Blue Jay "Party"

Went to pick raspberries here this afternoon and the birds were just flushing out of the patch everywhere; don't mind sharing, and besides, many were there for the bugs not the berries. If you read the previous blog - yes - the raspberries "sorta" survived the early frost we had a week or so back.

The usual fare of Catbirds and Brown Thrashers were there enjoying the berries, but we had our first Harris Sparrows of the fall there as well...counted nearly a dozen.

Blue Jay
(prismacolor on board)

The big surprise was the Blue Jay population had suddenly become overwhelming. We usually have 15-30 birds at a time in the Fall but we knew we had at least twice as many, maybe more. Then while berry picking, the Blue Jays began to pass by in droves...we lost count around "80" and still had birds in the yard!

Soon a Sharpie (Sharp-shinned Hawk) showed up cruising the grove and the yard got quieter for awhile...except in the berry patch where the Catbirds were still having lunch.

A question came to mind as the Blue Jays passed through "If a flock of Crows is a 'Murder', what is a flock of noisy Blue Jays? A "Riot" or a "Rumble" might work...

I've actually updated this post and changed the title, as I was shown a site that gives the names for bird "groups" http://www.birdnature.com/groupnames.html ...a group of Blue Jays is actually called a "Band" or a "Party".

Well they seemed to be having one (party) so I guess it's fitting !

Morning Frost on the Prairie

Well the raspberry patch at Prairie Hill Farm Studio may be done a couple weeks earlier then we're used to; had a good frost this morning. Guess it's down to rationing to get us through the winter!

I was hoping to photograph more Monarchs in the prairie here before it came to this, maybe we can still draw some butterflies migrating through from Minnesota and Ontario?

Monarch feeding on Liatris aspera

Early morning photography on the tallgrass in the late summer or fall is an elixir for the soul; occasionally the colors and subject matter come together as if there were no better time.

The Monarch Butterflies love Liatris and the L. aspera (Rough Blazing Star) is one of the last ones to really hang on well to the prairie remnant hillside here.

I've always felt isolating the background with closeup subjects like this is the best way to present them. It means a much shallower depth of field than you might like for the main subject (in this case - the Monarch and the Liatris) but trying to keep the film plane as parallel to that subject as possible, helps minimize that drawback. Keeping the butterfly's head and eyes in focus is probably the most critical issue...our visual process will tend to treat it as "in focus" if you do.

I'm going to hold out for the warm weather next week to bring more Monarchs visitors; hopefully I'll be here when they show up!

2007 Plein Air Artist Invitational

Spent the first half of the day working with the video camera on glacial morains, and kames, and kettleholes, taping Argiope Spiders wrapping prey in their webs; filming pioneer cemeteries in Osceola and O'Brien County...how much fun can a person have in one day?!!

"Summer Pasture"
(Oil on canvas 9"X12")

When I got home I found out one of my paintings in the Plein Air Artist Invitational at the Pearson Lakes Art Center was chosen by the Judge as one of the award winners...another nice thing for the day!

I'll be spending my $100 winnings on the studio gallery, which just got set back a bit by the contractor again...maybe we'll lose that roof by October???

The "Summer Pasture" was my favorite piece of the summer, so it is only even more of a pleasant thing that the person judging the exhibit felt the same way.

Keep positive, efforts are often times unrecognized! If it pleases you and you give your best effort, it is still worthwhile, even if no one notices. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Late Summer on the Tallgrass

This time of the year on the prairie here is sublime, yet I do ponder the rush into autumn that seems to be steaming our way!

There's a great deal going on in the north pasture, and in many other prairies we've been visiting the past couple weeks. We've been filming the prairies here and there in our corner of the state and they all have the same residents and forbs (wild flowers) celebrating their time in the sun.

Liatris punctata with a Common Sulphur

One August prairie forb that has to be a favorite here is the Dotted Liatris (Liatris punctata). It covers the gravelly hilltops here and at several state preserves and prairie areas. It compliments the Western Wheat grass that drifts up our slopes, peeking out and rising above in the crest of drying grasses.

We're also very fond of the insects that work the liatris like iron filings to a magnet - the butterflies, moths, and bees!

I love photographing insects...why, I suppose there's several reasons. But with butterflies, it's obvious. They are quite beautiful and fleeting; as are the flowers of the tallgrass.

Take in the natural areas and enjoy the late summer days!

Nostalgia - Sights and Sounds and Smells (almost)

A "sense of place" has moved through my mind nearly every adult day of my life; I find it both melancholy and an anchor to other times. The sounds, sights, and smells of a summer's day is a typical theme for this experience.



Years ago I did quite a bit of video work for college program recruitment...the old analog - insert and assemble editing. Today it's much different with computer software and digital video equipment.

Join me for a quick (less than 3 minutes) walk this summer morning, through the pasture/prairie remnant we call Prairie Hill Farm...a walk I hope to take for years to come, before heading into the studio for the day's work.

(Please do not hesitate to enter comments on this blog! It helps me to do better and it helps draw more people into the process. Thank you!)

Again - A Prairie Pothole

As mentioned previously, I'm rather enamored with prairie potholes in our region of the country. There are far more in Minnesota than NW Iowa, but I'm still grateful we have what we have managed to save from the field tile.

"Summer Afternoon - West of Spring Run"
9"X12" oil on Canvas

The skies are so fleeting and hard to seize into memory...sometimes I do better than others. I choose to let the sky dominate this 9X12 oil study of a wetland just west of Spring Run in Dickinson County. I may try to carry this study further some cold winter's night...we'll see.

It's August already and the summer has passed things I'd hoped to pursue. What's a person to do? Come back in another life and finish where you left off?!

I'm not pondering anything new am I...

Enjoy while it lasts.

July Afternoon - Compass Plant

This has been a wonderful summer for both Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed) and Silphium laciniatum (Compass Plant)! They are robust and showy every where we've ventured this July.

We arrived at Prairie Hill Farm in October of 2002 and I scattered what seed I'd managed to collect, in bare places around our gravel hill side prairie. Some of that seed was Compass Plant.

"July Afternoon - Compass Plant"
(oil on canvas 6"X8")

Compass Plant is a Tallgrass Prairie icon. And it is a stately plant, providing a great perch high among the forbs and grasses it competes with. It provides grassland birds with a great source of seed throughout the fall and early winter. And I particularly love its great thick/leathery leaves, almost huge oak-like in presence.

My first Compass Plant bloomed on our prairie this summer, right where I'd spread those seeds in the fall of 2002. We celebrated! It was great! It's still putting on blooms and ignoring the arid weather we've been experiencing for the 2nd summer in a row.

The leaves show readily the year or two after a seeding. For the next 2 years or so they (their leaves) become large and prominent. But you must be patient! Finally in their 4-6 year they put up a mighty stock of flowers - they have arrived!

I painted this small pochade with my camera as "the composer". I find it difficult to isolate the flowers and grasses on the Tallgrass...the camera's lens compresses it for me and I can move about to get a pleasing composition I can work with. I included a Butterfly Milkweed in the back ground as a grounded spot of heavy color and shape, but left it out of focus to give the long awaited Compass Plant leaves and blooms a much deserved place in the back lit spotlight.

Keep cool this summer and look about and enjoy it all!