MY POEM FOR POETRY WEEK

It's a bit long and the print is small but I have been working on this for years, trying to capture the spirit of the place that captured me. So here it is:

















FLAMBOROUGH HEAD

California Towhee

The California Towhee (is it 'tow' as in 'cow' or 'tow' as in 'toe'?? I don't know), has been visiting us regularly every day but has been too quick for me to take his photo. At one point I think we had a Mr. and Mrs. Towhee, but I've only seen one lately. Anyway I managed to get a few fuzzy photos, but nothing worth posting, but I got him today! Notice he is mostly brown with a reddish tinge under his tail. On his neck he has a small speckled patch and that area is reddish brown also.
















I have been sitting out on the patio every day for almost two weeks. The weather has been gorgeous and I have done a lot of reading and writing. At the same time I keep my eyes and ears open. The Wilson's Warbler has been back every day since I last took his photo. But there has been no sign of goldfinches since before Mother's Day, which is when I put our thistle feeder up. But we do have a couple of pretty fat house finches who have had the patience to peck away at the thistle seed. In addition I watched about 50 or more (I stopped counting) crows going back to roost late afternoon, yesterday. I think they roost in a copse of eucalyptus trees not far away.

Got it at Last!

Over a month ago Barry and I were sitting on the patio when we noticed a humming bird actually getting into the stream of water from our waterfall. He was fluttering his wings and having a good bath. Of course I didn't have my camera nearby, so I have been waiting and watching all this time, camera in hand. I had just about given up hope, because the weather had turned cooler and I thought I would have to wait until next year.

Then suddenly, there he was! The shots are not the greatest but it was the closest I could get and you can clearly see it is a humming bird.
























The next day we had another visitor who has not been here before as far as I know. He is a Wilson's Warbler. The color in the first photo is the truest, because he was mostly green looking.

But this time I had moved my chair closer to the waterfall, hoping to get a better shot of the humming bird. Instead I got some quite good shots of the Wilson's Warbler.

Petunias

Three...two...one!

Our petunias are also doing well this year. Usually we don't plant too many because the caterpillars get them, but we found a solution to that pest also! Oh I know they produce beautiful butterflies, but I do like flowers.

We have a butterfly bush also, which may have been the cause of some of our problems.















































And who's this??? ....Someone near and dear to my heart.

Red Crested Cardinal / More Hibiscus

The Red Crested Cardinal

If you have been to Hawaii, you will recognize this fellow right away. He is quite common, 'tho' spectacular, I think. I had tried to photograph this bird many times before but this photo came out the best of all. It was taken a couple of years ago.


















Our hibiscus have done so much better this year. These bushes are about 30 years old. We have had a very bad infestation of giant white-fly for the last couple of years, but by the looks of this bush we are winning!
This photo was taken towards evening because the sun is in the wrong location earlier in the day, washing out the color. This color is called Chinese Pink, I think. It is a very delicate shade.
We have not yet planted the hibiscus I posted about a three weeks ago-- the one with the gorgeous melon color -- because we have been very busy moving furniture and having new carpet installed. Oh yes, nice result, but highly stressful for me and the cat!

Scrub Jay Visitor

We have had a beautiful, blue scrub jay visit us for the past few weeks. He has been around all summer, I know, because I have heard him! He has an unmistakable harsh screech. But he he has only recently found our bird bath. He not only drinks there, but takes a very splashy bath.
























We also have a Mr. and Mrs. Towhee who visit regularly morning and night. They move through the back yard scratching like chickens, looking for the seed I throw out. Unfortunately they have a habit of scratching through the cedar chips, scattering them on to the patio, and my husband, being the man he is, sweeps up after them everyday! I'll try to get a good closeup of the towhees

Fishermen and Donkey at North Landing, Flamborough

This is based on three photographs I have, the main one in black and white. I couldn't get the right color for the donkey, it should be more greyish, but I couldn't get it to come through on the scanner.

This is how the fishermen brought the fish up to the top of the cliffs in about the 1920's. They were still doing it this way when I was a child in the 1940's. The original is approximately 8 and 1/2 by 11inches. Just brings back nostalgic memories for me, even after all this time.


















This drawing was kind of an experiment for me. I used watercolors and Prisma color pencils. The colors did not come out as well as I would have liked, so I had to play with digitalizing it, so this isn't quite an exact replica. The original is OK but the pencil colors didn't scan well. On the ATC's I can overlay heavily but a drawing sometimes needs a more delicate touch in places.