Friday, February 27, 2009

The Wolf Spider




My son Max has a great fondness for Spiders... I believe he could identify almost any spider that was put in front of him and if not, I know he would soon find out..... One of his favourite species are the Wolf Spiders... He likes their habits and has taught me all I know about them... things like, they don't spin webs.... or make a nest or shelter.... they hide out in leaf litter by day... and are active hunters at night....

They have 8 eyes... 4 large and 4 small... and have excellent eyesight... their markings are varied containing stripes, bands, dots.... they have lots of hairs ... coloring is in the range of gray, brown, and khaki... ¼" to 1½" long... habitat is widespread... worldwide...

...the males perform a courtship dance of leg-lifting for the females... she only accepts him if she likes his dancing... now there is an amusing way of selecting a partner.........

hey, when I come to think about it, maybe we are not that different......... Bet you never knew we had something in common with a spider...

anyway, back to the story...





Max is forever lugging one of these spiders around ... watching one closely... or playing with one.. in the summer that is... of course, I'm dreaming of summer 'round about now...

When Max was learning at home, I let him learn about whatever he wanted... I had no classes... he set his own learning style... I let him indulge his interests as long as he wanted... he would spend hour after hour out in the fields, and he got to know nature close up... he was constantly showing me the things he would discover... It is such a great way for children to learn...






I must admit, I like Spiders too... I would never purposely kill a spider... they are so little and delicate.....

Spiders are beneficial insects... eating many pests such as aphids and flies.

If you have ever seen a spider carrying around its large egg sac attached to its rear spinnerets, that was a Mother Wolf Spider.... They don't bite humans... They are shy and prefer to run away if disturbed...

One thing I can never figure out is... why are people frightened of spiders?.... of course I do not live in a part of the world that has poisonous spiders or I would probably be of a different opinion... around here there is no need to worry about them at all... so why????

... and also... why are people afraid of spiders webs? they are amazing structures...... I mean why in the world would anyone be scared of webs?...................ahhh, the mysteries of Fear....






...can you imagine if you had 8 eyes and 8 arms, what you could accomplish...


...remember when you wished you had eyes in the back of your head.......... I do...






...Wolf Spider watercolors from my sketch book... approx. 4"x 4" each... pen and ink and watercolor wash...

Friday, February 20, 2009

Almost Monochrome



From the back room





out to the back field





where the partridges sat 2 days ago...





No need to go to the woodshed... the wood-rack is full...





No sunrise today





a snowstorm is blowing through...





From the trees, to the steeple, to the shore, to the sea...





...Max and Gabi





make their way...





nothing to do in the garden yet...





Good day to stay in





unless you're a boy or a dog....






...if you look really close you can see a seagull sitting on the top of the steeple
, it is one of there favorite perches...


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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Who Doesn't Like Surpises?



The first thing I did when I woke up, was pull open the drapes... the sun was just breaking the horizon... I felt so lucky to have caught it again... Sometimes it rises with no fanfare and before you know it, the sun is high in the sky... but then there are mornings like this... I feel as surprised as if I was opening a gift...

You would think by now I wouldn't be surprised anymore... but I am...... I always am... no matter how many sunrises I see.... I am surprised every single time I see the next one...

If you click on the photo and look closely you will see a few tiny black dots out on the bay... the fisherman are already at work... Scallop season has begun... although only 4 can be seen here... in total with the naked eye, I saw ten calmly floating from my vantage point... but I would guess there were many more spread out over the Bay of Fundy.........

...that is the Isle of Haute out there on the horizon... uninhabited now... although a long time ago a lighthouse and a keeper and his family lived there... it is the remnant of volcanic activity from a long long time ago in its geologic history...
 ... and as a matter of fact, a tiny shrew was discovered there that lives no where else in the world.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Hey...... Why Don't Ya Hug Somebody




It's Valentines Day!!!






A little pile of Copper Hearts we have been twisting and hammering the last few days.. they are one of our new Desideratum Art Jewelry earring designs... called the "Twisted Hearts" of course... couldn't resist making a big fat shiny heart out of them just for you... click it and your heart will grow a hundred times...



All you need is Love.... La, la...La,la,la... All you need is Love.... La, la.. La, la, la... All you need is Love... Love....... Love is all you need... Love is all you need... Love is all you need... Love is all you need ..........................
...a little Beatles tune




DESIDERATUM Copper Twisted Heart Earrings... $18.00 pr



Thursday, February 12, 2009

Loss


The tremendous Loss of Life... the Survivors... the Rescuers...

The unbelievable devastation that has ravaged Australia in these recent Victorian Bush Fires....



My heart bleeds............ My mind goes numb .................


Oh how I wish you the greatest Strength to overcome this....




Saturday, February 07, 2009

The Crow and The Water Jar




A Thirsty crow came upon a large water jar, that had only a small amount of water remaining at the bottom... She tried to take a sip but it was too far down for her beak to reach.. No matter how she tried she could not touch the water or come close enough to it to quench her thirst... Then she thought, if she could tip the jar over, and spill the water to the ground, she could get to the water... but try to no avail she did not have the strength to push over such a heavy jar...

...she felt she would surely die of thirst...

Soon exasperation made her think more clearly ... as she looked around, an idea came to her... she then began dropping pebbles into the jar... one by one... one at a time... one after the other...

one more... then another... then another... then another........... just one more...

Soon her efforts and determination had coaxed the level of the water to the top of the brim... she was then able to drink to her heart's content...







...Never give up... keep on trying even when you think all hope is lost.. try one more time... a different way.......... it worked for her...


... didn't Churchill say he would never give up?


...my interpretations of an Aesop Fable in story and drawing ... approx 4" x 6", pen and ink and watercolor in my sketch book ...


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