What I've been drawn to in the West lately

I've been busy working on several writing projects, while still making time to do some sketching.

Recent work includes:

I now have a series of illustrated greeting cards available for your letter-writing adventures. Click here to order yours today!

In mid-February, I gave an invited talk to the UW Dept. of Zoology & Physiology. It was entitled: "Drawn to Science: Exploring the Historical and Contemporary Synergies between Drawing, Creativity, and Science," and a recording is available to watch via WyoCast. 

Wyoming EPSCoR recently interviewed me about the nature drawing/field journal workshops I teach  (most recent workshop was for Biodiversity Institute on 3/5).

I have begun writing an illustrated natural history column for literary/arts/nature children's magazine root & star. My first piece was published in the spring 2016 issue.

An article of mine was published in American Scientist - Drawn to Caribou - about the caribou researcher I visited in the Northwest Territories a year ago.

I've been writing lots of grant applications, to build up enough funds to pursue my master's writing projects. I have a bunch of information about each of those online (on my website):

• Writing/Illustrating the Ecologically True Story of the Tortoise and the Hare
• Establishing a baseline: Documenting how Ecological Concepts are Represented in Children’s Books

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Sketching pollinators - taking a closer look at essential insects during National Pollinator Week

For the past decade, I've taken special delight in looking at, and drawing, insects.

It all started with a three-year artist residency at the Watershed Education Network, where I developed a place-based journal/sketching component for their stream ecology field trips, drew about 30 aquatic macroinvertebrate (small water-dwelling insects) illustrations for a wetland guide book, and helped develop a new logo and merchandise line.

Spending three years thinking carefully about the ecosystem role and scientific value of these insects instilled in me a deep curiosity and appreciation for insects in general.

Since then, I've gone out of my way to sketch moths, butterflies, beetles, and just about any other insect I can capture on the page before it scuttles or flutters or buzzes away.

So, I was excited to write an article about insects for National Pollinator week - and somewhat surprised to be reminded - by my research - that insects aren't the only pollinators out there.

Taking a closer look at (the bumps on) sagebrush

Last weekend, I was out hiking in an area of southwest Wyoming resplendent with big sagebrush.

As my husband and our puppy cruised ahead, I lagged behind, peering at some strange growths on the tips of a sagebrush's leaves. The more I looked, the more I found, and the more I found, the more curious I became.

The little growths were less than an inch across, many much smaller, and ranged from chestnut brown to pale greenish-pink. They were spongy to the touch, and appeared to be covered in tiny hairs.

Not wanting to dally too long, I snapped a photo for reference and moved on. Later, I shared the photo on Twitter, to see if anyone with an entomology background could point me toward relevant information.

Crowdsourcing paid off, and I started reading science articles about Cecidomyiidae, a family of tiny flies (midges) that might have up to 100,000 species.

Wild Birds: follow-up, links, and more

You can tell it's spring because the Internet is aflutter with articles about birds. A lot of the articles relate closely to the two-part series I just wrapped up about attracting wild birds using methods informed by ornithology research (aka "science").

I was inspired to investigate the subject because we have a "new-to-us" backyard that is bare dirt. A few trees and shrubs sit at the corners of the lot, but that's it. We've begun by seeding in some native grasses and installing a vegetable garden, and now are considering what we could do to attract birds.

In part 1, Wild Birds: To feed or not to feed?, I  looked at stats from US Fish & Wildlife Services and Stats Canada that quantify the interest we North Americans take in wild birds. I also briefly looked at what science research indicates about backyard bird feeding impacts (pros and cons), primarily because I really liked the idea of setting up a lot of feeders and watching colorful migratory species from our kitchen windows.

Spoiler alert - in part 2, Wild Birds; Attracting without feeding, I wound up writing about all the research I discovered that suggests feeding isn't very effective for attracting birds and can have a range of negative consequences. Happily, a lot of the research results also point to ways we can attract backyard birds without feeding.

Here are the research papers I referenced in that series, along with a handful of online resources about building bird habitat and feeder best practices.

Wild Birds: Attracting without feeding

Corvids are plenty smart enough to deal with urban environments.
That includes this nesting pair settling in near my house;
should lead to interesting bird watching in the coming weeks.

It seems my two-part series on how to attract wild birds is a timely one. Beatrice the Biologist, a popular scientist/artist posted this question today on Twitter: "What is the latest science on putting out bird seed, hummingbird nectar, etc. Good or bad?"

As I mentioned in the last column (Wild Birds: To Feed or not to Feed?), I recently discovered there is a lot of research out there that indicates bird feeding is a complex and mixed-bag endeavor. 

I dug into the topic because I have a blank-slate dirt backyard and love bird watching. I thought I'd learn what kind of seeds to feed and why feeding is a good idea. But instead, I learned that feeding is pretty low on the list of effective ways to encourage migratory native birds to visit my yard.

The research-based recommendations in part two (Wild Birds: Attracting without feeding) take the idea of a bird-friendly yard way beyond a meal, because as the National Wildlife Federation maintains, "Creating a wildlife habitat is about creating a place for the entire life-cycle of a species."

This week's column
In the syndicated column, I explore a handful of research articles that provide great insight into how to effectively create backyard bird habitat. That seems to be the bottom line - habitat trumps feeding (which tends to provide supplemental food, rather than core food, even in the winter).

Wild Birds: To Feed or Not to Feed?

It's springtime, and many of the migratory bird species are back. That's why I decided to take a closer look at what science can tell us about feeding backyard birds.

In short, feeding in and of itself isn't actually that effective. While there's a lot more that bird enthusiasts can do, I plan to explore that in next week's column. 


This week's column
In the syndicated column, I break down some stats reported by US Fish & Wildlife Services and Stats Canada that quantify how big of a deal North Americans make out of wild birds (excluding hunting). The bottom line is that bird feeding, sheltering, and watching are a huge industry across the continent, with annual expenditures topping one billion dollars. This week, I also dug into the implications of a number of scientific studies that investigated various impacts of backyard bird feeding.

Laramie Boomerang is newest outlet for Drawn to the West

I am delighted to announce that the Laramie Boomerang is Drawn to the West's newest outlet. The column will run in the print editions of the newspaper ever other week, starting with the article that ran this Saturday, April 18th.  

On that note, this week's column focuses on spring - global traditions, harbingers, and how to track local phenology (definition). Despite a big storm that has dumped snow in my area since Wednesday, spring is in full swing. As you can see by some of the sketches I've made in my backyard garden, rhubarb is sprouting, robins are back, and for the most part, the sun has been shining.

Sketchbook Snapshot: The Northwest Territories Connection

"Although the Northwest Territories are more

likely to be lumped with "the North" than 

"the West" technically, Tulit'a - a small Dene 

First Nations community of some 500 

inhabitants I visited in March - is farther west 

than most of the United States and Canada."

NWT Reflections, part 1: An epic winter drive

Although the Northwest Territories are more likely to be lumped with "the North" than "the West"...

...technically, Tulit'a - a small Dene First Nations community of ~500 inhabitants - sits at 125.5775° W. That means it is further west than most of the United States and Canada, aside from some regions of coastal Alaska, Hawaii and British Columbia's islands. For perspective, coastal California is only ~123° W.

I made this geographic discovery just this evening, while discussing the longitude of the village wherein my husband and I, our puppy, and some friends (plus two more dogs) are blizzard-bound. Incidentally, we're only two degrees south of the Arctic Circle; between the boreal forest and the weather, it feels like it.

Sketchbook snapshot: Winter green...evergreen, that is

If you're somewhere where warm snaps don't come until the spring thaw, there are a lot of things about winter in the north that could get you down - loads of snow, horrifically cold weather, violent wind gusts that blast through even the warmest gear, and no end in sight.

Deciduous willows and other shrubs mingle with evergreens on
the shore of a great ice-fishing lake in Montana's Rocky Mountains.

In my corner of the West, we've been having a mix of bitter cold and snowy weather interspersed with unseasonably warm temperatures. While the warm-ups make it much easier for me to dig into the compost pile, the widely variable temperatures make life challenging for a lot of plants. 

After spotting a bunch of green grass, buried under several feet of snow, which I uncovered while cutting firewood a few weeks back, I've been pondering plants that stay green even in the depths of winter. 

Sketchbook snapshot: Drawing in winter

As anyone who has stared at a wintry scene knows, winter poses a unique set of drawing dilemmas and opportunities.

Some of the hurdles were identified by Harvard students and faculty during‘Drawn to Science’ and ‘Drawn to the Landscape’ courses I led in January. Thanks to the enthusiasm and curiosity of those students, I had a great excuse to go looking for specific answers. I mined reference books and online resources, and have come up with recommendations for how to meet these winter sketching challenges.

In Petersham, Massachusetts, we were grappling with the following:

1. Drawing trees in a forest of trees
2. Drawing trees, branches, rocks, fences, and other things with snow piled on them.
3. Drawing ice (on something and on/in water)
4. Drawing a sunset/clouds without color
5. Drawing tracks in the snow
6. Making things look 3-dimensional
7. How to draw curvy surfaces (such as plant leaves)

Sketchbook snapshot: Arizona's Sonoran Desert

Field sketches

Right now, I'm working on a book illustration commission, for a book about the history of desert bighorn sheep near Tucson, Arizona.

Since I have in-laws in Phoenix which we visit every Christmas, my husband, father-in-law, and I took advantage of the opportunity to drive a little further south to see (and sketch!) the ecosystem I'm illustrating.

Welcome to Drawn to the West!

Mountain bluebird chicks in a nest box

This column is dedicated to the Mountain West - its ecology, people, cultures, and countless challenges and opportunities. 

I've toted my sketchbook from Montana's Rocky Mountain Front, where I grew up, to the red deserts of Arizona (a fascination I married into). More recently, I've unpacked all my art materials, guide books, and gear into a home on the windswept grasslands of Wyoming.