Last day of the year 2024

Have been painting a lot last month. 

This one is for me very helpful, to wash off and shake off everything that is bothering and hindering.
I love beginning the new year with a fresh mind and vision.

snowdrops

 I looked in my garden, to see if there are already snowdrops coming above the ground.

That's always so great to see that a little bit of spring is daring to come out again. Can't wait for spring coming, but this is the first sign that's on its way!

Stamps

Today my sister brought the new years card herself, instead of delivering it by the postman.
My brother-in-law had drawn a beautiful stamp on the envelloppe, which made me smile.

One minute longer daylight

I'm happy that the days are getting longer again.
Right, it's only one minute per day or even less.. One minute per per 2 or 3 days.
Yet I'm happy that I can look forward for longer days ...

Interview in magazine

Recently I have been interviewed by a local magazine.

There is an e-magazine as well so that not only the locals can see it.
However its in dutch language so when you want to be able read it in english, you can go to google translate or other translation apps.  The interview is somewhere in the middle of the magazine.

 https://dehessencombinatie.nl/archief/de-hessencombinatie-uitgave-57-december-2024-inhoudsopgave/

blackbird oil painting

 I love painting birds having a bath.

I took this image some years ago, and decided to paint it. They are so enjoying their bathing and this blackbird really is enjoying it. Its reminds me to let go of a lot of heavy stuff, we sometimes can carry around on our shoulders. Birds don't do that. They shake things off immediately. That's why I love them so much!

moon

 Today There is a beautiful moon out.

In the bible it says in Genesis,1:14

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

 

God created 2 lights in the heavens. The sun and the moon
I always wonder what's off. Our moon as we now it, is not a real light. Its a reflected light. 

So when its says that He created 2 lights..It always makes me wonder.

Squirrel

 I miss squirrel.

Last time I saw him was about a month ago. while he was cashing some nuts.

I don't know what happened. Normally he is roaming around seeking nuts, but not here anymore now.

I really miss him/them

ladybird

 

 

 Today I noticed a ladybird, walking on the floor of my studio.

He had lost his way...all covered in a layer of dusty things.

I removed the dust and put him outside in the Erigeron flowers. I think he can find there a better place to hibernate than under the central heating in my studio.

Last butterfly flowers for this year

 

The flowers of the Gaura are fading away. They have blossomed many months.
I suddenly noticed the flowers look like white butterflies. 

I did not know that the name of this Gaura was; 'Swirling butterflies'!

Which reminded me of a painting I made some years ago. Its title was 'Out of the ashes".

When everything seems to be burned and lost...New life is coming forth from the ashes.

This is amazing to me.

 

Out of the ashes

Snailtrail

 

Last night a snail has 'walked' around and left his beautiful-colored trail, so that you can exactly see where he has been going.

Feather

Birds are losing their feathers. 

I found a beautiful doves feather, with a bit orange purple in it.

Squirrel painting

 Have been quiet for a while on my blog. 

One of the reasons is, I'm working on some paintings and then I am so absorbed in the painting that I forget a lot of other things. Like my coffee or tea sitting there next to me getting cold without having had a sip.

To me that's not a bad thing. I loose track of time and enjoy my journey of the painting.

Here is the result. Don' know yet if it is finished, for now I'm happy with it.

Squirrel-time

 

It's squirrel time again. 

Nuts are ripe and squirrel is busy finding them and put them in storage places in my garden.

This year I found a lot of young walnut-trees in my garden, which he had not eaten.

Maybe he wanted them to grow to trees for more nuts later, when this trees are grown-up there are growing more nuts!

This year the walnut tree of my neighbour has a bad year. almost no nuts on the tree.

I still have some last-year nuts which I throw out so now and then, for him to find.

So lovely to see him again.

Caterpillar Buff-tip

 

Today while cleaning a birdbath, I noticed on the corner of the bath, a soaked wet caterpillar, He was very wet and he tried to get away out of the water. So I took him out.

I remembered I had seen this kind of caterpillar years ago, but did not remember which specie it was. I saved him from the water and put him on a dry spot. 

He looked to me rather big so he might be soon cocooning. He is a caterpillar of the Buff-tip, (Wapendrager)(Phalera bucephala).

happy bunnies

doodle: 2 happy bunny's jumping up in the air.

It looks to me like a happy bunny-dance...abun-dance!
 

Blackbird molting & bathing

 This morning a molting blackbird came along for a bath. 

He looks quite undone and scruffy and messy.

We sometimes look the same way, when we are having a bath...

Hedgehog party

 One of my friends has a hedgehog in her garden. 

She has bought last year a hedgehog-house and now the hedgehog sleeps in the house all winter and summer. On top of that, she feeds him(or her) every night with some yummy hedgehog-food. Which (s)he loves very much. 

The last few weeks there is a visitor and now both hedgehogs are feasting on the yummy food and each other. Would there soon be hedgehog babies?

Even the snails are happy, not to be snacked for dinner.

I will send her this partycard in anticipation.

Rabbit

 Found back an unfinished doodle I made some time ago.

Somehow it got hidden under a pile of papers. I added some colors and there it is...

Happy bunnies.

Roses

                               

                                   

I noticed that one of my roses, had blossomed again!

This is  gorgeous rose...the colors the fragrance is exactly how I love it! I put the rose in a vase to be able to enjoy it during the day. 

I noticed that a crawly creature had delighted in the leaves and wrote a song in them.

Bird on eggs 2

What happened to the bird  breeding on the many-colored eggs?

See post of july 6.

You can see here that there has been some progress in the breeding.
Two lovely colored baby-chicks have been born.

                               Mother-bird looks quite surprised when she peeked under her wings.

Boxing hares

 I was on my bike for a joyride.

On my way I saw 2 hares in a meadow, chasing each other. Mostly you don't see them at midday, so that was a surprise seeing even 2!

Shortly after they started kickboxing. It looked amazing...how they were kind of fighting together. Later I noticed that one was chasing the other one away. Maybe the other tried overruling his territory. When the other was far away enough, the first one ran back.

It looked like a dance...though it was probably not, but I really enjoyed it. later I made a small doodle of the dancing, kickboxing hares.

Bullfinches together

 Today, the bullfinches came together to have a bath. Lovely nice weather and lost of splashing!