Nature Journaling

Last fall I embarked on a goal of keeping a more formal Nature Journal ala 'The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady' (google it) Mine, being done in a small moleskine on watercolor paper, is nowhere near as lovely.  I am having fun with it, but I am ever struggling to actually be sketching the pages concurrently within the actual month it is. For example, it's April and I'm still not finished with February. In the words of Pooh...'Oh bother!'

Anyway...here are some of the pages thus far.  (click on them to view in large, these small shots lack the detail of the actual pages)  This leaf was originally in my travel sketchbook (a more informal project) but that journal was mostly ruined by a ruptured water bottle in my trunk, I salvaged this page and pasted in the front of the moleskin, since I drew it in October while at a womens retreat near Williams Arizona.  The photo below was taken before the deluge, and is from the previous sketchbook.

 I am always mad at myself for being too lazy to produce nicer handwriting... I am capable of it, I just am in a hurry by the time I get to the journaling.

This bird, was very fun to discover.  On a morning hike I saw this bird behaving very oddly.  Based on it's size and coloring I first thought it a Mockingbird, but then realized it was not.  I took lots of photos of it's funny behavior.  It was jumping to and fro, fanning it's feathers in a menacing way, all around some fallen saguaro bones (that's a cactus, it has 'skeleton' when all the cactus flesh erodes).  I think it was trying to spook some small critter out from it's safe hiding spot.  I later learned that this amazing little bird breaks the neck of it's prey, paralyzing it, then impales it on a sharp stick and eats it alive.  Nature is so blunt!

In December we finally began to see some fall color upon the trees (trees that don't naturally belong in the Sonoran desert!).

I also learned about another new (to me) bird, the ladderbacked woodpecker.

On Christmas day we had a large covey of Gambels quail file through the front yard.  ;o)

January's pages...

 scenes from the snow covered paths at the Grand Canyon...

Various birds at my backyard feeder...

In February I finally spotted some nearly 'barren' winter trees...

I also shot lots of photos of, then later painted the water fowl at Discovery Park...

and that's where I'm currently at in the journal.  So behind!  I need to finish February and March, so I can begin April.  Oh well... it is a fun hobby and forces me to at least do some small artwork.  I'm really just teaching myself water color. Previously I mostly worked in acrylics, or just plain pencil or ink.  (the quail is colored pencil and some of the grand canyon, it's a mixed media sketch)  Hope you enjoyed!