Raising A Baby Sparrow

A few years ago I had the joy and honor of rescuing a baby Sparrow! To the left is a small painting I did in memory of this little bird, and below is a slide show documenting her brief time with me. For the ten days that "Daisy" was with me, my whole family made minor adjustments to accommodate this little angel. Feeding a baby bird requires unlimited patience and dedication as they eat every 45 minute from dawn to dusk. Then, its crucial that the bird learns to fly, take dust baths, and eat seed rather than formula fed by hand. All of this I actually found to be a labor of love and our children helped whenever they could. I have included exerts from my previous blog entries documenting those ten days, but I really wanted to convey the feeling I experienced in "rehabilitating" this little creature. She was so small when I found her, dirty, helpless and frightened in the dust of the barn floor. The miracle that she survived the first night was moving in itself! The dramatic changes that evolved in just a few days and the way that she actually looked me in the eye with trust and understanding will leave a lasting memory. I hope I can always remember the sensation of those tiny feet wrapped around my finger with just the most delicate of pressure as she learned to balance herself and then to fly. Maybe someday Daisy will come back to visit me, but if not, the memory of sharing ten days with her will always be sweet.




Blog entries:

August 30th, 2007

I found a baby House Sparrow at the barn where my horse Little Bit lives. The barn was in the process of being re-roofed and her nest was knocked down. With much loud equipment and many tromping feet of the roofers barely missing this wee little thing as she lay in the dust on the barn floor, I had to help her. I know the proper thing to do with a baby bird is to return it to it's nest or at least leave it where it was found so that mom can care of it on the ground, but this just was not an option, so she came home with me! After quite a bit of research online I learned what I needed to do to care for her and I learned that House Sparrows are one of the three wild birds in this country that,( being an introduced breed) are legal to raise in your home. And so begins this delightful journey raising baby Sparrow.

September 1, 2007

Baby Sparrow has grown so much just over night! She really enjoys hanging out with me on my finger while I sit at the computer. Soon I will have to help her practice flying.

September 3, 2007

Little Sparrow is beginning to act like she could start eating seeds, (I don't have any on hand and its a holiday here so it will have to wait until tomorrow) she has been pecking at the floor of her enclosure. She flew a few feet today, from my hand back to her house...so cute! I am looking forward to getting her cage so I can place her outside to hear the other birds and smell the fresh air! I will certainly give her natural branches to perch on. I hope she wont be so tame that she cant become a member of the outdoor bird family. I will just take it slowly and watch her carefully


Sept 4th, 2007

This morning little bird flew halfway across the room, took a dust bath in dry oatmeal and ate some bird seed!

Sept 7th, 2007

"Daisy" as my daughter has named her, has had a taste of freedom and now REFUSES to go back into her cage. (cant blame her really considering she is a wild little bird) This is so cute, she found a comfy spot on my curtains and fluffed into a sleepy ball.

Sept 9th, 2007

Daisy flew out into the wild blue. Its very bittersweet! Once she discovered how to fly, there was just NO way of keeping her in a cage. Then this morning she discovered the other birds outside the window and was beating herself against the window pane...so I opened it. Off she shot! I am not sure she was completely ready, but she certainly thought so. For a while I could hear her in the big trees across my yard, then she was gone. The window is open, if she needs to come back for soft food. I am just a little sad.

An Artist's Winter

There are often arctic days, deep in winter, when our New England landscape is locked in frigid beauty. On these mornings, after my family is bundled out the door to work and school, my studio fills with brilliant-frosty edged sunshine. Although its freezing outside, the fire is burning bright in my wood stove, and the day is full of possibilities. My animal family gets all settle in, relishing the warmth, sunshine, and quiet. These moments are like little gifts to me, they are a personal oasis that I treasure each time they unfold on winter mornings.

Enjoy!

Twitter Tips For Artists

There are a gabillion "Twitter Experts" out there these days (I am certainly not one), but I want to share seven of my personal Twitter tips as an artist, for making the most of the social network platform:

• Tip 1: Tweet about what's important to you, what you're passionate about!
• Tip 2: Interact, listen, respond, and care about what people are saying. That will bring you quality followers.
• Tip 3: Be sure to have a clear Bio & Avatar (the little picture of yourself), otherwise how will followers know you and why would they follow?
• Tip 4: You can recommend people ANY day not JUST #followfriday (Follow Friday is a tradition where people tweet people they believe are fun/interesting to follow on Fridays) How about #follownow, (a daily recommendation of fellow Tweeters)?
• Tip 5: Find a service like TweetDeck (my favorite) to help you organize the Twitter stream into columns of friends, new followers, mentions, etc.
• Tip 6: Make sure you leave enough characters and the end of your Tweet so that people can re-tweet you. A re-tweet (RT) is a great compliment!
• Tip 7: Automated welcome Direct Messages (in my opinion) to your new followers is more a negative than positive touch.

So, there is my Twitter two cents!


Ive been on Twitter for a few years and the number of rewards I gain from Twitter on a daily basis completely surprises me! I must be "Tweeting" something worthwhile, because I now have over 9,000 people "following" me on Twitter! I've found Twitter to be a powerful business tool, a source of great support, and my favorite place to greet the morning as well as my way of relaxing at the end of the day. When my mom was in her final days last year, I reached out to my Twitter friends with a aching heart, and received hundreds of sincere, supportive messages from my online friends. My Twitter family helped ease me through a painful time, especially since the day mom died I was 3,000 miles away from her, my brother and sisters.
I've met some people I consider true friends and with whom I chat daily. A few months ago I shared with you a little painting titled "Tufted Titmouse" (above in his new role as a greeting card). This little watercolor was based on a reference photograph by my Twitter friend MikeyBoy50. The painting I created from MikeyBoy50's photograph is one of my favorite pieces of last year! The following month, my friend FredCuellar purchased the original directly from my interaction with him on Twitter. Yesterday my friend JoyIsLife contacted me on Twitter and requested a custom card fashioned from "Tufted Titmouse"....now that's some outstanding business results from my daily "tweeting"!

The Tufted Titmouse greeting card above can be purchased on Zazzle by clicking the image above, or here in my Gift Shop

The Art Of Paying It Forward

Yesterday morning I picked up a small package from my village post office. After unwrapping the mystery parcel, I discovered the most delightful collection of beautiful art cards and sweet little herbal sachets! I was thrilled, but completely perplexed. I did not recall having purchased anything from this particular artist, nor did I recall any give a ways or contests. So, of course I promptly emailed her. It turns out that quite a while ago I responded to Tara Chang's blog post about Paying It Forward thus being the grateful recipient of her charming art gift! A definition of Paying It Forward is when something, usually good, happens to you, you then do something good for someone else. Instead of paying something "back" you are paying it "forward" on to the next person. Its like a (not quite) random act of kindness, something I think our world needs a lot more of. I'm a big believer in random acts of kindness!

On Twitter, I love to create small "tweets" about giving, such as:

• "Give Generously With Your Heart- Receive Joy Abundantly!"
• "The Random Act of Kindness is Itself The reward!"

I really believe in these statements and am therefore delighted to pay this one forward. But first let me expound a bit on the incredible art of Tara Chang
Tara is an illustrator and fine artist who creates charming fantasy in watercolor and ink.

• You can find Tara's art updates on her blog Silver Apples of the Moon 
• Her portfolio on Childrens Illustrators
• Tara's Facebook page
• Her Website

So, here are the Paying Forward It rules:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

When you leave your comment, please also do one of two things: leave your mailing address here or with your mailing address.

Enjoy!

Free Miniature Cat Art!

Enjoy a free miniature print! All you have to do is click the "Like" button and/or "tweet" button at the top of this post.

Kitten In A Basket
ACEO (3.5" by 2.5")
Above is the approximate size of the original art which was done in Colored Pencil and India Ink

0

Enjoy!

Need Your Artistic Opinion

This is a painting for a recent children's book project. I own the original ( an 8x10" watercolor and pencil), and I'm thinking about turning it into a new completed piece. What do you think about a subject that could go inside this ivy frame? What are your thoughts? Preferable a critter...maybe something with spring in mind? Perhaps an Easter theme/bunny, considering the lush green foliage?

I'd be honored to hear your opinions in a comment here on my blog.

Enjoy!

Facebook Thoughts on Valentine Card

Purchase Little Mouse here.

---

I recently asked my Facebook "Fans" their opinion about which of these images I should feature for upcoming Valentine's Day. I was so flattered to receive over 30 responses, including artistic critiques and impassioned favorites. I extend my warmest thanks to all my Facebook fans listed below, who took a moment out of their day to share their opinion!

Purchase Little Scottie Dog here.

---

Fans who were so kind to leave a comment:

• Lisa Tayes Parker of Designing Artists Women's Group DAWG Team
• Sheri Mills Cook
• Bonnie Gaines
• Anne Arnold Pierce
• Amy McDonald- Waldron
• Elizabeth Campbell
• Janice Harkins
• Taylor
• Georgie Richardson McNeese
• Ellen Dodson
• Charles Ott
• Rachel Secora
• Vikki Moffitt
• Christine Richers
• Mary June Armstrong
• Kristen Howe
• Sandy Turmail
• Cassie Peters
• Lee Art
• Dorri Olds
• Marybeth Crouse
• Merlyn Sanchez
  
• Dave Earl


• Joann McKendry

Enjoy!