Reasons No. 26, 27, and 28

Reason No. 26

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:
Lions

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

Reason No. 27

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:
Tigers

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

Reason No. 28

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:
Bears (oh my!)

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

All photos were taken at the Portland Zoo last fall on a lovely cool day when all of the animals were out and about and active.

Did you know that the number of tigers in the wild has plunged some 95 percent over the past century? It is estimated that only 3,200 remain in the wild, in large part due to loss of habitat, poaching and illicit trade in tiger pelts and body parts. Three of nine tiger subspecies are extinct: the Bali tiger in the 1940s, the Caspian tiger in the 1970s and the Java tiger in the 1980s. The south China tiger, which has not been seen in the wild for over 40 years, is feared extinct. Officials from 13 countries signed a declaration yesterday aimed at saving the remaining big cats from extinction. More information here: Save The Tiger

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Over the next few weeks I will be posting photos or artwork of 55 reasons why I think it's a good idea to take care of Mother Earth. If you find any of my 55 reasons compelling, please consider making a small donation if you can: 55 cents, $1.55, 5.50, or $55.00 (you get the drift...) to the Susan Faye Double Nickel Birthday Fund for Mother Nature to benefit the Nature Conservancy.

Your donation will support the many programs of the Nature Conservancy, an efficient and effective organization that has been working around the world for 60 years to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. My goal is to raise $550 to help with their important work.

If you would like to donate, please click here:
Double Nickel Fund

Thank you for participating...it means a lot to me!

Reasons 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20

Reason No. 15

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:
Healthy Food From Beautiful Farmlands

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

Reason No. 16

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:
The Song of a Red-Winged Blackbird

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

Reason No. 17

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:
Thriving Wetlands

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

Reason No. 18

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:
Dusky Canada Geese

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

Reason No. 19

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:
Great Blue Herons

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

Reason No. 20

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:
A Favorite Swimming Hole

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

All of these photos were taken on a glorious autumn day last week at the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. The 2,492 acre refuge sits in the middle of Willamette Valley farmlands and was created to provide vital wintering habitat for dusky Canada geese, the smallest of the Canada geese sub-species. They nest on Alaska's Copper River Delta and winter almost exclusively in the Willamette Valley.

See that dark cloud in the last photo? No, that's not a swarm of locusts, it's GEESE, all honking with wild abandon! You haven't lived until you've heard several hundred geese all honking at once right over your head. You can't help but laugh out loud.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting photos or artwork of 55 reasons why I think it's a good idea to take care of Mother Earth. If you find any of my 55 reasons compelling, please consider making a small donation if you can: 55 cents, $1.55, 5.50, or $55.00 (you get the drift...) to the Susan Faye Double Nickel Birthday Fund for Mother Nature to benefit the Nature Conservancy.

Your donation will support the many programs of the Nature Conservancy, an efficient and effective organization that has been working around the world for 60 years to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. My goal is to raise $550 to help with their important work.

If you would like to donate, please click here:
Double Nickel Fund

Thanks for stopping by!

Reason No. 9

Reason No. 9

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

Bald Eagle Beauty

The handsome creature above was photographed at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Preserve, just a stone's throw away from Highway 99 W in Tualatin Oregon.

Don't live in an area where eagles roam? Then you might enjoy the "Eagle Cam", located on a Nature Conservancy-owned preserve on Santa Cruz Island. This past spring I enjoyed watching the incubation, birth, and flight training of Eaglets A-69 and A-68, all on a live feed from their nest. Most of the activity there is in springtime, but there are archives to enjoy:

Over the next few weeks I will be posting photos or artwork of 55 reasons why I think it's a good idea to take care of Mother Earth. If you find any of my 55 reasons compelling, please consider making a small donation if you can: 55 cents, $1.55, 5.50, or $55.00 (you get the drift...) to the Susan Faye Double Nickel Birthday Fund for Mother Nature to benefit the Nature Conservancy.

Your donation will support the many programs of the Nature Conservancy, an efficient and effective organization that has been working around the world for 60 years to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. My goal is to raise $550 to help with their important work.

If you would like to donate, please click here:
Double Nickel Fund

A big thank you to those who have donated so far!!

Reason No. 8

Reason No. 8

of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:

watercolor painting copyright 20o8 Susan Faye

American Robins

Populations of migratory birds have declined dramatically in the last 30 years. But there is hope - The Nature Conservancy is working to halt these declines by preserving habitats along their entire migratory path, including breeding, wintering and migratory stopover areas. Your donation will help support important projects like the Migratory Bird Program!

Over the next few weeks I will be posting photos or artwork of 55 reasons why I think it's a good idea to take care of Mother Earth. If you find any of my 55 reasons compelling, please consider making a small donation if you can: 55 cents, $1.55, 5.50, or $55.00 (you get the drift...) to the Susan Faye Double Nickel Birthday Fund for Mother Nature to benefit the Nature Conservancy.

Your donation will support the many programs of the Nature Conservancy, an efficient and effective organization that has been working around the world for 60 years to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. My goal is to raise $550 to help with their important work.

If you would like to donate, please click here:
Double Nickel Fund

A big thank you to those who have donated so far!!

Reason No. 6

Reason No. 6
of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

Cheeky Little Chickadees

The Nature Conservancy has a great selection of free e-cards to send to friends and family. Click here to see their selection of Bird e-cards

Over the next few weeks I will be posting photos or artwork of 55 reasons why I think it's a good idea to take care of Mother Earth. If you find any of my 55 reasons compelling, please consider making a small donation if you can: 55 cents, $1.55, 5.50, or $55.00 (you get the drift...) to the Susan Faye Double Nickel Birthday Fund for Mother Nature to benefit the Nature Conservancy

Your donation will support the many programs of the Nature Conservancy, an efficient and effective organization that has been working around the world for 60 years to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. My goal is to raise $550 to help with their important work.

If you would like to donate, please click here:
Double Nickel Fund

Thanks for visiting!

Reason No. 4

Reason No. 4
of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:

photo copyright 2010 Susan Faye

Duck Moms in Camouflage

(There are two more ducklings hidden somewhere under her wings!)

The Lower Mississippi Valley is the largest wintering ground in the world for mallard ducks. To find out what the Nature Conservancy is doing to preserve this vital ecosystem, click here: Freshwater Conservation

Over the next few weeks I will be posting photos or artwork of 55 reasons why I think it's a good idea to take care of Mother Earth. If you find any of my 55 reasons compelling, please consider making a small donation if you can: 55 cents, $1.55, 5.50, or $55.00 (you get the drift...) to the Susan Faye Double Nickel Birthday Fund for Mother Nature to benefit the Nature Conservancy

Your donation will support the many programs of the Nature Conservancy, an efficient and effective organization that has been working around the world for 60 years to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. My goal is to raise $550 to help with their important work.

If you would like to donate, please click here:
Double Nickel Fund

Thanks for visiting!

Reason No. 2

Reason No. 2
of 55 Reasons to Take Care of Mother Earth:

~~~Insects That Look Like Space Aliens~~~

photos copyright 2010 Susan Faye

For more informations about mantids, including this Praying Mantis, visit this link: European Mantids

Over the next few weeks I will be posting photos or artwork of 55 reasons why I think it's a good idea to take care of Mother Earth. If you find any of my 55 reasons compelling, please consider making a small donation if you can: 55 cents, $1.55, 5.50, or $55.00 (you get the drift...) to the Susan Faye Double Nickel Birthday Fund for Mother Nature to benefit the Nature Conservancy

Your donation will support the many programs of the Nature Conservancy, an efficient and effective organization that has been working around the world for 60 years to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. My goal is to raise $550 to help with their important work.

If you would like to donate, please click here:
Double Nickel Fund

Flora and Fauna on the Canyon Creek Meadows Loop

On Monday I had the pleasure of visiting the lower meadows of Canyon Creek near Sisters, Oregon, thanks to my intrepid personal hiking guide--Globe Trekker Mary.

This moderate 4.5-mile loop takes you on a tour of a high alpine meadow of wildflowers, with bubbling Canyon Creek flowing through it. In addition, there are spectacular views of the jagged spires of Three Fingered Jack.

The wildflowers were a few weeks behind schedule but we still saw plenty of flora and some fauna too:

A fuzzy Cat's Ear flower...

A male Oregon Junco...

Indian Paintbrush...

Mountain Heather...

A tiny Silvery Blue butterfly...

And Bear Grass--something I had never seen before! It was EVERYWHERE and looked like giant fairy wands :

At first we thought this was a female Northern Flicker, but upon closer inspection we think it is a female Williamson's Sapsucker...

There was a merry band of Gray Jays...

And lots of lupine, paired here with manzanita...

Possibly the prettiest of all were the Shooting Star flowers!

At the highest points of the trail there were patches of snow! In July! Can you believe it? Here is my artistic interpretation of a snow shelf melting over a creek:

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Directions to the trail: Drive Highway 20 east of Santiam Pass 8 miles. At a "Wilderness Trailheads" sign near milepost 88 (1 mile east of Suttle Lake or 12 miles west of Sisters), turn north on paved Jack Lake Road 12 for 4.4 miles. Then turn left on one-lane Road 1230 for 1.6 miles to the end of pavement, and finally turn left onto Road 1234, climbing 6 miles to the trailhead at the primitive Jack Lake campground.

Lizards are Lovely

Illustration Friday
(theme: "SLITHER")

I've always been fascinated by lizards, especially the part where they would lose their tails when said tail was grabbed by a cat. With lots of lizards and cats in the neighborhood while growing up in Southern California, there were always plenty of tailless lizards slithering around...!

This watercolor painting is from the files and is called "Twig Lizard"--he was quite certain that I couldn't see him as he held very still and blended in so beautifully with the surrounding twigs.

My fondness for lizards grew considerably when my then-16-year-old son acquired a Bearded Dragon lizard named Ziggy. I was surprised by how lovely it was to hold a lizard in ones hands.

Here is a favorite photo of a tiny baby alligator lizard that was found sunning itself on my car tire, just as sweet as he/she could be!

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Enjoy The View

Illustration Friday
(theme: "brave")


Having suffered from acrophobia (from the Greek: ἄκρον, ákron , meaning "peak, summit, edge" and φόβος, phóbos, "fear") for most of his young life, Rudy Raccoon felt very brave to have climbed to the highest branch possible to enjoy the view on this fine day.

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This tree-hugging raccoon is available on a variety of great camping t-shirts, note cards,mugs, totes, and more in my Cafepress shop:
ENJOY THE VIEW

Illustration Friday..."Hollow"

Illustration Friday (theme: "hollow")

What a pleasure to spot this handsome fellow as he hopped along a hollow log in search of bugs and grubs just two days before spring, signaling the end of a particularly chilly winter...
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Hooray! I'm excited to announce that this original watercolor painting has just found a new home with a lovely Oregon art collector.

Goldfinch Invasion

I'm happy to report that my watercolor painting called "Delicate By Nature" has flown the coop and landed in a lovely home in Portland, Oregon! It features a pair of American Goldfinches enjoying a spring day. On the same day that the sale was confirmed, a little goldfinch flew into the Lawrence Gallery and Margot was able to rescue it and hold it in her hands for a few moments before she set it free.

Dave and I have been enjoying a record number of goldfinches at the feeders. Dave found this wonderful rock with many holes at the coast and it makes a perfect goldfinch feeder--some holes are filled with water, and others are filled with nyjer seed.

Aren't these birds just the prettiest little things?

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This limited edition print is a giclee reproduction of another watercolor painting of mine called "Such a Pretty Day". Prints may be purchased at my Etsy online shop:

GOLDFINCH LIMITED EDITION PRINT

Through the Cracks

Illustration Friday
(theme:"cracked" )

I'm always amazed at the tenacity of those things that grow and thrive in just the slightest of cracks in a rock or a sidewalk...

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This limited edition giclee print, called "Banded Gecko" is available as a matted print in my Etsy Shop

Illustration Friday...Fleeting Moments

Illustration Friday
(theme: "fleeting")

My bear cub will be celebrating his 22nd birthday on Easter Sunday.

A million fleeting moments have gone by in 22 years, many still fondly remembered, many more simply gone forever from the memory banks...

(Happy birthday son, from your loving mama bear.)

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This Mama Bear image is available on clothing and gifts at my Cafepress Shop: www.cafepress.com/SusanFayeNature

Illustration Friday is a wonderful website that presents a different theme each week, then encourages illustrators to submit an illustration about that theme.

Spring, On the Wing

I'm always happy when one of my creations finds its way to a new home. Sometimes it takes a while to find just the right person. "Crown Jewels" was one of those paintings that was "oft admired, but not acquired" for two years...But I'm happy to report that this watercolor of two white-crowned sparrow finally flew away last month !

Another creation that is waiting to fly away is this original watercolor painting called "Two Days 'Til Spring", available at my Etsy Shop:
Spring Robin

To celebrate spring, I am offering a 10 percent discount/rebate on any of my original paintings through the end of April. Just put the code AprilShowers in the Notes to Seller when you purchase the item, and you will be refunded the 10 percent.

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Let Your Dreams Take Wing

"Breezy" is this week's theme for Illustration Friday. My entry is my watercolor of a hawk dancing on the wind. We have a wonderful array of hawks, eagles and vultures in the Willamette Valley and Coastal Hills of Oregon, and I always find inspiration when I see one of these splendid birds floating through the sky.

This image is available on my line of Mother Nature giftware at my Cafepress shop: Susan Faye For Nature Lovers

Illustration Friday is a wonderful website that presents a different theme each week, then encourages illustrators to submit an illustration about that theme.

Thanks for visiting!

A Tale of Two Rabbits

I'm happy to announce that both of these rabbits have recently found new homes, thanks to the beautiful and talented Margot Cole, super Sales Consultant at Lawrence Gallery Sheridan, and a wonderful artist herself.

The jackrabbit was one of many that Dave and I spotted on one of the dusty back roads of Anza Borrego State Park in the California Desert, several springs ago. The cottontail was an inhabitant of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens in Claremont, California, caught munching on a grape leaf one bright morning....


Both have made their way to the Great Pacific Northwest, where they now reside as watercolor paintings in the private collection of a Portland couple. Like me, hopefully these Southwest bunnies will get used to a little less sunshine and thoroughly enjoy their new home.

To see my current collection of paintings at the Lawrence Gallery, please click here: Susan Faye at Lawrence Gallery

Thanks for visiting!

PEACE ON EARTH

A special "wish upon a star" for you and your loved ones during this holiday season and during the coming year: beautiful, shining moments of peace when you need them the most. Moments of quiet solitude, reflection, inspiration, fulfillment, joy, enlightenment, sharing, illumination...all of these are components of peace and I believe they can be quite contagious.

Not long ago Dave and I saw a roadside sign that said "If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours". It was hopelessly hokey, but we couldn't help ourselves: we instantly looked at each other, smiled, and then burst out laughing at how beautifully effective that sign had been.

Thank you to all of my wonderful customers and friends, old and new, for giving me the opportunity to share my artwork with you over this past year. I'm all smiles. Take one and pass them along.

All the best, Susan