Saturday, March 28, 2009

Sunshine Yellow

This is one of my favorite back yard birds. I call him "Zorro" for obvious reasons. He is quite shy, but I frequently see him sneaking through the bushes to take a drink at the waterfall. I copied this drawing from the front cover of "Birds and Blooms", a really beautiful magazine which my eldest son bought me for Christmas.



These are my beloved daffodils. I buy them at Vons for about $3 a bunch. I buy them as buds. They usually open the next day. I trim off the ends, put them in a vase and put them on the patio. They last much longer when they are outside and I can see them easily from the kitchen/dining area. I also add one baby aspirin to the water. We keep them low on the floor so that they are protected from the wind. We can't grow them here. They need a little frost in the winter and then the rabbits and sqirrels eat them as soon as they poke their heads through the soil.

Daffodils are so showy that I'm kind of glad they are not year round flowers. That way I really appreciate their sunshine in the spring.

8 comments:

Wanda said...

Oh Chris, I love your little Zorro!
My neighbor just gave me several copies of Birds and Blooms. What a great little magazine.

I want to paint some of the beautiful birds and flowers in the ones she gave me.

Don't Daffodils just make you happy!!! Our Vons has them now too.

Love and Hugs
Wanda

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

the yellow looks so warm- I need that- it's freezing here tonight!

Rune Eide said...

A bit early for daffodils around here, but we can buy them. I have seen some budding, so in a week or two they may come.

Nice bird portrait you have draw! I have just bought a small book about Norwegian birds - maybe I can now find out wivh I bird I have photographed!

PS If you have time to spare when you arrive (in May?), I may be able to show you a bit around the city of Bergen. Just give me a hint.

Unknown said...

Interesting to note that Daffodils don't grown in southern California...perhaps that had explain at what happen to the dozen we had planted last year in the ground, they bloom once and never seen another one come up after that.

Thanks again for stopping on over at my blog. I also left a comment at your art blog where the red squirrel is at.

Jose said...

And if he takes off his mask is he Don Yellothroat. Flowers, ever since I met you and Wanda I seem to have a better appreciation for flowers.

sandy said...

Zorro is adorable ... Do you have these where you live! I know I'm way Inland from you but I've never seen one around here. I enjoyed seeing your new drawing. And yes, love those daffodils!

sandy said...

I read Rosy's comment, I have bulbs I must have put in 10 plus years ago on the side of the house and every year forget about them. Through all our different weather they still bloom. Maybe Rosy just had a bad bunch of bulbs.

claude said...

Zorro is very beautiful. Nice drawing. I love daffodils !