Tag Archives: Littles

February “Littles” Seeds, Pods, and Other Curiosities

March 13, 2023

Like my January “Littles” page of the bird species that visit our feeders in winter, here’s another “Littles” to commemorate the not-quite-winter-or-spring month of February ….. Seeds and Seed Pods.  As a way to pass the time while waiting for Roy to finish up with a doctor visit, Luna and I conducted a focused scavenger hunt along a 2 mile circuit surrounding a large Albuquerque shopping mall. In no time at all, my collection bag was full.   But knowing my pages would need some local flavor and color too, I scavenged a bit longer and turned up a few more curiosities.    

Like with January’s page of birds, sketches of the species of seed pod and seeds (if collected) took less than 5 minutes each; my watercolor pencil paintings took about 10 minutes each. The restaurant logo and the frog design took a bit longer, and were done using my photos as reference. 

I’m not sure why it took nearly the entire month to decide what to do for my February “Littles.”  In hindsight, the decision should have been obvious, because I love seeds and the seemingly unlimited variety of pods.  Now I have a record of a few city seeds that will soon germinate, helping change the landscape from brown to spring green! 

Let me know what you think! I’m looking forward to March, when wildflower seedlings will be popping up which may appear in a few “Littles” boxes as well!

Thanks to “Made by Fay” for the “Littles” inspiration!




Winter Birding on Sedillo Hill: January 2023


East Mountains, Tijeras, New Mexico elevation 7,300 ft

February 15, 2023

The design for today’s post was inspired by sketchbook artist Fay. I came across her blog (see link below) while searching for nature journalers who are active in creating art and who also share some unique approaches to page layout and composition.  “Littles” is the name Fay has given to one of her unique approaches.  This is where she lays out several pages full of empty boxes with the goal to fill up a box a day for an entire month.  Not only does this encourage a daily drawing and painting practice, but it’s her way of creating a record of what she’s observed for an entire month.  “Littles” reminds me of a hyper-compressed perpetual journal.

After seeing Fay’s blog post with all her miniature drawings and paintings, I knew this would be fun to try, and I had to learn more.  So we chatted and Fay encouraged me to give “Littles” a go.  And I did …… with a “little” twist!  I’ve been thinking of ways to keep a visual record of the birds visiting our feeders during the winter.  And I needed an approach with minimal fuss, without feeling each bird needed a detailed description. Ta da! 

So here’s my “Littles” page of the bird species that visit our feeders in January.  I kept my sketches to less than 5 minutes each; my watercolor pencil paintings took about 10 minutes each. My sketches were done using my own reference photos, and relied heavily on my many hours of observing these species’ poses and behaviors.

Let me know what you think! I just may create a “Littles” page for our February birds. Maybe by March, when all of our snow has melted, hints of new spring growth may appear in a few “Littles” boxes as well!

Oh and …… Follow Fay!  Her blog “Made By Fay” can be found at the link below.  If you enjoy my posts, I will guarantee you’ll love what Fay does.  She is an extraordinary visual storyteller, and enjoys drawing what she sees from her home state of Washington and on her travels about. 

https://madebyfay.wordpress.com