Mr. Owl and the Christmas Moon

There's a great hiking path near me and I was told 2 weeks ago I would see a lot of owls. 

Well, I did but I didn't have my camera with me. 

Fast forward to tonight and I am so happy I was able to get a few shots!

‎"To the artist, the forest is an asylum of peace and 

dancing shadows."

 ~ John F. Carlson

The full moon was incredible tonight. At first it was really orange, much more so that this photo. 

This is the Christmas moon or also called yule moon, long night moon, bitter moon or, in English medieval times, the oak moon. 

Another woodland creature I recently came across...

Of mice and jack o' lanterns...

You can get a lot accomplished when there's several feet of snow outside your door and the husband is home to watch the wee one. I finished my previously mentioned owl on the pumpkin sculpture and painted two fun welcome signs, one with a black Percheron and some spring flowers and another with a jack o' lantern and a mouse peeking out of the nose. I suppose they shall both make their way over to Ebay sooner or later!

My daughter, who just turned 4, attempted her first horse drawing this week (I am so proud). Thought I would share. This is a large drawing on a piece of oversized construction paper I taped to the wall. She said the horse has a "million legs" (yikes). There are also some fairies around, Tinker Bell is green and Silver Mist is flying by on the top right. Bother fairies are holding flowers and the large horse has a baby horse with it and a rider.




Don't forget! The Penny Tree Auction starts this weekend. Proceeds will benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Read more about this wonderful work of art here, on the PFATT BLOG. I donated a glittery unicorn heart ornament for the tree.

6 Raptors and 1 Skunk...

Last weekend we ventured out into the cold for Community Day (free) at Zoo America in Hershey, PA. It was one of the best experiences we've had there. They had a lot of animals out on display, especially the raptors which are my favorite there.

Here's an Eastern Screech Owl keeping an eye on me!


Red Tail Hawk has his feathers puffed up to keep him warm.


Wish I could have gotten a better pic of the Snowy Owl.


This little owl came in with an injured eye. Now she can't be released back into the wild.


Love the barn owls!


Isn't this Cooper's Hawk a beauty? I was so lucky to get that close!


At the zoo they're teaching their skunk to "paint" with target training. You can buy her "art" in the gift shop. This was Zoe's favorite part.

Hunkering down for a big winter storm today. One good thing about it is that I will have lots of time to paint and create! My Franny the Snow Witch has been marked down, if you're interested scroll down a few posts and read her story.

Night Owl

Just completed and listed on ebay my Night Owl Cafe sign. Please check it out when you have a chance. It is my first owl sign and I love how it turned out.

Also coming up this week are two challenge pieces I've created. The one is for EHAG's Creey Confections and Tricky Treats Challenge. The other is for AHAO's Alice in Halloweenland Challenge. Both pieces are 3-D and made out of paperclay. Thought I would do something a little different and unexpected since they are challenges.
Check back to see what I've come up with!