity of this location. He left the area to serve in the US Navy...spent many years in Philadelphia after his service - then returned home in 1986 and purchased this ground from his brother - ground they were all so familiar with. Family say Francis would spend time there</span></b><span class="x4k7w5x x1h91t0o x1h9r5lt xv2umb2 x1beo9mf xaigb6o x12ejxvf x3igimt xarpa2k xedcshv x1lytzrv x1t2pt76 x7ja8zs x1qrby5j x1jfb8zj" style="font-family: arial;"><b> "for peace and quiet".</b></span></p><p><span class="x4k7w5x x1h91t0o x1h9r5lt xv2umb2 x1beo9mf xaigb6o x12ejxvf x3igimt xarpa2k xedcshv x1lytzrv x1t2pt76 x7ja8zs x1qrby5j x1jfb8zj" style="font-family: arial;"><b>It is a very nice quiet spot, one my wife and I and even grand kids have visited...over the years it has been on my regular visit list. Thanks to people like Francis McCormack for giving back to the people of this area - there are so few places in our county still left that aren't plowed under or built up with houses or confinements. The McCormack Area is a treasure of our natural heritage.</b></span></p><p><span class="x4k7w5x x1h91t0o x1h9r5lt xv2umb2 x1beo9mf xaigb6o x12ejxvf x3igimt xarpa2k xedcshv x1lytzrv x1t2pt76 x7ja8zs x1qrby5j x1jfb8zj" style="font-family: arial;"><b>In the meantime I'm keeping at it in the studio - watching the landscape gradually change in the valley out front. Spring is gett'n close!!!</b></span></p><p><span class="x4k7w5x x1h91t0o x1h9r5lt xv2umb2 x1beo9mf xaigb6o x12ejxvf x3igimt xarpa2k xedcshv x1lytzrv x1t2pt76 x7ja8zs x1qrby5j x1jfb8zj" style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p><span class="x4k7w5x x1h91t0o x1h9r5lt xv2umb2 x1beo9mf xaigb6o x12ejxvf x3igimt xarpa2k xedcshv x1lytzrv x1t2pt76 x7ja8zs x1qrby5j x1jfb8zj" style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-39076136050539204362023-01-11T10:51:00.000-06:002023-01-11T10:51:39.210-06:00Changing Up A Bit - A Look Again At The "Process"<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2QVJNh7Y-rNJHRCqj9_V_A4bVpOm8f-LCvcNmFsJehtMY72FTPrqGev7s9rJ75m_Qp4gQOQG3mf0kEid0Oruir5Op9arOQt4H9ZRfoXQXsyrMfENKaT0BJvQOV3l_v-O1hnyjedw98jE_ZKYNypUR6ZHFfhCWK2e4pm8-9mA3ykuFfB0Neewlks2/s864/Past-Thanksgiving---November-Barn-oil-painting-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="864" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim2QVJNh7Y-rNJHRCqj9_V_A4bVpOm8f-LCvcNmFsJehtMY72FTPrqGev7s9rJ75m_Qp4gQOQG3mf0kEid0Oruir5Op9arOQt4H9ZRfoXQXsyrMfENKaT0BJvQOV3l_v-O1hnyjedw98jE_ZKYNypUR6ZHFfhCWK2e4pm8-9mA3ykuFfB0Neewlks2/s320/Past-Thanksgiving---November-Barn-oil-painting-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Past Thanksgiving - November Barn" - oil painting - <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">© Bruce A. Morrison</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></b></span></p><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="x1iorvi4 x1pi30zi x1l90r2v x1swvt13" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_6s"><div class="x78zum5 xdt5ytf xz62fqu x16ldp7u"><div class="xu06os2 x1ok221b"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xdj266r x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">A few friends have noticed I haven't been "yarn spinning" for a while. Getting caught up in other things always gets the better of me...I'm easily distracted... SQUIRREL!!!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Where was I? Oh ya; I think I'm changing my old format up a bit and will eliminate the "Archival Works Friday" theme; but still occasionally give some insight to what steers me and my work derived from it. I'll try and bring these up from time to time. I have to admit I never liked schedules because too many things pop into my head and I just give in to <span></span>whatever shouts the loudest.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Some weeks back I posted an image of our old stucco barn here on the acreage...it was a still late fall evening under a crescent moon. It was taken on the evening of November 26th and posted the next morning. I will post that November 26th Photograph in my first comment below...so you can make a comparison from the original photograph below...</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Y3zxY-7t2DnYHT0y0uWSt0P9YZSkppaLCwpLJ6DOdh6efyH-smIiKgDgQwclwkQpx53yOvH_aqRd02ttpU9i36v42cp3M8TBpunkl6-nRq6mpuRxy07j6MmGd-VAwazairFrjisA0ahxLVkFKVvZ6FKrJigIuuDepewpGm3Eo1r0ZXxd--zg79TY/s1008/11-26-22-Barn-with-Crescent-Moon-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1008" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Y3zxY-7t2DnYHT0y0uWSt0P9YZSkppaLCwpLJ6DOdh6efyH-smIiKgDgQwclwkQpx53yOvH_aqRd02ttpU9i36v42cp3M8TBpunkl6-nRq6mpuRxy07j6MmGd-VAwazairFrjisA0ahxLVkFKVvZ6FKrJigIuuDepewpGm3Eo1r0ZXxd--zg79TY/s320/11-26-22-Barn-with-Crescent-Moon-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original photograph - <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">© Bruce A. Morrison</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I've always been partial to crescent moons. And I've always been partial to the stucco barn here; I believe it to be the only such barn in our county. I could be mistaken but have looked for 20 years and not found another. The barn was retrofitted with concrete stucco sometime shortly after WW2...concrete block reinforcement of the north and west sheds was done first, and concrete buttresses added to the north shed to support or reinforce the addition are fairly unique for an "old" barn as well. </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I've done paintings of our stucco barn a couple times in the past...still regret selling one of them. And Georgie - bless her (!) has also painted the stucco barn a few times - literally! She has been up there with the barn swallows many times in the past 20 years with her bucket of paint and brush!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">After I first brought the November 26th barn image file up on the computer screen, I liked what I was seeing...the photograph was nice yet there were elements in the picture's foreground that did not lend nor add to the support of the image. But I was struck by what I saw in my mind - could I do it justice? Well, that's always the question when I pick up a paint brush.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I set out to simplify and celebrate the light and the delicate crescent hanging in that last glow of the remnant day. That silhouette of our barn was almost iconic and somber in color and tonality. Did I mention loving that crescent phase? I embellished it ever so slightly, by increasing its size by about 50%...not too much to make it seem too unreasonably exaggerated. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">There was much too much "busyness" in the foreground...all the bushes and shrubs add nothing to the design and composition - they will not be included. That lone crab apple intersecting one of the barn windows was actually two trees, one had been damaged by strong winds many years ago and I couldn't bring myself to cut it down...it was still gifting us with a flush of deep prairie rose colored blossoms on its lop-sided trunk each spring. Another opposing color crab was planted next to it a few years ago and they seem quite happily married now. It will be painted as one, as that's how it appears.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The complete idea of the very closest foreground leaves and gravel drive will give the image a resting place, a foundation to support the image. I appreciate those leaves; fall is nearing its end...their least bit of color notes are peaceful on the eyes.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">But - as you'll notice, I gave the scene my own color interpretation...I am NOT trying to lavishly copy a photograph but give my own sense of the "emotion" the original scene evoked for me.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> <br /></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">These are my thoughts and goals as I worked on this painting. These are the ideas that formed this attempt to remember this moment in oils. It left a lasting impression on me and this small token of an idea, albeit small, is part of this memory.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">"After Thanksgiving - November Barn" - oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison</div></div></span></b></span></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-40277124425015965092022-12-23T15:44:00.001-06:002022-12-23T15:44:13.382-06:00Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFG1Sv_nC5ckXkP6lqGr7SWl71rv1QmS7qyZZF4lYTqWEAboLRHH8PPSDV1Vne4M9P_ncclpolZQRjg1emEkuYI_c_iYMzsk5a7MFgJOMKbxmTZzDJMPFDClZUWymEML9Ot8GyG_jOm3y3JmrU67vcc39qNSsTju-7tiouBGRESw9cGO8j7Uw3EVh/s1008/12-22-2022-SunDogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="1008" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFG1Sv_nC5ckXkP6lqGr7SWl71rv1QmS7qyZZF4lYTqWEAboLRHH8PPSDV1Vne4M9P_ncclpolZQRjg1emEkuYI_c_iYMzsk5a7MFgJOMKbxmTZzDJMPFDClZUWymEML9Ot8GyG_jOm3y3JmrU67vcc39qNSsTju-7tiouBGRESw9cGO8j7Uw3EVh/s320/12-22-2022-SunDogs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Pre-Blizzard Sun Dogs from our lane <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">(photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison)</span></span> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's almost Christmas and I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone the best this season! Unfortunately for many it is also bad weather timing! We have a really nasty blizzard here as I type...started yesterday and is still going strong here this late afternoon. Visibility can be measured in "Feet" here right now...it is insane.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yesterday morning when the above photo was taken, it was 18 below zero with a near 50 below zero windchill. It was just kicking up the wind when this was taken.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKy4KlcpxPqH-VBRS-JZNqDWLOm-hnZ37a7fSFjYJwqa_icG7cKfmJZjNJVyw3kNNoygEwT-gtIvnWzOonLGfF2dp3SphKAuCV9ncoUQ3z6Z-Z4F5cCNiKjI9tOeew4rtZ61LUyoL8MzwqwdaCmBuwbOgEjdQpFjLE6b5DCxf2TaK7j-xLUSYJ7zua/s1084/12-23-22-SunDogs-Over-Barn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1084" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKy4KlcpxPqH-VBRS-JZNqDWLOm-hnZ37a7fSFjYJwqa_icG7cKfmJZjNJVyw3kNNoygEwT-gtIvnWzOonLGfF2dp3SphKAuCV9ncoUQ3z6Z-Z4F5cCNiKjI9tOeew4rtZ61LUyoL8MzwqwdaCmBuwbOgEjdQpFjLE6b5DCxf2TaK7j-xLUSYJ7zua/s320/12-23-22-SunDogs-Over-Barn.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sun Dogs at full arc over the barn <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">(photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">The next photo was taken this morning at about a quarter to ten...I was out trying to start the pickup/plow and saw the arc...WHOA! I ran into the studio and grabbed the camera. I backed up as far as I could up the lane past the barn but ran up against some very high drifts and the studio orchard fence...this was as much as I could manage in one shot. </span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">It is only the second full arc sun dog I have ever witnessed. I took another very similar image of the first one here a few years back. The snow was beginning to kick up so bad that I was lucky I spotted it before the winds just blotted it out! It's been a terrible afternoon - much worse than yesterday.<br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The county plows have been pulled off the roads the past two days...we'll see what tomorrow brings.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">At any rate - Be safe out there. Stay inside and off the roads until the plows get a chance to catch up. Please make this a safe and Blessed Christmas for you and your familiy.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Merry Christmas! </span></b><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-44858916237247261542022-11-21T16:09:00.001-06:002022-11-21T16:09:28.318-06:00Autumn in SE O'Brien County<p> <b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"></span></span></span></b></p><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xdj266r x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">I was asked to write and illustrate another piece for Bleeding Heartland this past week. This one is titled "Autumn in SE O'Brien County". There are some image repeats from the last blog entry, but some new and with a story to illustrate. Give it a read if you have a moment - I hope you enjoy it! </span></b></div></div><p></p><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="x1iorvi4 x1pi30zi x1l90r2v x1swvt13" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_23i"><div class="x78zum5 xdt5ytf xz62fqu x16ldp7u"><div class="xu06os2 x1ok221b"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span><a href="https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2022/11/16/iowa-wildflower-wednesday-autumn-in-southeast-obrien-county/?fbclid=IwAR220_27D5BOwiy2nXMbme9HSmbYKUa32F19yEF45-vw0Zky7lp4RBhG754">https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2022/11/16/iowa-wildflower-wednesday-autumn-in-southeast-obrien-county/?fbclid=IwAR220_27D5BOwiy2nXMbme9HSmbYKUa32F19yEF45-vw0Zky7lp4RBhG754</a><br /></span></div></div></span></span></span></b></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-58995261492357700662022-10-16T14:52:00.002-05:002022-10-16T14:54:40.697-05:00Autumn Drought = Autumn Color!<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mFe76s-dQFcK8ErOLx6MptlnwwMcPonETYtGvqQTe2kmMVXGYRtV2hofd-7XzdftJ2tYwTmC4SJfyfAw3vQc6FwIGhVEdNGicsFrxf6YC6mdG7r-_aKEhPg574VWNduRHFjCT8bm7dMo_i6WriNn1RO30t11Y9cXhePMQ0E5z8n4cvSevEvM_h7V/s1080/Autumn-on-Yellow-Ave-Up-the-Road-from-Donnie's-Place72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="1080" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mFe76s-dQFcK8ErOLx6MptlnwwMcPonETYtGvqQTe2kmMVXGYRtV2hofd-7XzdftJ2tYwTmC4SJfyfAw3vQc6FwIGhVEdNGicsFrxf6YC6mdG7r-_aKEhPg574VWNduRHFjCT8bm7dMo_i6WriNn1RO30t11Y9cXhePMQ0E5z8n4cvSevEvM_h7V/s320/Autumn-on-Yellow-Ave-Up-the-Road-from-Donnie's-Place72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Autumn Road - <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I really believe we are seeing the best autumn colors this fall than I've seen since we moved here 20 years ago...its been just beautiful! We just weren't expecting it...3rd drought year in a row...listed in the "Extreme" category now, with the worst (5 out of 5) "Exceptional" creeping even closer.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>According to a state arborist, we are getting great color due to the warm/mild weather preceding our first hard frost. We haven't had any rain since then so the wind has been the only thing dropping leaves now...and its been monotonously windy since the colors came on!</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUMI_xZw0dCYFlO3hnJJp3InHIsebMvnLud4qvN0K1FbNPsAIdrK2Za0CcOM1uQTpemwTfafZERlobqP8tayqIxkXWWg_gvlts8OfKtZ0qpAHmqxQwMu5btBqNfBOOOX4vIgBNHVnvibV1frJ-nyv8qP7nmfkNezlcOZnvY1j_CvmoIIVkH2X65QQ/s1008/Autumn-at-Hale-Slough-10-7-2022-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="672" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUMI_xZw0dCYFlO3hnJJp3InHIsebMvnLud4qvN0K1FbNPsAIdrK2Za0CcOM1uQTpemwTfafZERlobqP8tayqIxkXWWg_gvlts8OfKtZ0qpAHmqxQwMu5btBqNfBOOOX4vIgBNHVnvibV1frJ-nyv8qP7nmfkNezlcOZnvY1j_CvmoIIVkH2X65QQ/s320/Autumn-at-Hale-Slough-10-7-2022-72dpi.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hale Slough - <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I'll leave you with some nice Fall color in NW Iowa near and not so far from our acreage. (Click on each image for a larger view).</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Wc_4wsVq24f4hS0ZMAtX97qLpbJgdir0YoYKBOWk88ErEcDzz2xEBAChkh5pXTqc0IGkx8pG0h_W4Efp5dZbLcPWnj267Am_B79BIlSpCX3cq8iQ0w1QOkJCRL3XjP04xR-BpRn2R1o7XGFOdlxzb48JNTd6eG08-sJqgTLtwrDjEJKVfARaidUk/s1008/Autumn-at-Waterman-North-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="1008" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Wc_4wsVq24f4hS0ZMAtX97qLpbJgdir0YoYKBOWk88ErEcDzz2xEBAChkh5pXTqc0IGkx8pG0h_W4Efp5dZbLcPWnj267Am_B79BIlSpCX3cq8iQ0w1QOkJCRL3XjP04xR-BpRn2R1o7XGFOdlxzb48JNTd6eG08-sJqgTLtwrDjEJKVfARaidUk/s320/Autumn-at-Waterman-North-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Receding Pool and Cottonwoods - <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"> </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBcMsocnLT39ZW8Ip_sGbLVT-Z9-IZOCZN8i4N0C1OdLEJO3Nz7RG7xNnQNI82m6Chuw8_sEd1bxhdeD3m8gsYaTwT7cdvNlvLl7yeL5M-IhEQ5fxHvbuGPnyde_j2t8JlQ-ywCst42eyMMO2HTFtp4zxzTW2Rb-9Dqe9GUPCe8kCQA8mat4J7S3z/s1008/Autumn-GarlockSlough.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="1008" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBcMsocnLT39ZW8Ip_sGbLVT-Z9-IZOCZN8i4N0C1OdLEJO3Nz7RG7xNnQNI82m6Chuw8_sEd1bxhdeD3m8gsYaTwT7cdvNlvLl7yeL5M-IhEQ5fxHvbuGPnyde_j2t8JlQ-ywCst42eyMMO2HTFtp4zxzTW2Rb-9Dqe9GUPCe8kCQA8mat4J7S3z/s320/Autumn-GarlockSlough.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Garlock Slough - <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlz4YYe2Ab-y6pOKKsh_bY8wfZ-cXf4YOoAounNTDUy6z0EAR-Fz_O69TjvXctUKPYaeUHa9EQ9M5sI5M4vZ6TW5jkv-KyZJSfvyyVR1UdZT5ay1DaBZy7q9A3IVfsNAIqkJXrXCbm9yfMI-x55ODJMaPiT4LmVAFDn7ZFMvCBlsx0OB94Ez-xiZq/s1152/Autumn-HaleSloughRoad-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1152" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlz4YYe2Ab-y6pOKKsh_bY8wfZ-cXf4YOoAounNTDUy6z0EAR-Fz_O69TjvXctUKPYaeUHa9EQ9M5sI5M4vZ6TW5jkv-KyZJSfvyyVR1UdZT5ay1DaBZy7q9A3IVfsNAIqkJXrXCbm9yfMI-x55ODJMaPiT4LmVAFDn7ZFMvCBlsx0OB94Ez-xiZq/s320/Autumn-HaleSloughRoad-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Arching Autumn Colors - <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzHKQYW-pOBw_seO_7osuey1fBxLUBJ1D5tblgU5Wr80Jws5kKzz9DbplqtExt0g7rm3mpqkBe-D4Hu5qcfE3xHOe5Wus6_S1_uzQpREQeBdawAJWOafRJKLJK_Uz3J7oH3aOyHolEUGVTbHlqRHIf3Oebl8yZjB8BbM4v9KqrpYPnbk_RfvIJIlS/s1296/Autumn-Litka--Panoramic-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="1296" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzHKQYW-pOBw_seO_7osuey1fBxLUBJ1D5tblgU5Wr80Jws5kKzz9DbplqtExt0g7rm3mpqkBe-D4Hu5qcfE3xHOe5Wus6_S1_uzQpREQeBdawAJWOafRJKLJK_Uz3J7oH3aOyHolEUGVTbHlqRHIf3Oebl8yZjB8BbM4v9KqrpYPnbk_RfvIJIlS/s320/Autumn-Litka--Panoramic-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Autumn in the Waterman Valley - <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Happy Fall out there! Be good to one another...</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-60594575858780819352022-10-07T10:02:00.004-05:002022-10-07T10:04:55.409-05:00Artwork Friday!<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoWTBfWSrvsnpcpGsHep3o_qLLO21zARZS1Uylh9SDTe5gjNY18lQQ_MmNlbgkublmbCi7VopfThH8gpwCDm9sP710oxmYBiOmf1TmPfavArtWtghbGR5giap__HqijtoCpu27k09AfGFz7yjagnj6iLIAoBcrzrQYc7bxVwWSLLH-RIukaqLZWU25/s684/Blue-Jay-color-pencil-9-21-22-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoWTBfWSrvsnpcpGsHep3o_qLLO21zARZS1Uylh9SDTe5gjNY18lQQ_MmNlbgkublmbCi7VopfThH8gpwCDm9sP710oxmYBiOmf1TmPfavArtWtghbGR5giap__HqijtoCpu27k09AfGFz7yjagnj6iLIAoBcrzrQYc7bxVwWSLLH-RIukaqLZWU25/s320/Blue-Jay-color-pencil-9-21-22-72dpi.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">"Inciting a Riot!" Blue Jay Portrait - color pencil drawing - <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">© Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br />
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>It's
Artwork Friday! OK...I decided "Archival Works Friday" was too constricting - I think this will give me some room to just try and post something interesting once a month, whether it's new or old...sometimes my brain just drops something out there and I say to myself "why not?"!<br /></b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I'll try and broaden the original idea a bit and give a little back story on the work - the first Friday of
the month.</b></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> I hope you'll find it
interesting! </b></span></span>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Maybe this should be called "Blue
Jay Friday". <br /><br />I just recently finished this Blue
Jay color pencil drawing, and readily admit that this is not an old piece...but the idea does stretch back many years...Blue
Jays and I. <br /><br />I have always loved Blue Jays...these birds have
real character and are very intelligent; part of the bird family
"Corvdae", which includes crows, ravens and magpies.
My first personal “close encounter” with Blue Jays was when I was
maybe around 11 or 12. I had snuck up on one, on a friend's bird
feeder, and reached up and grabbed its tail...of course the jay let
out a loud squawk and flew off - leaving that stupid kid (me) with a
handful of tail feathers! Through the rest of the summer (until
molt in August) everyone in the neighborhood recognized this
"tailless" Blue Jay wherever it went! I even got the
feeling it was extra keen on avoiding "me"! <br /><br />It's
funny how us humans place our own judgments and morals on wild
creatures...Blue Jays seem to get unjustly criticized at times.
Blue Jays are obvious when they're in the vicinity...noisy, constant
calling; often arriving in numbers, and usually dominating the bird
feeders. Some people think they're pushy or mean, so have a
personal dislike for them...placing human judgment on something is
really misguided; in doing so it is easy to miss the “larger”
picture...the entirety of these amazing and beautiful birds.<br /><br />When
we hear jays around the acreage, we can very often discern what is
going on by the calling...the chatter of the airwaves if-you-will. I
can often hear when they are calling to alert to a good meal to be
had (at the feeders), whether they seem to be in a good or bad mood
or when they are on their own and pensive (see - there I go placing
human attributes myself!). I have often heard individuals do the
most pleasing quiet gurgles, and jingles, when they seem to think
they're alone and unobserved. When they're aware they're being
watched, they can be quite quiet and alert.</span></span></b></p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></b><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They're good at imitating other birds –
particularly Red-tailed Hawks. I often stop what I'm doing when
I'm outside, to look up for a Red-tail whenever I think I hear one
call...I can now spot “most” impersonations, but occasionally I
have to say out loud “good one”! Even a Red-tailed Hawk would be proud
of some of those attempts of jays (and even starlings, by-the-way) trying to imitate them!</span></span></b></p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></b><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I've found over the years how good they
are at spotting hawks and owls in the yard. This can be beneficial
to me if I have the camera handy. What better way to have a predator
alarm! Crows are also very good at this...a flock mobbing a hawk or
owl is a fairly common occurrence. And I've watched jays actually
bully some hawks they should be wary of...like a dangerous game of
cat and mouse. But they don't always come out unscathed.</span></span></b></p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></b><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A couple weeks back I was out in the
north pasture photographing some dew covered webs and suddenly a big
ruckus broke out up in the northwest corner of the backyard.
Blue Jays were having a fit...no, they were definitely upset and one
jay was clearly beyond distressed. I thought to myself “someone had just
become breakfast”. I made my way over to the yard as jays were
dispersing in different directions. Moments later a large mature
accipiter – had to have been at least a female Cooper's Hawk, flew
up out from underneath a low sweeping conifer – carrying away its
meal for the morning...Blue Jay feathers scattered about under the
tree verified the menu. Real life drama in the bird world!</span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I really enjoy trying to photograph
Blue Jays. Their personalities really seem to shine at times,
especially when they get cranked up or mischievous! The color pencil
drawing at the top of this article says it all! I read many years back that a flock of Blue Jays is called a "Riot" or a "Party"...hence the subtitle for this small life-size Blue Jay Portrait - "Inciting a Riot!"...gotta love these birds!</span></span></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhgSBiwQ5T_DbaCVYCHUdKMC95Aar_dTA00t403m605wTMCXRyw5DEgAJ2L1mcS1wcgxlbGqCP4AmfXI4UYb28ESYX4w06BySAN2uIYK4RycWwPnuRHaq0a2zOGwmlBr2oVImtVbcC-nAEZll1N1-JbGaZ-Jj2n7jFDAqlbOKIq76MTgUoa173vW2/s395/Blue%20Jay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhgSBiwQ5T_DbaCVYCHUdKMC95Aar_dTA00t403m605wTMCXRyw5DEgAJ2L1mcS1wcgxlbGqCP4AmfXI4UYb28ESYX4w06BySAN2uIYK4RycWwPnuRHaq0a2zOGwmlBr2oVImtVbcC-nAEZll1N1-JbGaZ-Jj2n7jFDAqlbOKIq76MTgUoa173vW2/s320/Blue%20Jay.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Blue Jay color pencil drawing from some 40 years ago...we all have to start somewhere! (prismacolor color pencil drawing <span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto">© Bruce A. Morrison)</span></b> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This wasn't my fist Blue Jay drawing,
but probably my most expressive and detailed...my first color pencil
Blue Jay was done on archival/colored mat board, 40 some years
ago...I've done others in more recent years as well.</span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I'll part by saying enjoy “all” the
birds...they aren't little “people” and don't have our motives or
faults, no matter how endearing or disconcerting! Give 'em a break and enjoy watching every chance you get!</span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-65924283183566279022022-09-28T10:19:00.000-05:002022-09-28T10:19:05.310-05:00After the Autumnal Equinox<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>This can be a real fun time of year, and bitter sweet in some ways. We had to say goodbye to many of our summer friends, like the Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, the Wrens, Chipping and Song Sparrows, Eastern Kingbirds, Dickcissels and the Hummingbirds. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Have you ever noticed how hard it is to properly time their departure? Ha! Just put out a new jar of grape jelly and the Orioles leave...just mix a new batch of sugar water and the Hummingbirds leave! It's crazy, oh well...</b></span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjXqvscSZ4nxdm-qDtDWVtoVGuN-r-nOmXwywN7G3lTSXVbNGwweGARxXGbS1Eoonn-ZXWREOgQGDES45fNxRzKhXsgFuGZQiTS4VJk4zfNRXBLmhdd65jm2JO9-mKjC6zEBOqi5G5LcJEXFyZulZPa7__VENjRoKIS85cb9HTFv5bYihRFF9nxZZ/s864/RCKinglet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="864" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZjXqvscSZ4nxdm-qDtDWVtoVGuN-r-nOmXwywN7G3lTSXVbNGwweGARxXGbS1Eoonn-ZXWREOgQGDES45fNxRzKhXsgFuGZQiTS4VJk4zfNRXBLmhdd65jm2JO9-mKjC6zEBOqi5G5LcJEXFyZulZPa7__VENjRoKIS85cb9HTFv5bYihRFF9nxZZ/s320/RCKinglet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the Viburnum - photo - <span class="gvxzyvdx aeinzg81 t7p7dqev gh25dzvf exr7barw b6ax4al1 gem102v4 ncib64c9 mrvwc6qr sx8pxkcf f597kf1v cpcgwwas m2nijcs8 hxfwr5lz k1z55t6l oog5qr5w tes86rjd pbevjfx6 ztn2w49o" dir="auto">© Bruce A. Morrison</span></span> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">I've been welcoming the new arrivals the past few days. Lot of Harris's, Lincoln's and White-throated Sparrows; a few warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The Harris's and White-throated Sparrow lyrics have been the new morning staple out here on the acreage...very pleasant music to start the day with.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">And I've been trying to get photos but there are so many distractions in the studio and outside. Apples to pick, seed to harvest in the pastures, chain saw work in the groves - still left over from the last derecho 2 months back (final small cleanup work).</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Also been trying to get back into some artwork! Much has been left for summer work and now maybe can be picked up once more. I had a Dickcissel idea last spring and it keeps evolving/changing...maybe it'll be next??? Also have a larger painting on the easel that got started too late in the spring...waiting for summer and fall to end.</span></b></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2QyDhgxyVo5rjWvnFFr7WG0U9rUjWPz8NyaOK17FfE5cdsKw8wzDj875ClRSPCVsD6J5DycgicJ_v6OiyvhnAKXaoyVrhCQ4L3cXA2CrduZEXxlvUZAtT6qP20Ia3xgi1gMfRCP2-tS4_VDXKbCLpDY00GMR0uy9q8Oom_dsz629BehRBDe5pE74/s720/Eastern-Kingbird---color-pencil-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="578" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2QyDhgxyVo5rjWvnFFr7WG0U9rUjWPz8NyaOK17FfE5cdsKw8wzDj875ClRSPCVsD6J5DycgicJ_v6OiyvhnAKXaoyVrhCQ4L3cXA2CrduZEXxlvUZAtT6qP20Ia3xgi1gMfRCP2-tS4_VDXKbCLpDY00GMR0uy9q8Oom_dsz629BehRBDe5pE74/s320/Eastern-Kingbird---color-pencil-72dpi.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Eastern Kingbird - Portrait" - color pencil drawing - <span class="gvxzyvdx aeinzg81 t7p7dqev gh25dzvf exr7barw b6ax4al1 gem102v4 ncib64c9 mrvwc6qr sx8pxkcf f597kf1v cpcgwwas m2nijcs8 hxfwr5lz k1z55t6l oog5qr5w tes86rjd pbevjfx6 ztn2w49o" dir="auto">© Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">I had a friend stop by a couple months back mention Eastern Kingbirds...I joked how they seem to move in the opposite direction - fence post by fence post whenever I have my camera with me! Funny but true. I did manage to find some fair poses in my image files that made a nice iconic Eastern Kingbird pose for a small color pencil portrait.</span></b></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3gqGh2cUJZAgpqD-6ACI32vQ-irmNXZOWiFpB8ECjGRLc2iJ2Oab09lBOcti2QyHbLWHD_OUnO0a484u9jz2b5NEZvE_hf6UT6TPdeEiBoUeEugzPcF9ntqcq8yUzmTc1ASpnpH_gKIZAt-zEHheJozSugwsQcMRHYe58rwUyCtal-H9u6xv4Vdi/s720/Red-breasted-Nuthatch---color-pencil-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="720" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3gqGh2cUJZAgpqD-6ACI32vQ-irmNXZOWiFpB8ECjGRLc2iJ2Oab09lBOcti2QyHbLWHD_OUnO0a484u9jz2b5NEZvE_hf6UT6TPdeEiBoUeEugzPcF9ntqcq8yUzmTc1ASpnpH_gKIZAt-zEHheJozSugwsQcMRHYe58rwUyCtal-H9u6xv4Vdi/s320/Red-breasted-Nuthatch---color-pencil-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Red-breasted Nuthatch - Portrait" - color pencil drawing - <span class="gvxzyvdx aeinzg81 t7p7dqev gh25dzvf exr7barw b6ax4al1 gem102v4 ncib64c9 mrvwc6qr sx8pxkcf f597kf1v cpcgwwas m2nijcs8 hxfwr5lz k1z55t6l oog5qr5w tes86rjd pbevjfx6 ztn2w49o" dir="auto">© Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Getting the pencils out brought on more image ideas that had been pent up all summer. I haven't caught up with all those ideas but I've done a few. Here's a Red-breasted Nuthatch...one showed up a couple weeks ago and it makes an appearance every now and then. Hope it sticks around!</span></b> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjYKi3Dqe2bNsHMu7U8tDoiN3xHvRB99tDIIZCkhUgDeNj6A0r_T1KJD8Qn3gQz0nr6r3Qr_LC1j14dEBTkDY6nrzjG2m-zu4UUkNXYfHRhQVxXbf_OatEBRbFVdfTFzY468RlwKuGgKsDXqRScY98IJIKaESdFsgc9eWyfF5JymniwmiELp19n5F/s720/Sharpie-color-pencil-9-25-22-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="632" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjYKi3Dqe2bNsHMu7U8tDoiN3xHvRB99tDIIZCkhUgDeNj6A0r_T1KJD8Qn3gQz0nr6r3Qr_LC1j14dEBTkDY6nrzjG2m-zu4UUkNXYfHRhQVxXbf_OatEBRbFVdfTFzY468RlwKuGgKsDXqRScY98IJIKaESdFsgc9eWyfF5JymniwmiELp19n5F/s320/Sharpie-color-pencil-9-25-22-72dpi.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Sharp-shinned Hawk - Portrait" - color pencil drawing - <span class="gvxzyvdx aeinzg81 t7p7dqev gh25dzvf exr7barw b6ax4al1 gem102v4 ncib64c9 mrvwc6qr sx8pxkcf f597kf1v cpcgwwas m2nijcs8 hxfwr5lz k1z55t6l oog5qr5w tes86rjd pbevjfx6 ztn2w49o" dir="auto">© Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">I've had some raptors in the yard this summer...mostly Cooper's Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks and an occasional Red-tail. This bird, a Sharp-shinned adult gave me such a great pose a few years back...I knew I had to save the idea for a drawing. With it now being Autumn and our colors so poor this year, I decided to give it a colorful background to set it off. I try and do all these bird "portraits" life size. Sharpies are only about Blue Jay size or slightly larger, so this is not the biggest drawing - but then, in comparison the that Red-breasted Nuthatch it sure looks big!<br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Now I need to catch up on framing! Always something!<br /></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">We've got another dry Fall here on the acreage...our third severe (listed) drought in a row. We seem to be in a "finger" stretching up from the southwest; travel 10-20 miles north and its not as bad...travel 20-30 miles east...again not so bad. Further south seems to get rain as well...it is what it is.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Really the only issues we have here are the gardens being poor producers, the orchards were insect and bird damaged, and the pastures had poor seed production, stunted growth and many plants gone dormant, again. We've found out the hard way that the American Viburnum we've planted are not "consecutive year" drought tolerant...holes are being punched into the 20 year yard planting here.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Weather all over the world seems to be in the news...Hurricane now hitting Florida, drought out west, and the NE...flooding in so many locations worldwide. We'll just be grateful for what we have and do the best we can for those in need.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Its a crazy world out there - be kind to one another!</span></b></p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-11962475961608657512022-09-02T09:53:00.000-05:002022-09-02T09:53:07.769-05:00September Archival Works Friday!<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>It's
Archival Works Friday!</b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>As I
mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph
(silkscreen prints) from the "archive" files of years
past...and give a little back story on the work - the first Friday of
the month. </b></span></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I am
now including photographs of past years. I hope you'll find it
interesting! </b></span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynvuwfJwkD5sHK5XBrh7r1KUgFp-YqXZwPGMLjGTEWsJM6nNZh8x5bIS6d_jHNUcWOYBXMfALA5TIk3pP9ivks_3BHnf9Bia7bQrm71KFFFpQzIX9SC6oTXcsTmRk2RNd8XeIC-DTjHbrqOpRyUQFSOjYLQPYbrAALgqbuXTINlJqMRAhfjcuFBhp/s864/CrownGraphic-4X5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="864" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynvuwfJwkD5sHK5XBrh7r1KUgFp-YqXZwPGMLjGTEWsJM6nNZh8x5bIS6d_jHNUcWOYBXMfALA5TIk3pP9ivks_3BHnf9Bia7bQrm71KFFFpQzIX9SC6oTXcsTmRk2RNd8XeIC-DTjHbrqOpRyUQFSOjYLQPYbrAALgqbuXTINlJqMRAhfjcuFBhp/s320/CrownGraphic-4X5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My first large format camera - a 1951 Crown Graphic</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I was first
introduced to “large format” photography back in the early 1970's
when a student at the University of Iowa's School of Art. My
Father-in-Law bought an old Crown Graphic 4X5 press camera from an
older gentleman who had been a professional photographer all his
life. The retired photographer “Andy” had bought this camera new
back in 1951. I was a one year old in '51!!! </b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>For those out
there that don't know what large format is – its a camera that
takes any type of sheet film from 4X5” and larger. One sheet of
film. Large format cameras were build to accept film holders –
they held 2 sheets – you'd shove the holder into the camera's back,
pull a dark slide out of the holder, take the photo, push the dark
slide back in and pull the holder out...if you wanted to take another
photo you would turn the holder over and shove it back into the
camera back and repeat the process. You had to remember to mark the
holder or flip the dark slide so you'd remember that sheet was
already exposed...in the heat of the moment I must have double
exposed my share of film over the 30 years I used my 4X5's! Oops!!!</b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I also had a
Graphic 6 sheet holder – this was very cool if it didn't jam up or
fail...it was finicky! If I were to fog or waste a sheet – B&W
film wasn't too bad...maybe about 35-50 cents a sheet, but the color
film could be as expensive as $1.50 to $2.00 a sheet! To make
matters worse, if you didn't realize you screwed up your shot, having
to get it processed or doing that yourself spent more money on
processing or chemical costs! It was always a moment for regret
after processing a batch of film only to find out something had gone
wrong! A sheet of color film, after being processed could add up to
as much as $5.00 “A SHOT”! That was a bundle to lose back in the
70's through the 90's!!! Especially for just one picture!</b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>There was a lot
of ways to lose shots...the subject moved...the tripod jiggled a bit
during a time exposure...the film holder leaked, or jammed...you just
plain blew the exposure...and a lot more ways!</b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Don't get me
started with how easy everyone has it these days!!! Oh dear, my age
is showing!</b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I became very
good at processing sheet film...I worked in a professional photo lab
in Kansas City for 3 years back in the mid 70's...processed thousands
of sheets - “manually” by hand. And I found I could cut my costs
by over a third by doing my own that way, but it was extremely
tedious and time consuming...and chemicals were not cheap or
forgiving.</b></span><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbpynjdYD7bdsyY2f4s5kHzrcqOoK290XDU4Ui-veJOPwj520poBMDox5wG8HFUAZBUr_WLGZIyDhIklFN-r47UXR1tgNKkz1bvUJluQ3Zi33w5Um4xfMPCWJ39q-Su-BMBzxtLXXykKSXe7nKVHJ0_LJ2VXeISMrIGkZYnGm2-tFjrNfpZpB-AW3/s813/Tachihara4X5-Field-Camera-comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="813" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbpynjdYD7bdsyY2f4s5kHzrcqOoK290XDU4Ui-veJOPwj520poBMDox5wG8HFUAZBUr_WLGZIyDhIklFN-r47UXR1tgNKkz1bvUJluQ3Zi33w5Um4xfMPCWJ39q-Su-BMBzxtLXXykKSXe7nKVHJ0_LJ2VXeISMrIGkZYnGm2-tFjrNfpZpB-AW3/s320/Tachihara4X5-Field-Camera-comp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 4X5 Field Camera - a Tachihara<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b> I used 2 types of 4X5 cameras – the first one I
mentioned a ways back was just one year older than me...the other was a
beautiful wood/folding field camera...a beautiful piece of
workmanship, a Tachihara 4X5 Field Camera. This wooden field camera was lighter than the lenses and lensboards I used! I won't get into all the
drawbacks or challenges of large format film and cameras, suffice it
to say I've already mentioned a few, but the 2 toughest hurdles for
me were always depth of field and the shutter speeds you were forced
to use. Most large format landscape images required F/32 or higher and
shutter speeds of ½ second or longer...ya, try hand holding that! <i>NOT</i>! My favorite tripod was a wood ash tripod – still use it to
this day – <i>HEAVY</i> bugger but steady as a rock!</b></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I guess I could
keep complaining or bragging about how I had to walk to school for
over a mile, up hill both ways, when I was a kid (Really – I kid
you not! Well, after grade school any way) But it was “work”
for sure. (Just don't get me started on cameras and smart phones
these days – Aacck, there I go again!)</b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>There are a lot
of stories I could get into with Large Format photography, but the
all time favorite was one vacation back in the early 1980's.</b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>On vacation, the
family had to resign itself to the fact that I was always stopping to
take pictures...always! The tripod and back pack were ever present
and a photograph could take up to several minutes to as much as a
half hour or longer – depending on what was going on or where we were. </b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I carried a lot
of loaded film holders, but it didn't take me long to run out of
film! The only way to “re-load” film holders was in total
darkness. OK...if you're out camping in a tent, on vacation, your
opportunities are limited! </b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>One day in
Cascade River State Park in NE Minnesota I ran out of loaded film. This was NOT the place to run out of film! We were camped in the
park itself and there were too many cars, headlights and flashlights
at night to chance changing film holders in the tent, so I went
searching for the park ranger's house, knocked on the door and tried
best I could to explain my dilemma...I showed him a sheet of film and
a film holder...showing him how it worked. I asked if he had a room
in his house that was able to be completely darkened in the middle of
the day. He said the only room he could think of was the hallway
closet and agreed o let me take it over for about a half hour!</b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Well the closet
was “close” to being dark...there was light making it's way under
the closet door, so I took clothes off their hangers (ya using the
ranger's coats and jackets) and stuffing them around the door bottom.
It worked! The room was very hot after a few minutes and I had to
try and keep from letting sweat drip onto the film – literally!</b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>As I was getting
to my last couple holders I heard a woman's voice enter the house.
Then I heard foot steps walking down the hallway toward the closet
door. Next I heard the ranger's voice almost shout “Don't open the
closet door – a man's in there!!!” </b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I don't remember
much after this point except with me “popping” out of the closet
drenched in sweat – then the ranger's wife shrieking hysterically!
</b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I'm sure we spoke
briefly before leaving the ranger and his wife behind, but really all
I remember is the unstoppable laughter emanating from their house as
I carried my pack of film holders back to the campsite. </b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I do remember
leaving them a sheet of film as a memento of this auspicious/wacky
occasion.</b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I'll wager the
word “photographer” brings back a story for them both to this
day! </b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Crazy camera
nut!!! </b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>(No argument there...)</b></span>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-9808758763468358252022-08-05T09:08:00.001-05:002022-08-05T09:08:51.869-05:00August's Archival Works Friday!<p> </p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dL66Cp362xuewubdqDVsFVLeuafA9NR8aWz1s2TYnryo8Rfs1F63X6w4OvsaOb_9-Mbax-WxNlu5PGtsD2yLdRz9WzKSalRsfreBsw3sC5QKgzK6lM8pUfX7LnvqTNZIOI8JpE9a0ZF2N6bEX5_4fG5NzOtrgaHKX7AZfojCzOruI-1B9bJsgnid/s432/Ansco%20Shur-shot%20Jr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="432" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0dL66Cp362xuewubdqDVsFVLeuafA9NR8aWz1s2TYnryo8Rfs1F63X6w4OvsaOb_9-Mbax-WxNlu5PGtsD2yLdRz9WzKSalRsfreBsw3sC5QKgzK6lM8pUfX7LnvqTNZIOI8JpE9a0ZF2N6bEX5_4fG5NzOtrgaHKX7AZfojCzOruI-1B9bJsgnid/s320/Ansco%20Shur-shot%20Jr.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b> </b><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>It's Archival Works Friday – so soon??!! </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>As
I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph
(silkscreen prints) from the "archive" files of years past...and give a
little back story on the work - the first Friday of the month. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I am now including photographs of past years. I hope you'll find it interesting! </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I
know I've gotten into this topic before with 'some' of you; it is
something I relive occasionally when someone poses the question where I
started; where it all began I guess. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>First
it was just unintentional small steps...parents who didn't protest
about the little things...frogs, toads and turtles "free ranging" in the
basement; keeping a Brown Bat in a bird cage on the front porch;
science summer school; teaching the neighborhood squirrels to eat out of
my hand; wading and fishing in neighborhood streams.
(OK...the bat in the cage didn't go over well but we kept it for a
couple days anyway.) </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I
gained an appreciation for the beauty of this scheme of things. I was
fascinated by the light shimmering off the membrane of an amphibian, the
colors and design of a turtle's carapace and plastron, the shapes of
trees, their leaves, the hillsides along the Des Moines River valley,
the rocks and fossils along the favorite stream of my youth - Lizard
Creek, or lying on a pasture hillside staring at the sky...watching
clouds and the birds that intersected my field of view. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJODhZ69POBJWn4K6PvOcxGoRjfeXuEh2MSO7iUaeClKZ9rWN5K7mpC6B-31BU3cyGR8-1T1XReVKlXH5C083UP5H8spknrxTOtFnfmzBcPeA1Gl5fN00FHt6xxc1pHg3Q84UHctoZeQBIon5B6FcoKY3Bttcpd2QlnJj2E9nomJXoyzniY_YkiYL/s864/Birds%20of%20America%20illustrated%20by%20Louis%20Aggassiz%20Fuertes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="864" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJODhZ69POBJWn4K6PvOcxGoRjfeXuEh2MSO7iUaeClKZ9rWN5K7mpC6B-31BU3cyGR8-1T1XReVKlXH5C083UP5H8spknrxTOtFnfmzBcPeA1Gl5fN00FHt6xxc1pHg3Q84UHctoZeQBIon5B6FcoKY3Bttcpd2QlnJj2E9nomJXoyzniY_YkiYL/s320/Birds%20of%20America%20illustrated%20by%20Louis%20Aggassiz%20Fuertes.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /></b><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>One
day, after saving for weeks, I bought a book..over $12 - a lot of money
back then for a kid! I was eleven or twelve; the book was full of
color illustrations by Louis Aggassiz Fuertes. They were awesome,
beautiful...the slip cover of this 1937 edition book, for the lack of a
better word, transported me. On the front cover were two of my most
favorite birds, a Cooper's and a Red-tailed Hawk - perched on treetop
branches above forested hillsides. The landscape and the birds were
mesmerizing for a young impressionable me. I wanted to paint birds. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Birds
in the yard would never seem to hold still long enough for me to draw; I
got the idea I needed to photograph them, and then I could draw them
from their photo; brilliant idea I thought. After all, Audubon drew and
painted from his birds after shooting them – this would be less messy! </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I
didn't have a camera, but my mother loaned me her old box camera. Ya,
the old Ansco Shur-Shot Jr. at the top of this post, was to be my first
camera. I actually took quite a few pictures with this Ansco...all
B&W...it was a 120 film camera (2 1/4X2 3/4" or 6X7cm). You can kind
of guess how useful it was as a bird camera though - not very. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>One
incident convinced me to get a "suitable" camera. I was walking the
upper banks along Lizard Creek's south branch west of town (Ft Dodge,
IA) one summer afternoon. It was a typical hot and humid day and the
afternoon wasn't the best condition to find birds. By just dumb luck I
came upon a Great Horned Owl sitting in a tree jutting out of the high
bank below me. The bird was maybe 3 - 4 feet out from the bank on a
branch about 8 - 10 feet above the water flowing beneath it. The bird
was awake, looking across the creek into the woodland there. I dropped
as fast as I could into the grass above the high bank and crawled very
slowly on my stomach to the bank's edge and peered over - it hadn't seen
or heard me, the noise of the creek had masked my presence. My heart
was pounding so loud I was sure the bird would hear it! </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The
owl was sitting in deep shade. I pushed the box camera ahead of me and
tried peering into the viewfinder without raising my head too much and
giving myself away. I was no more than 6-8 feet away from the bird, yet I
could not find the owl in my viewfinder; the old box camera's
viewfinder just was not bright enough. I looked up again and tried to
reference where the bird was, then looked back into the viewfinder -
still no bird, I looked up again and the owl was no where...it was
gone. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplIjZvc70VoeHwxwUtlQpEObfgRF4xvsraDGV0enDR9pRWmHZbj4s-SM-jsUv4cVDMC4mMwHdRc_rqhsztxOj2GTQRnS1GNkT7iUqdrPR2OZue6JxejIqKlZZ3FJpuoXXOeKylvyPVLCBpT5c4tCpOfarUuss0fQD1ma-kvF5o8dG0BNHoxyHuU8u/s500/Practica%20IV%20SLR%20from%201963.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="500" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplIjZvc70VoeHwxwUtlQpEObfgRF4xvsraDGV0enDR9pRWmHZbj4s-SM-jsUv4cVDMC4mMwHdRc_rqhsztxOj2GTQRnS1GNkT7iUqdrPR2OZue6JxejIqKlZZ3FJpuoXXOeKylvyPVLCBpT5c4tCpOfarUuss0fQD1ma-kvF5o8dG0BNHoxyHuU8u/s320/Practica%20IV%20SLR%20from%201963.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first SLR 35mm camera in 1963<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b> </b><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Whether
the bird spotted or heard me I really don't know, what I do remember is
the rush from the experience and the needling anguish of blowing it!
That was not going to happen again! I spent the next year saving money
from about any odd job I could find, (mainly my paper route) and bought
myself an East German 'Praktica IV' SLR and a 400mm lens. As best I can
recollect, this was in 1963. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwUDWoGej6K-rZ7DbooaeIoziARMy9p-DbO9gXoU5Z6cRE6l10F2oEOsTERC01AZ_DmkKL1VTHvgbws1uU7wAn7Z3VAxVIOmYmf6E3Ev2rK18iZz5AXJkYGC_M0hO3jjbUoEsaXUDCJ5brZCbgFH1C36fdCx6xt8pNO4wPlwK7dZrVwg_lLM8iJFS/s720/WB%20Nuthatch%20from%201964-Kodachrome-Ft%20Dodge-Practica-Kowa%20400mm-w-bellows-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="720" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwUDWoGej6K-rZ7DbooaeIoziARMy9p-DbO9gXoU5Z6cRE6l10F2oEOsTERC01AZ_DmkKL1VTHvgbws1uU7wAn7Z3VAxVIOmYmf6E3Ev2rK18iZz5AXJkYGC_M0hO3jjbUoEsaXUDCJ5brZCbgFH1C36fdCx6xt8pNO4wPlwK7dZrVwg_lLM8iJFS/s320/WB%20Nuthatch%20from%201964-Kodachrome-Ft%20Dodge-Practica-Kowa%20400mm-w-bellows-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My
first bird photo with my Praktica SLR in 1964 (White-breasted Nuthatch)
on Kodachrome slide film with a Kowa 400mm lens and a bellows
attachment for a closer focus range.<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br /></b><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>I
became hooked on nature photography that way...birds eventually led to
all flora and fauna and to the landscape. Painting nature eventually led
the same direction.
I don't know why I didn't become an ornithologist, biologist or
botanist? There was always an urge to paint, draw or photograph and
that's all I can say. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>We all gotta start somewhere! </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-61603578633838113872022-07-01T14:16:00.000-05:002022-07-01T14:16:02.567-05:00Archival Works Friday for July (July already???!!!!)<p> <b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto">It's Archival Works Friday!!!<br /><br />The next post for "Archived Works Friday” originated from a sighting and photograph taken in NE Kansas in the summer of 1976. <br /><br />As
I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph
(silkscreen prints) from the "archive" files of years past...and give a
little back story on the work - the first Friday of the month. I hope
you'll find it interesting! <br /><br />I wasn't real familiar with birds of
the grasslands or prairies early on...I grew up in a river valley with
plenty of woodlands to explore and the birds found in that habitat were
birds I grew up with.<br /><br />Back in the mid 1970's we lived in the
Kansas City area (Lenexa – then Shawnee), and spent what little free
time we had exploring the Flint Hills and down along the eastern border
and around Marais des Cygnes...all neat places. One day we were along an
old railroad bed and a Dickcissel was singing away. Believe it or not –
I “thought” I knew what that bird was but wasn't sure so tried getting a
shot of it (shooting color slide film back in those days).<br /><br />Although
using a 400mm lens at the time, it was still not close enough and the
slide film image wasn't the best...but there was a “seed” of an idea
germinating way back then – the bird's pose was visually interesting
enough to keep in my files for some future use.</span></span></span></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHWNsQI8CtxO7GA1w9yWy67gV_kMBWb7W2RRnGb_QKeFX-IRysXtGBC685iOACHr7Rq8mn4eMutulflXCMkyVKY3QXWMupxwCkx0BUVHnfbXtuqc-IYzheGBWB6MiJPThw9KBrFlpWgEcsCU7Y9uvrPq2cMx21jJqarFL_k-EsmKOKuUjkQSTwOyD/s792/Dicksissel-Drawing-72dpi.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="593" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHWNsQI8CtxO7GA1w9yWy67gV_kMBWb7W2RRnGb_QKeFX-IRysXtGBC685iOACHr7Rq8mn4eMutulflXCMkyVKY3QXWMupxwCkx0BUVHnfbXtuqc-IYzheGBWB6MiJPThw9KBrFlpWgEcsCU7Y9uvrPq2cMx21jJqarFL_k-EsmKOKuUjkQSTwOyD/s320/Dicksissel-Drawing-72dpi.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto"><br />It wasn't until
30 years later that I finally put an idea down on paper in color
pencil...and the “study” drawing of a male Dickcissel singing was born -</span></span></span></b><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto"><br /><i><b>"Summer
Song - Dickcissel" - color pencil drawing (In the permanent drawing
collection of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI) - ©
Bruce A. Morrison</b></i></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto"><i><b></b></i></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJsVvAGL-pAvb2zWF6NUiPWoBs-If3mNzeSZgcgD3r_m-BmeQGkijSYfFK55foAmXUlv6KjoWtcQKAJ4-3S107UBfnH8C1oMjI4iWYuRK5BBgU5QOfF0ssXes40cqh4dKXzs4ENg4XzxVohPWZuJM69OKHo-q3it2i99_LRVbLc2mHH4CkdaZZEsO/s1008/Prairie-Song,-Dickcissel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="1008" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJsVvAGL-pAvb2zWF6NUiPWoBs-If3mNzeSZgcgD3r_m-BmeQGkijSYfFK55foAmXUlv6KjoWtcQKAJ4-3S107UBfnH8C1oMjI4iWYuRK5BBgU5QOfF0ssXes40cqh4dKXzs4ENg4XzxVohPWZuJM69OKHo-q3it2i99_LRVbLc2mHH4CkdaZZEsO/s320/Prairie-Song,-Dickcissel.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></i></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto"></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto"></span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto"></span></span></span></b><p></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto">About 10 years later I used the original sketch as a reference
for adding to a prairie landscape I titled - "Prairie Song, Dickcissel" -
color pencil drawing - © Bruce A. Morrison; now residing in a private
collection in Minnesota.</span></span></span></b></p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto">I've
been posting some about Dickcissels here on the acreage a fair bit this
past month – I have grown extremely fond of them and have been having
some preliminary thoughts in my head about doing something with them
again; this time also as a tribute to this little grassland obligate.
We'll see what comes of that in the near future I hope...love these
little “Barking Dogs” of the Prairie!<br /><br />Thank you for reading along!</span></span></span></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-63348477096617421512022-06-21T14:55:00.002-05:002022-06-21T14:55:39.283-05:00Summer Solstice<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsv85l1WX_epFjJLrZKr8iAwqmdCJ1DT4sqXpyxet1kqbw7TsqlUWEzSIfeOPG1Qse0tCNLQK90zcfIqk5EdgIct_1T2z3megQn1KS8jgVtRsCcYFQkbl3SxS0JVfH3MQZS-W0HV3iKWH42AgoDk34crnNd4dzci20uAPOQ_x4JQ16YiRnzlKToi0/s864/Mid-July-at-the-PHF-Prairie-2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="864" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsv85l1WX_epFjJLrZKr8iAwqmdCJ1DT4sqXpyxet1kqbw7TsqlUWEzSIfeOPG1Qse0tCNLQK90zcfIqk5EdgIct_1T2z3megQn1KS8jgVtRsCcYFQkbl3SxS0JVfH3MQZS-W0HV3iKWH42AgoDk34crnNd4dzci20uAPOQ_x4JQ16YiRnzlKToi0/s320/Mid-July-at-the-PHF-Prairie-2018.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></b><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just finished Spring - a chilly start and a HOT finish! "Now" it feels like Summer! Crazy stuff...</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEOeKX7e5xY0Uy-mVOTNcKjRVMKnH3iF0dpZEC_6CabWsj2_o5r7fJq5JXL_NcfXnDQ4akX7tFv5R2wdq2ZgrMPBqgp07Q3hozdWg7LuuvwJOzKufYq9QwZc4NhMDoM6VoFQp_fkoIo7UgEb7f92GYS7jJ2zXVEoL2gPWWS3eqwohXfLTqlYR5eMM/s902/P-Phlox2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="902" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEOeKX7e5xY0Uy-mVOTNcKjRVMKnH3iF0dpZEC_6CabWsj2_o5r7fJq5JXL_NcfXnDQ4akX7tFv5R2wdq2ZgrMPBqgp07Q3hozdWg7LuuvwJOzKufYq9QwZc4NhMDoM6VoFQp_fkoIo7UgEb7f92GYS7jJ2zXVEoL2gPWWS3eqwohXfLTqlYR5eMM/s320/P-Phlox2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prairie Phlox (Phlox pilosa) - photograph - <span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">© Bruce A. Morrison</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">The pastures here have been mixed in their forbs, but mostly everything has been a couple weeks later than the average from years past. Just yesterday I realized that the Prairie Phlox just bloomed and the Spiderwort is about finished. The June Grass was at its peak last week an now maturing quickly along with the Porcupine Grass.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUgck6OesF9sM9i0IbWDOQPhYkPfI8DSarXYEtQg6NZN7CtWyKklGidYrz_rvxjVddQWLt1UmUD8kaq0saY6J_Z7PRyqxUbqgNt9GGQd0ZiwE8hsIQeMmqhgve1bRVwy_d7svZj9QtZpa0o_OPiw-UMrl50hv8iFX7bHiwokuKrrrvVwDbpB4UZmvk/s1152/Dickcissel-Boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1152" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUgck6OesF9sM9i0IbWDOQPhYkPfI8DSarXYEtQg6NZN7CtWyKklGidYrz_rvxjVddQWLt1UmUD8kaq0saY6J_Z7PRyqxUbqgNt9GGQd0ZiwE8hsIQeMmqhgve1bRVwy_d7svZj9QtZpa0o_OPiw-UMrl50hv8iFX7bHiwokuKrrrvVwDbpB4UZmvk/s320/Dickcissel-Boys.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></b></div><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b><p></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have been playing catch up here in the Studio as usual - I have only been able to get out one morning before sunrise this June...it has been so windy that the small stuff in the pasture hasn't been too willing to hold reasonably still for my camera. But - the evenings on the "Prairie Schooner" (my old '82 EZ-Go electric golf cart) have been fun...one thing I've been chasing are the Dickcissels, which are more numerous this year. </span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">We have been hearing Bobolinks "occasionally"...don't know if they are nesting here or not? We are just holding our breath that the pasture across the road from us "Doesn't" get mowed before the end of June this summer. Last summer it'd been mowed early and we lost the nesting Bobolinks...a very sad occurrence...very sad.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our Meadowlark population sounds decent - more calling than last summer...some behind us...we are hopeful there too. </span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'll end this post with a guest blog I wrote on invitation for Bleeding Heartland's "Wildflower Wednesday" - give it a read if you have a moment. I hope you enjoy it! Have a good summer - and stay cool out there!</span></span></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2022/06/15/iowa-wildflower-wednesday-a-prairie-home-remnant-in-obrien-county/?fbclid=IwAR1EGI3peIrcO_mOYme0IZVqZQCphEaScnEXHLKqYI-VFYh_kCf2HE5D9oo"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2022/06/15/iowa-wildflower-wednesday-a-prairie-home-remnant-in-obrien-county/?fbclid=IwAR1EGI3peIrcO_mOYme0IZVqZQCphEaScnEXHLKqYI-VFYh_kCf2HE5D9oo</span></span></a></b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-57783838840187114282022-06-04T10:24:00.003-05:002022-06-04T10:24:34.842-05:00Archival Works Friday...ya, I know it's Saturday, what can I say?<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CBHLCiJ0vtGELcQiLAIVc9A4gYfUO0eyR-i4UJiaZUh7-b_eCEaAVKxBoMaZd-jVoNIZjyyAr8YQKpkbbhVi-4SB5jQjHAnfCYnNcgvRkoCvbODdZlmWE2AWgcLDDjTZCXvvj7b0x2x7Dlcqi3ijHKwDkNEp9sKReZvzLQyP7Ta1xwE-yibhc149/s1008/Big-Bluestem-in-bloom-72dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1008" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CBHLCiJ0vtGELcQiLAIVc9A4gYfUO0eyR-i4UJiaZUh7-b_eCEaAVKxBoMaZd-jVoNIZjyyAr8YQKpkbbhVi-4SB5jQjHAnfCYnNcgvRkoCvbODdZlmWE2AWgcLDDjTZCXvvj7b0x2x7Dlcqi3ijHKwDkNEp9sKReZvzLQyP7Ta1xwE-yibhc149/s320/Big-Bluestem-in-bloom-72dpi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Big Bluestem in Bloom" - color pencil drawing - <span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">© Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc ihqw7lf3 dati1w0a" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_4nd"><div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Archival Works Friday (Yes I Know It's Saturday!)</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">As I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph (silkscreen prints) from the "archive" files of years past...and give a little back story on the work. I hope you'll find it interesting! Posting the first Friday of the month...</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">This Archival Works day is a color pencil drawing...my use of this medium dates back to the early 1960's. My first "Side Walk Art Fair" participation in Ft. Dodge, IA had all color pencil drawings; I think I was about 12 years old at the time and I only remember one of </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">them...probably a "self preservation" mechanism so I won't still be traumatized by how bad they must have been!!!!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The subject in the highlighted drawing "Big Bluestem in Bloom" is related to my 2 1/2 decade infatuation with "Prairies". I don't think my love of prairies is a very well kept secret - having been involved in prairie projects from the college level, public entities, and private consulting. Georgie has referred to me as "Prairie Boy" to many folks over the years (Ha!). Ya, well that's sure not where she found me - but yes, stuff happens doesn't it.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">When we found the acreage here 20 years ago, it was the perfect fit for us...we had a few trees and a small bit of wooded habitat with nice spring ephemerals, and some great hillside gravel slopes with actual native prairie remnants...something that has become less easy to find in Iowa...only less than one half of one percent of this state's original prairies still exist. This little spot may not be on the super quality charts but even places like ours are disappearing much too frequently.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Something that I was hoping for in our little spot in the former tallgrass prairie was a place to work and play...it has lived up to my hopes yet has so much further to go. But we all have a lifespan...we're just making the best of what this "gift" of time has presented us. I always wanted to just walk out the door in the morning...or heck "anytime", and wander with the camera or paint brush, and record native prairie plant communities and the fauna</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">found there. It has been a wonderful gift! Every day here is a blessing! I found myself not just photographing forbs (wildflowers) and grasses, but also painting and drawing them.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">When I'm out and about on the pastures, I often video tape things as I'm photographing them...video is just a side hobby now...I used to do video taping and editing for educational institutions, government agencies and non-profits, for part of my living, but no longer - it's simply something fun to do now.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The drawing in question...</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">One morning in mid summer I was out early on the pasture photographing things in the first light of the day. The flowers and grasses, insects and birds...the usual. Later I was in the studio downloading files and editing images and sorting through the morning's video footage. As I was watching footage I came to a frame that I'd only recorded - a lot of times I'm easily distracted and forget to take stills (photographs) also (and vice versa). There was an image from the video that grabbed me - "That'd make a great color pencil drawing!".</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">"Big Bluestem in Bloom" - color pencil drawing was born from a still frame in the video footage.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I have since been inspired many times in a like manner from other footage as well in past years...some landscapes, some flora and fauna.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">If you've followed me this far and haven't nodded off or just plain zoned out and left, I'm going to leave a link here for a video I edited together 9 years back...it's of a walk down Waterman Creek about 5 miles south of the studio. During this walk I was inspired to paint two landscapes from the footage you'll watch. The video is here - </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 py34i1dx" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D6f8oqe68WJw%26fbclid%3DIwAR3SuQ_NWnXnLU4Qx7K50NxkVwNaXsvTC7Xc4yY0eUi7OG77xrFJs5hY9Jo&h=AT0O3sYcbutl-EdT1HPyodk-GUuYISqGRHXPjWb4TNZYxZCQGwJb-8WsKdA6kgzA9szI3c13GoTseK7JWSH0_kUO3m5dHUjJTzQ7_trdbOybCgqNbVeyBuXX9Ra7pEIsww&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3AK8hN7Az1VfD-JUXBqC8TLgJkjFM3HoMAbFq1hiIAfIimR_p7CZdJ_NGWdtuWsp13rOmFHVFaheethN6YJ6VfEQ_41tOFOBH7JT8X5AiO9jFfUr614dqyn-M7SJPMGG3T" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f8oqe68WJw</a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span> </span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">After you watch this video, go to my web site at the following link, it will take you to my Archived Works page. There are two oil paintings there that were inspired from footage in the video. The link is here - </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 py34i1dx" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmorrisons-studio.com%2Farchived-works%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1LG0dpecPItil7a8FWZg5tX2B2EenZEd6wi5Tfme1PsWUWF65_7_2BIK4&h=AT2AKI6dKua5iP4w3oMvXJS4zNfXpKJpQP1h8IsKQl4Y4nc0QWZd0knF2QHp_Ue-arFYbwhlxVEj05kHdAflQK1Ejj6-s3bPVthS5tlpJwiS7GdqsqiACa_mB8ioHRHMrA&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3AK8hN7Az1VfD-JUXBqC8TLgJkjFM3HoMAbFq1hiIAfIimR_p7CZdJ_NGWdtuWsp13rOmFHVFaheethN6YJ6VfEQ_41tOFOBH7JT8X5AiO9jFfUr614dqyn-M7SJPMGG3T" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://morrisons-studio.com/archived-works/</a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span> </span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">(I'm really making this too easy!)</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The first person that gives me the name of one of the 2 paintings inspired by footage in this video, will win a free signed print of that painting. Just the first person, responding to this story...just give me "one" of the painting titles and you win!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Thanks for hanging in there and good luck! (See you next month!)</div></div></span></span></span></b></div></div></div></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-23508493230461652092022-05-06T09:44:00.002-05:002022-05-06T09:44:33.721-05:00Archival Works Friday - N0. 8!<p></p><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5dh7s-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="5dh7s-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span><br /></span></span></span></span></b></span></div><p></p><div data-contents="true"><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="5dh7s-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5dh7s-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="5dh7s-0-0"><span data-text="true">"</span></span><span><span data-offset-key="5dh7s-1-0"><span data-text="true">Archival</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="5dh7s-2-0"><span data-text="true"> Works Friday" No. 8!</span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="e530c-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="e530c-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="e530c-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="blqoh-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="blqoh-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="blqoh-0-0"><span data-text="true">The next post for "Archival Works Friday" hearkens back 12 and then 7 years ago.</span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="6dura-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6dura-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="6dura-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="dfidk-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dfidk-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="dfidk-0-0"><span data-text="true">As I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph (silkscreen print) from the archive files of years past...and give a little back story on the work. I hope you'll find it interesting!</span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="990vf-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="990vf-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="990vf-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="570ms-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="570ms-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="570ms-0-0"><span data-text="true">This post involves acceptance and rejection. Acceptance - something every artist craves...heck, something every human being craves! And rejection - something we are all familiar with at some time in our lives, unless amnesia's involved.</span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="dvc2h-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dvc2h-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="dvc2h-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="etjg2-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="etjg2-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="etjg2-0-0"><span data-text="true">As far as art is concerned, I first became acquainted with these "rival aspects" back in art school. I remember so well, the class critiques...your work was put up for display in front of the class and sometimes other students were respectful and kind (or sympathetic) and then there were times you'd wished you overslept and missed class!!!! The most dreaded critiques were from visiting professors; you could seriously doubt your choice of career after one of those. But being critiqued wasn't just a learning experience, it was also character building - you sure learned what other artists thought about your work! Ha! It got pretty hairy at times - a lot of fragile egos out in the art world! </span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="9b731-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9b731-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="9b731-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="dibcv-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dibcv-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="dibcv-0-0"><span data-text="true">It takes many years for some of us to find ourselves...to really start to believe in oneself and create your own "look" or niche. But you also realize that your work is not for everyone. That can be a form of rejection to some, but hey you can't please them all and that's just the way it should be. Wouldn't it be boring if everyone liked the same thing! I could rattle off some very "commercially" successful artist's names that I wouldn't want on my walls - its all personal taste right?! But to have someone like your work enough to "invest" in it is something that makes all those years of plying yourself worthwhile.</span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="c1vlu-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c1vlu-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="c1vlu-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0"><span data-text="true">Acceptance and rejection are always a fact of life for artists - even for old ones! I'll share a story of acceptance - then rejection - Then overwhelming acceptance. It was neat...then disappointing...then very gratifying.</span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0"><span data-text="true"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAND9l_Q9VpX-uqOtHKGutBf4Ixj2kUrEA9u9gPDPTXfpRZSjyV_5v4Y8vDzsF3lSmif9jLVP8aoXnIKrExYtbhLd-nQTet4FqA9B0qg7mTKBlibli2tYUW83jisTLY_TH9f0TgUbRMpsoXXfzilARI9q3U5nuvXVcpdhJI2FwFKk_IUM8n297jrm/s544/July-in-the-Valley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="544" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvAND9l_Q9VpX-uqOtHKGutBf4Ixj2kUrEA9u9gPDPTXfpRZSjyV_5v4Y8vDzsF3lSmif9jLVP8aoXnIKrExYtbhLd-nQTet4FqA9B0qg7mTKBlibli2tYUW83jisTLY_TH9f0TgUbRMpsoXXfzilARI9q3U5nuvXVcpdhJI2FwFKk_IUM8n297jrm/s320/July-in-the-Valley.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span></span></span></b></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0"><span data-text="true">"July in the Valley" - plein air oil painting</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0"><span data-text="true">(6X8") </span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="9c17a-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="js1h-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="js1h-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="js1h-0-0"><span data-text="true">The example in question began with a small 6X8 plein air painting of the valley out in front of the house and studio one July 12 years ago The sky was just amazing to watch, as it so often is out here. I titled the small painting "July in the Valley" and was very pleased with it. Plein air painting (sometimes termed "pochades") are paintings done outside at the actual location, and are often done just as "studies"...sometimes to "test the water" for a larger painting maybe to be done later on. </span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="cv7jf-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cv7jf-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="cv7jf-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="djki7-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="djki7-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="djki7-0-0"><span data-text="true">This small painting was spotted on the studio gallery wall and purchased by another artist from eastern Iowa, a retired architect. I was very pleased this person was so taken by this small painting! Acceptance is good!</span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="djki7-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="djki7-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></b></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="djki7-0-0" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="djki7-0-0"><span data-text="true"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Mf03h-syMvaPvg2-zy8ps03-l7dfQoIdOMAoLZznHtWQHOEno02LK31N57kC_SM9B47oXOc3fK2gDncWz6Fux4K-IFuRQ_xWhT2ryttWhjqbD3P1_4VdVkAJZA5bG6FWRNdaH2sw2OqYjEA4y7XrjrKXST_XTzk3hGib7FVZStU4ZRrYxz6l-YXw/s600/July-In-The-Valley-studio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Mf03h-syMvaPvg2-zy8ps03-l7dfQoIdOMAoLZznHtWQHOEno02LK31N57kC_SM9B47oXOc3fK2gDncWz6Fux4K-IFuRQ_xWhT2ryttWhjqbD3P1_4VdVkAJZA5bG6FWRNdaH2sw2OqYjEA4y7XrjrKXST_XTzk3hGib7FVZStU4ZRrYxz6l-YXw/s320/July-In-The-Valley-studio.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span></span></span></b></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="djki7-0-0"><span data-text="true">"July in the Valley" - studio painting</span></span></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="djki7-0-0"><span data-text="true">(12X16") </span></span></span></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="djki7-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="djki7-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="djki7-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="8fe7t-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="52t1b-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="52t1b-0-0"><span data-text="true">A couple years after this sale was made I had another visitor to the studio. This was a local/area person that had been to the studio before and a former customer. (I'll keep this customer "vague" so as not to shine a light on anyone.) The visitor remembered the small plein air painting that had been sold to the artist I mentioned, and the visitor knew I was thinking of doing a larger painting in the studio of this same scene. I told the visitor that I would alert them when the painting was finished and that they had first dibs if they wanted it. Well some time passed and I finally got to the painting, eventually finished it, and notified the potential client. The potential client came out to the studio and I showed them the painting, the painting was accepted and was purchased. Now it would be normal and nice if things ended here. But several weeks later the client called and asked if they could return the painting...they sounded uneasy but I graciously accepted the return and refunded the purchase price. I felt bad but could tell the client was embarrassed...I won't go into their reason but it was a bit "out there". But that's life right?! Rejection is not fun.</span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="8me5e-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8me5e-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="8me5e-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="7oa5p-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7oa5p-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="7oa5p-0-0"><span data-text="true">Rejection can often cause a person to question things...is the painting a good work? Am I missing something? But I've learned over the years to not get too rattled when things don't come out quite like I expected.</span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="fr6ne-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="fr6ne-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="fr6ne-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="datga-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="datga-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="datga-0-0"><span data-text="true">The studio painting took it's place on the studio wall, right along with other paintings - for the next couple years.</span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="4gjdg-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4gjdg-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="4gjdg-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="b8d9n-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="b8d9n-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="b8d9n-0-0"><span data-text="true">Down the road I submitted this painting, along with two others, to EMC Insurance Corporate office in Des Moines for consideration for their Corporate Art Collection of Iowa Artists. EMC has a neat way of adding artist's works to their collection - they let their employees vote on their choice! After the works submitted for their collection had gone through several EMC employee committees to narrow down the choices - I was notified that "All 3" of my paintings had been over whelming accepted!! Again - acceptance is good!!! </span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="cpbem-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cpbem-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="cpbem-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="d86v7-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d86v7-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="d86v7-0-0"><span data-text="true">It felt like a win for me, especially since multiple people and committees had "wanted" this painting...sure, one person thought it wasn't right for them personally after a while, but now it was a favorite of many, over and above a lot of other artists that had submitted work! And, oh ya - they also wanted my other two paintings as well...that was REAL acceptance!</span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="65nvu-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="65nvu-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="65nvu-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="4b6i-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4b6i-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="4b6i-0-0"><span data-text="true">So now my studio painting "July in the Valley", and the two others, are part of the EMC Insurance Corporation's EMC Art Collection (as well as one other from 3 years earlier), and I still plug along and strive to do my best. But I know that whatever I do...painting, drawing serigraph or even my photography - aren't everyone's cup of tea, nor do I expect them to be. And I also know that having work purchased by clients is a very good feeling, one that will never grow old. </span></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="6js0c-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6js0c-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="6js0c-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="fks07" data-offset-key="7spk9-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7spk9-0-0"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span data-offset-key="7spk9-0-0"><span data-text="true">Thank You, all of my past and present friends and clients, for giving something from my life a good home!</span></span></span></b></span></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-79227700082153106132022-04-01T17:04:00.001-05:002022-04-01T17:04:22.835-05:00Archival Works Friday - No.7!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="1152" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7LzEJ1sPDMKmVCiAnry0O6_vFgIxyQNloUsHltS3RNOiCSkhAdiVR75inRlDya3sNq7sQ-786-la2QwVSb_EgWXWY7uITokl8oWfeQxQdeNInsM0CJm_U5QeSeSxar1FzYe1ngkzQQROq5rXEgmlXlRbw3xiCV_tHTUbKuBQsj73QKTPu3_6xWon/w400-h166/Daybreak---Southwest-Corner-Fenceline-72dpi.jpg" width="400" />
<p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph
(silkscreen prints) from the "archive" files of years
past...and give a little back story on the work. I hope you'll find
it interesting! </span></span></b>
</p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These
posts are now on the <i><u>first Friday</u> of the month</i> – lo
and behold this one happens on April Fools Day! Ha! Well it may fit
the circumstances somewhat – there were some big goofs on my part
with this painting!</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
really appreciate the opportunity offered by folks in our area, to
allow me to have access and walk their properties. I'm not as big of
a hiker as I once was but I still try when the opportunity arises.
This property is one I'd hiked several times between 2008-2012. I
still drive by there quite often and have done photography and
artwork from the 'edges' on occasion.</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
particular painting almost never saw the light of day. It was a
beautiful and still summer morning...probably late August or very
early September...judging by the vegetation I portrayed along the
roadside edges. I remember there was a lot of ragweed present and
that's how I painted it.</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
as I said – it nearly never became a painting. Why? Well, even
though I break my own rules sometimes, in general I don't usually
paint a scene if my mind is set on recording it as a photograph from
the beginning. I found myself on this small one lane dirt road at
the SW corner of the owner's property and the sun was about to rise.
I was in my old beater S10 pickup and climbed into the bed, as I
often do – to gain a bit of elevation and perspective.</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
had just bought a new camera...not a really expensive one but I had
needed to replace my old Nikon D1X. The D1X was the flagship
'digital' Nikon that came out around 1999-2000. It had an “amazing”
capability of 5.6 MP if my memory serves me correctly. Boy did
things advance quickly after that! But I was still making calendar
and magazine sales with that camera – it was top notch at the time.
But 10-11 years later it was having issues and I had no choice but
to become a camera consumer again...this new camera had 12MP, which
was well over twice the old one...but nowhere near the head of the
pack with all that were available then – but it was fine for me.</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My
new camera had good auto-focus capabilities and I was looking forward
to that...these old eyes need any help they can get. Well, back to
the pickup bed. I was setting up the tripod with my new camera and
suddenly realized – I had totally forgotten my glasses! For crying
out loud! I never had much trouble with 'distance', but
closeup...looking through a lens or at the digital back screen – I
was flying blind...big time Mr. Magoo...Then I though “Hey, this
camera can be totally auto-focus, not to worry”!</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
loved the composition of the scene before me, and the early light was
great...the colors were just singing a song I couldn't get enough of!
I wanted to catch the sun just as it broke the horizon and waited
for it.</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
set the tripod head to swivel the camera for 4 frames – I was
visualizing a panorama and one frame just wouldn't do it. I could go
heavy wide angle and get the panoramic view...but I'd have to crop a
lot of stuff in the image to get what I was 'seeing' – and the size
I wanted to output to (print) would have required too much
enlargement of the small file to look decent. This is a camera
technique I still use to this day – stitching several frames
together can achieve a higher resolution for more demanding work.</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
back to the camera...since my glasses were apparently still at home,
I trusted the auto focus to do it's thing. It had worked at home the
day before when I tried it out so I wasn't concerned...just still a
bit disappointed in my dumb move. It was a great image – I was
sure of it! </span></span></b>
</p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well,
I took the camera off and set the tripod over the side of the pickup
bed and walked to the edge of the tail gate and hopped off onto the
ground.</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
remember just totally losing my vision to a bright flash of pain,
then everything as quickly went black -it is hard to adequately
describe. I came around and found myself on all fours just screaming
in my head. “I shouldn't have done that.” went through my mind.
Its like a traffic accident. You spend way too much time thinking
back...trying to stop what had just happened. Needless to say – I
didn't take any more pictures that morning.</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
chiropractor saw dollar signs I'm sure when I limped with a cane into
the office that afternoon. In all fairness I'm being facetious, but
it was 2-3 appointments a week for a while and at least 6 months
before I felt I had finally gotten through my injury.</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
back to the pictures I took. To add insult to injury, when I brought
the image files up on the computer – EVERYTHING was out of
focus...fuzzy beyond salvation! OMG...in my nearsighted blindness, I
just could not make out the small print on the camera controls – I
was sure I had selected “auto-focus” but apparently had disabled
it instead. Aaccck!!!!!!!</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
was a mess to put it mildly...no one should ever be seen by another
human being when they get like this. Poor Georgie!!! (She sure puts
up with a lot, let me tell you!)</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Its
bad enough losing a productive day, but losing nearly 6 months to
rehab on top of it makes it grimmer. I don't remember how much time
passed, but one day when I was about to dump all the files from that
morning, I thought “If I could just work through the out of focus
mess – this would make a beautiful painting!”</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
really do not remember how long it took to have this epiphany, or how
long I kept tossing this idea back and forth in my mind, before I
committed to trying – but I eventually tried. I started the
painting in January of 2012...I figured if the Mayan calendar was
right and the world was about to end – then, hey why not. (Ya,
that was really a 'thing'.)</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
took a bit of work re-imagining the 'near' objects – they were just
'blobs' of shapes; the back ground was a bit easier but still no cake
walk...the color was still there and the tonal range of the image was
very helpful. I hacked my way through and finished the painting the
first week of February – I was sooooo happy with what was brought
back from a total loss and very pleased how well it was carried out.
</span></span></b>
</p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
should never have let go of this painting – I regretted it the
minute I spent the check! Seller's remorse – we've all experienced
it. But it went to a great home – an appreciative home...and made
for a very nice share of return business from this first-time client
from out-of-state. There's several silver linings – and complete
flops in this one painting!</span></span><br /></b>
</p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Southwest
Corner Fence Line Along the Jordan" - oil painting © Bruce A.
Morrison</span></span></b></p><b>
</b><p align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(from
a private Vermont collection)</span></span></b></p>
</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-84690011525133549802022-03-12T15:20:00.001-06:002022-03-13T08:51:39.798-05:00Winter's Last Breath? (Crossing Fingers!)<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcV_1RiZ5soNtaAFI4yf08_nrUbaDKJuRaCZdnl-aMegXYCVU-lFRSKPOz8oJs-IcOS1a4nj83-KNOoc3fLtTZJ-yBztyypo3GnZaXWz3aIs-4Z51ApwCvlBlSaNoGAFo8ApqCjdcOzevEEoVZiaqr2biedksHVVmPuoQAr7BdHn_-tZQG9eqMDw7r=s864" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="864" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcV_1RiZ5soNtaAFI4yf08_nrUbaDKJuRaCZdnl-aMegXYCVU-lFRSKPOz8oJs-IcOS1a4nj83-KNOoc3fLtTZJ-yBztyypo3GnZaXWz3aIs-4Z51ApwCvlBlSaNoGAFo8ApqCjdcOzevEEoVZiaqr2biedksHVVmPuoQAr7BdHn_-tZQG9eqMDw7r=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Frosty Morning Light - Hay Rake" - oil painting - <span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto"> ©Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Is it Spring yet?!!! One below zero Fahrenheit this a.m., but above freezing this afternoon...a good southwest wind bringing up the warm air - welcome! This is the beginning of several warm days in the 40's to 60's, so looking forward to it!</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I've been cranking out winter themed work the past month...had to get them out of my system before work outside on the acreage presents itself. I don't do loads of winter artwork, but had these in my memory file; if I don't get them down I can lose them. I just have so much memory available in this old hard drive (my brain)...if something new or memorable comes by - something has to go. I find my brain deleting memories a lot these days...hey, it happens to all of us eventually.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The oil painting above is of my favorite acreage "prop"...I wish I had one or two more different types of old farm machinery that I could place here or there on the pastures, but this one is just perfect. The old John Deere hay rake came from an artist friend's family farm - he even remembers using it each summer, then bailing afterwards. It was his Grandfather's, then his Father's...his Dad just passed away about a month ago. Although it wasn't the purpose of the painting, I suppose you could think of it as a tribute to his Father and Grandfather, representing their farming heritage and years now finished.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxJIG_U71BNDiNleYexS8DeE518i1vAKB-JUaXWipJmntKB5BuSovVzQp3DbS3wQMBKnuI0P_ZAYr89wkgv9pJDu4aemDaI_1keGD1e7Se0f0L805kew7cDWlAdGCWm10WrWUBmsxGp98DMRvrPpnCBgFY2q4y0CSAUaAMufPNqE_HJPFsUzajuYGx=s864" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="864" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxJIG_U71BNDiNleYexS8DeE518i1vAKB-JUaXWipJmntKB5BuSovVzQp3DbS3wQMBKnuI0P_ZAYr89wkgv9pJDu4aemDaI_1keGD1e7Se0f0L805kew7cDWlAdGCWm10WrWUBmsxGp98DMRvrPpnCBgFY2q4y0CSAUaAMufPNqE_HJPFsUzajuYGx=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Litka's Winter Bales" - color pencil drawing - <span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id" dir="auto"> ©Bruce A. Morrison</span></span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> The next artwork is a color pencil drawing that about finished off a couple pencils...especially the blue one...lots of shades of blue in there! This was a winter scene about 4 miles down the road from us...on a piece of property that the owner has let me walk for years.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We have not had much snow this winter...what we did get was fairly fleeting. So both works were done from older photo files I had to dig up from my system folders. Winter images aren't the best sellers for me but I'll admit that I'm not all about supporting this habit anymore. Life is too short and doing what makes me happy has become more pleasing and important for my well being. And if something "does" strike someone and goes to a new home - that's a double good thing! </span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As I mentioned, the winter has been a dry one...we did a pasture inventory yesterday afternoon and it is obvious we cannot burn this spring unless things turn around and the rain comes. We keep mowed paths between the paddocks, and along property boundaries for fire breaks...these are usually very green once the snow melts and the spring comes. Any burning we do is helpfully controlled by the green/short mowed barriers. These "barriers" are toast brown and tinder dry this Spring. Even with "all hands on deck" (my wife and I) there is no safe and secure way to burn right now. If the rain comes, maybe a late spring burn will be possible? </span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We did do a couple limited fall burns last November though...I did an Elm sapling/volunteer killing campaign for some weeks in September and October. There were too many for me to keep up with so I went back to a woody herbicide I used many years ago for poison ivy...Garlon 4. I'm not fond of herbicides but I found myself completely at the mercy of the Elms - they multiplied exponentially over the past several years, and just plain got past me. The Elms on the neighbor's grounds are still supplying seed - even though they're all in stages of decline. </span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Garlon 4 is sprayed on, so quiet mornings with no breeze is perfect as long as the volunteers have green foliage to take it in (although I believe epidermal absorption still factors in). Several trips of spot spraying over a few weeks was necessary because there are always those plants that eluded me and some volunteers that needed multiple hits. Once the pasture was speckled with dead reddish brown leaves and no green, then I set about with seeding plans for the late fall.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It was a busy fall in 2021 for seed gathering...mostly from our own ditches and the north pasture. It wasn't as much as I needed but seed purchases are off the radar here in these times of limited income. I was able to seed maybe 60% of the northwest pasture with what I had - I seeded on December 15th as there was a winter snowstorm coming in the next day. Well...the next day we got snow...horizontal snow...our first ever recorded "Winter Derecho" - very high straight line winds. I'm sarcastically guessing that ALL of my seeding was stripped from the NW pasture, as NO snow stuck to that pasture - it was as clean as a whistle after the storm...oh well - I tried.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We had a lot of limbs down after that storm but thankfully nothing serious. We lost part of our sheep barn's roof but nothing we can't fix this spring. In that effect we were very fortunate here!</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We'll see down the road if any pleasant surprises still come about from the seeding I did. I'm not holding my breath though.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But Spring is coming! And we're looking forward to it!</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Have a Blessed Spring out there...so many will not, especially in the Ukraine and possibly the Baltics...praying for peace in this world with all my heart.</span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Please be good to one another. <br /></span></span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-33789867391573205402022-03-04T08:41:00.002-06:002022-03-04T08:41:58.173-06:00Archived Works Friday No.6!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhx2-iJtzo7PFhVc1dNkNr8Sf4UzHRt-xiR9wAHylWaUwK8LG0xUTAN-JOf1lmreekXvW2t-4fMzujOft8tUIK4YyMe7HJ0njpHJkCSKQqUEVaxFrowvl9XfFafAQcza4BNA7vXww6VqtJ1XvHQTOC6jJ-KMq7ho6W8L8OiK-3XfG3RtNSE_DygefpD=s792" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhx2-iJtzo7PFhVc1dNkNr8Sf4UzHRt-xiR9wAHylWaUwK8LG0xUTAN-JOf1lmreekXvW2t-4fMzujOft8tUIK4YyMe7HJ0njpHJkCSKQqUEVaxFrowvl9XfFafAQcza4BNA7vXww6VqtJ1XvHQTOC6jJ-KMq7ho6W8L8OiK-3XfG3RtNSE_DygefpD=s320" width="251" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc ihqw7lf3 dati1w0a" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_5pd"><div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Post No. 6! The next post for "Archived Works Friday” comes from just over a decade ago. As I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph (silkscreen prints) from the "archive" files of years past...and give a little back story on the work. I hope you'll find it interesting! </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I also want to mention, starting this month I will limit "Archival Works Friday" posts to the first Friday of the month...I don't want you tiring too quickly with my ranting! </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">This was a pencil drawing done in the early 1980's...it is a bit personal but maybe more on that before I close.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I always loved walking creeks...some of you who knew me well may have even accompanied me back "in the day". A person sees things a bit differently from "in" the creek, river, pond; I know, I could have easily grown webbed feet as a kid! But on this particular day I wasn't frogging, seining or fishing...just decked out in waders carrying a pack, tripod and camera. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The stream was Prairie Creek. If you're familiar with Dolliver State Park in north central Iowa - this is the creek you had to drive through to go from one end of the park to the other. Kids could always be found wading or playing in the water between sparse traffic on hot summer days. The road has since been re-routed for water "sensitive" drivers. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Prairie Creek has somewhat attractive features downstream before it empties in the Des Moines River, but on this early spring morning I chose to walk north to the west park boundary, since it would be new to me...besides the other direction was typically busy with park goers and I liked the idea of being by myself. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">It was a fun walk. Once past the Copperas Beds trail head and sounds of activity from the nearby group campground cabins, it got very secluded and beautiful. Accompanied by the occasional warbler and sweet spring bird songs, I found unaltered woodland and vegetation...it was like I walked into a different world. I still remember this walk nearly 40 years ago. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I didn't get too many photographs of the landscape. I did photograph some ferns, mosses and wildflowers. But one landscape image I did make was one I felt compelled to draw instead of process a print. I knew my photography and the darkroom well - it had been my profession already over a decade at this time. I was seeing the scene so differently in my mind than on the 4X5 large format color transparency that I processed from this morning walk. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The subject had a clump of Basswood in early leaf, surrounded with a thicket of scouring rush. The bank hung heavy over the creek and I noticed a set of mink tracks heading under the bank...always on the hunt for crayfish and frogs. I've watched mink fish in and along streams and marshes before - they're pretty good at it! </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Prairie Creek is a name likely given it because that's where it originated - way before it entered the sandstone walled ravines leading into the timber. And here the stream resembles those that traverse through woodlands...stones litter the flowage, decorating the water and defining patterns on the surface. This stream had poetry within it's banks and I wanted this to show.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I worked on this piece exclusively for several months - I had a daytime job at the time. Little by little I gained ground. To keep from smearing lead already placed where I wanted - I drew from the top down...never leaving a mark unfinished. Seemed counter intuitive to not put the "foundation" down first, but that's how I always worked with graphite pencil leads; making mistakes with pencil, even with an eraser handy, makes it extremely frustrating to hide the "error". (Of course something like india ink would be impossible to erase an error!)</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I only used one grade of lead – a very soft grade of Eberhard Faber – Ebony Jet Black – Extra Smooth (6325)...every light touch of the pencil equaled fine lines...heavy touches made for darks that you could get lost in. I try and draw on acid free paper. The last few years I switched to quality hot press watercolor blocks and use that for the color pencils as well now.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">My Mother was dying from bone cancer at this time...years earlier it started as breast cancer; she had a 5 year reprieve and they declared her cancer free. As suddenly as we all celebrated, it was back, but in her bones. In her last weeks I worked frantically on this drawing. I wanted her to see it finished. My Mom always supported my artistic endeavors and trials. She was actually a good artist herself but was a practical person who had grown up during the great depression...providing for her family, along with our Father, was “her” focus and she did little for herself in comparison. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">One day, when I was around 13-14 years old, Mom showed me something she had done as a teenager. If you are my age or close you'll know what I'm referring to – it was a magazine ad...”Draw Me” from Art Instruction Schools in Minneapolis...I had done the same thing without knowing she had years before. She and Dad agreed I could enroll. It was a mail order type art school and the lessons were good for me...made me focus and think things through. But I always thought back on this and wished my Mother had the circumstances she and my Father now provided me.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Mother never got to see “An Iowa Spring, Prairie Creek” finished. I was just reaching the water beneath the overhanging bank in the drawing when she last saw my progress...she passed shortly after. But I did it for her and I think of her every time I look at this drawing...its my visual song to my Mother; a poem to her memory.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">“An Iowa Spring, Prairie Creek” - pencil drawing - ©Bruce A. Morrison</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">(from the collection of the artist)</div></div></span></span></span></b></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-46089430292632282032022-02-25T10:15:00.000-06:002022-02-25T10:15:07.868-06:00Archived Works Friday - No. 5!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYdOHihPomOUTaAMQyZqGU_yT_Ds4OzD07Ax1GzWJz6nijgKGGVpmR1nlLin8-hwNwndwvDx_UHBvJwbS0v7_rdWmpOw6THD1VV4EAnW3u-ZNz9xh90eC5XyvDwNzTIJzqJyFfhQOoaOGR-T7SpnLvp7FbyzdQbHixrAHtTMx0gBAXEksbLVGrcYnm=s1008" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="1008" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYdOHihPomOUTaAMQyZqGU_yT_Ds4OzD07Ax1GzWJz6nijgKGGVpmR1nlLin8-hwNwndwvDx_UHBvJwbS0v7_rdWmpOw6THD1VV4EAnW3u-ZNz9xh90eC5XyvDwNzTIJzqJyFfhQOoaOGR-T7SpnLvp7FbyzdQbHixrAHtTMx0gBAXEksbLVGrcYnm=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="1j148-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1j148-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Post No. 5! The next post for "Archived Works Friday” comes from just over a decade ago. As I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph (silkscreen prints) from the "archive" files of years past...and give a little back story on the work. I hope you'll find it interesting! </span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="9p4v4-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9p4v4-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="e2fol-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="e2fol-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I've done a few commissioned works since my early years...some that were kind of "out there" and some I never expected. I've forgotten many of them too I'm sure, and I don't even have records or photos of some of these. But a more recent memorable commission was done for a good friend 11 years back, yet was months in making. This commission wasn't exactly up my alley either but the story behind it and the "landmark" it entailed got me interested - commemorating (if-you-will) my friend's Saturday morning trips to a local grain elevator with her father, back when she was a child. </span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="87nvl-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="87nvl-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="4f59s-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4f59s-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The elevator is one I was familiar with, have driven past and around it for 40+ years. What I didn't know were some of the history and stories behind the "Ritter Elevator" - was fun to research and depict the elevator during the early 1950's! This elevator is located on old highway 60, a few miles north of Sheldon, and just south of Ashton, in NW Iowa. This was a thriving grain storage facility and I believe still is. (Although the modernized part of the facility is just south of this depiction.) What surprised me about the Ritter Elevator was that, "back in the day" it also served as a hardware, lumber, and grocery store, as well as a post office and train station. Need to catch a train south to Sheldon, Hospers or even Sioux City? No problem! Pretty cool for the rural population of the day.</span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="7r83r-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7r83r-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="av3n7-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="av3n7-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the painting, the red IH box truck was my client's father's truck, supplied by an old B&W photo (they described the color of the truck to me). I added the figure at the rear side of the old IH and declared that it was her father! I took the rest of the vehicles from the area and other sources - just so they fit the time period. I consulted a neighbor about what would fit that time period of the early 50's and he was very helpful - the red tractor is his father's Farmall "M" and their flare-box wagon (that I painted a color to suit the painting). </span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="6d30t-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6d30t-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="a8m5u-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a8m5u-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The house was the elevator's caretaker's home...it had a deck added onto the front when I photographed it...decks weren't a thing here in the early 50's so it had to go. I did keep the color similar to what it still was...just a call on my part. </span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="42rj1-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="42rj1-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="7orfn-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7orfn-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As I mentioned - the vehicles were of that period, but the hardest to rectify was the box cars believe it or not. Georgie and I drove all around rail yards in the area photographing box cars, but none seemed right - they were too new or recent. Then I spent hours online looking and researching box cars. I found that there are just no box cars in use today that would have been used back in the early 50's...I found that the rail cars I needed to work from would've been built in the 30's and they had all been virtually scraped and no longer in use. I combed pages everywhere in all the search engines to no avail - until I hit a "model railroading" site that had highly detailed images and explanations of those box cars from the 30's-50's...amazing I had to draw from hobbyist models to maintain accuracy of the period! I even talked with a friend, that just recently passed away, who described shoveling grain out of the cars up at the Ritter Elevator, "way back when", after getting into a bit of trouble as a kid - that this was his punishment...quite interesting all the stories that materialize with doing research for just a painting!</span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="b3ub5-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="b3ub5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="bi2us-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bi2us-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After the painting had been finished I made some prints for the client's family members and then even folks from farms nearby; and one who actually grew up living in the care-taker's home. Really fun conversations were had over this iconic stop along the rail and farm roads of many years gone by.</span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="28dra-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="28dra-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="3tkh3-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3tkh3-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If my friend had just approached me about "an idea", I doubt I would have taken it on. But there was so much evidence and even first hand knowledge to gather - and the actual site was still there to visit; it opened the door to possibilities I could visualize. I will admit it - my inclination is mostly visual...concepts and ideas are invaluable, and I try to incorporate them when I find guiding evidence I can "see". It is "all" of these considerations that dictate commissioned work in the studio here to this day.</span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="3g3gk-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3g3gk-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="956t5-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="956t5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"The Ritter Elevator" - oil painting - ©Bruce A. Morrison (from a Minnesota private collection) </span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="2scoh-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2scoh-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="4aqn7" data-offset-key="78abj-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="78abj-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(This and other archived artwork can be viewed at - <a href="https://morrisons-studio.com/archived-works/"><span class="py34i1dx">https://morrisons-studio.com/archived-works/</span></a> )</span></span></b></span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-63056222654694837092022-02-18T15:53:00.000-06:002022-02-18T15:53:35.491-06:00Archived Works friday - No.4!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTe7kRdbSj3vned6LTuQaozgC6DaUyMNIfHGLvWeZxggslIVnDkXdtR2twgPxXPkW34SJNkknREV9zepa55In4CkMuW_x237loCs6QD5K3h4F6YqlHAM9_x882GKP2kOnw0PlKa8eZHHKDr_9ZC3MqtrHHDX3JHqkymWW54w1Q-wuG18ANjdW8Rjiu=s951" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="792" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTe7kRdbSj3vned6LTuQaozgC6DaUyMNIfHGLvWeZxggslIVnDkXdtR2twgPxXPkW34SJNkknREV9zepa55In4CkMuW_x237loCs6QD5K3h4F6YqlHAM9_x882GKP2kOnw0PlKa8eZHHKDr_9ZC3MqtrHHDX3JHqkymWW54w1Q-wuG18ANjdW8Rjiu=s320" width="266" /></a></div><p></p><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc ihqw7lf3 dati1w0a" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_118"><div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Post No. 4! The next post for "Archived Works Friday” comes as a pair from the mid 1980's. As I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph (silkscreen prints) from the "archive" files of years past...and give a little back story on the work. I hope you'll find it interesting!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Back in the 1980's I experimented with floating bird blinds; the kind you take pictures from. I took my first one out to a favorite marsh. it was a floating "bass buddy"...maybe I'm not getting the name right but it was essentially a nylon zippered slip cover that fit over an inner-tube, with a seat sewn in for the "occupant". It made a "bobber" out of the wearer! It was actually made for a fisherman to wade and float around on small ponds and fish from it...I guess the idea was to make you more mobile and get you out to where the fish were without a boat.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I got the brilliant idea that I could use it as a floating bird photography blind. I made a dome of chicken wire mesh and covered it in cattails which I tied to it - trying to imitate a muskrat hut. Great idea huh!???? I wore chest high waders and walked the blind out until I lost contact with the bottom, then just kind of bobbed around and "paddled" with my feet...took some getting used to but eventually made my way to a clump of reeds and anchored my feet around them to try and hold still.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">It was kind of hit and miss that first try out on the marsh...muskrats would swim by and look at me like "what on earth!?". Thankfully none tried to “enter” the hut!!! An occasional Yellow-headed Blackbird would land on top of me - where I couldn't get its picture of course! The neatest encounter this first trip in the blind was an American Bittern - I had never been so close to one before! It was up clinging to the rushes trying to get a better look at this "thing" (my blind) - it was probably thinking "This wasn't here earlier!?". I did my best to get shots with the camera but it was difficult with the blind bobbing with every move I'd make.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">This was back way before digital cameras. I didn't even have auto focus back then and shooting Ektachrome E-6 film that I'd process myself. The photos didn't turn out too bad. The Bittern's body was somewhat hidden by the reeds as it climbed along. As I looked at several of the slides I picked some out and created a composition from them - trying to portray the bird among the rushes without it's features being so obscured from view.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I first did a detailed pencil sketch, and was fairly pleased with it...but I was looking for something a bit more "graphic" in presentation and decided to do a serigraph (silk screen print) of it. I won't get into the details of that process this time, as its very lengthy. I had been accepted into the international "Birds in Art" exhibition the year before with a pencil drawing and thought I'd try entering again with a serigraph...I wanted to prove to myself that the acceptance the year before was not just a "flash in the pan".</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The design was drawn directly on separate screens from the original pencil composition and broken down into solid colors...the exhibition deadline was fast approaching and I was having great difficulty registering colors and getting everything to look like I wanted. I finally managed to get one that I liked and hurriedly got it entered in time for the deadline.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">It was accepted! I was over the moon and beside myself... once again being included in the prestigious international Bird Art exhibition "Birds in Art". Rubbing shoulders with artists from every continent was very humbling - I could see how far I had to go to even measure up to what work I was seeing.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">As a side note on my maiden voyage on the marsh - when I had been out on the water, the wind had come up from the south and soon I had white caps! I was a good 100-150 yards out from shore and the wind was taking me to the other side of the marsh! It took all of an hour, or more to fight my way back to the landing. Completely played out, I drug myself into the car and turned on the radio - it was giving high winds/watercraft warnings for the day! NO KIDDING!!???</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I revised my "floating blind" design - used marine plywood with foam filled pontoons, a lighter camo covered chicken wire frame that sat on top, and a platform for a tripod "head" to affix the camera and lens...so much better! (and safer) Still have it today...hanging out in the studio shed. Just need the time and "energy" to take it out again into the marshes...sounds like "The Old Man and the Sea" revisited to me!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">"Rush Lake, American Bittern - Study" - pencil drawing - ©Bruce A. Morrison (from an Iowa private collection)</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">"Rush Lake, American Bittern" - serigraph - ©Bruce A. Morrison (from the Permanent Collection of the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI)</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">(These and other archived artwork can be viewed at - <span><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 py34i1dx" href="https://morrisons-studio.com/archived-works/?fbclid=IwAR0ooMMz7EuTCfg-u4lRny8P3hMw-bIwHWAUczfDe_bfKhn60PZQzeIuPJM" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://morrisons-studio.com/archived-works/</a></span> )</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div></span></span></span></b></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862955605688120542.post-59032209989102315942022-02-12T08:27:00.000-06:002022-02-12T08:27:06.040-06:00Archived Works Friday! (Uh...Saturday!)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5BetK7FAECZxfiiXd13V0lGkOMbKhj8PoSr1zEZo7Z4wWl2Gf69nuCtsV86uu9OZ9j9VgegfgVXCCQpcDphrtm4DeNWfzcV-BqmZxnvU7vLvD5DCFJGmj7KMIJ8Uyblvu4JLbsErfKpdYew0KIC6nLdpiqphSXn800rOmcbkHwQIZYq64Lgv3XQLi=s1080" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="648" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5BetK7FAECZxfiiXd13V0lGkOMbKhj8PoSr1zEZo7Z4wWl2Gf69nuCtsV86uu9OZ9j9VgegfgVXCCQpcDphrtm4DeNWfzcV-BqmZxnvU7vLvD5DCFJGmj7KMIJ8Uyblvu4JLbsErfKpdYew0KIC6nLdpiqphSXn800rOmcbkHwQIZYq64Lgv3XQLi=s320" width="192" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The next post for "Archived Works Friday” is a color pencil drawing from 37 years ago. As I mentioned before - I'll post a painting, drawing or serigraph (silkscreen print) from the "archive" files of years past...and give a little back story on the work. I hope you'll find it interesting! </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Hardly any of us are strangers to color pencils...who didn't play with them as kids...they were less messy than crayons, but not as color filled with contrast and pigment as crayons were. The color pencils “of old” had wax based pencil leads and broke very easily, nearly impossible to erase and hard to get some “punch” out of!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">My first (semi serious) attempts at color pencil were of birds of prey...I believe it was a Peregrine Falcon on a cliff above a waterfall or something like that. I have lost a clear memory of it – maybe out of self preservation! I do remember exhibiting it and some others at the first Ft Dodge sidewalk art fair when I was around 12 years old. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">Years later I became aware that this “second class” medium was getting more attention. People were really starting to do some impressive work with them; and the pencils themselves were a much higher quality and even more permanent than they had ever been years back. I started experimenting with them and found they were “fun”! </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">In the mid 1980's (and earlier) the state and national conservation stamps had become all the rage and artists were going out of their way to enter into the competitions for them. The Federal Duck Stamp was the holy grail. These “stamp” artists and contests even made their way into American lore in the 1996 movie “Fargo”, where a pregnant police woman from Brainerd, MN is bent on solving some murders, while her husband stays home entering duck stamp competitions. Ha! Funny stuff for such a dark comedic crime thriller!!!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I decided to try one of Iowa's conservation stamp contests in 1985...I was fond of fly fishing and decided I'd do a Brook Trout, since they are actually native to the far NE Iowa cold water streams. The Iowa Brookies are pretty small delicate trout, matching the small spring fed streams they originate in. I, in all my “great wisdom” (ha!!!!) decided I'd make my Brook Trout a real hog and impress the judges! (Oh boy...where was my head?) Anyway, I decided to do the Brook Trout in color pencil, as I was getting pretty confident with this medium.</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">On the day of the Iowa Conservation Stamps Judging in Des Moines, we decided to go down and actually witness it! This was pretty exciting stuff for us “wannabe stamp artists”!!! When the Trout Stamp entries were shown I searched all through the images to find mine (of course) and was horrified! They hung mine up “SIDEWAYS!!!!” Auuughhhh! I could not say anything as the judges were not to know the identity of the artists (no artwork was signed on the front). After anguishing over what had happened, and as the judges were finishing their deliberations – another artist across the room pointed out that they had a picture hanging sideways – (THANK YOU!!!)...leave it to an artist to recognize something so obvious to any “SANE PERSON”!!!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">The judges all stepped over to my drawing...one of them reached out and turned the picture upright...they talked among themselves for half a minute maybe, turned around and announced my big fat Brookie as the selection for the Iowa Trout Stamp for 1985!!!! </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">This comedy of errors was transferred to the actual stamps when they were printed...I was again horrified when I received my stamps to sell with my prints – they were printed WRONG! I did NOT want to sell sideways stamps with my prints and contacted the Iowa DNR. Well...they would not reprint the stamps -there were 30,000 of them! BUT...after a bit of soul searching they agreed to reprint 300 the correct way so each of the 300 prints in my limited edition would have a correct one...I had to make an agreement that the only way someone could buy a correct stamp was to buy a print...how much dumb luck can I wrap myself in!!!!???? It was just nuts. </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">It soon hit the news across the country that 30,000 1985 Iowa Trout stamps had been incorrectly printed and “ONLY” 300 had been printed correctly! I was busy for a couple weeks shipping prints and correct stamps everywhere across the country and even got into a bidding war over the original drawing. It was almost as crazy as a movie, but without murder and mayhem – thank goodness!!!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">I've stuck with color pencils ever since – only the modern ones are like day and night compared to those of those crazy days in the 80's and earlier!</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">(This drawing and other archived artwork can be viewed at - <span><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 py34i1dx" href="https://morrisons-studio.com/archived-works/?fbclid=IwAR0d_x0MDllE2GQ8L3pw53NJD53xpKxn55kTbpbEM3-pxaf44dLDi90ij1k" rel="nofollow noopener" role="link" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://morrisons-studio.com/archived-works/</a></span> )</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">"Brook Trout – 1985 Iowa Trout Stamp" – color pencil drawing - © Bruce A. Morrison</div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;">(from a California private collection)</div></div></span></b></span></span><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Painting, Photography, and the Tallgrass Prairie are passions of mine.
Finding time for both can be a challenge! Stop by from
time to time and join me in the process.</div>Prairie Painterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03947750675945506908noreply@blogger.com0