1•25•2021
Earth Series
Dear Nature,
One year ago today, I attending the second opening of my exhibit ‘Earth Air Water Fire: Balancing on the Edge’ in Tracy, California. It had already shown at the Presidio in San Francisco and was the culmination of several years of work highlighting the perils facing our natural world.
My own inner balance is preserved by spending time in nature and creating art that reflects my deep connection to that world. This is what keeps my world in harmony. I create my work to not only honor that connection but to make a record of what could be lost if we don’t act now, if we don’t try everything in our power to keep all that is hanging in the balance from slipping irretrievably over the edge.
I pledge to keep fighting this good fight on your behalf.
With Love, Kelly
1•26•2021
Pinnacles National Park
Dear Nature,
Pinnacles National Park is a little gem tucked away in the middle of nowhere. The iconic red rock spires for which the park is named, were instantly in view as we approached; especially beautiful as the setting sun started casting deep lavender shadows over the rocks and the surrounding landscape. But we came with the hope to catch a glimpse of a species brought back from the very brink of extinction, the California Condor. Pinnacles NP is one of the release sites for the conservation programs credited with saving the species. The released birds have settled in the park and raised wild young! The next morning we hit a trail knowing that our odds of seeing them were slim. I sighted a smudge in the sky, hoping with a quickly beating heart. Soon another smudge joined the first and they revealed themselves to be a pair of condors!They spiraled down right towards us, swirling around one another, in an unforgettable sky dance.
With Love, Kelly
1•27•2021
Oh Dear, Now What?!
Dear Nature,
I have been enamored with sea otters for ever, but who wouldn’t? My first sighting of wild otters was on a trip to Alaska in the early 90’s. We saw many in the Inside Passage as we traveled on the ferries. They would solemnly bob in the water as they watched the massive boats glide past. On our last day in CA last January, we were meeting a dear friend at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. At Moss Landing we found a wild mother and baby! We could have watched their interactions all day.
We are all John Denver fans and we decided to visit the Monterrey Bay marker dedicated to his passing. A staunch and passionate environmentalist we lost way too soon. Fittingly, as we gazed out at the massive waves, we noticed many bobbing and diving sea otters, playing in the pounding surf, riding the waves like expert surfers! Thank you John for all your efforts, may we honor them by continuing the good fight.
With Love, Kelly
1•28•2021
“Conehead” Oak Titmouse
Dear Nature,
Our nature-seeking and bird-finding trek around California was unforgettable, with so many memorable experiences, it’s hard to pick my favorite one! We saw at least 148 bird species with some still to identify, many that we don’t have here on the East coast. I saw 18 life birds, meaning I have never seen them before. I was going to paint one of them today but I don’t think I could do this particular bird better than this photograph I captured. A life species, but so much more than that!
I was sitting on a picnic table in Pinnacles attending a ranger talk on the California Condor, and apparently this little oak titmouse was jumping down a branch towards my head. My sister thought it was going to actually jump on my head! She whispered for me to turn around, and this photograph is what I saw. A real life Conehead! Like I said, unforgettable.
With Love, Kelly
1•29•2021
Near and Dear
Dear Nature,
I’m ‘home’ from my memory visit to California, back to my Connecticut winter landscapes. One of my favorite places to hike and bird is the ‘Baug’, the Quinnebaug Fish Hatchery in Central Village. Last fall there was a sighting of a rare western visitor, a red phalarope, which would have been a life bird for me. We tried to find it the next day, but lucked out, what is called a ‘dip’ in the birding world. No matter, I still love seeing my familiar local birds. I can always count on the resident kingfishers to elude my camera lens, and if I’m very lucky, I get to see the bald eagles that frequent the area, fishing on the Quinnebaug River. The red-tailed hawk is our most common hawk, but it is still a special moment when they let you observe them more closely, more often they fly as soon as they are noticed.
With Love, Kelly
1•30•2021
Silver Nest
Dear Nature,
I go back to nests over and over as a source of inspiration. The winter landscapes reveal them in all their adaptive differences and similarities. I am always intrigued to see how they are integrated into their environment. This nest at the Qinnebaug Fish Hatchery has taken advantage of the oriental bittersweet vines, an invasive species wreaking havoc in our Eastern forests. We cannot blame the birds for using what is available to them. We can only blame ourselves for allowing these invasions to begin with. For that, Nature, I am sorry. We must try to do better.
With Love, Kelly
1•31•2021
Winter Loon
Dear Nature,
One of the joys of winter birding in New England is being able to visit our shorelines and beaches to see the bird species that spend the season here. One of my top five birds has to be the common loon. They are most notably an iconic bird of summer and fall in the upper New England states. To hear their plaintive haunting calls on an inland lake makes me shiver with delight. Many people aren’t aware that they spend their winters in the open waters off our coast. We see them regularly when we visit Rhode Island and Connecticut on birding excursions. They aren’t quite in their summer garb of black & white checks with a shimmering green necklace, but they are still the same graceful bird, diving in one place and never coming up where you think they will.
With Love, Kelly