A bit of relief that no one has signed up for 2 classes I am offering. I could use the money but I have more time to do art and see friends!
A big snow storm due here this afternoon..typical Utah spring/end of winter weather. No jacket one day, snow boots the next.
I have lost count on how many robins have been hanging out in the yard over the last week. A large flock of starlings, scrub jays, doves, a Clark's Nutcracker and of course the magpies. Heard the woodpecker the other day but haven't seen him. And one of the neighbors' chickens is loose. She is a Polish (Tophat) and very curious about me when I go out to feed. I really would like some chicks this year.
I heard the neighbors were trapping the raccoons because they have been injuring/killing their cats. Animal control refuses to take them so they are trundled down to the shelter where they are euthanized. Makes me sad. I know they killed 2 of the kitties living out in my hay barn..yet they come up on my deck in the summer evenings and hang out when I am out there. I am torn for my love of the wildlife here and the fact that they do destroy so much. Still..if all the subdivisions hadn't been built behind us..then the raccoons, skunks, even beaver would have had a place to live. The deer are confused and the elk migration routes are disappearing.
I do think a few raccoons are still around because a few times a week I have to replace the muddied water for my last outside kitty as they have washed their muddy feet in her water dish! They are smart and will learn to stay away from the traps.
I forget that for so many years I wanted to move to the mountains and live away from the crowds. Now that seems impossible since the husband works in Salt Lake City and all the areas that used to be isolated are now developed. To live isolated means a huge commute of 60 or more miles each way and even that is no guarantee that someone won't build within spitting distance of your front porch!
Living in what used to be rural but is now a "bedroom community/ suburbia" is like living in limbo. No advantages of city living with all the amenities and public transportation and none of the advantages of rural living ie quiet, no traffic, no suburbs, places to ride your horses, quiet,quiet,quiet....
The road I live on used to be a narrow 2 lane and now is a state highway with non-stop traffic. The only time it is quiet is on a very early Sunday morning around 4-5 am! So I crave quiet. It is actually quieter at my sons' apartment in Salt Lake City and my studio space in S. Salt Lake!
Still I really like my little acre. If I could pick it up, birds and all and set it down somewhere else...sigh...it would be heaven.
So today I am posting some drawings and paintings of the birds in my life!
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