Let's Paint Nature!
Hiking & Painting in Nature – Chicago
Category: art
My Native Front Yard – Blue Vervain Watercolor
Today blue vervain (Verbena hastata) is in bloom in the native garden. I absolutely love its flowers. Up close they look blue-purple. From a distance they look purple to pinkish-purple. The actual flower itself is tiny but grows in clusters on a spike. They…
My Native Front Yard Wildlife Edition – Black Swallowtail Caterpillar
The native plants are working! Look who I found munching on some leaves…. a big juicy black swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes). That means a black swallowtail butterfly must have laid an egg under the leaf of my Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) plant when I…
It’s a Boy! Update on Polyphemus Cocoon
Do you remember last year when a Polyphemus caterpillar visited my house? (Click on the link to see post with video of caterpillar eating maple leaves.) I was completely shocked as I just happened to find it on my siding. Suddenly, in a matter…
My Native Front Yard – Golden Alexander and Prairie Alumroot
Build it (a native garden) and they will come (insects)! He he he. That was the famous quote from the 1989 movie, Field of Dreams, without the garden and insects insert. But in all seriousness, they will come. Why do we need to help…
Breakfast on the Grill
This is a true story of love and provision. My husband is a truck driver. Wednesday, his truck broke down about an hour and a half away from home. Wanting to save money on a tow, I hopped in the car at 5 am…
My Native Front Yard – Wild Geranium
Last year I converted my front yard into a native habitat. Goodbye grass, hello native plants! Why? To save the insects. First, lawn grass does not benefit much in nature. If there is little rain, you must supplement with water from your hose. Water…
Cup Fungi Watercolor
What a mouth-opening surprise I had when I found these cute cup fungi growing in my own yard! What’s so neat about these fungi? Why, let me explain their coolness. First, they look like tiny cups on the ground. Awwwwwww. Second, they want it…
Chorus Frogs Sing – Watercolor
That song.The chant of chorus frogs that stops you in your tracks as you hike in the woods. Such a bold sound coming from such a tiny frog…so small your eyes can’t find them even if you try and I did try. When you…
Great Horned Owl Watercolor
I’ve always wanted to see an owl in the wild while hiking. The natural way…not with a local bird group nor some Audubon field-trip, but surprisingly caught off guard while walking through the woods. For years, I’ve prayed for it. Then it happened. And…
Unbound and off trail – watercolor
Like many of you, I’m home bound. My state of Illinois issued an order last Friday that restricts residents from venturing out except for necessary grocery trips or doctor visits. But Governor Pritzker said the magic words on television last Friday: “You many go…
Daily Verse
- Psalm 138:2“I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame.”
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