Tree Trunk

Wisteria

Ridley Creek State Park

Reflection

Sunday was also a great day for reflection.  These are from Ridley Creek State Park.

Leaves

Last weekend was really a perfect fall weekend.  I spent some time on Sunday driving around admiring the trees and the sunshine.

Willow and Wren

Hawk vs. Crow

When I was painting on Monday the crows kept me company. There was a large and very loud gathering of them and they were not tolerating intrusions of the hawk kind.

Painting in the Great Outdoors, Day 2

A park ranger came out this morning to see what I was doing taking up all kinds of space and making lots of noise.  (When I dropped the stretcher to the ground it sounded a lot like a gun shot and Ranger Tony showed up right afterward.)  His arrival handily coincided with me not being able to get one of my stretcher pieces in place by myself.  So I put him to work.  He hung around until I stood the painting up.  Then he left without commenting so I don't think he was too impressed.  Ha.  He did mention that I might have started back into painting on something smaller... 

Out for a Drive

Our power was still out this morning and we were getting a little stir crazy inside so we decided to go for a drive. These are the sights near Ridley Creek State Park. Irene made a mess.

Waterfalls, Chipmunks, and Snakes

Water Break

Thanks to a water main break on Friday Olivia had most of the day off. We went over to Ridley Creek State Park to do some bird watching. I thought we'd see some woodpeckers. I'm on a mission to photograph a piliated woodpecker with my new camera. Instead we saw these guys.

Flowering in the Wild

One of my favorite things about this area is the abundance of items flowering in the wild. This spring has been quite brilliantly colored. Driving through neighborhoods azaleas burst with unlikely colors, competing with the equally intense flowering trees. It's like living in an Easter basket, almost a little too much. But in the wild, well I just have a weakness for tangled up bunches of stuff. And what's not to love when those tangles include flowers.

Ridley Creek State Park in Snow

Wisteria, the plant not the lane

I know I promised to post some art. And you may think you’ve seen enough wisteria. You’re wrong. You just can’t get enough. Or rather I can’t. But look at these trees. This stuff is amazing. Oh, and check out the blue sky! Sunshine rules!






And for good measure, another Philadelphia purple tree. Can someone please tell me what these are called?


And maybe tomorrow I'll post some art but after two weeks of gray and rain this crazy sunshine might overwhelm me again.

Waterfall

We made it out to Ridley Creek State Park this morning before the heat wave began in earnest. Now we are off to check out the pool!

Heron & Geese

Olivia & I managed to squeeze some drawing time in this morning before the rain began. We went back to the dam/waterfall where I saw the heron in the tree. He was in a nearby tree this time. We also saw the red bellied woodpecker who was working on a nest the last time I was there. At our second drawing location we sat on the ground near the water. (farther up the creek) This goose jumped right out of the water to eat the grass next to us. Olivia and I were alarmed at first. We've been chased by geese before. But this guy kept focused on his dining and left us alone.