tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9420724530620879932008-08-18T11:53:01.558-07:00Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-27959241177340788032008-08-17T19:08:00.000-07:002008-08-17T19:30:42.375-07:00

Well, the wildfire smoke is back again, with a vengeance. Today it was worse than ever because there is a cloud cover holding all the smoke in. It is supposed to rain, but nothing so far. This photo shows how colorless the sky is. When the sun did show through the clouds briefly, it cast a sickly yellow glare over everything. (In the next photo, you might be able to see a yellowish glare

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-69874976974154309902008-08-16T10:00:00.000-07:002008-08-16T12:00:12.821-07:00

I've mentioned before that our town has a fondness for its urbanized deer. We don't wage a futile war against them just because they like our gardens. If we're that particular, we fence in the delectables. Otherwise, we share and are happy that the deer are a familiar presence we can watch and enjoy. After all, we're the ones who've encroached on their territory. I was reminded of this

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-10763308291751295852008-08-15T15:35:00.001-07:002008-08-15T15:44:39.934-07:00

... affecting human and deer alike, in a comatose sort of way. This buck just flaked out in the shade of my backyard plum tree, resting his weary (and no doubt heavy) head. And the "Old Mamma" doe found the same idea entrancing, it seems. Well, that's what's happening around these parts. Stay tuned for the latest-breaking news on how quickly the grass is turning brown...

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-51178615119710096822008-08-14T18:35:00.000-07:002008-08-14T18:47:36.088-07:00

Summer is roaring through here at 106 degrees F. Too hot to think. Therefore, for my own sake, I needed to blog about something cold. To remind me that snow does still exist, and can exist again... Here is a photo of an outing we took to the Jura Mountains in France in the spring a couple years ago. My friend is actually RUNNING with snowshoes, he was so happy to be out on the pristine snow

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-46431733579592021242008-08-13T20:45:00.001-07:002008-08-15T08:37:30.113-07:00

This fellow is my latest painting. I believe he's a Western Fence Lizard. I found him lounging on a very weathered old stump of a madrone tree, whose outer bark was still very much alive, amazingly. In fact, it was starting to shed a layer of bark, which curled around the edges. The lizard was found late morning, and when I looked closely at his position on the stump, I thought he did a good

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-83623455976503748212008-08-11T18:56:00.000-07:002008-08-11T19:21:47.043-07:00

I recently finished a painting, which I will soon post here and on my website. Meantime, I've been working on another one, inspired by my love of music and music-makers. I began this watercolor painting over the weekend, starting with the first under glazes of yellow and the lighter colors. (Don't worry - I won't leave the violins yellow!) This painting shows a small part of the musicians

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-27416699466010185172008-08-10T19:20:00.001-07:002008-08-10T19:34:15.068-07:00

Summer is at its height, but I see it is giving out signs that Fall is on its heels. This morning I saw some leaves starting to turn red in a maple tree, amazingly. But, first, it's blackberry season in the sunnier, drier spots, and the berries are delicious! The Rogue Valley has been famous for its pear growing. But over the years I've lived here, I've seen pear orchard after pear orchard

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-86277640336107693782008-08-09T12:28:00.000-07:002008-08-09T14:31:48.271-07:00

After moaning about the smokey air yesterday, the winds came last night and blew the smoke away, and I was out the door walking as soon as I could this morning! This is a panoramic view from the vantage point of the old pioneer cemetery in my town. Since it's an historic Gold Rush town, the cemetery has been maintained and is quite interesting. I walked there today because I wanted to avoid

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-35181072471287457952008-08-08T20:18:00.000-07:002008-08-08T20:33:47.927-07:00

...and the smoke comes north. This has been the summer of fires. So far, nothing major has burned in Southern Oregon, but poor California seems to be on fire for so long. We get the smoke from the more northern fires. Since I'm highly sensitive to smoke and don't do well at all with it, when I'm not at work, and on weekends, I've had to shut myself in my home with air filters, exercising with

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-32761735648899238092008-08-07T18:39:00.000-07:002008-08-07T19:01:34.122-07:00

Sam has what I call "Happy Feet." When he's on the floor or a table, he waddles with a pigeon-toed gait, which seems to match his personality: Slightly off-center, transparent of motive, and very endearing. At least, he has his priorities very straight: food, cuddles, and foot toys. Parrot feet also remind me just how much they resemble something anciently dinosaurish. They're covered with a

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-23472090079897774812008-08-06T18:54:00.000-07:002008-08-06T19:06:21.146-07:00

My co-worker, who lives deep in the country, brought to work two tiny newborn mice. She'd been cleaning her outside storage room and in one box she unearthed, a mother mouse scurried away from a nest of shredded newspaper, containing two blind, hairless mice. She left the nest alone for quite some time that day, hoping the mother would return. But the mouse never did. Meantime, the babies

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-15255273861102864482008-08-05T18:41:00.000-07:002008-08-05T19:17:19.609-07:00

I love to keep learning about my chosen medium of watercolor. This book, Different Strokes-Watercolor by Naomi Tydeman, caught my eye not long ago. It is so vivid and colorful. And I liked the title! The cover shows two interpretations of the same flower by two different artists. The same theme is carried throughout the book. It's fascinating. I never tire of seeing how other artists

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-18582680052702451032008-08-03T15:55:00.001-07:002008-08-03T16:28:51.618-07:00

I had the opportunity yesterday morning to visit the grounds of the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon, and listen in on the rehearsal for the classical performance for that night. It was wonderful! (The above shot is part of the view from the Britt grounds.) What is the Britt Festival, you may ask? Well, for those of us who live in Southern Oregon, it's the best venue for fabulous

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-29236862925371826722008-08-02T09:49:00.000-07:002008-08-02T09:57:39.599-07:00

The fawns are getting bigger and bigger. Here is one of them being groomed by his mamma. And another one. Mamma's taught them well - they now groom each other. They are just beginning to lose their fawn spots on the lower flanks - their new adult hair is beginning to grow in and the spots are getting fainter. By summer's end, they'll be "spotless." They continue to be healthy and

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-1512682543790223352008-07-31T17:58:00.000-07:002008-07-31T18:20:20.619-07:00

I had the opportunity to visit the Cascades du Herisson in the Jura Mountains of France when I visited there a couple of years ago. It was in early spring and the buttercups were in bloom - very beautiful. The entire area consists of multiple waterfalls - "cascades" in French - some small and some from dizzying heights, as this link from YouTube shows. The idea was that my friends thought I'd

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-70512800392411035332008-07-30T17:41:00.001-07:002008-07-30T17:51:53.171-07:00

In addition to the usual birdfeeder species, we also have larger feathered visitors. Wild turkeys abound in these foothills. This family had a morning route that took them through my front yard and into the vacant lot next door. They look a bit prehistoric and not very quick on the uptake. They start out with a dozen or so hatchlings, which dwindles to about 3 or 4 by the time they get big

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-44144843859311234542008-07-28T18:03:00.001-07:002008-07-28T18:15:13.150-07:00

All my parrots have certain activities they like more than others: Chipper likes to hang out/chew/have fun with his books; Pippin likes to nest or shred things; Sam likes to chew on his foot toys or forage for treats. But Charlie! He likes most of all to SING!!!!! He came with about 5 "default" songs - mimics of wild bird calls very badly done - that used to drive me crazy. Fortunately,

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-34140992539960772612008-07-27T10:12:00.000-07:002008-07-27T11:05:49.990-07:00

My wildbird feeder sees a lot of traffic in all seasons. This flicker, though, was a real surprise, since they eat insects and suet and are not known to eat at seed feeders. I had an opportunity to watch this fellow for a couple of minutes. What I realized is that he wasn't after the seeds - he was playing. He'd furiously dig his long strong beak into the seed dispenser holes and vigorously

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-50194795960540267422008-07-26T18:13:00.001-07:002008-07-26T18:21:30.695-07:00

Charlie has decided that it is a good time to molt. Lest you think I never vacuum (admittedly, not my favorite pasttime, but I do it every week!) this pile of feathers is just a two-day accumulation. Everywhere I walk in the living room, there are little drifts of creamy gray cockatiel feathers and down clusters. You'd think he would look rather tatty and nearly featherless, but he's got

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-12394850417515654622008-07-25T18:17:00.000-07:002008-07-25T18:52:07.777-07:00

Sam, apparently, felt he should do his part to help the planet by going green. It helps that he IS green to start with, of course. He's checking out the bag of paper recycling here to see if he can re-use anything interesting. Apparently he found something: a cardboard box that has a fun texture and an enticing interior. Sam seems to approve the use of cold water and safe detergent without

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-21990291584705742742008-07-24T18:12:00.001-07:002008-08-15T15:53:46.074-07:00

I've noticed over the years of watching blacktail deer, that they often groom each other after eating. I believe this serves a practical purpose as well as a social one: removing parasites, ticks, and debris is a smart move. But I think it's also a strong bonding ritual - at least, among the does - that seems to be shared by many species. The right doe is "Old Mamma," and you can see plainly

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-8739472910148242242008-07-22T19:18:00.000-07:002008-07-22T19:35:19.777-07:00

This is another view of Lac Annecy in March. (It's really hot here, so images of snow and coolness seemed in order.) The day I took this photo, the wind was very strong and made the water ripple. You can see how fast the water in the Canal Thiou was running into the Lac here. There is another interesting landmark: The Basilica of the Visitation, and home base of the Visitation Order of nuns

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-84790767614306320362008-07-21T17:56:00.000-07:002008-07-21T21:20:10.169-07:00

I had three visitors come by early this morning. I would have missed them entirely, except that I had gone out of the house about 1/2 hour earlier than usual. I saw a furry something climbing up the plum tree.... What do you know? Three young racoons! I'm sorry the photo is so blurry - I didn't have the time to see if I was focusing near or far. But look closely and you'll see three masked

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-16907471531638235122008-07-20T15:13:00.001-07:002008-07-20T15:17:00.058-07:00

Another hot summer day. While I paint and try to stay cool, all the birds take naps. Chipper is molting heavily, so even when he's not napping, he's in "energy-saving mode." Hope you've had a good weekend and that you've had enough siestas to power you through another week.

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-942072453062087993.post-89745731372608551992008-07-19T13:54:00.000-07:002008-07-19T14:08:01.945-07:00

Plum Blossoms on Stone is now available on my website. I have a few flat rocks in my front yard. The spring breeze had sent these delicate blossoms to land on the rock. In the waning late afternoon spring light, they seemed so beautiful that I felt compelled to paint them. Now the fruits of these blossoms are just starting to ripen. Thank you, plum trees!

Shannon Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12370922034081986361noreply@blogger.com