Autumn Tree with Nest

I absolutely love when autumn trees look like this. I made my poor cousin take this picture from her phone before work one day.
I saw a million reasons right away, why I had to have this one on "film". I knew when driving by that I wanted to paint this tree someday because I fell in love with the way all it's leaves have dropped right below itself, I fell in love with the way the top is bare and the lower branches are clinging on to leaves yet, I feel in love with the yellow color and I also fell in love with the November sky behind it. This morning was a typical November morning with a little drizzle, with clouds meaner than they really are, and cool temperatures. My favorite.
Do you know what else attracted me to this tree? The fact that it looks like all the autumn trees Charles Schulz painted in his "Peanuts" cartoons! My all time favorite cartoon.


In my interpretation, the top of the tree has a nest exposed remember the post on exposed tree nests?
I had to give it one even though this tree really didn't have a nest. I pulled out my artistic license right here! This painting is also an action shot, see the leaf falling from the tree? LOL.

Any who, I'm please at how this watercolor turned out, not overworked at all, just the right amount of paint and light. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and a lot of turkey leftovers!

For more info on how to purchase this painting click here.

Old Country Lane Road

This is the beautiful Old Country Lane at Country Lane Woods. This use to be a happenin' street back in the day! Now it serves as a really neat gravel trail, you can walk it or ride your horse for miles. Today it was about 45 and drizzly. Drizzle won't stop my fun, no sir.


Isn't this beautiful? This is a small pond right off the trail. It's hard to see but there are many exploding cattails. Good for the Chickadees, which I did hear in this area - no joke. Maybe tomorrow I'll try to zoom in on one of the cattails. When walking towards this pond I did hear activity by the edge. Perhaps it's warm enough for the frogs to still be out, I'm not sure.


Everyone needs a walkin' stick! We find a stick.... we use the stick.... we leave the stick! My grandpa always made sure the grandkids had a walkin' stick, everyone of us. I'm keeping the tradition going.

I hope you enjoyed this brief visit to Country Lane Woods.

Blown Away

Chicagoans may wake up tomorrow morning to find non of these! Beautiful leaves!
It's a mild 43 degrees but very strong winds are now moving through the area. It is the very thing I dread every autumn. It seems that just when autumn reaches it's climax, a wind storm always sneaks in at night to steal all of the leaves. Its bad enough the season is too short but to steal all our leaves, now that's just mean. Don't be surprised if on your way to work tomorrow you ask yourself, "Hey, where did autumn go?"

I did however enjoy one bit of the wind. I stood under my pine tree, the one you see behind Henry in the previous post and held on to the trunk as the mighty wind whipped around. Now, I know standing under a tree in a wind storm isn't the smartest, but the pine is healthy and the boughs were actually making a whistling sound when the wind raced through the needles, it was loud and mesmerizing. I needed to stand underneath it. Anyway, I held on to the trunk and actually felt the tree sway back and forth in a dramatic fashion. I've never felt a tree move so much, it was very exciting and you probably had to be there. It's hard to comprehend the energy, the powerful force that was strong enough to have such an effect. Pretty cool.

Spears Woods in November

When people ask, "What do you get out of walking around in those woods?" How do you answer?
I've met non nature lovers, people afraid of the outdoors due to the fact that bugs live out there, people who love the hustle and bustle of the city with as many people as possible, and surprisingly many just don't understand.
This is how I answer: Do you know the painting, "Creation of Adam" by Michelangelo? Where God's stretching out His finger touching the finger of Adam, breathing life right into him? Corny as that sounds, that's exactly how I feel. I am never more closer than when I'm in the woods, not even at church, oh that sounds bad.
When I'm as far away from people and in the center of pure creation, the communication highway is wide open and everything is so clear to me.
This is Spears Woods. I'm cheating a little and for the rest of the week, using pictures from Sunday's walk because daylight is short and I can't do much after work anymore. Spears Woods has several beautiful features...


Not only does the trail take you into deep forest, but shortly after you can visit a savanna and lake area. How I love when autumn colors give their last performance of the year.



Here is the lake. It wraps around an island of trees. I've spotted many deer in this area but not today.
This weekend, I have to paint some more autumn paintings in pastel, I will be using Spears' pictures for inspiration no doubt.


Oooo, I love the slime that forms at the edge of the water. Frog territory, I'm sure. Notice the ripple in the water? It was very windy that day. Leaves swirling in the wind and branches creaking as they bend. I loving it all, communing with the One behind it all!

Poison Autumn

Yesterday I painted this poisonous mushroom three times. When you don't succeed the first time, try, try again. Well I guess three's a charm, because I finally got it. Like I've said before, "You don't control the watercolors, the watercolors control you." The trick is to make it look airy and light and my previous attempts were much too overworked. We don't like anything overworked.
My inspiration for this painting was from a photo that Kurt took of this mushroom he found by his cottage in Wisconsin this autumn. He is a very talented photographer!
I am in the process or redesigning my web site, hopefully by the end of this week it will be up and running. This painting will be for sale on the new site.
PS Don't eat this mushroom!!!

Autumn Nest

Oh how I love when autumn exposes the heart of a tree and this is just the beginning!
Whenever I see a naked tree with a nest in it, the nest reminds me of a human heart. Just like how humans attribute love with the heart, little avian angels picked this spot for the heart of their home, in the tender arms of a protecting tree. Clothed in the leaves of summer, autumn settles and begins to expose all that was hidden.
Do you see the red berries hanging off the branches? It's as if the tree is saying, "I'm sorry for revealing your nest, here are some berries for your trouble!"
May you find many hearts this season.
And if perhaps you own heart feels low, look upon a nest and remember this:
"Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."
- Jesus

More Arrowhead Lake

This is on the opposite end of the lake along the paved trail. Lovely birch trees with their bright bark making nice contrast in the background! These trees edge the forest and in front grows a quiet meadow where I witnessed a hawk swoop over and disappear into darkness. So many painting ideas, so little time. What a peaceful autumn evening.

Here is another view looking towards the lake opposite of the meadow. The setting sun really brings out the purple colors.

Oh lookie here! This young deer was way too brave to be eating this close to me. I stood still and he just kept getting closer. Mom was about 50 feet away constantly staring at me! Do you see this little trail he is about to cross? That trail leads you through some trees to a residential block. Those lucky ducky people can just wake up in the morning and hop on this trail whenever they want!

Artistic License

Inspired by the Orange Jewel Weed from the other day, I decided to paint a little watercolor picture and write a poem, giving their trumpets reason to sound.

As His gentle breath breathes,

They begin to wave and nod.

Their trumpets make a sound

Of Autumn growing near.

Not to human ears they sound…

But to bees, to trees, and the deer.

“Find food fast my friends.

For Autumn’s hold is broad.”

“Least she finds you not prepared

And leaves you nothing but awed.”

In this poem, I tried to describe how the jewel weed's trumpets warn the animals and plants to prepare for the coming cold. And how does the trumpets sound? By the breath of God of course. Now, I know that probably doesn't really happen, but I'm using an artistic license to escape reality and create whatever I want! HA. It's soooo much fun to use an artistic license, it never expires and you renew it every time you use it. I highly recommend using yours. Don't worry if you feel as if you don't have one yourself, you're never to old to receive one!

My Monk Parakeet Friends

It is 49 degrees and sunny this very morning, perfect fall weather and guess who came for a visit to my house? That's right, it's true, my Monk Parakeet friends!!! I heard their loud screeches with all of my windows and doors shut. I love that sound. I could tell there was more than just three. Your can't see from the pictures but there were five! One must have been above my house, I could hear him but couldn't see him, another was above the three on the branch, but too many leaves blocked my view. Then we have these lovely three that were so gracious to pose for some photos. It was so cute they all huddled together.


The photos are not the best, I was in my house facing east and the sun is directly behind them. Plus they are about 20 feet away, I had to zoom in on the computer for these cropped shots.

Let's learn about the Monk Parakeet:
They are originally from South America.
They either escaped or was released around 1970.
They have adapted to our wicked winters by building huge stick nests, I mean huge, on man made structures like telephone poles, electrical poles, or on tree branches not in tree cavities, and are able to withstand temps below zero. Crafty!
They have flourished and colonized in urban areas but rely on human feeders and ornamental plants for year round food.

I am so lucky to have these tropical jewels visit my house. I hear them a lot in all seasons, but usually only see them at feeders in the winter months. This weekend is starting off on a good note!

Start Collecting Those Leaves!

It's 60 degrees right now! I love it. The smell of Autumn is definitely in the air and with it sparks an energy of excitement in the atmosphere. Gone are the sweaty dog days of summer. Good ridden! I love my garden like the next guy and the long hours of sunlight, but an uncontrollable serge of happiness overtakes me when I see the first autumn leaf float to the ground. I will actually run to tell people. My neighbor has several black walnut trees. For some reason they're the first in the neighborhood to loose its leaves. Unseasonably early actually, I notice them start to fall in early August. That only gets me more excited about fall!
Anyway, on one of my walks, I picked up this sugar maple and white oak leaf that I ended up making a painting of. I like the insect eaten sections. One from the upper right hand side and a hole right beneath it. Insect evidence is beautiful. Nothing should be perfect I believe. Blemishes give character and makes for a more interesting subject. And it's real. There is such joy in things that are not fake.
Even though I like these paintings, the watercolors ended up being a little too tight for what I wanted. I was searching for a more flowing, free feel to it. It's amazing how attitude transfers into a painting. I painted this in the morning after much caffeine, mistake number one. I had a lot of running around to do that day and I think I was stressed, mistake number two. Lesson learned: Don't force a painting out before it's time!
I still like them and I'm thankful for the talent God has given me. I hope it brings autumn happiness to many. Start collecting those leaves now before they're gone with a blast from winter's breath!

It's Coming!

Yes that's right, I can smell it in the air. That distinctive swirl of leaves, the dance which releases an earthy aroma and the playful sounds of leaf "tag" fills the air. Who doesn't get excited over Autumn? I can actually see some change start at the tips of some branches even though the official start of autumn is still a month away. People in the North are probably enjoying even more color change than Chicago right now, because Autumn arrives earlier for them. I love Autumn, it's my favorite season by far. So here is a little watercolor pencil and ink tree to enjoy in order to hold you over until you can start to see the color change in your area. Let's celebrate Autumn, it comes and goes too fast!