Prior to publishing last Sunday’s post about creativity, where I introduced you to Brian and his paintings and a few of the vendors at the “Art in the Park” event, I was perusing my Metroparks newsletter to see if anything captured my interest.
One event, which name I used for this post title, drew me like a magnet: “Walk, Talk & Sketch – Take your art outdoors. Learn some of the basics of field sketching; then hit the meadows and woods of Oakwoods Metropark for inspiration.”
Michigan’s Metroparks are comprised of nine separate venues, with a total of 84 miles (135 kms) of rustic and paved hiking and biking trails. The adjoining waterways make it perfect for fishing or boating activities. I bought my first park pass last July, and sadly, I’ve only been to one of their venues (Lake Erie Metropark). Since I wanted to try out Oakwoods Metropark and Summer is slipping by, I signed up for this event.
I’ll do a separate post about the six-mile long hike I took after arriving there around 9:15 a.m. I wasn’t sure how long we’d walk while sketching, so I cut myself off after walking six miles. The woodsy areas were not so dense that you’d worry about getting lost, or being alone in the middle of nowhere, so I walked all of the trails, taking a lot of pictures. I found it amusing that the reviews about Oakwoods Metropark mentioned lots of critter activity. I found a grasshopper and a butterfly and took their photos. Then I saw a Great Egret breaking bread, er … fish with a couple of Mute Swans in the distance, all which will be fodder for a Part II post about this jaunt.
After hiking the rustic trails from about 9:30 to 12:30 and reaching my six-mile, self-imposed steps cutoff, I realized I still had 90 minutes to kill before the sketching event began. So, I took out my sketch pad and pencil and parked myself on a picnic bench under a tree while the breeze stirred the wispy tendrils around my face and a cacophony of insect noises, (maybe cicadas), were music to my ears.
I didn’t sketch a thing, but instead began writing a post in longhand that memorialized my hike to hopefully publish it last night.
In the past I’ve written about a sketching class I took as a teen. It was sponsored by our city and every Wednesday, the bus took us to different historical or scenic locations in nearby Wyandotte, Michigan. Maybe it was free, but likely my parents ponied up for the lessons; we just needed to show up with a sketchbook and charcoal pencils or pastel crayons, whatever was our preferred medium. I was sorry to see the class end at Labor Day, and my parents, eager to foster my interest in art, bought some sketching how-to books and more art materials, but schoolwork often intruded on free time and the class was not offered the following Summer. I began sewing as a hobby shortly thereafter, so there was just no time for artwork. On occasion I’d think about reviving the sketching but the pastel crayons weren’t good anymore and we used the sketchbooks to make diagrams where to hang the pictures and knickknacks in the same location as before the house was painted and wallpapered.
Back when there were bird feeders in the backyard and we watched the beautiful jays and cardinals feasting on sunflower seeds in the Winter, Mom suggested that I get interested in sketching again. As an incentive she bought me this book for Christmas.
It has been on the coffee table since 2005, and occasionally I’d pick it up and page through it, marveling at the beautiful sketches of birds and waterfowl.
I promised Mom that birds would be my first subject to tackle when I began sketching again, but I would wait until I retired. Back in 2005, that was a promise that was easy to make.
So, fast forward a few years … I registered for this event, figuring that even if the $5.00 fee was a waste of money, I wanted to visit Oakwoods Metropark anyway. I even invested in a sketchbook and some number two pencils. Woo hoo – I was all in.
While on that 20-mile drive to Oakwoods Metropark yesterday morning, I envisioned sketching a pair of mallard ducks or a Canada goose, the likes of what I’d seen in A Sketchbook of Birds. I even kicked it up a notch and fancied myself being one of those women painters who sit on a short stool, watercolor paints at the ready, their sketchbook balanced on their knees, as they sketch and paint one of the many flower gardens in the historical area of Heritage Park. Every time I’ve seen those women I am envious, while thinking “I want to be that girl” … even if being “that girl” will be in my retirement years.
So I went to this gig with that mindset ….
My first mistake was assuming “Walk, Talk & Sketch” was a class, combined with a follow-up interpretive walk. I’ve gone on several interpretive walks at Lake Erie Metropark and they are enjoyable programs to learn about the Park’s natural resources.
We assembled in a room where paper, clipboards, number two pencils and erasers were available; however, we all arrived with our own sketchbooks and pencils. Then Paula, our interpretive guide, showed us a few of her sketches she’d done in the past.
She then announced “we’re off to explore and sketch!” (What? Wait a minute – with no tutorial, or no sketching instructions first?) Logically, I next assumed the sketching instructions would be at each point we paused on the walking trail – ah, yes … that made sense. So the six of trailed behind Paula as she picked a place for us to sketch, then chitchatted about the park.
(Note to self: next time re-read the program and reach out with questions beforehand.) I chastised myself inwardly … “well, silly me for thinking instructions may be Paula peeking over our respective shoulders and offering some guidance.”
Nope, that didn’t happen either.
Only one person in our group had any drawing experience and that was a preteen who’d taken some art classes in middle school and dabbled in pen-and-ink drawings as a hobby. Her mom was eager to show pictures on her phone of her young prodigy’s artwork. The rest of us, another mother/daughter combo, plus a woman my age, obediently stood where Paula stopped, making quick sketches of what we saw. We learned what tree or berries we were sketching. My eyes glanced over to the others’ sketches which looked about the same as what I’d accomplished.
My sketches are pretty simple, but I am putting them here anyway to go with the post. I made sure to label them as you’d likely never guess what they are – we had about seven minutes to sketch each one.
My next “real” stab at drawing will have to wait until I take an organized class, or even after watching some videos like this on YouTube on sketching basics and that’s because I still aspire to be “that girl” … (using the moniker “girl” loosely here), but when I have more time to play.
What the hay, it was a beautiful day, a trek to a new venue and I added more miles to my tally. I had a really early evening as I was worn out from the long walk and all the fresh air and kept nodding off when I finally got online. 🙂
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
I would have been disappointed too. They should have been more explicit in the directions. Fortunately it was a good day anyway.
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I’m glad I’m not the only person who would have interpreted it as a sketching class. No one in the group said anything, so I was left wondering. Yes I had intended to try that park out anyway, but I could have done the sketches on my own.
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I think your sketches are good Linda, despite not getting the training that you were expecting. I vaguely remember a TV show from when I was young called “That Girl” and was reminded of it when you said you still aspire to be that girl. LOL.
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Thank you Ruth!! I took that sketching class back in the 60s and really enjoyed it … I wish I could have continued the following year but the City didn’t offer the class. Yesterday we had just a few minutes to do each sketch. I decided to include them in the post, but won’t quit my day job. 🙂 I loved “That Girl” … I’d park myself in front of the TV every Thursday night and imagine life when I was all grown up and maybe living in the Big City like Ann Marie. Her clothes and hair were so trendy back then and I can still hear her squeal “Oh Donald” when she was excited about something he said or did.
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I don’t remember it that well probably because I was only 6 in 1971 when it last ran.
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That’s right you were just a kid Ruth- she was my idol … her and Mary Tyler Moore. 🙂
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I loved That Girl too….one of the first independent single women on TV – what a role model. I’m trying to remember what her job was…..did she work at the UN in New York?
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I think Ann Marie (“That Girl”) moved to the Big City (NY) to be an actress. She took temp jobs until she got her first “big break” in show business. That is how she met Donald. I loved that show. Tried to wear my hair like her and she was an idol. I went to NY when I was in the National Model United Nations conference in 1976. We were there on behalf of our college representing Egypt and our group of six had afternoons/evenings free so we took in a lot of sights and went to one Broadway show. It was “Same Time Next Year” and Loretta Swit and Ted Bessell played the leads. I liked Mary Tyler Moore, who was also the independent female in the Big City, (Minneapolis, if memory serves me right). I did a post when Mary Tyler Moore died as she had been an idol when I was a little older and aspired to have a journalism career. https://lindaschaubblog.net/2017/01/25/snippets-of-sunshine-sound-bites-and-remembering-that-smile/
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That’s right – she was an actress. You have an amazing memory. Now, I wonder which young girl was working at the UN – maybe another tv show? Your NY trip sounds fun. I went on a (very long 13hr) bus trip there in the early 80’s and did the usual stuff, 2 Broadway shows, neither of which I remember although they were popular at the time, and the Rocketttes show, plus a circle tour of NY on a boat, (no Ellis Island though which I would have loved as a history buff, as it was being renovated then). We also did the top of the Empire State building and Trump Tower. I was disappointed in the shopping, and came home with nothing…..it must have been a bad year for clothes, although I remember going to Saks and Tiffanys just to look, everything was super expensive.
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In 1976, we went during Easter break from school. The school paid for transportation, rooms and two meals a day. We got to sit in the actual UN assembly room and they had a cocktail party to meet some of the delegates but it was Easter week, so not all were in town. We only saw one play, but I’d have loved to see the Rockettes – lucky you! We did go to a discoteque – not Studio 54, but it was a huge place, multi-story with all the lights and huge mirror ball and loud – you could hear the music way down the street. We went on our last night there to celebrate my birthday which was that week. We did the the Statue of Liberty and in those days you could go all the way up to the crown and look out. It was an uncharacteristically warm week and going up the narrow staircase in the metal statue – some tourists said they felt they’d pass out. I have a pic at the Statue of Liberty and at the Empire State Building too. Did you go on a carriage ride at Central Park? We did that too on our afternoon off. I remember walking around the Saks and Tiffanys but didn’t buy anything. Did you walk around FAO Schwartz toy store? I think they have since closed down, but it was two stories high and they had toy cars that were amazing due to their detail … they cost a pretty penny too. I never saw or remember Trump Tower. We rode the subways alot too. The other five in our group were fascinated with the subway, but I said I was used to them from going to Toronto to visit my grandmother – I said you could take the streetcar, subway or bus to go anywhere, just by using transfers. Did I ever tell you that a co-worker and I went to Toronto for a vacation and to visit my grandmother. She’d never been there and we got there the first day of TTC strike in 1976. We walked all over the place so we didn’t have to take a taxi.
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Yes we went on a carriage ride – I’d forgotten that. But not on the subway, I guess because we had a bus tour of the city, but mainly walked and walked and walked, although occasionally we took a taxi if we could get flag one down. Our hotel was centrally located near Times Square and Broadway, and we took the tour bus to some places. When I went to school in Toronto we took the subway if we wanted to go downtown or shopping (not that we had any money for shopping) or occasionally bar-hopping. A NY disco must have been interesting, as disco was just coming in then 1976. When I lived in Toronto after graduation, I took the subway out of downtown and then transferred to a bus to get to work, but it was all easy, and not very crowded, as I worked 10-6 so avoided peak rush hour.
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Yes, the transportation is super in Toronto – go everywhere with a transfer. And then there was the Go train from Toronto and went to Oakville where I lived but I think it was after we moved but I know it had a lot of commuters going into the city. We stayed at the Statler Hilton Hotel (yes, I remember the silliest things – like the “That Girl” and I meant to comment on your comment) … but we not only stayed there but our meetings were held there so maybe that’s why it sticks in my head- I looked and it is no longer called that name but it is the same hotel building and on 7th Avenue – that part I forgot. The disco was fun and we had a good time – very loud and strobe lights and that mirrored ball – very good time and something different. I took mass transportation for years – I loved it and it was my best reading time. I used to hate when people bothered me to talk if I had a good book.
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Nice sketches. Linda! I would love to be able to do nature sketches too. I once read a book called “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”. It really helped me get better at sketching, but I didn’t have the time to do all the exercises in the book while I was working. I pulled the book out again once I retired, but still haven’t gone through the exercises yet. Maybe this is the nudge I need.
Even though there was no sketching instruction, it sounds like a nice day and you got 6 miles in at a new place!
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Thanks Laurie -glad you like them, but I’m pretty sure I can’t quit my day job though! 🙂 I thought about you when I signed up for this event since we discussed sketching before and I said it was something I planned to do down the road once I was retired. I looked at this book with the bird sketches … it really has a lot of different birds and shapes , but I need basic instruction. That video I included was helpful and he has a series so I’m going to look at that when I have time, likely retirement. I did anticipate some sketching instruction but it was a good day and beautiful weather and a long walk. I got about 3/4s of a mile for the event. We went onto the trail and then walking back to the car. I’ve been keeping the pedometer on in the house as you suggested, so I did 7 miles. And another 6 1/2 miles today – have to seize the day.
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Great miles, Linda. I have thought about taking a drawing class now that I am retired. I would have to clear out a spot in my schedule, though! 🙂
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I don’t know how you have any spaces not penciled in on your “dance card” Laurie. 🙂 (I’ve not heard that phrase in forever.) You and Bill are perfect examples of how to enjoy the retirement years after decades of committing the best hours of the day to work and simultaneously raising a family. It’s almost a year since Bill retired. Didn’t he finish up and take his accumulated vacation/personal time, etc. in time to stop working at Thanksgiving? No regrets ever!
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His last day was right before Christmas last year. We were just talking about how much we are enjoying retirement. We did work very hard for a lot of years. That makes retirement extra sweet.
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I agree with you Laurie. There has to be some reward for working so hard in school, then your chosen career. I can remember my parents saying to me when I complained about homework in high school and college that “one day you will wish you had it so easy … just wait until you are working every day – you’ll remember these days.”
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It’s all good.Just practice.
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Thank you Fred – I need lots of practice. 🙂 That video was good and part of a series, so I will look into that as a good option.
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Your sketches are fine, despite no instructions. It’s nice the group was small.
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Thanks Anne, I probably could have done better with a charcoal pencil and some better shading. I registered by e-mail and asked if we needed art supplies to attend and Paula responded that they provided a sheet of paper on a clipboard and a number two pencil.
I thought I’d go ahead and get the supplies, and perhaps work on a few of my own (I was hopeful to do a Parker drawing perhaps in the Winter) … I have a long way to go but it was nice and fun to give it a try with an organized group at the end of a beautiful weather day.
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Many pluses there!
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What a beautiful day and what fun to do the sketching!
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Yes, we had a beautiful weekend here – you too? How are the walks with your husband going in the local Metroparks going. After I wrote the post about the geese being MIA in Council Point Park, a flock of about 40 of them descended on the Park Friday morning … they must have stopped spraying the grounds as they stayed and were there when I left.
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We haven’t been able to due to a foot problem he has. So I have been working for hours every day in the yard. I am so sore!
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Oh, I’m sorry to hear that Diane – maybe after the yard and garden is so “needy” and you put the gardens “to bed” for the Fall, then you can resume the walks at the Park again with your husband. I heard the Old Farmer’s Almanac predictions for the Midwest yesterday – ugh. Lots of snow and the cold/snow, etc. will drag on through April making Spring’s arrival late once again … guess this is the norm now. I hate hearing that forecast!
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This is the first tine since my school years that I don’t care what happens this winter since I don’t have to drive in it. I can even have the driveway clear for my husband when he gets home, We have a huge driveway!
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That’s good exercise for you doing the snow shoveling, good cardio workout. I used to do the next door’s snow and mine … the house and driveway and sidewalks … three times as big as mine. Did it for years and then the neighbor did my lawn/edging, etc. all growing season – it was “our deal”. I have a small house. It was great, then I did the snow the Winter we had 62 inches (2017-2018) and he said in the Spring “sorry, no time to cut your lawn anymore” … I shoveled that entire Winter and he/son who lives there never helped. I was angry – still am and told him so. We still can be friendly neighbors, (he is the one who got the chirping C02 alarm) but I am angry about it anyway. I don’t mind shoveling snow as I wouldn’t be walking anyway and it’s good exercise, but I don’t like when the plow comes by and it gets icy and freezes – one year that happened and I couldn’t get out of the driveway for two months – it was a frozen mass and I couldn’t back out. Snowblowers and even asking the neighbor at that time to help me chip away at it and using that Ice Melt did not help. Not looking forward to 7 major snowfalls
– you are very handy to have around and I’ve said that before Diane. 🙂
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Linda your sketches are good and it’s good prep for your upcoming children’s book about Parker, which of course you will be illustrating as well as writing the text! I suspect most of those plein air sketching/painting classes don’t actually give much instruction. I accompanied my mother and some of her art friends on one a few years ago. The class was put on by a local gallery and cost $50 but because not many people had signed up – they eventually made it free. Of course my mother knew what to do, and when the instructor came by to check, she said well you don’t need any help. But two of my friends were just beginners, and they didn’t get any help either. Imagine if you had paid $50 for that! There were about thirty participants. I was the brownie maker so it was my job was to pass around the brownies I had made, which seemed much appreciated. Our plein air painting day last week was cancelled, and may be made up in two weeks weather permitting, but really it’s more of a social thing, where everyone paints on their own, and they break for lunch (you bring your own) and then show and tell. I would like the picnic part but not the show and tell. Maybe you should bring a sketchbook on your park walks, and sketch Parker – he’s probably like that. He’s looking forward to becoming famous someday.
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Thank you Joni! Reading your comment tells me I ought to have mentioned this little event to you in advance and perhaps my expectations for a learning experience would not have been as high. I did, however, wonder in advance how we were going to fit a tutorial, and an interpretive walk where we did sketching along the way, in the course of an hour, but the trail was right outside the Nature Center door. I am glad you thought my sketches were good Joni … we had about seven minutes at each stop we made and actually we just picked what we wanted to sketch at that stop that Paula made. It could have been one or more items to sketch at each stop. I’d have done the moss on the trees, but they were in the wooded area down the trail. They had several trails and this was closest to the Nature Center. Thank goodness I didn’t see a squirrel – he might have come out as a stick figure. But the other sketchers seemed to have the same ability as me, even the young girl – she was just making thumbnail sketches, a bunch of them on one sheet of paper. So it was like your Woodstock party … the anticipation of the event was higher than the actual event itself, but it was not expensive like your event (yikes!) and it was truly a beautiful day. Paula was nice and I spoke with her beforehand as she was doing a Monarch butterfly release and I caught the tail end of that – she had released four Monarchs already that morning. Had I known, I’d have gone inside earlier rather than start writing my post on the picnic table. I’m going to write about the walk itself in a separate post. I have the narrative finished, just need to pick my pictures – there were many in the woods and I was happy the flash captured some of the moss in there. There was so much moss on the fallen logs and it was an emerald green color and very pretty with the sun filtering through the trees. I knew combining the two posts would be way too long. That video looked comprehensive and he has a series that follow it so maybe I should work on the sketching over the Winter, with some charcoal pencils from Michaels and do a sketch of Parker then … you’ve inspired me. If it’s not a flattering sketch … well it will be payback time for my furry pal hijacking my blog last week! 🙂
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Linda, you did mention it to me last week, but I had high hopes too, as don’t we always! I never thought about mom’s outdoor art class. For the $50 they did provide a small 5X7 canvas, and a pallet, upon which the instructor had squeezed out some paint colors from a bigger tube, but certainly no instruction. Maybe some of the others had brought their own paints….we were not prepared. I’m thinking also that maybe the instructor felt she didn’t have to instruct as it was free, and maybe she wasn’t getting paid or paid as much. I don’t think there were many beginners in the class, just my two art friends, both of which are painting more now. But then maybe that is the going rate – I see watercolor classes offered for $300 for five lessons, and think wow – I’d rather do a youtube or facebook video than spend that. The moss sounds interesting and different. I’d better get working on a post for Wed/Thurs, as I have nothing read, probably a book review. Parker must realize you have to start somewhere, and if he doesn’t think it’s a good likeness, well Van Gogh did many portraits, and they weren’t all great, esp at the beginning, but they are all famous now! I have read a few books on Beatrix Potter of Peter Rabbit fame, and her early sketches are all in museums now.
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The painting class would have been fun as well. The watercolor classes are expensive – wow! We have these painting parties here – people go to a place where everyone paints the same picture and they go home with it … several people I know have gone at Christmastime and done a snowman. Sometimes they do it to raise money for an organization. We had one called “The Lush Brush” fairly close by but it went out of business earlier this Summer. What will you write about this week? End of Summer – hard to call it Summer as we once knew it, that’s for sure. I have to do part II of Saturday’s walk. I have it written, but have to pick through and organize the pictures. Maybe tonight because we have a few stormy days coming up and try to stay off the laptop when it’s stormy.
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I have seen lots of those painting parties advertised, but have no desire to go….everyone’s pictures always end up looking the same. If I take mom to the plein air painting, I will be the brownie baker again – no talent here, or desire. I haven’t actually done any writing today – got caught up on Reader this morning, went for groceries as the fridge was looking bare, cleaned out 700 plus emails from gmail, where I had not been since July 1, then had problems with gmail, so will try again tomorrow. I’m going to do a book review this week, then maybe a photo essay with End of Summer pics for next – how did you know!!! I may do it by colours and call it Colour your World, or leaves aren’t the only colour in the fall etc. Not feeling too inspired tonight, as I don’t know what to write about the book, as I read it several years ago, and can’t really remember much, but it’s a non-fiction book on Introverts, as there seem to be so many on here, I thought it might be of interest. Storms forecast here too.
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I thought the same thing – a row of black or dark gray backgrounds with snowmen! Boring to me and it was pricey – I’d rather go somewhere to learn how to paint – this was two circles and a face as I recall. We are terrible. I am not surprised they went out of business so quickly. I did a post “Color my World” after the Chicago song and it may have been for Fall – Fall is happening in the stores with the decor and all the pumpkin spice food/drinks – donuts. Our cider mills opened last weekend already. We have storms overnight/early morning and during the day. End of Summer can tie into the pumpkin. I’m going to do an end of Summer post on Labor Day, the unofficial end of Summer and I think do a collection of photos I took this Summer – I’ve been collecting photos that are not enough to make one post “topic” so here’s my last chance. I wanted to do it at Fourth of July and didn’t and have collected more pics since then … just ordinary things in the neighborhood and park that I see on my walk – hopefully not boring. I still have pics galore to use – better hurry or it will be Fall.
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Maybe your Color my World post stayed in my mind! I was taking pictures of my green tomatoes yesterday, and thought, how green they looked. Then the sunflowers – how yellow etc. The clematis – purple! So I thought I would run through all the colours and put a pic with each. Just finished draft of book review – 1200 words in about one hour. I can do it if I put my mind to it……needs editing now. It certainly felt fallish today, the air has that fall feel, but humidity and rain tomorrow. Definitely cooler temp. after.
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I looked to see when I used it – I know I was thinking about the Chicago song. I actually have used it twice already, one way back in 2014 and then last Fall with the color changes. It is a great title especially for the end-of-Summer too when flowers are at their peak and I like the yellow and purple combinations. A homeowner on the next block does pansies just in yellow and dark purple and they look fabulous. I’m going to finish my post about Saturday’s hike – it is pouring out now and likely won’t stop before I’d go out on a walk, not in a pouring rain, even though it is warm out. I’ll try to catch up in Reader a bit. They now say it will rain Saturday and Sunday – not a washout. That might be good if I sneak in a walk around the rain events, but stay close to home and get my photos sorted and things done in the house. I’ve not even loaded in any pantry items, paper goods, etc. that I stock up for the Winter. I’m usually done with most of that by now and in the Fall, finish up with the rest of it. I’ve gotten nothing accomplished this Summer but deal with calamities and be busy at work … the bulk of the rest of my time has been spent here and I really need to apportion my time better and I do know that, but I look ahead to the Winter months and say “I’ll do it then” … but it doesn’t always happen.
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I think you do very well juggling all that you do!
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Thank you Joni, but even I admit I have to put a dent in my housework and some yard work this weekend. I just had a 2 1/2 hour phone call and now I am really behind in Comments and Reader. I’ll be behind even more now – it fills me with despair sometimes as I feel like a butterfly flitting from one project to another.
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That is a good analogy……but even butterflies need to rest and soak up the sun on their wings like in your blog today. Any 2 1/2 hour phone call would tire me out…..
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It did me too and what was not good was I didn’t walk yesterday and had been sitting for hours in the morning putting yesterday’s long post together, had to pick pictures, finalize the narrative – I cut some parts out about the turtles at the Nature Center – had another few paragraphs and more photos, like you did for the Woodstock story. I rarely talk on the phone and if it’s a long call it is my boss when he is on the road, going home or to a destination.
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The turtles sound interesting – perhaps another post? I got two posts done yesterday and today, so am ahead a bit now,as I have more time this week, but a busy week next. I hope your boss isn’t dictating while he’s driving! I walked on Sunday, but that was the first time in ages.
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I have to go back and see if I got enough pictures of them, that I could use them maybe when talking about “slowing up in my walking regimen” just before the time change … that is bad as I only get 2-3 miles in a few weeks before that happens because it isn’t light until later. Good idea – thank you Joni! I had thought to keep them but not sure I’d get back there. It was next to a beautiful cemetery and this is one of the largest cemeteries in Michigan and just something to see. My mom and I went for years, as we’d just look at their landscaping, all the flowering trees and I have to go back in the Springtime as it’s been years since we went. They had a manmade pond and swans in the middle and many people would sit on the benches and just watch them –
very peaceful. I thought it might be nice to go back in the Fall for the color change though. I stayed in Reader til I got to one day back and that was good as I was 3 1/2 days back when I sat down. But then something ran across the table and I didn’t know what it was … I shut off the computer and jumped back in a hurry. It turned out to be a carpenter ant and where did it come from – hitched a ride with me when I was at the Park? I don’t know but I smashed it and went to bed as it was about 9:45 … we had carpenter ants about 30 years ago and had to cut down all the trees, take out the pine bark and replace it with cedar mulch … it took a while but finally got rid of them.
I don’t like them, and certainly not on the kitchen table, but I’m not afraid of them like a spider or centipede. It was that it came out of nowhere, on the table and ran quickly and I saw something black out of the corner of my eye. I am glad I found it. I hope to catch up some more tonight. Robb does dictate on the road and when I worked on site I had a Plantronics headphone so I was hands free all day – I transferred all incoming calls to him like a three-way conversation and he got a lot of calls so I had the headset on as I walked around the office. And he used to dictate on the road for documents and also if I read an e-mail to him, he’d give me the answer to write back to the person who sent it. He’s a labor lawyer on the management side – people always have issues with their employees.
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I guess he would never lack for business then! My critter update: I boarded up underneath the steps to the deck on both sides, with boards and bricks against them in an attempt to keep the vole under the deck and starve him to death….I know that’s mean, but is it any worse than putting rat poison out? I haven’t seen it in a few days, so maybe it’s already gone, dead or moved elsewhere? The wasps nest under the siding in the corner of the house is more of a worry – I called a pest control place and it’s $150 for a visit, so I think I’ll try the spray a bit longer, the only thing is when I came inside, there’s a faint odour of the spray in the bedroom in the same corner, so not sure I want to be breathing in that stuff…..not sure what to do…..may do some google research. These critters are frustrating to deal with…
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Jim the handyman plugged up the wasp hole with putty, but it was high up so he could put lots of putty there, but then the relatives came a’callin’. Worried they would try to come into the house. I found the three carpenter ants this week and that takes me out of my comfort zone. I had all the little ants in the Spring. Disgusted with it all. Get rid of the vole, even if it is inhumane – I would do it as it will dig and make more problems, and costly ones and ruin the lawn in the process. What a pain the critters are. I think all the wasp sprays smell. Can you plug it up or are you not able to get that close? How about getting your grass guys to do something – they might have a suggestion having encountered it at other places they maintain. Might be a good idea and if they/you can’t plug up the hole somehow, can you fashion a screen of some type over the area, like buying some screening patches like people buy to repair their screens? Get that at the hardware store and ask them when they are here – maybe they will help you … have brownies ready. 🙂
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I did some research last night, and some sites said not to plug the hole as they’ll just find a way inside the house, but I don’t see how that would be likely? If it does happen, I guess they’ll be in my bedroom! I’m going to try to tape it up with Duct-Tape, when my grass guy comes again, or I may just get a ladder and do it myself, it’s reachable with a stepladder, as it’s the corner where the siding on the upper part of the house meets the brick on the lower level. They say to wait until twilight when they’re in their nest, but it was dark out last night and they were still buzzing around. Someone else had tried spraying with peppermint oil, and another used those flypaper strips we used to have years ago on the farm – don’t even know if they sell them anymore? It’s only two small holes, so it should plug up ok. I’ll ask at the hardware store for putty. Need to solve it before it gets bigger and/or they burrow in for the winter, if they do that?
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I am not sure if they go into a dormant stage – I was lucky as they stopped buzzing around after around a week. I wonder if you called or e-mailed the extension services of Guelph Agricultural College to ask them if it would be helpful – ask about the voles at the same time. Here we have Michigan State University and if you have issues with plant or tree disease, you can send in a sample of the problem, or a bug you want to identify, etc. and they get back with you. Might be worth a try? https://www.uoguelph.ca/oac/
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Thanks that’s a good idea. Tonight I duct-taped up the holes in the siding so I’m hoping that will work. There were only a few wasps about when I did it at dusk, but then more came and were they angry. So I went inside and back out when it was darker, and none around, so I taped it up better. I also hung one of those wasp catcher things with sugar water from a nearby tree branch, so they’d have a new place to go. I hope that works. I couldn’t see the point of keeping spraying that pesticide into the hole as it wasn’t reaching the nest and the smell was coming into the house, although faintly. It might have been my imagination, as I did not smell it in the bedroom tonight, but in the living room below. So if they can’t get out, I guess they starve. I’ll take my chances that they don’t find another exit into the house. Same with the vole – if he dies under the deck, I guess it will smell for a bit, but the deck sitting days are growing short anyway. He’s all boarded in too. I hope they all sleep tight!
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What we have to go through because of critters. My grandmother got squirrels in her attic. She had a two-story home and they did a lot of damage before the pest control service was able to come out and trap them … she had to have repairs done where they gnawed and made a mess. Now is the time to trap the vole, and hopefully it disintegrates somewhat before Winter, otherwise the cold will preserve his body over the Winter and then you need to deal with it in the Spring. Maybe vole bait would have ensured he died right away, but don’t open it up now. What a pain and I hope the wasps are gone to another spot – the black wasps I dealt with were huge and I’d never seen them before or knew they existed. They had huge bodies and wings and looked like flying ants on steroids. Then one day I was bringing groceries in … I never use the front door, only that door, and I put the groceries on the landing so I don’t have to keep taking off my shoes to go up into the kitchen. One of the wasps followed me in, so I worried if it went into one of the open grocery bags or zoomed downstairs. I had gone to the store before work, so when I do that, I put the fridge stuff in separate bags so I can quickly put that stuff in the fridge and deal with the other groceries when I have time. So, I had to stop what I was doing and put everything away right then and there to ensure it was not hiding in the grocery store bags and would come out and sting me. It is still at large in the house and mostly likely downstairs and that gives me no comfort in the least. This is what it looks like: https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Great-Black-Wasp
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Ugh, it’s gross. I’m not sure if mine are wasps or yellowjackets. They don’t seem to bite/bother me.
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I know – scary looking. None tried to bite/bother me either. Just looming around trying to land over the screen door.
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Well those wasp/yellowjackets are determined little devils. When I went outside and checked this morning, about ten of them were in a group burrowed under a piece of the duct tape close to the hole I had so securely taped over. I guess it is evolutionary to want to save their Queen B! I doused them with a shot from the insecticide spray, then went out for the day, and tonight at dusk they were all gone off to a Motel 6 or whereever they sleep now, so I added another layer of duck tape on top of the multiple layers from yesterday. The scariest part is there was one angry one buzzing around my bedroom this morning when I was drinking my coffee in bed and checking my emails. Splat! I moved the bedside table and taped up a small hole where the two baseboards meet in the corner, just in case he got in that way, as it is right above the siding spot. He may have come in through the kitchen door though. I also found one this afternoon on the bathroom floor mat, but he was very lethargic and easy to kill. I guess if they are trapped in there for a few days, and if they do manage to get in the house, they will be too tired to do anything, the way flies get in the fall. I feel like I need to outsmart them!
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Oh … in the house and your room – how awful. Remember me and the tiny ants in the Spring? I never had those tiny ants in the house ever and my neighbor had them every year. Then about five years ago, they came from nowhere. I still had Buddy, my canary, and they would march along the countertop and he sat on the butcher block which is connected and I was scared they would bite him. But they left after a few weeks. This year they lingered – I blame this stupid and erratic weather and all the rain, and the big carpenter ants have me angry … I need to put out more traps this weekend, but not on the table … I never see other people having these issues so why us?
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I’m afraid to go out and check this morning, as it’s raining and I hope that duct tape sticks in the rain. Oop….as I’m typing this, there is a bee buzzing in my bedroom again! So frustrating, and he’s an angry one too! I’m wondering where they are getting in. So that’s three so far….as long as it’s not a swarm.
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Oh that is scary – and an angry one at that; see last night you said the one you saw was lethargic, so this is one that did not come near the spray or the spray is not good since it rained? And an all day rain today likely washed the spray away on the outside. What are you going to do – maybe you have to have the professional exterminator come in – what happens to bees when you turn off the lights? You don’t want one attacking you while you are sleeping. It looks like we have some severe weather and possible tornadic activity on Tuesday late and overnight around 2:00 a.m. … there was a mild tornado touchdown last week in Shiawasee County, about 100 miles from here. I thought tornado season was done in July to mid-August. Listening about the hurricane with winds gusting at 220 miles per hour is something I just can’t fathom. It would be nice to have the warm weather, but not at this price.
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I think the spray was pretty much useless, as I sprayed it into the two holes they were entering but that doesn’t mean it was anywhere near the nest. It would kill the ones it contacted but it didn’t say anything on the label about it having residual effect. I’ve already used 2/3 of the bottle. When I went back to the hardware store another clerk told me I should have bought the foam, but it came with this adapter tube thing I had to fit on and I said I didn’t figure on getting that close to them and preferred to spray from a distance as it was just dripping out of the hole anyway, but maybe the foam would have adhered better, or maybe it would have damaged the brick? I put a garbage bag on the deck below to catch the drips. The professional exterminators blow some kind of dust in which they take to the nest and which has residual effect, but which I think you need a pesticide license to purchase so the TSC store clerk told me. I think the one this morning was attracted to the smell of my coffee (although there was no sugar in it!), as I had just taken my mug of coffee back to bed to check my emails, at the same time as yesterday! I made 15 jars of peach freezer jam at mom’s today, and came back here to get something I forgot mid-pm and saw another lethargic one on the bathroom mat again, and one on the front door curtain, also lethargic. They could be coming in up through the hot water rad pipes, as that is my heating system. I’m not worried about them at night, as they sleep when I sleep. When I went out at 9:30 last night on the deck, there wasn’t a one to be seen. That’s why it’s better to spray the nest at night, but as the nest is inside the siding, I can’t really target the spray there, as the entry and exit holes are too far apart. I may end up getting the professionals in, but not over the holiday weekend, so am trying to starve them out. I don’t think there were so many in there, that I would ever have a swarm inside the house (it wasn’t going on for that long), so I can put up with 2 or 3 a day, but certainly if it continues I’ll have to get help. I initially sprayed the area and sprayed inside the holes (from a distance of four feet), 3 or 4 days in a row, but as that didn’t work, that’s why I decided to try and tape the openings up. I didn’t check tonight as it was dark when I got home, to see if the duct tape held in the rain, but we didn’t get too much here, just a light rain straight down, so it wasn’t against the house. Sigh……it’s always something isn’t it?
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Hard to “like” this comment Joni – I sympathize with you. We had a carpenter ant nest in the rafters many many years ago. I told the pest control service (Orkin, which is probably the biggest pest control service here in the US) I had seen a flying ant downstairs buzzing around the ceiling light fixture but they ignored what I said. We were sprayed for years and they drilled holes in the baseboards 18 inches apart and puffed in a white dust for years too. Cut down a good locust tree and had two oak trees cut down which had carpenter ants in them. All the ornamental bark had to be removed form the perimeter gardens, luckily the railroad ties were wolmanized wood. I was told to put cedar mulch instead to repel ants. Still saw carpenter ants but not as many. Our HVAC guy had rental properties and had cockroaches in a few of them. He suggested using his pest control service, a small/unknown company called “Pest Masters” as he used them for his rental homes with success. One time out and they found the nest (right where I said I saw the flying ant years before- grrrr) and used a marigold dust to kill the ants and fumigate the nest. It was safe and no side effects or smell either. No more ants after that … this was about 20 years ago. If you can avoid using industrial strength pesticide, be it spray or dust, do that. The spray had a small smell. After they got rid of the ants, one of their services was keeping spiders and centipedes at bay. My desktop PC was in the basement (I still worked on site at that time) and spiders and centipedes would hide in all the cords in that corner. I was scared as there were some huge black spiders. I had them spray all the wires, cables and I have not used that computer in about 12 years, but it is attached to all my modem/router, etc. When Comcast comes to the house for modem/router issues or for upgrades or problems, I tell them to use vinyl gloves which I provide and why. They look at me like I’ve lost my mind. I tell them that the pest control guy used gloves as heavy as those you use for staining wood. Then we got rats in 2008 when a new neighbor left their pitbull out 24/7/365 and fed it table scraps. Hired the pest control service to bait rat traps … not a fun time, as I had to get rid of birdbaths, bird feeders, etc. I spend as little time as possible in the yard – I don’t see rats personally, but I check for rat prints/tail tunnels in the snow and they are there. My yard has greenery all the way around the perimeter so they have plenty of places to hide. Had I known that, I’d have just had grass and been done with it – it would have been a lot easier and less costly to maintain. For your “invasion” I would try getting some flexible screen repair (you can even buy patches instead of buying a whole roll) to use inside only and patch from just the inside if possible. It is more even inside too. Hopefully the tape does not pull off the paint. That way you don’t worry about rain unsealing your patching effort either. Good luck!
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After all that, marigold dust worked? I wonder if the bigger company was just interested in making money. I want some kind of guarantee that the job is finished, when I call the Pest People tomorrow, and book an appointment. Last night after reading your comments, I decided to do a bit more research and then I got scared, as many of these pest companies say never ever to block up the entrance hole, so at 12:30 I went out and ripped all the duct tape off, and the ones that had burrowed under the first strips, were still alive, although barely crawling, but some others were angry. One angry one followed me into the garage and then into the house, but I finally got it. Then I couldn’t sleep in my bedroom for worrying about more getting in through the baseboards/electrical/heating holes, so I tried the couch, and it was 2:30 before I got to sleep! I checked this morning, and they are happily flying in and out of the hole, so I’ll call tomorrow when they are open and book an appointment. Some of the website said not to use the foam either as it blocks up the holes. Apparently the queen will hibernate over the winter, but will not use the same nest next year, but I don’t know if that is true – so many different opinions, just like your two companies. I just could not abide rats – the vole somehow is less creepy, but we had rats on the farm sometimes, although never many, as we had a ton of barn cats. I’m thinking my episode here will probably make a post/blog sometime in November when I am wondering what to write about!
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Oh that is terrible – I think the logical thing would be to plug up the hole too – I hope they can help you out and get rid of them – you don’t want them outside let alone inside. Houses sometimes are nothing but worries. It is discouraging sometimes.
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I called the Pest People (receptionist) this morning and the owner called me back but I had gone out for lunch and then we came back here for coffee and dessert and to see my new kitchen, so I didn’t check the phone messages until after 5pm, so I missed him. I’m sure we’ll be playing telephone tag all week. I wanted to talk to him before they came out, as I want to see what they will do first, as I don’t want them drilling into my hot water pipes (hot water furnace located above the siding part infested), so at least he is interested in helping me out, and called himself, instead of sending one of his worker-bees!
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I don’t blame you – I wouldn’t want them tampering with anything near there. Yes it is good it is the owner – maybe you’ll get better service and get rid of them hopefully forever. I didn’t see anymore thankfully here.
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PS. I don’t think patching from the inside is possible, at least for me. I don’t even know how they are getting in, google said could be electrical holes, heating pipes, etc. They may have to drill a hole in the outside siding/or brick to find the nest. I don’t like the idea of pesiticide dust in the house either. Apparently they can chew/eat through drywall and wood fibre with their mouths, (which explains how they got under the tape), but I have old plaster walls. I just want them gone. On the plus side, now that they are happy again, none joined me for coffee this morning!
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I saw a black wasp hovering around my door yesterday – I thought they were gone … he was scaling the bricks near the house. That’s the first one I’ve seen in over a month, so hope it was a stray one. Glad they did not join you for coffee. 🙂
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Did you have a problem with wasps earlier in the summer? Mine are not black, but yellow striped things.
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I know they were here the day I smashed my finger so June 28th and I had spotted them a few times that week before.
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Well as long as they don’t nest anywhere in or near your house! Any storms there yet?
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Nothing and it appears now it will occur overnight so I think I’ll go to bed – I was waiting in case I had to go downstairs due to the tornado they said might happen. I’ m happy if it fizzled out – hope your area is clear too.
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All clear here – I think it will track south. At least we’re not in the Bahamas! Good night!
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Here too and I’ll sleep better knowing it has fizzled and is fading fast (hopefully). The Bahamas look horrid don’t they? Good night Joni. I’m off too.
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Good for you for going at least!
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Yes, and even though I really didn’t learn anything, it was a nice get together and outside on a beautiful day – no humidity, very refreshing and coolish so you can’t beat that and the woods and trails were very nice. The interpretive walks are nice, and I’ve taken three of them plus a two-hour interpretive cruise last Summer.
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That’s a good way of looking at it!
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I had to stay positive about it. 🙂 I just popped over to Facebook and my friend posts stories she reads through the day. She posted this and I thought of you … I told my friend “it’s tough as soon as you leave the womb, let alone starting kindergarten”. Maybe it’s rougher over there:
https://www.aol.com/article/lifestyle/2019/08/26/before-and-after-photos-first-day-of-school/23801482/?fbclid=IwAR20d0quHB-dfd9oEc52q62BiRkwAVKnysNjcsVCo9gajtj70kkP0KouQOc
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That sketching looks like it would be fun. 🙂 It’s funny how most of us see with what we have — in a mental way — sketched inside of our brains… (which is always limited).
Paula got the Skipper legs right, three on aside.
The poet, E.E.Cummings, whom i like, was also an artist (who was a great sketcher). 🙂
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I thought it would be fun too Tom and I will try again, but on my own this time. Anticipating the event got me to buy some supplies in the hope that I could enjoy sketching like I did in that class all those decades ago. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a Skipper and believe it or not, I’ve never seen a raccoon. I was at Council Point Park one morning years ago and the animal control officer was there and they were trying to corral a raccoon. They had the police barricading the area and so I could not see anything. I wondered if they thought it was rabid? Also, this was my first owl, albeit a rehabbed owl who stayed in the dark corner of his enclosure. I search in each big park, scanning the trees for owls … I had hoped to see one at Oakwoods Metropark on Saturday. Paula said they embed themselves in the trees so all you’d see are eyes and might miss them as much as you’d be searching for them. Paula was doing a Monarch release when I got there to the Nature Center for the class … had I been a little earlier (instead of sitting on the picnic table after my long hike) I could have watched her release four Monarchs that had emerged earlier in the day. I like E.E. Cummings too and now I know why you sometimes do your posts in lower case. 🙂 I didn’t know he was an artist too.
It was a fun outing all in all, even though I think I sketch the same way as when I woke up Saturday morning … a fellow blogger suggested I sketch Parker. Perhaps I’ll ply him with peanuts and get him to stay in place long enough to sketch him, after a few online tutorials first though.
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There’s got to be plenty of Skipper Butterflies in your area. Besides the Silver-spotted Skippers, there are Tawny-edged Skippers and yellowish types that are quite small.
A raccoon, a few years ago, was chasing Marla in our backyard. Animal control came quickly and got it. They said it had a virus that was very bad, but not rabies.
I have some of Cummings’ original paintings that i purchased many years ago. I also have some sketches by him also. He always referred to himself as a poet and painter. He would paint during the day and write poetry at night.
Here is a place that offers a lot of his works for sale (the prices keep going up):
https://eecummingsart.com/
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Very interesting as to Cummings’ artwork – thank you for passing along the link Tom. I looked at the Skippers in Michigan and you are right – I think I have seen those butterflies. I have a book on butterflies and moths from when I had the butterfly garden. The blue butterfly I saw was a “Red-Spotted Purple” – hmm, nothing about being blue, the predominant color. Well that’s scary about the raccoon and Marla. I think they might have had that worry with this raccoon since the animal control officer cordoned off the area.
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Always be wary of Raccoons, especially if they approach you in the daytime.
Also, be wary of Skipper Butterflies if they approach you in the daytime. (Just kidding with the Skipper part.) 🙂
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I’d be afraid they were rabid if they approached me, rather than running away. Someone in the sketching group saw a hairy white and black caterpillar and might have been sketching it. She came back to the group and mentioned it to the guide who said “if you touch it, its long hairs will stick to your fingers and if you rub your eye, you’ll have to go to the E.R.”
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This just goes to show you can never know, even when you think you know. At least it was a pleasant day and you’re no worse for the wear. And just think how delightful it’ll be when you take the class that teaches you how to sketch. For real.
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Yes, this is true, but a part of me wanted to re-arrange the order of the words in the title. 🙂
It was a gorgeous day Ally, so it worked out in the end and I am eager to take a class and dabble in some art when I have more time. I enjoyed that charcoal/pastels class that I took years ago. It was an artist who taught the class and she’d look over our shoulder, give us pointers, show us details on her own sketch pad. There are also great art classes on YouTube and sections of Pinterest that offer step-by-step sketching techniques. I’ve seen them when I’ve gone on there to find a particular header image.
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I think your sketches are great, I like the tree stump the most! You did well going with the flow that didn’t match up to your original expectations. Plus you got 6 miles in too! Woohoo! No wonder you were tired after all of that. Not only did you get physical activity in, but you also worked your hand-eye coordination and brainpower by trying something new!!
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Thanks Shelley – I did just roll with it. I actually walked about another mile during the event, we went out on the trail and back and then I had to walk from the Nature Center back to the car, so 7 miles altogether and all that fresh air – yup, I was nodding off for sure – foot power and brain power in action.
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Sounds wonderful to me! Congratulations :-)!
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Great sketches, Linda! It looks like you had fun despite it being a little different than you imagined. I’ve been taking a watercolor class through the local Parks &Rec Department and very much enjoy it. Just signed up for the fall term with the same instructor and also will try a drawing class. These places offer all kinds of classes at very affordable prices. It’s $80.00 for an eight week class. Materials are extra. I think it’s a great deal and the lady teaching it is fantastic! Check to see if your local Parks & Rec Department offers something like they do here. I’m having a wonderful time! As to your book about Parker, your photos and the text could be supplemented with some sketches of all-things squirrel! What a fun day for you! 🙂
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Thanks Sabine – that is how our class was years ago, offered through Parks and Recreation and we went to a neighboring city to sketch historical homes and a cemetery that was over 100 years old. In fact I visited that old cemetery last year and wrote a post about it – it was then 150 years old! We had to have our own materials too and I love watching the women who do watercolors at Heritage Park. One sketches her design and fills it in with watercolor or acrylic paint; the other woman is not so fancy and just has has small pots of paint at her feet and reaches down with her brush – she is not as precise, but the effect is just as lovely. I wrote a post on the two of them last year as I watched them work and took pictures of their week – one woman was agreeable to me taking pictures, the other woman not so much, but relented in the end. I would love to do that when retired. I have had some people suggest I do a book on Parker, and I have many pictures of him, but I’ve not made any plans or commitments to do it, though I do have some ideas about such a book. I think it would be fun. $80.00 for an 8-week class is very reasonable. Our teacher was very nice, and helped each of us with perspective and drawing. She was a local artist.
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Our instructor is a local artist, too. Her classes are always full! Hopefully retirement isn’t too far off for you to dabble in art. I find it very relaxing to paint.
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I think you did a great job despite having had no instructions. I would have been really disappointed too. But, as you said, you enjoyed a lovely walk and, hopefully, met some nice people, so all was not lost. Did you happen to mention anything to the teacher about expecting more input?
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Thank you Janis. I wish I’d just gotten some charcoal pencils as it would have looked a little better – the paper was sturdy and might have made some better sketches if I could have blended a bit. Yes, I just rolled with it Janis, but I guess the anticipation was better than the event. I probably should have mentioned it afterward, but I didn’t. She was a nice woman and we had chitchatted beforehand as she was releasing Monarchs that had emerged that day and I was lucky to see the last one, so I didn’t want to raise anyone’s hackles.
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Miss Linda………………………….that was a great adventure for you to go all the way out to Oakwood Metro Park…………………………I would have been in the same way as you on how to do anykind of sketching…………………………….yours looked nice to me …………………..your a brave young lady!
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You’re right Ann Marie – Lake Erie Metropark doesn’t seem like a long journey since it is just a straight run down Jefferson and only a few miles past Elizabeth Park where I go all the time, but this was a much longer jaunt. I took surface streets as I don’t like to drive on the expressway plus there was construction out near the airport on the expressway, so I figured there might be lots more traffic on the surface streets, but it was not bad, but once I got to the Park, there was just one line going into the Park and so it took awhile to get to the Park entrance. Inside the Park, I drove for 2-3 miles just to get to the Nature Center. Once I got to that area, I realized I had been there before to nearby Michigan Memorial Park. My mom and I used to go to Apple Charlies years ago or even stop at roadside stands, then drive to Michigan Memorial Park and look at the swans on the pond … been years since I did it and I think we went one time in the Spring when the trees were all in bloom – it was gorgeous. It was a long trip for me, that’s for sure. I sure interpreted the class wrong, but it was a beautiful day anyway and gave me something to talk about here. I will do a follow-up post about the hike. I’m glad you liked the sketches … I loved the sketching class I took at the City many years ago. We had a great teacher and she gave us individual attention and guidance, so it was enjoyable. That is the class I mentioned last year when I said I went to the old cemetery in Wyandotte that you were familiar with as a child, at Ford Road and Biddle.
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What a wonderfully therapeutic hobby. I have gone through stages where I do a lot of drawing or painting, but it hasn’t happened in years. Now I take a lot of photos. But your post is making me want to draw again, Linda. :0)
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Thank you Pam and I would like to revive my interest in art and sketching when I have more time to devote to that hobby, as I can’t keep up here at WordPress these days, not to mention hours spent at work or doing house/yard stuff … the latter items have suffered due to walking and blogging. I revived my interest in photography a few years ago with this blog. I never had any post photos in the beginning, then gradually a few, some were even stock photos for a couple of years, but I’ve gotten more interested in photography the last few years. I took classes back when I used my 35 mm camera and traveled in the late 70s/early 80s. I will look forward to doing some sketching when I have more time to devote to it for sure. Go for it Pam … get a sketchbook and pencils and get outside. 🙂
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I still have my 35mm but I was always forgetting my camera, Linda. For ease, you can’t beat the iPhone. 😉🤸♀️
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Pam – I’ve not used the 35mm since 1983, my last big trip (Scandinavian countries and Russia). I hear so many people saying they rely on their smartphones more than their DSLRs. I have a flip phone, so just use a digital compact for the majority of my photos. I got a DSLR last year, but need to use it more on manual settings … I’m not good at changing settings on the fly. I used the 35mm on automatic only. I had a ton of photos from this hike and it was difficult to pick what to use. We have a rainy morning – it gave me a chance to write about last Saturday’s trek, though I lost steps today. Now for a cup of coffee, then I’ll get ready to head to work … back here at the kitchen table.
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It’s true about the phones, but a flip phone won’t take the kind of pictures you’ll want.
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Yes, and they are improving the phones all the time. I just heard that Apple is coming out with a new phone with an improved camera.
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👏👏👏
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Pingback: There was a Fall-like feel in the air. | WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY
You are so talented!!! Thank you for sharing these lovely sketches !!
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Well thanks Mackenzie – I’m no artist and can’t quit my day job, but it was something fun to do. When I get more time, I’d like to try again and take my time, and watch some instructions on YouTube on how to sketch.
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I love that Youtube is so helpful for any tips or tricks for whatever you want to learn !
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Well Mackenzie, I should have tried that instead and/or peeked there before going on that walk. I have relied on YouTube for computer issues and they always come thru with flying colors! Pinterest has some sketching info too but there is so much on that site so I go there to get the occasional clip art for a blog post then scurry off as you can get lost wading around there too. What did we do with our spare time before social media?
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Haha true story!!!
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It sounds like you did really well even without much support from the leader. Well done for turning up, that in itself is an accomplishment ❤
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Thanks Zena – somehow the expectation and anticipation was different than the actual event, but it all worked out in the end, and it was a beautiful day.
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The sketching is good!!! You have natural ability…. maybe bring your own sketchbook along next weekend and stop every do often to practice and get better.
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Thank you Ellie! We didn’t have much time, so had to sketch quickly. I am thinking I need to get some thicker, charcoal-type pencils and a “smudger” and I’ll be all set. She said they would provide the computer paper and #2 pencils and I thought it was kind of cool that everyone brought their own sketchpads and pencils. I think we all had high hopes, don’t you? I would like to get some books or follow along some videos when I am done with work for good. It will be something to look forward to down the road.
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When do you finish with work for good? You can do both photography and sketching.
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I think around three years would be my estimate if nothing gets in the way work wise – that would be my best estimation. We had a recession in 2008 and I was laid off briefly, then my mom got sick then I was unemployed for while before starting back to work.
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I’m looking forward for you to that time.
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Thank you Ellie – I started working in 1973 at the diner, right after high school – it seems impossible to me sometimes that I’ve been working 46 years.
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Wow, yeah. And worked in so many capacities too.
Love, light and glitter
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sometimes diving in is the best way to learn fast
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I really liked the class I took as a teenager. We had an artist who taught the class and we went somewhere every Wednesday and did sketches.
In this case, you’re right … I had to go with the flow and quickly. Next time I’ll try on my own and get some drawing charcoal pencils and a little smudger before heading out. It will be something to do when retired and I have more time.
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you could sketch Parker and pals!
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I was thinking that would be fun to do Wayne – likely, I’d do a sketch based on a photo I took first … otherwise, I’d need to give him the whole bag of peanuts then try to get him to stay put. Actually, the squirrels have been taking peanuts and hiding a few before they eat any for about a month already. They are in “Fall nut-hiding mode” already!
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you need to become one of those quick sketch artists or train Parker not to move?
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She gave us about 7 minutes I think it was at each place we stopped. I found a great video on YouTube to sketch a squirrel. This guy is good – I’d be happy if I could get just the outline done. I just watched the first two minutes, but it is interesting how quickly the squirrel takes shape. Has sketching or painting interested you in the least? https://youtu.be/qogt-kEREVY
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well……..all I know Is that If you invest 10,000 hours into it you will be a master! It all depends how much time you can and are willing to invest?
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It will be something for retirement when I can devote time to it. I liked the class I took a long time ago. We had an woman artist who taught us and gave pointers. I liked watching him sketch the squirrel – it looked effortless didn’t it?
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yes,it did. Thats what happens when your good at what you do….. you make it look simple but you know its not!
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Yes, it probably took him many years to get proficient like that, just a few strokes and voila – a life-like squirrel.
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watched the video,the fellow sure knows his stuff!
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Yes, wasn’t it a delight to watch him? In no time, he had the outline – I couldn’t figure out what he mean “razor” – perhaps it was his accent. But yes, and when he put the whiskers in and made the eyes “come alive” … I always had problems with eyes and the reflection, and my sketches looked a little flat. I was impressed. When I took that class through the City, I got the charcoals and also pastel crayons and had a few books that gave how-to’s from start to finish – one was dogs and the other horses.
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I’ll be looking forward to Parker’s picture!
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OK, I will promise you will see one Wayne. (Don’t know which decade you’ll see it though.)
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Poor Parker may be dead before you will draw him……..at least he’ll be still
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Ha ha – you are right, I’ll step up my game and try and draw him this Winter, how’s that? Yes, that would be the only time Parker would be still – otherwise he’s dancing around my feet.
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maybe it’ll be sooooo cold this winter he’ll freeze solid and be still for you?
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I’ll look around for a toque and muffler sized for him to keep him from becoming a squirrel popsicle.
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a squirrelsicle…….oh my!
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Poor Parker should only know that we are talking about him in terms of being a “squirrelsicle” – he’d be shaking his head.
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loved your sketches and write up!
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Thank you – I need lots of practice though 🙂 I’m thinking it might be fun to get back into sketching and give it a go over the Winter … the “Farmer’s Almanac” said SE Michigan is due for a bad Winter, lots of snow = lots of time inside.
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good decision!Go Ahead, it’s sure fun to get back into sketching….
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