The Heron

I took this photo a few weeks ago for the Bluebird Monitoring Program at Hidden Lake Gardens. When I was at Hidden Lake Gardens last night the box was empty. The birds have fledged and left the nest. I was told that bluebirds will make fewer nests from now on this summer. The boxes will be too hot in the August sun for the Bluebird’s taste. So with the lack of birds in the boxes I simply enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Gardens. I listened to a common yellowthroat in the arboretum. I sat and stared at the Big Bluestem prairie overlooking the pond. Two Great Blue Heron slowly glided through the sky overhead. Mallards flushed. A fawn stood and watched me carefully. The woods were thick, dark and mysterious. A tree frog squeaked out his love song. Oh how I love to just sit and soak it all in. I am thankful and forever grateful for the army of staff and volunteers who love and care for the Gardens. Bluebird monitor and photographer, Jaime Stoner showed me the blue bird monitoring book. It is filled with notes and cryptic symbols. The birds are cared for and counted by an army of volunteers. The Big Bluestem prairie just didn’t pop up out of nowhere. It was planned, planted, monitored, worked on and loved by many with religious fervor. That’s why I don’t believe that it’s just a sanctuary for nature. I also think it’s a sanctuary for the soul. It is the church that God made…not man. If you believe that God created this world then it is your responsibility to take care of it. Just as God isn’t for Sundays alone. Nature isn’t just for Hidden Lake Gardens. Build your own sanctuary at home. Plant a tree. Grow a garden. Spread the word. God is in nature. If you don’t own property, then volunteer. The Bluebirds will thank you for it…and so will I.

In a few hours I will drive to the airport to pick up K and her dad.  They are coming back from a week long vacation in California.  I spent the week with flowers and frogs.  I don’t know how many people would do what I did this week?  I suspect most people would be afraid to admit it.  Society can be cruel.  What kind of person spends their free time in the woods with the frogs and toads?  Certainly not the kind of person who has their head screwed on tight….at least that’s what some people say.  But, I don’t care.  I would rather be knee-deep in muck with the frogs than surrounded by Abercrombie or Fitch.  So this week I took my sketchbook and my pencil into the woods and worked on a project for my niece.  No cameras, no phone, no distractions.  Yes, I came out of the woods with a design.  But, I came out of the woods with something else too.  It seems I have fallen in love with frogs.  I’ve decided that prison life is not for me.  When I am eligible to retire in 7 years….I will walk away from life behind a desk and spend the rest of my days where I was meant to be…outside.  For starters I plan to enroll in the Master Gardener Program this fall at Hidden Lake Gardens.  Gardener by day, printmaker by night…what could be better than that?

If someone were to ask me what book has influenced my life more than any other in the last few years I would say, “Bringing Nature Home” by Douglas Tallamy.  There are so many terrible things happening to nature these days.  I sometimes feel that it’s a lost cause to fight big oil, or any big industry.  They have too much money, too much power, too many lawyers and too much influence in government.   If you love nature, it’s easy to get depressed about it.  But, I always believe there is hope.  When I was in college I had a Greenpeace bumper sticker that read “Think Globally, Act Locally”.  You don’t see that slogan too much these days, but it’s still valid.  Tallamy’s book is a modern-day version of it.  Anyway, the book is about what YOU can do.  We all have the power to change things.  With a little bit of knowledge and some healthy exercise in your own yard you can make a difference.  Tallamy teaches us the importance of planting native plants and trees.  He provides lists of native plants and trees with reasons attached to them.  You wont find Tallamy’s reasons in those large corporate owned nurseries.  What they are selling helps them make money.  They’re not always interested in doing what’s right in terms of the environment.  This book may not be for you if you don’t believe that we need to coexist with all of God’s creatures.  Spiders and other insects can be downright creepy to some people.  But, they are essential in creating a diverse ecosystem that supports butterflies, birds and other creatures. 

I sincerely believe that we are all responsible for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.  That’s why I support BP in their efforts to clean up the spill.  And, I also believe that sometimes good things come out of bad situations.  I hope that Newton’s Law (every action creates an equal but opposite reaction) will spur people to do something.  The problem is that most people feel hopeless.  I assure you that there is always hope.  Read Tallamy’s book and use it as a guide to help offset the damage done in the Gulf.  Hope is in this book.

“Boy what a sound. How I love hearing that old money clank. That beautiful sound of cold hard cash. That beautiful, beautiful sound, nickels, nickels, nickels. That beautiful sound of clinking nickels.” ~ Lucy Van Pelt. Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” have always been one of my favorite comic strips.   Schultz provides an endless supply of quotes for all of life’s problems. Lucy is funny because everyone, at some point in their life is guilty of being greedy. Many people are afflicted with a love for money. Afterall, we live in America. I myself play the lottery every week in hopes of “hittin’ it big!”. Lots of people have dreams of living the good life. But what exactly is “the good life”? Jesus has an answer for that. Society has an answer. Corporate America has an answer. Republicans and Democrats both have answers. Who should we listen to? Over the past several months oil companies have invaded Lenawee County. They have knocked on doors with big checks in hand with a promise of “the good life”. It’s no surprise that few people have turned them away. The nickels are too hard to resist. Drill baby drill is alive and well here in a Lenawee. It caused me to join a group of citizens interested in the environmental impact of all the drilling. I listened to a USGS specialist. I listened to River Raisin Watershed expert. I trust what they have to say.  But I dont trust the gas company representatives who assure everyone that everything is going to be ok…despite the stories all over the country that everything is not ok. Landowners are getting sick. Farm animals are dying. Water is being contaminated. The Environmental Protection Agency recently declared that it will conduct a new study on drilling practices. Oil and gas companies are being pressured to disclose all their “proprietary” chemicals that are used in the drilling process.  Preliminary reports are that many of the proprietary chemicals are hazardous and/or carcinogenic, which makes you wonder how and why the Bush administration gave them an exemption from the Clean Water Act.  Meanwhile drilling continues in Lenawee County. And, as I drove by an oil rig last Monday I noticed that it was surrounded by corn. That seemed a little disconcerting to me. Where is that corn going? Is it feed corn? Is it going to the farmers market? Will that corn be contaminated? Is anyone checking for contamination around the oil rig along the field edge? If you listen to the oil company they will tell you it’s safe despite new reports that it is not. Landowners have every right to decide whether to drill or not. Times are tough. But, I think it’s unconscionable to harvest food right next to an oil rig. Greed just crossed the line into irresponsible and possibly into unlawful.  There are two ways to fight this in my opinion. I could call the DNRe and report it. They may or may not do anything. I can’t trespass and take my own soil samples for testing. Even if I was able to get soil samples it would cost me about $100 to have it tested for heavy metals and other contaminants. I don’t have the time nor money to do that. The easiest thing for me to do is stop buying any livestock or food from the Adrian Township area unless it’s from an organic farm. It’s too bad it has to come to that. They grow good corn out there. But, if you’re a landowner and you’re getting a check for oil…you don’t need my money.  I’m not happy about you risking contaminating Lenawee County.  You wont get a nickel from me.

Yes, I’m a tree hugger and I’m not afraid to admit it.  One of my favorite trees in the back yard is this Red Oak.  I gave it a hug today because it’s finally bearing acorns.  It can take an Oak Tree up to 20 years before it produces them.  It reminds me that life goes on, despite the tragic events happening all around us.  The nuts will be harvested by squirrels and birds.  Oak saplings will start popping up here and there.  If one pops up in your yard would you let it grow?  As for me, I’m in favor of the trees.  My Oak tree is not political.  It doesnt care if you’re white, black, hispanic, gay, lesbian, Christian or atheist.  It will take your carbon and give you life giving oxygen.  So come on….get rid of some of that turf grass and make some room for a tree.

I was fortunate enough to spend some time at Magee Marsh recently to witness the annual migration of Warblers.  This little guy is a Canada Warbler.  Magee Marsh is only a rest stop as they make their way north to Canada.  I also got a chance to see and photograph a Blackpoll Warbler.  The Blackpoll travelled all the way from Peru and completes an 1800 mile non-stop flight over the Atlantic to get here….without a gps navigation system.  Birds get little respect.  But I give them credit where credit is due.  Actually, consider them the superior race.  I am convinced more and more every day that the human race is in decline.  What have we done that compares to the flight of the Warbler?  Not much if you ask me.  Every creature on this earth seems to be perfectly adapted for living on this planet except us humans.  It’s depressing.  Until I remember the words of Edward Abbey….“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.”

“Blue Damsel Lotus”

Due to the wind I decided to spend the day indoors to crank out the final prints for this wood block.  You might notice this print has fewer cut marks.  That’s because I decided to cut them a tad deeper than the first run.  Concerning the process, I almost always print on Rives BFK and this one was no different.  I used Daniel Smith water soluable ink (thalo green mixed with thalo blue).  The digital image was tinted green using iPhoto.  I’ll let these prints dry about 10 days before I attempt to paint them with watercolor.  At this point I don’t have a color scheme in mind.  I’m leaning toward painting each one differently.

While this print is drying I’m starting a new project.  It involves Zinnia.  That’s all I will say for now.  Since this is another wedding project you wont see any pictures until the bride to be approves.

Blue Damsel Lotus, Zinnia, and White Crowned Frostic will be on display at Hidden Lake Gardens in mid-June.

Concerning sales, framing will be done at Dexter Picture Frame Co.  Prints will be uploaded to Etsy sometime this summer.  Pending approval I would like to take a few framed prints to sell at The Side Door Gallery, The Boulevard Market and The Book Abbey.

“White-crowned Frostic” is a two-block print.  The green block was cut Friday night at the Tecumseh Art Walk in linoleum.  The sparrow block was cut in wood last year during a demonstration at The Daily Grind celebrating Gwen Frostic Day on May 23rd.

I had a great time printing this block during the Art Walk.  We had great attendance.  I learned a few new printmaking methods from my friends Valerie and Marian who also made prints that night.  Helping with the event was a lot of work but the fun times made it all worth while.

Now that the Art Walk is past me it’s time to get busy on a few other projects.  But, you haven’t seen the last of this sparrow.  I intend to create a series of the little guy in different colors.  Look for him to reappear at Hidden Lake Gardens this June.

“Blue Damsel Lotus”, Woodblock print

This needs no explanation for anyone who has spent anytime on the water under a full moon.  This print is for lovers….lovers of night, of a full moon, of lotus flowers, of nature, of quiet moments.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Earth Day and what it means?  The news is full of stories of global warming, contamination, oil spills, deforestation, and the disappearance of birds, frogs, bees and other animals.  Politicians are not the answer.  Politicians favor corporate America.  Industrialized nations are poisoning our water, air and land.  To speak against this is heresy.  Fighting industrialization is to fight the American way for the past 200 years.  Fighting industrialization is “unAmerican” according to most people.  Well, I refuse to believe that.  John Muir refused to believe it.  And I know there are millions of Americans who also refuse to believe it.  So I think Earth Day is a message of hope.  It is a day to celebrate people like John Muir from our past and a day to celebrate people like Lynn Henning in our present.  Earth Day is also a call for action.  It is not enough stand on the sidelines and declare that you love nature.  It’s not enough to rely on politicians.  It is not enough to rant about it on Facebook.  This week I learned about how to become a water sentinel.  This week I learned that there are ways (other than monkey wrenching) to make a difference.  So by this time next year I may be carrying more than just a fly rod to my local lakes and streams.  I may be carrying a test kit.  Gas Companies….I’m keeping you in check.  Gravel companies….I’m keeping you in check.  Industrial farmers….I’m keeping you in check.  You have a year to think about that.  Clean up your act.  This message was approved by Carolina Wrens for Nature.