Fall back/Spring Forward

I thought it would be fun to post some of my last local photos of fall, tailgated by my first photos of spring. Here we are walking in a magical golden forest. A.K.A. Robert's Bird Sanctuary in Minneapolis.

And indeed, we saw birds! The best darn birds the mid-west has to offer. In fact, I just read in the paper that Minnesota has the highest number of nesting pairs in the United States. 

Robert's bird Sanctuary on a vibrant sunny day. 

Sunny fall petals.

Flash forward to spring. We're out and about again. This time we traveled to the wilds of Wisconsin. My old stomping grounds. Shed hunting. This was our only find. 

But we discovered other things. Leftovers from two brutal crime scenes. Bleached skulls, scattered teeth, old bones and lots of matted fur. A deer skeleton. Two in fact. Something was hungry.

I was intrigued by the wiggly skull patterns. 

Quiet beauty. 

I left these for a hunter to discover. 

Spring babies have arrived! We discovered 3 Great Horned Owlets at Lake Hiawatha. Score! Actually, it isn't a secret. The parks have the area blocked off. But I was still able to zoom in and get a shot. My favorite of spring so far. 

"Are you look'in at me?"

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The Raptor Report

The teaching birds. Who will get released this year?

We saw these amazing Raptors during the Release at Carpenter Nature Center last Fall. It was exactly a year ago today. Because they are having another one later this afternoon! My favorite photo is the Kestrel.  He looks so curious with his head cocked.  Just like he is thinking, "Me so pretty!"  He'd be right. 

But my favorite bird is the owl.  Just look at those eyes. Here's a newspaper clipping with some raptor facts.  I thought it might be of interest to my birding friends.

click to enlarge

The Stone Barn www.nelsonstonebarn.com

So where were we really going to when we stopped at the Rapture Release last Fall? Why, the Nelson Stone Barn for some rustic pizza of course. It's closing time again for 2015. See you later this afternoon beloved pizza in a corn field... 

Saturday's Critters

Bird d'Pot

Wild Bird Wednesday

My World Wednesday

Shake Those Tail Feathers!

Biking the Red Cedar Trail

With the help of my new electric bike, I was finally able to do 26 miles on the Red Cedar Trail in Menomonie, Wisconsin. We started our trek while the sun was low in the sky, gently dappling the fauna along the trail with rays of light. Beautiful. This was the first of many bridge crossings on this old railway line.

The architecture made for great angular photos.

We stopped to admire a turn in the river.  And can you guess what else we spotted by accident?

Snakes!  I think this is a common water snake. He really blended into the log.

And there were two, yes two, Eastern Massasauga (great river mouth) Rattle Snakes soaking up the sun.  Or at least that is what I think they were after a google search.

They were big fat snakes.  We were thrilled to see them. And when we came through this part of the woods on the return trip, a common water snake slithered across the trail. Good grief!  We walked out on the rocks to get those water photos.  And there seems to be a threatening amount of snakes here. Watch your step!

But some things were small and precious.  Like 100's of butterflies flitting about. They would sit in delicate groups on the gravel floor, just waiting to be flushed out, then they would swirl and flutter every which way. There were so many blooming wildflowers for the butterflies to inspect along the way.  The jungle of flowers would brush against your legs as you peddled by. Hopefully there wasn't any poison ivy!

And there were large predators lurking in the trees.

This entrance marks the Downsville Sandstone Quarry. The rail line transported sandstone between 1880-1950. And near this there was a trickling little waterfall with seats for weary peddlers.  What a trail.

The highlight of our journey was at the 13.6 mile mark on this wide curve of the river. The bridge was a great place for photos and a scenic picnic.  Ah, Summer and all of its joys.

I caught this fellow watching something...

I caught this fellow just as he was reaching for something...

I love the towering angles.

Well, equipped with my new electric bike, my wimpy legs can take on the world.  Or, at least Wisconsin.

Saturday's Critters

Bird d'Pot

Wild Bird Wednesday

Happy 4th everyone!

The Rustic Red Cedar Trail

We had an enchanted walk on the Red Cedar Trail this Spring.  The Sun warmed our spirits as we bird watched.  There were a lot of gloomy days leading up to this wonderful one.  There still are!

The wild flowers were bright and beautiful along the trail.

Fresh and green.

We saw a pair of eagles on the other side of the river.

We caught a Baltimore Oriole pausing in a tree.  Their singing is the best part.  I just read that the males get there bright orange hue from eating super ripe bright fruit.

A robin was making her nest.  She was lining it with mud as we walked by.

A bright blue sky and a deep red sumak.

Three deer walked in the trees along the other side of the Red Cedar river.

We spotted another lone eagle. What a come back they've made!

An old hole in the wall.

The Sun danced on the river behind a row of dandelions.  

My sparkly new header photo.  So pretty!

A peek at the Devil's Punch Bowl. It really was a devilishly lovely morning.

For more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday

A long time ago at the Pierre Bottineau...

The www.illustrationfriday.com theme return gives me a chance to talk about the latest Children's Book Illustrators Guild show I'm involved in.  My oldish piece, Red Wings Over Red Wing is in the show.  Along with, Sidney the Unstoppable Squirrel.  The Red Wings piece reminded me of return because of all the birds that are returning to our neck of the wood at this time of year.  Actually Cardinals never leave.  And neither do Eagles.  And as for the Lake Creature?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Here's the scoop on the CBIG show. It runs March 1- April 30 at the Penn Lake Library 8800 Penn Ave. S.Bloomington, 55431 612.543.5800

And I couldn't resist tagging the venue of our last CBIG show on this post.  I took all these photos of the historic Pierre Bottineau library a long time ago in a far away land.  North Minneapolis to be exact.  The show is history and the library is full of history as well.  It used to be a brewery.  Here's the scoop... The newest old building in the Minneapolis Public Library system opened in 2003 at the Historic Grain Belt Campus. The 1893 Wagon Shed and the 1913 Millwright Shop were reused and merged with a new structure to create a warm and welcoming, state-of-the-art library. It is a lively neighborhood gathering place where people meet, read, and study. The library and the nearby Bottineau Neighborhood are named for Pierre Bottineau (1817-1895), one of the most colorful characters in early local history. An accomplished guide, trapper, and trader, he spent the prime years of his long, active life opening up the Northwest Corridor communities of the Twin Cities metro area to settlement.

 So there you have it.  A brewery tour with out the beer.  Sorry! And here's my piece, Toilet Buddies.  I had this and another funny kitty piece there.  Dessertus Interuptus. 

And it wasn't so long ago that I entered the latest TDAC big Kraft foods contest.  There are so many great illustrated recipes to choose from.  But there will only be 6 that will be able to bring home the bacon.  Here's my link! http://theydrawandcook.com/recipes/maui-luau-sandwich-by-sharon-wagner