Still Waiting!

"Prairie Lily"

(Lilium philadelphicum)

color pencil drawing - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

 

Still waiting in the wings for spring!  Aren't we all?!  But there is hope in the air with predictions of day time highs above freezing toward the end of the week! 

 

A year ago we were only days away from seeing our Great Blue Herons returning to the rookery across the valley and were seeing the area Bald Eagles sitting tight on their nest.   The Great Horned Owls are apparently incubating/hatching nearby...we see the top of the "sitter's" head when we pass by and crane our necks.  And the numbers of Mourning Doves is stretching a bit here on the acreage...we haven't seen huge flocks of Red-wing Blackbirds yet but a few individuals have been on the feeders in the yard.

 

But I've been working on early summer on the drawing board; another prairie forb (wildflower) has grown to fruition.  I chose a lily that is native to my county (O'Brien) and still exists in a state remnant nearby.  I won't disclose its location as there are a meager few left and I don't want them stressed any more than they already are. 

 

I first came upon "Lilium philadelphicum" on the north shore of Lake Superior and in the adjacent forests, where it is locally known as the "Wood Lily".  I was quite surprised to find this beautiful small lily back in the mid 1990's here in O'Brien County when the state acquired a wonderful native prairie remnant; we walked the remnant the year prior to its public disclosure and found the "Wood" Lily on the prairie there!  I discovered the "Lilium philadelphicum" was one and the same as on NE Minnesota's "Arrowhead" region, and was pleased to call it "Prairie Lily" for the first time!

I drew this color pencil drawing from that very same "first" Prairie Lily here...from a slide I took of the plant in bloom that morning of discovery. Hmmm, "slides", that's something I haven't worked from in a long while!

Its been cathartic doing these prairie plant drawings, getting that winter "thing" purged from my system!  I do hope to do more when I can.

I have an exhibit on the prairie coming up in July-August this summer, down at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City, Iowa.  Neal Smith has a large and quite nice visitor center and the exhibit will be at the J. N. "Ding" Darling Gallery there.  The exhibit will follow my past "From the Tallgrass" theme, relating wholly to the Tallgrass Prairie.  I'll follow up more in a future blog on the details.

Still waiting and trying to be patient!

Waiting on Spring...

"February Evening, Mammatus Clouds"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

 

I'm no different than the next person...I'm being tricked by the nice little breaks in the winter weather here and getting somewhat of a case of spring fever.  Not that I want to give up my studio time yet; I still have too much to do!  

 

But late in the afternoon yesterday, Georgie came over to the studio to tell me that I'd better get my face peeled off of the monitor and look outside!  It was pretty cool and a real surprise - mammatus clouds in mid February!  That's weird...ya cool too, but not something you'd expect to see!  She caught me just in time too because I only had a couple minutes to get some photographs of the scene before the light was lost to the early evening. The view is right outside the kitchen looking east.

 

Today is a nice day as well, but the snow, ice and wind is supposed to pick up tonight making tomorrow (Thursday) somewhat unpleasant again; the birthing process for spring can be agonizingly long!

 

"False Gromwell and Prairie Phlox"

(Onosmodium molle and Phlox pilosa)

color pencil drawing - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

 

I have been forestalling the inevitable onslaught of spring fever by working on spring subject matter here; the spring landscape finished about a week and a half ago (last blog) and the small color pencil piece seen above.  

 

Over the past couple years or more I've been working on artwork of various prairie forbs (wildflowers) found in our native pasture here.  The "False Gromwell and Prairie Phlox" is the latest color pencil drawing, just finished this week.  These are both fun plants - the False Gromwell is less showy from a distance but quite a "looker" up close...the Bumble Bees love this plant; I'd say an early summer favorite of theirs!  It has some "nicknames" like most wildflowers, one that fits it real well is "marble seed".  It has a small roundish seed that is creamy white when matured, and is as hard as a marble.  A weird charachteristic is - after a rain, the plant can smell like a wet dog or mule!  (All's normal again once it dries out thank goodness!)  You can't tell much from this drawing, but this plant's "structure" is quite beautiful, pretty even when not in bloom.

 

The Prairie Phlox (some call it "Downy Phlox") is another native plant here I've been doing my best to help proliferate.  It is quite showy from a distance and up close...the issue around here seems to be that the deer and the rabbits love to eat it as soon as it starts blooming...ugh!  I do my best to dissuade them, but its not easy.  Skippers seem to like the phlox about as much as the Bumble Bees do.  These are both early summer bloomers, out before the prairie really goes crazy with color, but once they are out - its like the gate has been swung open for the race to begin, a fun time on the tallgrass prairie!

 

Think Spring, but don't be too impatient!

 

 

 

 

 

Easel Rest...Keeping Warm!

"Along the Southeast Corner Fence Line"

oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on imagefor a larger view)

Finally finished my latest painting on the studio easel and am now working on starting the next, framing work for clients, trying to clean up this place and...oh ya, and keeping warm!

There's a lot of winter discontent out there, we all hear it, but I'm really kind of scratching my head.  I do remember winters like this AND worse.  I was younger then and trudged right through the sub zero temps and high winds...Iowa has always had high winds in the winter.  We never used to talk about wind chill either, or if there was an awareness of it I'm sure it was just the adults who talked about it.

But now the Weather Channel has "names" for winter weather fronts, and all the news anchors shout out the winter "ravages" like dooms day announcements...I still just scratch my head and think its so much unnecessary hype.  Its always been cold in the winter here, and besides - everyone else is getting lucky with all their snow and we've just barely scraped up enough to call the ground white now.  

The only bad thing I can think of here is without a good snow cover this winter - so much frost has gone into the ground that it has been a mess for wells freezing up and pipes bursting...that's never fun!   We're very dry in our area and with frozen ground, there's little that's going to replenish it come thaw, as the majority of moisture existing can only run off and not soak in until the frost is gone.

But I've been keeping warm in the studio with a spring painting, born from an idea last spring.  It was a pleasant morning on a new (for me) piece of prairie and woodland...always fun seeing a new landscape for the first time!  I took a photograph of this scene along the SE corner fence line of the property and almost imediately thought it spoke "painting" to me...I wasn't sure but it reinforced itself later as I viewed files here in the studio.  It had to wait for other work to be done here during the summer, fall and first half of the winter; but now its complete, still drying on the easel.

It needed few changes to move from the original file to the canvas...sometimes you find a scene that just really suits your feelings about what you want to paint and all the elements are there just as you'd like them to be.

Hope winter has been good to you!  And I do apologize to the SE part of the country for belittling this winter...they would certainly disagree with me! 

 

Still In Our Own Backyard

 "Sun Dogs at Prairie Hill Farm"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

I thought I'd share this morning's frigid sun dogs here on the acreage, and go with the theme I presented last week with what inspires me here right in our own backyard!  Only this week we'll look at just a sampling of photographs garnered here, without leaving the premises...there is something everyday here...and yet I miss most of it I'm sure!

 "Sun Dogs at Prairie Hill Farm"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

We've been having sun dogs lately and this morning was no exception as, the top two images testify.  However I've been putting off photographing them because the landscape is fairly bleak and snowless, taking away much of the winter's charm. Well I finally gave in for a "few" brief moments this morning and tried a couple shots anyway...the temp was at 10 below, but the wind was brisk (35 below windchill) and one shot I wanted to try was decided against and a shot from behind the barn was tried instead...the image directly above is from the edge of the crib, looking south east.

 

 "Big Bluestem in the North Pasture"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

But there are warmer times with hours spent outside here...sometimes just taking it in and other times doing chores in the pasture, yards, gardens or buildings...there's a lot to do here, beside being "inspired"!  But "inspiring" it is, and here's a small sampling of images photographing here on the property, throughout the year!

 

 "Bird Visitors Through the Year"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Cope's Gray Tree Frog in the Grove"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Fawn in the Yard"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Monarchs Roosting in the Back Grove"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Sharp-shinned Hawk in Front of the Studio"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Skunk Paying a Visit"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Male Western Meadow Hawk Dragonfly"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Anvil across the Valley"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Storm in the Valley"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

The weather images can be impressive here with our prairie's Big Sky, but there is so much more that is small or fleeting...things are certainly missed every day.  But what we do find, watch and marvel at, is amazing...we're very blessed.

Once again, I'm procrastinating!  Back to work at the easel!

Hope you're having a warm place to rest this winter, be good to one another and be inspired!

 

In Our Own Backyard

"September Summer"

oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison

As I work trough a difficult painting here in the studio, I've been reflecting a lot on the amazing opportunities for work right here in our own backyard - literally!  I looked back in my files and found so many paintings, drawings and photographs, that I wondered if I shouldn't break things up a bit...I can't show everything though, there just isn't enough space, even in a blog.

I'm just going to throw out a few paintings and drawings that originate right from our small acreage...the image above is from our north pasture - looking north onto the neighbor's ground; they had just mowed some alfalfa and the colors of September prompted me to do a painting.  This was the first painting I had done after we moved here many years ago and I considered it a milestone for me; I've been working more in earnest here ever since!

The following images are both early years here at Prairie Hill farm, as well as fairly recent.

"Late Summer Afternoon" 

oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison

"Summer Evening Formations"

color pencil drawing - © Bruce A. Morrison

"June Rains Past" 

oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison

"Summer Pasture" 

oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison

It pretty easy to see that clouds are an important element in my work done here on the acreage.  They certainly are where the landscape is concerned.  As I've said more than once in the past, the clouds are our mountains out here on the prairie, and the sky is very big here!

But there is more inspiration here in our back yard than just views of the landscape around us -

"Iris Study"

color pencil drawing - © Bruce A. Morrison

"Home"

color pencil drawing - © Bruce A. Morrison

Whether its the house, yard or the adjoining landscape, this place hasn't just kept me busy - its inspiring!  

I'll get back to work on my studio painting for now again...I needed a break.  Next time I'll share some photographic inspiration here at Prairie Hill Farm; until then - stay warm and keep inspired with what may very well be right outside your door!

 

Happy New Year from Prairie Hill Farm!

Echinacea angustifolia at Prairie Hill Farm

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

The last day of 2013...I have mixed reviews for this year, but as Georgie says "even numbered years are the best".  Something to look forward to, right!?

One event I left hanging out there late in the summer was the transmission lines (to be the largest ever erected in Iowa) running along side our acreage.  This, thankfully has changed.  We had contacted several state agencies and environmental organizations about this and the encroachment on the Waterman Creek Great Blue Heron rookery across from us.  We were concerned about this, as well as the prairie remnants here in the valley that the line would displace, and of course - the ambiance that was still here - the bird songs in the morning, the insect music through the night, the views of the night sky, and the relative silence in the background of the days and nights here.  We had several individuals meet with the out-of-state corporation and it was finally revealed to us that the route has been redirected two miles further north.  Now it will only interrupt farmland instead of natural ground and disappearing habitat in our county.

This may not be the case in other areas throughout the state, particularly where it routes through riparian areas across streams and rivers.  I do know that those folks who were speaking with the corporation are also working on protecting other sensitive areas across the other 16 affected counties in Iowa; all I can say is God Bless 'em all for trying to protect what little Natural Heritage we still have in this "most changed" state in the union!

There will be wind farms built in the area directly to our west and the corporation has "officially" stated they are solely rerouting the transmission line to avoid interfering with the wind farms to be built.  Regardless of their reasons, I am still taking my hat off to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, The Iowa Nature Conservancy, Iowa Audubon, Iowa Sierra Club, Iowa Environmental Council, and the Iowa DNR for their input in this event.  Please support these organizations and state people who are working for your children's children's future in our environment!

We're off to a cold yet sparse start with moisture this winter, but there's a ways to go - we'll see how things shake out, you just never know what the new year will bring.  The Great Horned Owls in the valley have been communicating back and forth each night...probably sizing up their nesting options.  They'll actually be nesting in the not too distant future, perhaps as soon as 3-5 weeks!  And the squirrels in the yard and grove are shoring up their nests and being amorous on the tracts of tree trunks about here and there.  I think they eat too well here as we've gotten two broods a season the past couple years here - that's a lot of Fox Squirrels!  (Keeps the Red-tailed Hawks happy anyway!)  We've also been seeing more hen pheasants than all last year; not many but at least a hopeful few!

What else will the year bring?  Hopefully some more native forbs and grasses in the south pasture.  We just completed our first planting there as the first true winter front moved in about 3 weeks ago.  That pasture will take a few years to complete but we don't plan on going anywhere!  Its fun to watch the changes through the years.

I'm lining up work here in the studio to keep me busy till spring.  Lets cross our fingers on that prospect!

And here's to sending our best wishes out to each and everyone of you - for a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!

See you next year!

Winter Solstice and a Merry Christmas!

Today is the first day of winter!  Sound excited?  Well sort of...at least from here the days will slowly (agonizingly) begin to get longer and spring will be on the distant horizon to look forward to.  

OK, I don't really want winter to go away entirely, we all need a rest from spring/summer/fall chores, plus it is a great time to get work done here in the studio!  Besides, one gets really fired up during the winter, thinking about those wonderful things we have to look forward to...getting into the garden, or here, the prairie....being able to spend time outside in the warm sunshine.  These things are more precious when you have to wait for them I guess.

My studio time since I last blogged (sorry its been awhile) has been spent filling client orders, framing and painting commission work.  I have several paintings waiting on the back-burner here and hope I can get to them after Christmas has passed.

I did manage one feat of final fall work in the south pasture here about two weeks ago.  As some of you may know, the north pasture is a native remnant, and there are some native grasses in the south pasture but overall the south pasture has been degraded to the extreme by years of constant grazing.  

Georgie and I had been collecting seed from the north pasture this fall and the first week of December had our first winter storm front of "real" consequence coming in, so I seeded as much of the top of the south pasture slope as I had seed for.  We'll continue doing this each year until we have a good native stand of grasses and forbs...it should look great eventually!

One great thing that happened this year on the prairies here down the valley was the Prairie Heritage Center was able to put together a Federal grant, and a REAP (Iowa) grant, to purchase the riparian and prairie area along the Little Sioux River in the valley below the center!  This was done with a great deal of help from various local organizations and the expertise of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.  But we still have loose financial ends to finalize the purchase and land exchange.  

Last year we sold a local calendar through the Prairie Heritage Center to raise funds towards this effort.  This year we are doing this again and the fun thing about the calendar is each month the PHC will draw names of calendar purchasers for prizes.  You'll be eligible for drawings 12 times throughout the year!  We're kicking off the first month with a $150.00 gift certificate toward any purchase here at the studio - drawings, paintings, prints or cards...whatever strikes your fancy!  Each month will be other great prizes too such as Tablets, Digital Cameras, Cabin stays, and more!

The calendar can be purchase for $50 by calling the Prairie Heritage Center at 712 295-2700.

Take advantage of this fun opportunity to support the new land purchase and not only have the reward of  neat new place to walk, fish, or hunt...but to support saving a wonderful piece of habitat and maybe get a prize on top of that!  Hey its Christmas after all!

Speaking of Christmas - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone out there!

See you next year!