Clean off those branches and put out some seed and suet if you can
Wonderland © B.E. Kazmarski
I was entranced overnight as the snow quickly fell and piled on every surface, even tiny twigs. By morning I was ready with my camera, photographing out of windows and emerging on to the deck and porch to capture the rare and magical transformation of a snow-covered morning here in Western Pennsylvania. Shrubs and small trees were bent down and everything, my brush piles and tall natives left in the habitat included, was covered with an undulating snow blanket at least 18 inches deep.
Doves Online
Doves were lined up on the clothes line on my deck and wrens and sparrows were perching under the rockers and other chairs, using my deck for cover and no doubt waiting for me to put out the goodies.
However, as I cleaned off the deck and filled the feeders around the railings and the improvised bird bath I saw flocks of birds headed for both the deck and at least one of the feeders at the end of the yard (the other was hopelessly covered by its small tree completely bent over under the weight of snow), but they weren’t using the feeder and they weren’t perching, which was very strange behavior.
Song Sparrow on Rocker
I had filled the seed and suet feeders and put out some ear corn yesterday afternoon so they would have it first thing in the morning instead of waiting for me to dig out. If the Cooper’s hawk had been around I wouldn’t have seen any birds at all, except perhaps a sacrificial mourning dove.
At the Feeder
Then I took another look at this lovely landscape—the forsythia which is usually filled with sparrows, the pussy willow hosting the larger cardinals and blue jays, even the American Hemlock and brushy saplings around the larger feeder on which and in which the birds are usually perching in wait for the feeders, were all covered with several inches of snow which the birds couldn’t perch on. All the tall stems of goldenrod, asters, coneflower and bergamot that I leave standing for the birds to use as both perches and food sources were completely bent down and covered in snow. Even the ground around the feeders was covered with snow the birds couldn’t even land on top of without dangerously sinking in.
They had no place to land and nothing to eat.
Backyard and bicycle
This was a totally different interpretation of a lovely snowy morning, and potentially fatal to all my avian visitors. Where smaller mammals can and do tunnel under the snow and larger ones travel over it or can walk through it, birds can’t brush away snow and ice before they land or dig through it to get to something underneath. In order to use the feeder they need to land close, then hop to the feeder. Unless they could land right on the feeder, they couldn’t eat from it, and all their natural sources were under snow, not only in my yard but everywhere.
36" t-square covered to 18"
Well, I’d probably gotten as many photos as I wanted, so out came the broom and I waded in snow that had drifted deeper than the 18 inches I had measured earlier and swatted away at the forsythia, pulling the longer branches out of the snow on the ground so they could swing free. Then I reached the pussy willow from the deck railing on one side, and the lilac from the other side. As I was working a large clump of snow fell from higher up in the trees at the end of the yard and conveniently knocked the snow off of the feeder in the yard as well as the hemlock and saplings. Thanks, nature!
I was barely finished with clearing one bush and then the other before the birds were in it, chattering and fluttering. And even though they are familiar with me—the blue jay had announced that I had come out onto the deck earlier, and that’s the signal for birds to gather in the shrubs around the deck anticipating the daily feeder refill—they don’t usually fly right past my head to get to the feeders, but today they did.
Wren Under Rocker
“Eating like a bird” has been famously misinterpreted indicating a picky eater, but while birds don’t all eat twice their weight in food every day, they do need to eat proportionally much more than humans, especially in cold weather. Imagine having to hop out of bed into a situation you physically can’t negotiate and having to forage for enough quality food to equal about a quarter to a half of your body weight just stay warm and alive for the day and overnight, using only your face and toes as tools.
Tonight is forecast to be in the single digits, and some birds would simply die overnight if they hadn’t been able to find or access any food today. Out in nature, nobody would brush off the trees and fill the feeders, but with songbird populations imperiled because of habitat fragmentation and pesticide use, they could use a little help from us.
What is this stuff?
If you do feed birds, put out some extra stuff, especially high-protein, high-energy foods like hulled sunflower, peanuts and even other unsalted or plain nuts you might have on hand; I donated a cup of crushed walnuts, which were a really big hit. Dried fruits are very good for them now, too, even just a handful of raisins snipped in half so smaller birds can manage them. Many birds eat insects as well as seeds, and suet fills that part of their diet when no insects are available. The extra protein will help them get through a cold night and into tomorrow.
Don’t forget the water—just a shallow pan of warm water will keep from freezing most of the day and be easy to punch out and refill in the morning. Rising steam from warm water will help attract them to it.
I have articles on making your own inexpensive bird treats in Birds?! Attract them with homemade suet cakes and also a series of articles on Backyard Wildlife Habitats for more information on inviting and feeding wild birds and other wildlife in your backyard.
Sparrow and dove on porch swing
If you don’t normally feed birds it’s highly unlikely you’d be able to attract them to a new feeder or water source today. But at least knock the snow off of any shrubs with twigs small enough for bird claws to grasp, and especially from any dense shrubs they would normally use for cover. Birds roost overnight in tree cavities and in other protected places, usually huddled together for extra warmth. While snow is a great insulator this snowfall was really unique in that snow is piled on branches where I’ve never seen it, on the lee side of trees, and some shrubs are completely filled with snow, leaving the most typical spots for avian protection unavailable.
Bird's Nest
What?! It’s been cats, cats, cats, and now a bird’s nest?
This was a general purpose sketchbook and I used it for many things in addition to extemporaneous sketches; that’s why it was at my desk.
The story behind this one, though, doesn’t have to do with my backyard wildlife habitat or my love of wild birds. I’m a member of a small business organization, and several years ago I was included in an article about small business owners setting up a retirement plan for themselves. The theme, of course, was “nest egg”, and the editors wanted some illustrative photos of us showing the nest egg theme. The nests and eggs the photographer brought were not like any I’d seen in real life, and in part because I was to be photographed out in my backyard wildlife habitat and I’d say something about studying and sketching birds and their nests, I wanted to use one of the nests I had on hand with a few reconstructed eggs. That was too realistic, perhaps, so I went to the next idea—I make my living as an artist, so I’m literally “drawing my own nest egg”.
Hence the sketch of the nest with eggs. I still like it just as a sketch too. I’ve been meaning to frame it for hanging somewhere in the house, but here it ended up in the sketchbook. Like the others, this one is also for sale. Please ask if you are interested!
Stanley's Stripes, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski
Here is one of my favorites, “Stripes”, because those are his “racing stripes” down the back of his head; it’s my Stanley sleeping on a little bolster filled with buckwheat intended for me to use as a neck pillow. I think he liked the sound it made when he curled up on it and he practically glowed with contentment as he settled for his post-breakfast nap. I sketched this in one of his last three years of life when he slept long and deep, sometimes relaxing so much that he’d slide off the furniture. He was always vital, though, and a real character who I’ll never forget. I knew I’d frame this image for display at least and sell it as a print, and I also had it printed as a notecard, notepaper and memo pad in the “Feline Sketches” set. He’s a favorite as both a general purpose greeting cat and as a sympathy cat as some people have chosen this card to use for an animal sympathy card.
In the Box, pencil sketch © B.E.Kazmarski
And my other favorite from around the same time, “In the Box”, my Sophie, having stuffed herself into a box too small for her size, uses it as an observation point to watch out the door. Sophie was a little larger than average and had lots of fur, but she thought she was just a small cat. If I’m trying to accomplish something on my desk that I don’t necessarily want kitties walking across or through or knocking over or sitting on, I grab a handy box or two or more and set them near me. As if a magnet had pulled them there, each box I’ve set out will immediately have a cat in it. They tire of them, though and I’ll usually put them away. I don’t know how many months Sophie used this box, but it was falling apart by the time she finally tired of it and I recycled it. I knew I’d frame this image also and sell it as a print, and I also had it printed as a notecard, notepaper and memo pad in the “Feline Sketches” set.
Peaches Nap Spot, pencil and watercolor © B.E. Kazmarski
And this pencil sketch of Peaches with watercolor washes, “Peaches’ Nap Spot”, is the other that’s been framed, sold as a print and made into notecards. Dear little old Peaches in her pastel beauty, I just love how she sleeps in a circle. I’ll never know what is so inspiring about her, but I’m so glad she entered my life, even at the grand old age of 15. She’s still going strong four years later, and is the subject of many a sketch, painting and photo.
This is probably why the sketchbook was “lost”—I scanned or photographed several works in it and framed them, so it ended up in a cubbyhole in my upstairs workroom/studio instead of returning to my downstairs office/studio. Until I recently cleaned out and reorganized things upstairs, this was in a “safe” place. Don’t get the idea that my house is really big with all these upstairs and downstairs studios—it’s 15 ft. x 22 ft., and every room is involved in all I do! That includes the kitchen and bathroom, since that’s where I print items sometimes, dye fabrics, wash my brushes and even hang artwork for inspection sometimes. That’s why the sketchbook accidentally got “lost”, space is so tight that when I tucked it away I literally had to take apart a shelf for books and art supplies to see it in the stack.
Namir Pencil Sketch, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski
It’s obvious in this sketch that Namir had quite the Oriental breed influencing his good looks. The only problem was that he was gray tabby and white, n ot marked at all like an Oriental breed. I used to say that he was an Abyssinian cat who had been painted at birth.
I loved those huge ears, that prominent nose and whisker pads—especially since his muzzle was white and quite stood out—and those tourmaline eyes. His tail was very expressive, long and slender with a little bend about an inch from the end that only showed when he was feeling especially intense.
He fought hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure for his last four years, but with his social nature, congeniality and general busy agenda no one would have known he was even ill. Instead of “he fought” I should say “he ignored” his illness, because he did. I lost Namir on July 1, 2009, and I’ve written a remembrance of him which is not sad, just remembering all his ways and days with lost of photos and artwork, and his last day. He is also the subject of several other works, including the art in the header of this page. You can find him on my website under “My Cats” in the first page of color artwork, and under “pencil” as well as in my Marketplace in individual and sets of notecards.
Cookie Doesn't Want to Wake Up
Apparently, Cookie was a hot subject all through this sketchbook. Actually, Cookie is always with me, no matter what I do, because I am her responsibility, and to make it look as if she’s not really following me she simply appears in the room where I’ve gone and performs some feline activity as if she meant to do that all along. She’s the subject of a lot of photos too, for the same reason.
This one is just a light sketch because I believe it’s drawn mostly from memory. Cookie used to sleep on her back in the place of honor, right next to me, between me and the edge of the bed where I would see her first when I awoke. When she would stretch, then curl her toes and draw in her hind feet, she would also curl her front paws and draw them in to her face. I’m not sure why she doesn’t sleep on her back anymore, but perhaps it’s difficult to get out of at the age of 17!
Of course, capturing this sketch would have been planned, knowing Cookie would be sleeping on her back when I awakened, and my stirring would cause her to stretch and curl her paws. When I would have moved to get my sketchbook, she would have been curious, so I would have had a very limited time to catch her in this position. I know I intended to keep the sketchbook by the bed in order to catch her again, thinking I hadn’t caught enough of the details of her position, but I probably forgot, and this is as far as I got.
That’s okay! It’s too bad that lighter pencil lines are difficult to reproduce because there’s actually more detail than can be seen in the scan unless you look really close.
As with the other sketches, this one is for sale, matted and framed. I used to regret letting my sketches go, but I’ve grown to love the thought of sharing my kitties. If you are interested, please send me an e-mail.
Cookie Sitting, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski
I knew I had a few sketches of Cookie and until I found this sketchbook I wondered where they had gone. She appeared before now and will appear again tomorrow.
These are on the next two pages in the book, the more detailed one first, then the simple outline. I think I was in the mood for the detailed style, I can tell by my lines and how much detail I’ve worked into her markings, especially the sure, straight lines of shadow around her; I can actually feel the certainty in my hands while I look at the sketches. The sketch in simple outline is a build from the style of Nikka, which may have been weeks or even months before this, but I probably flipped through the pages.
Here she is mid-bath, sitting in her somewhat roly-poly position where it’s easiest to get her belly. I’ve got more of her markings than in other sketches and I may have rendered some of them from memory, but because another version of her in the same position appears on the next page, likely I was working quickly and Cookie was holding more or less the same position for several minutes.
Nearly all of the first sketch is drawn with the side of the pencil, where nearly all of the second sketch is drawn with the point of the pencil. Pencil is so expressive: as I said above that I can feel the certainty in my hands while I am looking at these sketches, and I can see the next place I would have gone if I had had the time that morning, using the pencil as a brush stroke, pulling it along the paper, letting the varied line form from the tip.
Cookie Outline, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski
Hearrrt Attack Catnip Heart
When our cats will play with scraps of paper and chase their own tails I often wonder at the sense of purchasing toys for them. Watching them with a catnip toy is worth it, though! I also appreciate good craftsmanship and a toy that reflects a deep understanding of feline sensibilities and perceptions.
MyThreeCats.com, with Bogey as Chairpurr-son, is the longest-standing customer of my business for design and writing and also a business I patronize for goodies for the kids because the selection of toys, treats, furniture and more is so carefully assembled for quality, price and environmental/cultural awareness.
They carry Ducky World catnip toys, and this set of Hearrrt Attack catnip toys is one of the favorites in this household—aside from the fact that they are apparently filled with really good…stuff, I think they are also just the right size for a good round of pouncing, biting, licking, kicking and tossing. And if red is indeed one of the colors cats can see, this would be hard to miss.
Aside from my cats’ appreciation of these toys, I am thrilled with their craftsmanship. Of the nine cats living with me now, only Peaches does not play with toys though she does rub her face on catnip toys left on the floor, but that leaves eight cats kicking the crap out of any given toy and I’ve never seen a Ducky World toy so much as burst a thread. And while cat toys are also designed with humans in mind, this set of hearts says “happy kitty”, “can’t break this heart” and best of all “lick me, bite me, bunnykick me”—they really understand kitty behavior!
animated ad I designed for My Three Cats & Co., Inc.
Our friends at MyThreeCats.com have a special on these toys for Valentine’s Day—save over $1.00 on one toy, or get a free toy with purchase of any six toys! Take advantage of it until February 14, 2010, get your cats some quality toys they’ll really enjoy and give yourself a laugh every time you see it on the floor! At left is the ad I designed for MyThreeCats.com to run on their website and other sites for advertising. How good is that? Designing ads for catnip toys!
Nikka on the Table, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski
I was trying another style here, that simple outline with little dimensional shaping or shadow. Sometimes I get all caught up in shape and color and texture and perspective that I forget all about simple composition and arrangement of shapes.
This is Nikka, sister to Fawn, born in the first litter whose expectant mother I welcomed and who I fostered. Her name was originally Natasha and one of her brothers was Boris; their father was a big gray serious tomcat with yellow eyes that no one messed with who I had named Prince Igor, hence the East European names. Then there was the little pun from the cartoon Bullwinkle. The person who adopted her, a fan of Thelonious Monk, named her Nikka after Monk’s famous patron, though it should have been “Nica”, but I guess it’s close enough for jazz. I took her back when she was seven after that good household had turned bad.
Nikka was a dilute tortoiseshell, and like so many I’ve seen she had a wonderful soft roundness to her features, and the gray of her fur held a silvery sheen that often hid the peach and cream speckles in the gray. I know on this hot afternoon she was stretching on the corner of the kitchen table just under the ceiling fan, trying to get cool air on as much of her body as possible. I could see all those simple lines and rounded shapes, even the chair and table, though that’s not my usual style, but here she is all those years later; I lost her in February 2003.
Cookie Awakened, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski
Cookie is never unhappy about being awakened, she’s just wondering what the heck I want, and if I’m just going to sit there staring at her and not even pet her, if she shouldn’t just go back to sleep. She did just that.
Cookie is a tortoiseshell calico, and her body mostly black but is speckled all over with orange. I didn’t want to work that much detail into this, but I did include the most distinguishing characteristic about Cookie—her half-and-half face. One side is black with orange freckles, and the other side is orange with tabby markings and black freckles. The split begins on her upper lip and runs all the way back to her shoulder blades in an almost completely straight line!
Sure, we start out with a kitten or puppy or bird or other animal companion juvenile or adult, and we think we need to teach them how to live with humans. In some important ways, we do teach them a few household manners, but in the end we who love animals know that our animal companions teach us more than we could ever hope to teach them. That is, if we are willing to listen…and admit that we needed to learn the lesson.
Allia Zobel Nolan with Angela and just a few of her recent titles.
Author Allia Zobel Nolan, friend and fellow member of the Cat Writer’s Association, was published on Beliefnet.com, completely unashamed to admit that living with her three angel cats had taught her seven important lessons that she was compelled to share with others. Silly human that she is, Allia had a little “prodding” from Angela , Sinead and McDuff (can you tell there’s a nationality thing going on here?) who apparently “kneaded” her until she was convinced to share the story.
Not that Allia needs a whole lot of prodding to write something. She’s the author of over 170 books for children and adults, was a Senior Editor for Reader’s Digest Children’s Books for almost ten years and just three years ago went freelance as an author and writer. Her illustrated books about cats (actually, I think her cats used her as a medium) include Purr More, Hiss Less, Heavenly Lessons I Learned from My Cat, Why Cats Make Great Kids, and the series expounding the virtues of living with cats beginning with 101 Reasons Why a Cat is Better Than a Man, and that’s the short list. To see all of Allia’s feline-inspired volumes, visit the Cat Books page on her website.
Energetic and overflowing with a non-stop sense of humor, she’s been busy working on what sounds like five books at once and she managed to work a few of my kids into one that will be published this year, Cat Confessions. We’ll write more when that book is released. Seeing all this experience, I’m glad to have her generously coaching me as I write up my first book proposals and look for publishers.
So here’s a link for you—see for yourself what kind of teachers her three wonderful puddies are: http://www.beliefnet.com/Love-Family/Pets/2010/01/Cat-Life-Lessons.aspx
To see more about Allia, her cats and her books, visit her website at www.alliawrites.com, and her blog at kittyliterate.blogspot.com.
