wonderfully wide-eyed

A simply painted cheerful daffodil was the task accomplished before heading out the door to find even more cheer.  Just like the tulip, daffodils represent re-birth and new beginnings. It's that time of year as spring has sprung, where everything seems to come alive.  Before heading out the door, I took a quick glance at the flower and thought while it looks lovely on its own, there does need to be something else with it!  I will think again about that another time!  For now..... 

.....it was time for a visit to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary!  What a difference a week makes!  Last week's visit to the Sanctuary was like full on winter!  This was my view on this morning as I turned the corner onto the main trail. WOW! I was wide-eyed! I see new beginnings with all the open water in the lagoon and the trail clear of ice and snow! 

How wonderful!  This was my first sighting this year of a Bohemian Waxwing!  I did see where many have been sighted.  It's that time of year where they are passing through this area heading up to the far north where they will spend spring and summer. 

Well, the male Wood Duck sure looks wide-eyed!  

I was when I saw it, being my first sighting of one this season. 

Some Northern Flickers spend the winter here, but over the past couple of weeks they have been arriving by the dozens. Their calls echoed through The Sanctuary while their frolicking added entertainment which was wonderful to watch.  

"What are you looking at?" says the White-breasted Nuthatch!

It is all relative, while its eyes are tiny, they are still as wide-eyed as can be!

The Mountain Cottontail had a buffet for breakfast!

The Richardson's Ground Squirrels were out in full force. This was the first time I saw one this season. They are a rodent which gets a bad rap! They are cute though! AAAAH!  I just had a thought! I know what this Squirrel needs, it needs..... 

.....to be in the painting with the daffodil! 

I knew there was a Squirrel there yet it took a bit to fully find it!

WOW!  It perfected the art of camouflage!  

The male Mallard Duck was a bit more skittish than the female 

as they worked their way from the ice to the water.  

This is my favourite photo!  Talk about being skittish!  It was hilarious watching this deer cross the ice. Do you see what I see? Just be a little more wide-eyed and you will spot the deer at middle left watching.  It watched and it waited!  I wonder what a deer sounds like when it laughs! Instead of crossing the ice, it just needed to walk the short distance along the edge.

This was a day where I was bug-eyed and wide-eyed for the entire visit here!  

As each day passes, there will be more and more reasons to be wonderfully wide-eyed!

time for tulip thoughts

With official spring so close that I can almost taste it, my mind is drifting towards thoughts of tulips!  It is said that the tulip is an ideal match for those with an artist personality type. I would like to think of myself as being an artist, of some kind, at some level. I like the bright, cheerful, colourful shades of tulips and also what they represent. They are one of the first flowers to bloom in spring.  They stand for new beginnings and for hope. The Netherlands have been sending Canada tulip bulbs annually since 1945.  This gift symbolizes a deep rooted friendship between the countries.  This is a gesture of gratitude to Canada for helping to liberate The Netherlands.     

During my visit to Amsterdam in June of 2024, I purchased a bouquet of wooden tulips. 

One of the many virtual Challenges I completed back when our world changed was The Flower Route. The route began in the centre of Haarlem The Netherlands. The first postcard that popped into my mailbox was this one showing the tulips at the famous Keukenhof Gardens.   

This is the medal I received for completing that challenge. I donated most of the medals I received from the challenges I completed yet I kept this one.  The windmill spins and as it does the back view of the colourful buildings along the canal changes from day to night. I am not sure why I choose to keep this one but I am happy I did especially with my thoughts turning to tulips these days.  

On this page from that book 

(which I turned into a watercolour sketchbook), 

the tulips talk about Easter coming.  

This was the perfect page to paint tulips on.  

After completing the practice session of painting tulips on the above page, I then felt ready to do a watercolour painting of tulips in my other homemade sketchbook. I used a tutorial to follow. I like the look of the soft blended shades and I needed to be shown how to get that look.  

After all these thoughts of tulips, I headed off to purchase a bouquet for myself! 

I am ready to ring in spring with thoughts of hope and for new bright beginnings.   

🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

where I wandered this week

Oh where should I wander?  It depends on the weather and the driving conditions, what else I have going on during the day and most importantly I listen to what my heart and soul tell me!  I am not much for routines yet I do like to get up and get out to some place every day.  There are times I end up at a parking lot with no plan to follow any particular trail, I just wander off!  

On this day this week, I wandered off along this trail up on Nose Hill.  It was a snow free day, a wild wind day, a day where I collected ten kilometres on my winter hiking boots.  Those boots were needed for warmth not for traction.  During the majority of my wander, I was in the wide open yet I could see wildlife hunkered down where there was shelter.  The wildlife know when there is wild wind, it is not the time to wander!  Should I learn a lesson from them? I say no, just wander if you wish! 

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While on my most recent wander to monitor the Carburn Bald Eagles, a fellow told me about the two Bald Eagles at the Douglasdale area near Fish Creek Park.  Oh, my curiosity kicked in!  I monitor the Carburn Bald Eagles along with the Inglewood Bald Eagles, do I really need to monitor another set of Bald Eagles! Yes I do! So off I went a wandering to Douglasdale near Fish Creek.  It was a snow free day, as calm as could be and warm too. I still wore my winter hiking boots which on this day I added twelve more kilometres to the soles.  While wandering along, I spotted this coyote who had already spotted me.  I saw an unusual looking Goose to the right of the Canada Goose.  It is a Cackling Goose.  Then!  Do you see what I see?  The two Douglasdale Bald Eagles were sitting on the top of the tree on the far left.  I was too lazy to go back and cross over the bridge to get closer to them.  I captured this close up of one with my great zoom lens. On this day it worked to wander further!

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On this day with the snow pelting down, I still wandered out the door for the drive along Deerfoot to The Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.  I hoped the Inglewood Bald Eagles would be in the area.  Upon arrival, I could see nothing through the snow that was falling.  A little while into my wandering, the sky began to clear to where I had wonderful views like this.  So pure! So fresh!  So white!  I was thankful to be wearing my winter hiking boots for both warm and traction and to which I collected eight more kilometres to the soles.  The deer were nestled in the bushes under branches.  A pair of Canada Geese snuggled into themselves along the edge of the inlet.  Two Seagulls curled up for shelter against the cold and snow.  Then, there they were, the Inglewood Bald Eagles busily building their nest through the cold and snow.  When the blue sky appeared so did a few Robins.  I was happy to be wandering through the cold and snow to see sights like these!  

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When I was done of my outside wandering, I returned home to let my mind wander!  I have been enjoying painting in my new home-made watercolour sketch book.  I wondered what to fill the pages with. I accidentally happened upon a theme which is paint the main subject on the right and let portions trickle over to the left.  This is no specific species of bird, what is specific about this painting was just laying colours then letting them blend together to see what transpires.  Oh how I like where wondering and wandering takes me!  

I have never seen a Snowdrop!  I should say I have never see a live Snowdrop but I have seen numerous  on many of your blog posts.  I wondered what were these sweet little flowers all about!  Once again, off a wandering my mind goes again!  I followed a tutorial using a scrap piece of watercolour paper.  I was happy with the outcome.  Using what I just learned, I created my own version of Snowdrops amidst a flurry of snowflakes falling!  I wonder will I ever see a live Snowdrop!   

Now time to wander outside for a little while this morning to swish through the snow in a blizzard then I'll be wandering off to meet a friend to watch her daughter in a live musical performance. What a wonderful week filled with wandering and wondering!  

Sunny! Snowy!

🌞 ❄ 🌞 ❄ 🌞

On this morning I went in search of what snow there is left in the city.  From various locations close to home, I could see some snow up on Nose Hill so made that my objective. I tried to pair that with catching the sunrise but I was a little lax getting out the door which made me late. Yet, I caught the afterglow as I started walking up the Hill.  

Where does the trail lead?

I followed it to find out! 

Along the way, I found snow formations!  

This was a hard crust of snow.

Along the way, I found a flock of crows!

This crow is calling out orders to its crew.

Along the way, I found a Northern Shrike!

See that bill?  This is a tiny bird of prey! 

I like following trails that have much to offer!

Many other sights were spotted along the way.  

🌞 ❄ 🌞 ❄ 🌞

After my last post where I shared about the sketchbook I made from an old book, I returned to the basement to see what other books I had taking up space on the shelf.  This book was also one my Mother had.  It was published in 1924.  While doing homework on making sketchbooks from old books, I learned the paper that was made back then was great for applying watercolour paint to without it soaking through. That is the case even though the paper is thinner than today's watercolour paper.  Soooo.....

.....I flipped through the book and found this page! It's about a buttercup and a violet wondering whether they should go outside in the cold and snow and wind!  It is a sunny day and spring is in the air.  So.....

.....I carefully removed the page then painted a violet and a buttercup with watercolour!  

This is the back of the page! The paint does not show through nor did the paper ripple.  I am finding out that painting on old pages is a big thing in the artist community.  Even making new paper look like old pages is a popular pastime. 

I like the size of this story book!

I will work some magic with the cover, binding and pages!

🌞 ❄ 🌞 ❄ 🌞

With the sun out along with a little snow still on the ground, I wandered around Carburn Park to see if the wildlife would be enjoying the conditions as much as I knew I would. It was a happening place on this morning. Between the geese, the ducks, the birds, the deer, the people, and of course the Bald Eagles, there was loads of entertainment.  Here are four of my favourite photos.

male and female Common Goldeneye 

male Common Merganser

male Redhead

The Carburn Bald Eagles were both very, very busy collecting material to build their nest.

I like when the sun shines on snowy days!

It brings out the best in everything and everyone!  

Shakespeare & Sunflowers March 4, 2026

📗 🌻 📗 🌻 📗 🌻

 

After completing the thirty day watercolour painting challenge, I had a leftover pad almost full of large papers.  They were a size that I would not be painting individual projects on.  For now I thought just put the pad in the basement and deal with it later.  Well, as I was placing the pad on a basement shelf, the books above caught my eye.  Hmmm!  I have four of these books. They are the Comedies and Tragedies by William Shakespeare with a published date of 1944.  They belonged to my Mom. They were taking up space on the shelf.  Hmmm, how about they take up space in my heart!  This is the front of one of the books. The circle in the centre has the letters W and S with his portrait between them.  

This is the inside of the book.  I removed the pages from the book binding.

After cutting all the pages from the large watercolour pad to the size of the Shakespeare book, I glued them inside the covers.  Next came attaching contact paper to the inside cover and the first page.  I also did this to the back.  I glued a ribbon to the back of the book to use as a tie. 

This is the backside and front side of the first and second pages.  I used a page from the book along with sunflower stickers.I wanted a nature theme so went with these flowers and the green leafy contact paper. 

side view of the finished watercolour sketchbook I made

This is the back view of the book.  

It was now that I realized I made the sketchbook backwards.  

That emblem is on the front of the book. 

This is the front view!

Once the sketchbook was complete, I placed a few heavy objects on top and let it set and dry for a few hours.  Then time came to christian it with a first water-colour painting. I thought a sunflower would be the most fitting painting to do.  

A few decades ago,  I took a bookbinding course.  I remember enjoying the process but not having the time later to invest in carrying on with the craft.  Now the time is right!  I learned lots while putting together this "Shakespeare & Sunflowers" sketchbook.  My many mistakes are very obvious to me and I know I can do better and I want to do better.  There were many more steps along this process that I have not included in the above photos.  There are also additional steps that I can add to make the sketchbook more like a sketchbook.  I have three more of these Shakespeare books that I could use to make sketchbooks, yet I think I want to search for an old book of another size and colour and title.