HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Burrowing Owl

(by Kathiesbirds 10-26-09

Acrylic on Bristolboard)

Burrowing owls live in underground burrows. While they can be seen during the day, they do most of their hunting at night. They have long legs and big eyes and make a barking sound. You will often find them standing in front of their burrows on one leg with their eyes half closed. Their spotted feathers are perfect camouflage for the mounds of soil they live in. Burrowing owls will often take over abandoned prairie dog dens and can sometimes be found in the middle of prairie dog towns.

I have to say that this is my favorite of all the paintings I did for this series. I love the way the owl came out and the birghtness and simplicity of the design. It has been a long time since I have painted and I had fun doing it.

A Pumpkin A Day

Lesser Long-nosed Bat

by Kathiesbirds 10-26-09

Lesser long-nosed bats are an endangered species. As one of the few nectar eating bats they migrate from Mexico every year following the saguaro blooms north and the agave blooms south on their long migration. They breed here in Arizona and return to Mexico for the winter. Lesser Long-nosed bats will often visit your hummingbird feeders in the fall when they are migrating south. It is quite a spectacle to see.

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A Pumpkin A Day

Gambel’s Quail

(by Kathiesbirds 10-26-09)

Gambel’s quail are chicken-like birds that live in the desert southwest. They travel in flocks called coveys. You can often see them walking along the top of a fence or scratching beneath your bird feeders for fallen seed. In the spring when the chicks hatch the family of quail will often travel together with the tiny chicks following the parents in a straight line. While they all have the feathered top-knots, only the male’s curves into a question mark shape and only the male has the cinnamon cap and black face mask.

A Pumpkin A Day

Phainopepla by Kathiesbirds

(acrylic on Bristolboard)

Phainopeplas are insect and berry eating birds found in the Sonoran Desert. The males are black and the females are gray. Both have red eyes. They fly out from a perch to snag insects from the air, or they eat mistletoe berries from the parasitic plants that hang off of other trees. When the phainopeplas go to the bathroom, they excrete mistletoe seeds in their sticky waste onto the branches where they perch. In this way the mistletoe then takes hold and starts to grow on a new tree sending its roots into the new host and sharing the same sap and nutrients. Phainopeplas make a call that sounds like a soft “whoop, whoop.” They are in a family called the silky flycatchers.

My World is a World of Art

Broad-billed Hummingbird

Broad-billed hummingbirds are found in the streamside foothills, woods, and canyons of the desert southwest. With their beautiful blue and green bodies and broad red bill, they are one of the prettiest hummingbirds to be seen when you visit Arizona.

Gila monster

Gila monsters are lizards that live in the desert southwest. They are one of the only poisonous lizards in the world. However, it is not easy to get poisoned by one of these lizards since its venom sacks are in the back of its mouth and the lizard actually has to bite down and grind with its teeth to deliver the poison. Most Gila monsters will run away from you if they see you so, if you leave them alone there is relatively no danger from this beautiful creature.

Last week when I decided to paint some Halloween cards for my grandchildren and a few other kids in my life I had no idea it would take me so long! I probably spent 4 to 5 days getting all of these done and yesterday I finally got them out in the mail! I can only hope they get to their destinations in time. In the meantime, I decided to share these paintings with all of you, so, the next 5 days there will be A PUMPKIN A DAY here at the Sycamore Canyon Blog. Each painting has a creature that can be found here in Arizona and I've included a little information blurb about each one. All are done in acrylic on Bristolboard. I hope you enjoy this Halloween fun!

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