Vignettes of the fauna kind

Some days I can not believe how lucky I am to be able to stay at home and paint in the studio. I do treat it like a job, as in - I get myself sorted at home post breakfast, then at 9am I set off with the studio keys in my hand, flask of coffee, basket full of items I'll need during the day and the dog.

We 'commute' through the garden, unlock the summerhouse door and the day begins.

There is a bit of a routine forming, open the door, switch on the lights/radio/heating as necessary, clear the desk, unpack my basket, set up the tripod and camera and finally, before I actually start painting or drawing .... I feed the birds.

Gradually, as they have learnt that there is a source of food topped up daily and especially now as the temperatures are dropping, the variety and number of birds is growing.

I am now seeing all sorts of birds I have heard of or seen in a book, now am seeing in 'the-feather' for the first time! Like the Nuthatch and the Treecreeper -  talk about a giddy moment when first saw either of them.

Now, you can hardly call me a 'twitcher' or 'birder' and I suspect I will never be more than an amateur studio chair enthusiast, but they do brighten my day and entertain which ever cat is in the summerhouse with me :) (you should hear their foul catty mutterings that go with the whisker twitch and the tail rattling).

(Please excuse grainy images - taken through perspex/acrylic glazing)

However, not all my visitors are feathered, I get furry ones too! The neighbourhood cats quietly slip through and sometimes stop in a sunny patch for a bit of feline meditation. Yesterday's little quiet caller was a silent black cat who slipped through the plants and sat next to me (although it had no idea I was there). I quietly took a picture through the glazing and was rather amused to see it flick it's head round to see where the noise was coming from but could not see me so did not run off.

The other drop-in was a rather fat and fluffy squirrel. Now. Vermin or not, they are cute. It is not their fault they are an alien species or carry a virus or look sweet and make folk laugh - yes they are a pest but like a cheeky chappy they end up making most folk smile.

Until it tried to gorge itself on the bird food - then I stopped smiling and tapped on the window - it shot off and flicked it's tail crossly. Several attempts (from various angles of the garden) to return to the feed resulted me tapping on the window, the squirrel finally got the message and scampered off.  I have now liberally slathered a petroleum based jelly on the pole to see if that acts as a deterrent.... camera ready we shall see :)

Any hoo, the side effect of these little vignettes through my day is - I smile a lot - now that can't be bad x

Right, best stop waffling, I've a bit of paperwork to do for TAM and then I can get back to painting, I am halfway through a festive highland coo (just smiled again)

HaPpY ThUrSdAy