Late to the Party!

 

"Little Sioux River Valley-Autumn" - color pencil drawing - ©Bruce A. Morrison

It's Autumn and I'm late to the party!  What can I say?  We haven't been complacent or lazy, there is just so much needing attention around here!

Like our neighbors, we are busy harvesting seed since the wet period of the past month finally ceased.  We didn't get a lot of rain here, it was just "wet" every day it seemed.  You just cannot harvest seed when its wet or damp...not a good move. 

We don't have a lot of ground here, but everything is done by hand.  Our only machine assistance is my old '82 electric golf cart and our riding mower.  The mower simply keeps the firebreaks clear for late fall or late winter/early spring burns.  My old "Prairie Schooner"...the 1982 EZ-GO golf cart is my support carrier of buckets, weeding assist vehicle and transporter of old people (me).  I will admit this...I am feeling my age...not fun!  

I really felt my Prairie Schooner's absence for several weeks this summer when the speed board melted down after arcing over some metal contact on the board. Luckily the cart is not complicated...if it was a combustion engine, I would have had to take it somewhere for repairs.  I was able to fix it myself, however the parts are not as available as I'd like, making them harder to find.  A supplier I was used to using, held me up for weeks before I gave up and looked elsewhere. I hope I can keep the schooner running as long as I still am!

Hauling out Lambsquarter from the south pasture planting.

 

During the beastly hot summer, I spent most of my pasture time in the early evenings, pulling and cutting weeds in last winter's planting in the bottom of the south pasture.  That planting was more successful than I had hoped!  It should shake out really well for the future.  But it was a Lambsquarter, Marestail and Pigweed mecca...there was a ton in the seed bank there, as was there Brome seed.  

The Brome was handled with a grass herbicide and may well need a couple more years of followup there.

Great results from last winter's seeding! (All of the above)

 

Seed harvest is underway! 

 

But ya, seed harvest is under way - we are looking at a small section above the north pasture, that is shaded about 2/3 of the day...it has some volunteer New England Aster and some limited other species, so this will be an ongoing experiment for a while.  Kind of fun to see what can come of it.  The section used to be a part of the north grove.  The previous owners tried removing about half of that grove and introduced brome and quackgrass...kind of a mess. we'll work to at least eventually make something more native out of the section.

The neighbor's Avery Thrasher...B.E. (Before Elms!)

I have another planting project - this time for our neighbor.  A few years back, our neighbor brought an old Avery Thrasher and placed it upon a knoll behind us.  He wanted to know if I could do a prairie planting around it for him...this was back around the beginning of our 4 year drought that started in 2020.  The planting did not work out well and the planted area only gave us 3 foot tall brome...nasty!

I pretty much gave up on it and the following years have brought fourth an Elm and Ash forest. BAD!  The last thing we need is a forest of elm seeding our pasture.  I've spent hours over the past 5 years cutting and trying to kill hundreds of Elm and Ash seedlings.  This is not winnable if trees just feet from our property keep raining seed down on us.  (This is now an issue on our south pasture as the neighbor's ground is growing dozens and dozens of Elms there as well.) 

This fall the neighbor agreed to let me try and plant around his Avery again...it was now being buried behind 10 -15 foot Elms.  He can hardly see his "prize" possession from the road now...the Elms are beginning to block it completely.

So, I have a mission.  We are collecting seed for the neighbor and spent yesterday cutting out the smaller trees around the thrasher.  Then I mowed tall brome all around the Avery and partially down the side of the knob...we'll just plant maybe 20-25 feet down the slope and directly around it.  I'll go back and cut tighter in a couple weeks - we can't burn there, so we need to expose as much dirt as possible.  We'll plan for a late fall or early winter planting and do some brome spraying come spring...with follow ups. 

Elms growing around and under the Thrasher.

 

We still have some larger Elms to cut down and many 6-18 inch clumps of volunteers that we'll spray if possible.  The chain saw will have to come out for the big trees - Elms can grow FAST!  I should have taken some shots yesterday before we started this project...I only have one showing some small elms growing underneath and around one side...doesn't give the issue justice. 

Our first frost is due in two days...then it'll be on to Indian Summer weather!

We're late to the party but trying to catch up! 

Please be good to one another - we are all in this together.  

 

Ugh! Hot...

 

"Showy Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canadense)" - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

Showy Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canadense) is a very attractive plant here in our two small native pastures in SE O'Brien County. A fairly tall plant at times and very attractive leaf structure and flowers.

Many years back in the late 80's or early 90's, I found Steele Prairie in Cherokee County, completely inundated with it - a virtual pink sea of Showy Tick Trefoil!

I find this plant a very easy one to collect seed each fall...just put on a cotton sweatshirt and walk through it! Next thing you know you've got their velcro-like seed stuck all over you! When I'm finished, I take the sweatshirt off and go inside and sit down to a good TV show or movie and just pick seed off for the next hour or so! Easy Peasy!!!

For a quick, closer look at Showy Tick Trefoil, go to the following link -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9FST8oV-Cg

"Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum)" - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

I've fallen well behind what is happening in our pasture here in SE O'Brien County. If there's anything that is taking over mid summer here as usual, it has to be the Cup Plants (Silphium perfoliatum). 

I actually carry a "saw" for these. Yes you heard me right...I have to saw down troublesome clumps that are encroaching or smothering out plants that are needing help "staying and thriving". They clump with many plants per stand, and this steals a LOT of real estate in a small pasture! 

I was once advised by my original prairie mentor, to resist the siren call of Cup Plant...'don't give it a new home", was his advice to me. I'm sometimes a poor listener.

 

The first plant I was foolish to grow became "THE" Goldfinch magnet of it's surroundings...it was like crack cocaine to our little state bird...they just could not get enough of it!

 

The summer morning dew and infrequent rain showers (here in SE O'Brien County anyway), collect in the leaves that clasp completely around the stems, giving the Goldfinches, Dickcissels, Sedge Wrens, etc. a good drink during the summer heat. And unfortunately the mosquitos like the many choices of pools for their larvae! 

 

The Cup Plant's leaf structure is amazing; the flowers quite numerous and showy; the height - impressive! 

 

For a closer look at Cup Plants you can visit a short "A Prairie Moment" video on my channel at this link - 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO0WpFWV3f4

Thank You for visiting!  Please remember to be good to one another - we're all in this together!

 

Turning It Up! (Look for some shade in the meantime)

"Canada Milk Vetch (Astragalus canadensis)" - photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

This heat is really pushing things along...hate seeing stuff mature and finish up so quickly. I've actually missed the peak on a few things here like the Lead Plants, Compass Plants, Showy Tick Trefoil...too preoccupied with other stuff.

I did have a nice patch of Canada Milk Vetch just peaking in the south pasture a couple days back. Its near the bottom where the new late 2025 planting was done. This can't be a new plant though - too big! It must have gotten a head start the year before and just missed seeing it.

 

Although not a colorful plant, the Canada Milk Vetch (Astragalus canadensis) can make up for that in its structure, form, and pollinator value. We see plenty of hummingbirds, and butterflies on this plant, and this species is also one of the host plants for the Clouded Sulphur butterfly. 

 

We find it quite happy on our gravel slopes and in the wetter bottom mesic areas. This is a Legume and most legume species contribute beneficial bacteria called rhizobia on their roots. Strains of this bacterium aids in the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen - improving long-term health of native plant communities.

 

You can visit my channel for a short video at the following link -

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTyIrfrVjec

"Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)" - Photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

We've introduced a few species in our pastures over the years; not many though, just things that are documented or found within a 30 mile radius of us - and suited to our soils and conditions. I still occasionally find things nearby that aren't on our ground, so we constantly weigh what should have been here decades ago, yet perhaps aren't now due to stresses like spraying and/or heavy grazing.

 

One thing we introduced a few years back, that seems very happy to be here, is Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum). Our pastures are just 2 miles from Clay County and this native (but uncommon in the area) Hyssop has been recorded there next door to us in the past. In researching the Anise Hyssop, I thought with the potential location and soil characteristics, the possibility of this plant having actually been here 150 years ago, is not entirely out of the realms of possibility. (I chose the bottom ground which is more mesic than our hillside eskers, yet still well drained and a drier soil).

 

Anise Hyssop (Agastache Foeniculum) grows in clumps 2 to 3.5 feet tall, featuring strong stems topped with slender spikes of lavender-purple flowers that persist through midsummer. The leaves are a greenish color above and whitish underneath...crushing one will give off the scent of anise.

 

Some plants just began to peak here a couple mornings ago, so I went out with the dawn and got some nice shots. Each year these plants seem to persist and bloom almost into late August or early September!

 

Anise Hyssop is a magnet for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, as well as night flying moths.

 

You can view a short video done late last summer, on my chammel at the following link - 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9_vFD_q2Ts

 

Thank you for visiting the blog; I hope you are keeping cool out there.  And Remember, please be good to one another - we are all in this together!

 

Last Day of Spring!

The last day of spring - can you believe it!!!?  I've got a few thing to cover before the summer solstice tomorrow, but I can't get to them all...here's a couple to tide things over a bit! 

Prairie Liliy (or Wood Lily) - Lilium philadelphicum - photo ©Bruce A. Morrison

Our Prairie Lilies have begun blooming here on our north pasture. Last year we were robbed of blooms due to rabbits…snipped the bud right off as it swelled to almost bloom. Unfortunately I had to cage them to prevent a repeat of that this year. Frustrating!!! (The year before, voles dug up two bulbs...a small pasture has a lot of negative pressure!)

 

I have noticed the Range map "Floristic Synthesis of North America (BONAP)", lists this plant - Lilium philadelphicum , as not present in O'Brien County...well they are wrong. I first observed and photographed Lilium philadelphicum in O'Brien County, on the Waterman Prairie Complex in Waterman Township, in SE O'Brien. And that was the year before the complex was turned over to the state. I was alerted to the pending acquisition early by a DNR official who gave me permission to walk it and look for native plants to photograph. I remember he was surprised when I showed him a slide (ya, remember slide film?) of a plant in bloom.

 

Prairie Liliy (or Wood Lily) - Lilium philadelphicum - photo ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

I previously knew Lilium philadelphicum as "Wood Liliy", and used to see and photograph them along the shoreline of the north shore of Lake Superior. It was pretty cool to learn they were a prairie forb as well! I have since found them at Steele Prairie, just below the O'Brien County border in Cherokee County. When on the Prairie I refer to them as Prairie Lilies...up north I think of them as Wood Lilies...I guess its the most common native Lily in North America - that's fun to know!

 

We have two more plants coming up...one is in early bud stage now...the other may not put one on this year...not showing any sign of budding soon.

 

These are electric to the eye against the green for sure!

 

Prairie Garlic (Allium canadense) - Photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

And its that time in the native pasture here in SE O'Brien County where so much is happening, and often things are starting to get buried in the under-story, going unnoticed. But I always look for this one - even if I have to dig through the taller plants for it.

 

Sometimes referred to as Prairie Garlic, Wild Garlic or Meadow Garlic, this native prairie plant is the first Allium to show up on our pasture in the summer. By early June it can be seen down among the grasses and new plant growth, reaching for an opening of sunlight. You'll see their top-set bulbs form before the flowers...and the white and pink blossoms reach out beyond the knobby bulblets - creating almost a starburst effect.

 

Since the Mrs grows lots of garlic in her garden, we don't need to sample this beautiful little native Allium - just enjoy it's showy progression in the late spring through early summer!

If you'd like to view "A Prairie Moment" short video of Wild Garlic, you can do so on my channel at the following link - 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGB1KEW1iYE

 

Get out and enjoy the outdoors if you can - its amazing when you do!

 

Thank you for visiting my blog - enjoy the summer ahead - and be good to one another...we're all in this together!

 

More Whites of Spring!

Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron strigosus) - photograph ©Bruce A. Morrison

 

A very common native "virtually everywhere", is Daisy Fleabane.

Daisy Fleabane is described as an annual or biennial plant of 1 - 3 feet tall, with Individual flowerheads of about ½" across - having a daisy-like appearance.

This native flower of roadsides, yards, pastures and prairies is probably so taken for granted by many because of it's familiarity. It seems to show up and thrive in just about any niche it finds. Although it seemingly prefers mesic to drier soils and full sun, it will also thrive in more fertile locations without heavy competition. Those here on our small native prairie pastures in SE O'Bruien County do best along the gravel hillside slopes.

Its a pleasant multiple flowered plant, cheering up any space it occupies.

If you'd like to view "A Prairie Moment" short video of Daisy Fleabane, you can do so at the following link -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEt7RNhaDuU

Foxglove Penstemon or Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) - photographs - ©Bruce A. Morrison

Another Penstemon sp. here in the north pasture (SE O'Brien County) is the Foxglove Penstemon or Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis). About 3' tall, it shows up with its multiple small (1") white flowers and blooms for about 3-4 weeks. Another great plant for Bees, flies and Hummingbirds. I only find it in the pasture bottom, not up on the gravel slopes, not that it couldn't show up there, I just think its in its happy spot and so it stays.

 

This plant shows up on the BONAP maps as not being in our county, but does show up in Dickinson County...which touches the NE corner of O'Brien. How'd it get here? Well possibly from the IRVM seedings in the area (County seed source) or it might have been here or nearby at some point in time...I can't say...I'm just happy its here!

 

Also, if you'd like to view "A Prairie Moment" video of Penstemon digitalis, you can do so at the following link -

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkMLCd98WUs

 

Although we'll be seeing more whites as the season moves along - the colors will get more mixed and we'll see these as the days move into summer!

 

If we ever get a reprieve from the heat we've been experiencing - get out and enjoy a prairie preserve near you!

 

Thank You for visiting my blog - please remember to be good to another...we're all in this together!

 

Prairie Marching Along

Prairie Spiderwort or Long-bracted Spiderwort (Tradescantia bracteat) - photograph ©Bruce A. Morrison

Our Prairie Spiderwort is going strong in the pasture here in SE O'Brien County, but we now have to part the fast growing late Spring/Early Summer grasses and plants to find them! These are Prairie Spiderworts (Tradescantia bracteata); beautiful little flowers much more petite than their domesticated relatives of city gardens, or their native relative the Ohio Spiderwort. And their blossoms can range from magenta to a deep blue. Come late afternoon, the blossoms will become soft and dissolve, making way for a new one the next morning.

 

I only find these in the north pasture, and in two separate populations...interestingly a population along the south slope on the gravel esker here. And another population in the bottom of the north pasture's southeast corner. This little Spiderwort seems to prefer a more dry, gravely soil, and those up on the gravel esker slope look very happy each year I look for them, but those just a hundred feet or so away seem just as accepting to their location.

 

I have a "Prairie Moment" video for this Prairie Spiderwort; if you want to spend a minute with this beautiful native prairie flower, you can do so at the following link - 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjqp5i_ygbY

 

Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis) - photograph ©Bruce A. Morrison

One of the earliest prairie wild flowers I think I can remember as a kid, before I even knew what it was, is likely the Canada Anemone (Meadow Anemone to some). It seems to persist in many roadside ditches; gravel roads particularly. Maybe the Wild Rose species would qualify as a close tie, but regardless - we all start somewhere don't we?

 

I remember when we first moved to our tiny mecca, finding Canada Anemone spread throughout the ditch next to the north pasture...I was very excited to see this familiar white wildflower! Almost as soon as the excitement was realized - a neighbor drove by with his tractor and sprayer and killed back our entire ditch! Auugh!!! Thank goodness the neighbor didn't have free reign of our pastures!!! But all was well after I had a conversation and expressed concern that this would not happen again! It wasn't too many years when the neighbor expressed interest and questions about what he was seeing here.

 

Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis) did make a comeback in the ditches here, once the periodic spraying stopped, and that tenacity may be it's trait of spreading with thick rhizomes forming those familiar colonies of plants we often see among the bland brome ditches. Its sure welcome here!

 

I have a "Prairie Moment" video for Canada Anemone; if you want to spend a minute with this beautiful native prairie flower, you can do so at the following link -

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dkLCLBXAFU

 

 

Growing Large-flowered Penstemon around the front of the studio.

Large-flowered Penstemon (Penstemon grandiflorus) - photograph ©Bruce A. Morrison

Large-flowered Penstemon even loikes to grow in the gravel around the crib here on the acreage.

Penstemons are such cool plants - top of the list here in SE O'Brien County has got to be the Large-flowered Beardtongue (Penstemon grandiflorus). I have noticed over the years out here that although they're a perennial, they seem to have ebbs and flows in longevity. Our gravel hillsides will experience a big flush of blooms one year and a year or two later we'll find lots of newly started plants from seed but the older plants seem on their last legs. Grateful they reseed so readily.

 

I will admit cheating a little with these guys...I sprinkle seed around the crib and along the entry to the studio...no preparing beds or anything like that...just drop the seed (or allow established pants drop theirs), and instant Large-flowered Beardtongue next spring. They prefer gravelly/dry locations anyway.

 

I'll collect seed from these "nursery" plants each fall for supplementing in the pastures, but leave enough to drop and grow new for next year.

The Sphinx Moths, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and Bumblebees are very fond of these flowers - and the thick leaves have a very interesting visual and textural feel to them...nothing not to like!

 

I have "A Prairie Moment" video on my channel for the Large-flowered Beardtongue; if you'd like to watch, it can be found at this link -

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCVb7kipies

 

 Watching the Prairie march along!

 

Thank you for visiting my blog - be good to another and enjoy the season on the Tallgrass Prairie!

 

 

 

Old Memories Retreived - Easel Tripping

"Summer Morning, Approaching Jemmerson" - oil painting - ©Bruce A. Morrison

I often wring memories out of that brain I claim ownership to; I believe its those that have remained closest to the surface that spill out at the easel. These paintings have seen daylight most recently, and both are of times and places that I think we all identify and seek sometimes. That piece of solitude…a refuge perhaps.

I’ve begun a quest to pry these away from that “I really should someday” quagmire I’ve saddled this host with for decades. I’m keeping them small. They are a more intimate part of me after all. The earth didn’t shake, but it felt like it was cradling me…like I was there before in another time - it was familiar and gave a sense of calm and joy at the same moment.

The above painting "Summer Morning, Approaching Jemmerson" depicts Jemmerson Slough in Dickinson County, Iowa just west of Spirit Lake.  Its a beautiful wetland complex made up of several potholes and marshes.

I used to spend many weekend mornings at Jemmerson when I was younger and full of myself and energy...I had thoughts of someday living on a marsh and wading around in my home-made floating blind...taking photographs of the many birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, going about their daily lives there.  It was a great dream.  And it was a priviledge to have experienced what I did there.  I can still smell the decaying earth under the marshy waters as I crawled along in my blind - stirring up the muck from the bottom...it was like an elixir!  The sounds there were raucous, and then even sublime.  Some years later I took up recording the sounds of nature...I wish I had done so from that marsh blind!

"Waterman, Below the Slides" - oil painting - ©Bruce A.Morrison

I've actually been working on the painting above, "Waterman, Below the Slides", a while...maybe 20+ years!? I first visited the Litka Wildlife Area after we moved here to SE O'Brien County, Iowa 23 years back. I took a little trip down there (just 2 miles as the Crow flies), and was really taken with it...a great descent to the creek - which I had made my way down and saw the extreme bank drop off! It reminded me of the "Slides" I knew, growing up along the Des Moines River in Ft Dodge, Iowa.

Waterman Creek makes a quick turn south here and the bank had sluffed off steeply over the years. I'd just be guessing the height of the drop off at some point, but maybe 75+ feet would be close?

Anyway, it was an ideal day there nestled in the bottom of the ravine, just the birds and I...a beautiful flowing pool of reflections eventualy passing into a small rock filled rapids, as the stream turned the corner.

Sadly...at least my thoughts, Waterman flooded not long after that and carved a new channel behind the trees in the background of the painting...and as far as I was concerned - not as nearly serene and peacefull as it once was - at least in my memory.

I wanted to remember it at I saw and felt it...this is an attempt to do so.

I found the elements of the landscape very interesting and symbolic here.  The decline and destruction taking place on the right side, and the serene woodland embrace on the opposite side of the creek.  The pleasant calm-like pool of water in the foreground, with the more chaotic, and yet-to-be-seen of what lies ahead downstream, as the creek dissapears around the bend.

Isn't that so succinctly describing this moment we are living through right now as a nation?  Even as a world?

I hope you can take a moment to refresh or recharge from that pressure we all feel throughout our busy, or maybe even troubling lives. Take a moment to look and listen, where the quiet presides. Keep that memory. But whatever we do, embrace the “good” - its something we all need.

Thanks for stopping by! Please be good to one another - we’re all in this together.

Winter!

 

"Hunting Moon, Great Horned Owl" - Serigraph

 

Winter really isn't officially here for another week or so but we've been deep into it now for the past three at least! About 14" of snow on the ground here so far, and snowing out the studio window right now as I type!

The serigraph "Hunting Moon - Great Horned Owl" represents this winter well so far - these owls have been looking for rabbits here on the acreage many predawn mornings lately!

 

"Autumn Along the Kadunce" - Oil Painting

I've been painting small the past few weeks...I find I am so much better at keeping my attention span focused doing smaller paintings these days, rather than dragging out weeks for larger canvases. Besides - many folks find the smaller paintings and drawings easier to find spots for on their walls! There is something about these small jewels that really grab you and pull you in closer. I chose my subjects by what has been burning a space in the back of my mind for...in some cases - years! The two above paintings are actual locations along the Lake Superior Hiking Trail system that my wife Georgie and I hiked when we used to spend time at a small cabin we built on the north shore of Lake Superior over 40 years ago. I really loved the Kadunce and the Woods Creek Trail...the Kadunce could be very dramatic; an all up hill trek with so many cool overlooks and narrow canyon walls. One really dry season we hiked the river's canyon from it's top end reaches, down to Lake Superior. There were no trails, we walked the river's bed and waded the shallow rapids...often had to crawl down the now nearly dry falls and dropping rapids; handing down my camera gear and tripod to one another as we went. A rugged wonderland up close and personal! The painting above is rather bittersweet as it was our last visit to the Kadunce 8 years ago during the fall. The night before, a damaging windstorm had hit portions of the shore and when we arrived at the Kadunce trail entrance, we found many, many large trees has blown down, burying most of the trail and accesses to it. We climbed over, under and around as much as we could until we had to finally give up, it was impassible for the most part...but we were able to access the river in 2-3 spots for familiar views that I still cherish...we may never see our old friend again and it meant a lot to still say goodbye.   "Upper Kadunce River, Poplar Clump" - Photograph    (Photograph of the Kadunce River from many years past!)   "Woods Creek, Cedar Break" - Oil Painting   The Woods Creek painting was from memories of hiking that part of the Superior Hiking Trail from back in the 90's. I remember photographing this neat little cedar log dam and having a large Basset Hound come down from the trail and check me out! It was BIG!!! Two ladies up on the path above the creek were walking their dogs and apparently let them off their leashes so they could stretch their legs. Very beautiful and friendly dogs. This stretch of the trail there was a pleasure to hike. The small placid pool created below the cedar log just stuck with me...visions of Brookies were also playing with my imagination!   "New England Asters" - Oil Painting   I haven't drawn or painted my favorite prairie wildflowers for a while and this fall was really a banner year for the asters here...the largest and showiest being the New England Asters. This was a fun small study celebrating this fall's pasture bounty! I really love the prairie pastures here at the studio and would have to live to be a 100+ to cover even a portion of our beautiful native prairie plants and wildlife here.   "Monarchs Nectaring on New England Asters" - Photograph   Never tire of the beauty here around us - Monarch Butterflies here in the pasture this summer and fall...nectaring on the New England Asters - fueling up for their trek south to Mexico for the winter ahead! "Cedar Waxwing - Portrait" - Color Pencil Drawing   With the holiday season we're offering new works to clients...the small paintings just finished will hopefully find homes and many more works here in the studio as well! Along with these come some customer requests and one I just finished for a bird art collector here, is another of my life-size bird portraits - this one a Cedar Waxwing! Gorgeous little birds that we cherish anytime they show up on one or more of our berry bearing trees or bushes here! And we do have other life-size bird portraits available for your holiday giving or even your own personal collection! If any artworks here in this newsletter, or on the current works or prints pages of my website, strike your fancy, just contact me or purchase from the page via the shopping cart available there ("add to cart" link). (Artworks available are all listed under the header "WORKS"...under that header, two sections have artwork for sale - "Current Works" and "Studio Printmaking".) Linked here - https://www.morrisons-studio.com/works For prints or photographs, my Fine Art America (pixels.com) pages present both my available Photography and Artwork (Paintings and Drawings) - all available in many forms of prints and merchandise...everything from posters, prints, canvases, fabrics, bags, puzzles, throw pillows, iPhone cases, cups...ya, you name it! Linked here - https://bruce-morrison.pixels.com/ This is where I now refer clients for prints or reproductions of my work. I have ordered many items from FAA (Fine Art America) for different galleries and venues, and have found FAA's offering to be very satisfactory! After more than a couple of decades of printing my works for the purposes of prints and canvas sales, I have decided to give this process over to the Fine Art America "Print on Demand" (POD) service they offer...I have actually been represented by FAA for nearly 20 years, and would recommend them to anyone wanting a print or canvas or whatever item of my Artwork and Photography! My Studio web site morrisons-studio.com has been my Studio web site for over 2 decades now and will remain so into the future. It is through my Studio web site that I can introduce new and past works, discuss how I work and my subject matter, and make my original paintings and other original artwork available to my clients. It is also the platform from which I will continue to offer you a more personal insight to my work here in my Blog!   And thank you for that - for visiting through the studio's Blog! I hope you'll continue following along! And if there's anything you'd like me to talk about or share - please feel free to contact me! (info@morrisons-studio.com)    Until next time - be good to one another, we're all in this together!