...people love to paint birds!

Matty and I had a blast today teaching bird lovers how to draw and paint birds at the Little Miami Scenic River and Trail Center. I had no idea there were so many people who wanted to learn how to paint birds! We were swamped with artists of all ages all afternoon. I really enjoyed watching everyone's interpretations come to life on paper. Here are just a few of the artists and their creations...

...this dad had no idea he could paint. It was his first time to pick up a paintbrush!
I love this painting...a very cool rendering of a female Northern Cardinal. 

...focus and concentration...this little girl knew exactly how to bring her eagle to life.

...using the "two circles and a triangle" method made it easy to draw birds! 

...love these deep, rich colors. This little girl had a sharp eye for design.

...a software developer checked his analytical self at the door and got his art on. He opted for the "circle and triangle" bird drawing method and created his own design of a black-capped chickadee (this was his first time to paint and draw!). 

...and a mechanical engineer created this gorgeous Blue Jay by sketching out her own design too. Circles and triangles go a long way with birds. I love all of the shading and dimension.

These girls really worked hard and created beautiful paintings...while laughing and having fun too!

...diligently mixing paint to get the exact color. This young artist really enjoyed creating custom colors. She totally nailed the olive green that shows on a Hooded Warbler.

...sweet, sweet paintings. I love the way these sisters created their paintings of a White-breasted Nuthatch and a female Northern Cardinal. Beautiful!!!

All of these bird-loving artists took part in the free bird painting workshop Matty and I hosted at the Little Miami Scenic River and Trail Center on Sunday. Click here for yesterday's post to find out what it was all about and to learn more about Little Miami, Inc. (LMI) and the Little Miami Scenic River and Trail Center. I'm going to put another post together soon showing all of the cool stuff in the center and explain more of how LMI protects the Little Miami River...and some of the people behind the organization. More to come...

A free bird painting workshop along the Little Miami River...

If you are in downtown Loveland, OH this Sunday, July 28, stop by the Little Miami Scenic River and Trail Center and paint a few birds with me! Matty and I are volunteering this weekend to teach kids and adults how to paint birds...and it's free...

Paint brushes, acrylic paints, pallets, and water buckets all add up to fun in the park! 
(Matty and I went crazy buying all the supplies. There's plenty to go around!)

Because not everyone likes to draw, I've created a lot of coloring book style bird templates and patterns you can trace or copy and then paint. In other words, you don't have to be an artist to have fun painting!    Here are just a few of the bird patterns you can use...

                            Coloring book pattern of a Blue Jay

                        Coloring book pattern of an Eastern Bluebird

                  Coloring book pattern of a male Northern Cardinal 

                  Coloring book pattern of an American Bald Eagle 

I'll also show you a few tricks to draw birds quickly and easily...

Steps to draw a Black-capped Chickadee

Two steps to draw a simple bird shape

Class time and description
The workshop runs from 1:00 - 3:00, but it is not a structured class. We're going to follow a drop-in format...drop in any time, paint a few birds, and leave when you feel like it. You don't have to be there for the duration of the workshop, because we're just painting birds for fun.  No experience is necessary...kids and adults are welcome! 

The Little Miami Scenic River and Trail Center is located in downtown Loveland next to Nisbet Park along the bike trail. It is part of Little Miami, Inc. (LMI). LMI was founded in 1967 and has been the driving force behind protecting and restoring the Little Miami River. LMI owns over 100 nature preserves along the Little Miami and several of its tributaries. You can become a volunteer if you want to help protect the Little Miami River, or you can donate to the cause. Click here for more information on LMI. 

Little Miami Scenic River and Trail (LMI) Center

211 Railroad Avenue

Loveland, OH 45140

Hope to see you there!
Kelly Riccetti

I Donated to Save a Bird’s Life…

…is the t-shirt slogan Matty (my son) and Maria (my niece) came up with to raise money for the birds of the gulf. Early this summer they sat together in the kitchen and talked about the t-shirt's design and wording until they found the perfect look. Using an art package on the computer, they pieced together icons to create their image and added the text, but that was just the beginning. They had to learn how to silk-screen because they wanted to make professional t-shirts that would last. So….they got a small silk-screening setup and practiced. My brother, Bill, set the screen up in his basement and helped them figure out all the technical stuff. Then the kids took over and made the shirts. The shirts practically flew off the shelves, and they sold every one, donating $425.00 to the National Audubon Society’s Gulf Oil Spill Recovery Fund. I’m so proud of them.

Matty and Maria are both skaters. Matty ice skates and plays ice hockey, and Maria quad skates and competes in artistic dance, so they decided to focus their efforts on skaters by creating the slogan "Skaters Helping the Birds of the Gulf." They were able to piece together icons to create the skating pelican, which I totally fell in love with, and aren't those little webbed pelican feet at the bottom cool? Maria came up with that finishing touch.

Maria pulls the shirt into place on the press.

Matty skims the paint over the press.

The kids made 60 shirts and sold them for $7.00 each. It takes a long time to hand silk-screen 60 shirts! They donated all the money they collected to Audubon, absorbing the cost of the t-shirts and the printing press.

After sending the money into Audubon, Les Corey, Chief Development Officer, sent them a lovely letter of thanks. He also offered them a challenge for the future:

“…take the next step: become more aware of your local environment and the plants and animals that live in your community. Audubon believes that by gaining knowledge of your local environment you will be able to protect it. You are the future protector of our planet and you can make a real difference for our future.”

Matty and Maria learned anyone can make a difference no matter how old they are. Put forth the effort, and good things happen. I’m so proud of them for coming up with the idea and following through with it.

The cool letter from Les Corey at Audubon.

Congrats, Kids!!!

Green Snake...

Volunteering at Shawnee State Park in Southeastern Ohio

...continued from the Oreo post.

Green Snake is another favorite at the nature center. Overtly friendly and super active, he loved to climb up arms and fingers like he would a tree with tiny branches. Green Snake was graceful and smooth, and definitely the most "cartoonish" in his movements of all the snakes at the nature center. He could glide like butter across a hot pan as he expertly wound himself around fingers, hair, camera straps, and anything else in his way. He would stop and look at you now and then, hovering midair before smoothly and suddenly dipping down to wrap himself around something new.

Green Snake hovers in the air while his tail entwines around this small boy's fingers.

...again, Green Snake seems to defy gravity.

Kids liked the name "Green Snake," but because he was a Green Snake kids would often try to to come up with something unique. Matty and I heard lots of attempts at new names...Mr. Green Jeans, String Bean, Slinky, Snots (gross, I know, but after all, he was green...and little boys were the ones coming up with the ideas...), throughout the entire week nothing new seemed to stick, so Green Snake is still Green Snake.

Green Snakes are native to Ohio, although they are a bit rare. I'd love to stumble across one, and my chances might be going up. I just read an article in the Dayton Daily News that reports 11 Smooth Green Snakes were found on the Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Big news considering it's the first time the snakes have been found in our area since 1871! Click here for a a link to the article.

I think Jenny said Green Snake was a Rough Green Snake. They are found in the southern-most parts of Ohio. There's no denying his beauty. Sleek and streamlined, his neon green skin was almost surreal. He was fun to watch and could eat crickets like nobody's business. Within seconds of popping a few in his cage, he would seek out and devour them.

Who can resist an Oreo? (or...oh no, another snake post...)

Volunteering at Shawnee State Park in Southeastern Ohio

...continued from Piglet, the Hog-nosed Snake post.

...I know, I know...another snake, but look at him! He's Oreo, a California Kingsnake, and he's beautiful. I think Oreo was requested more than any other snake at the nature center. All the kids loved him and wanted to hold him (and the parents too, even moms...). With California in his name, it's obvious Oreo is not native to Ohio, but you can find Black Kingsnakes in Ohio. If you go back to the first Shawnee post I did, you'll find photos of Mr. King, a native Black Kingsnake. Although super friendly and gentle with humans, we had to keep the kingsnakes away from the other snakes because kingsnakes love to eat other snakes, and no snake seemed to be too big for dinner. I'll have to check with Jenny, but I think she said poor Pumpkin (the Corn Snake) had his whole head swallowed by Mr. King. Thank goodness someone was there to pull Pumpkin's head out! Kingsnakes will even eat venomous snakes. Apparently, Kingsnakes are immune to venom from Ohio's three native poisonous snakes (Timber Rattler, Northern Copperhead, and Eastern Massasauga).

It's easy to see how Oreo got his name...

...although he could have been named after a cookie simply because he's so sweet!

...the kingsnake's scales are beautiful. I learned in an art history course I took eons ago that early artists mimicked snake scales and patterns in their art and the designs may have lead to the development of mosaics. I can certainly see the connection here!

Matty shows a small child how to hold a snake using open hands.

Matty learned an open-handed technique was a great way to get hesitant kids accustomed to the larger snakes. The kids were less fearful with open hands and soon grew to love the snakes. If you have children who love snakes (or are afraid of them), go to Shawnee and visit with Jenny at the nature center. Kids really respond to her. I saw so many timid children overcome their fears and learn to appreciate another part of nature after visiting with Jenny and all the critters at the nature center.

...Oreo hangs down from Matty's neck as he talks to one of the visitors.

...Oreo rests around Matty's neck, peeping out from behind.

...see you later, Oreo! We miss you...

Piglet, the Western Hog-nosed Snake

Volunteering at Shawnee State Park in Southeastern Ohio

...continued from Pumpkin, the Corn Snake, post.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but I had never heard of an Eastern or Western Hog-nosed Snake before I came nose to snout with one at Jenny's Nature Center, and if I'm telling the truth, I should also mention that when I first picked little Piglet up, I was a tiny bit...unnerved. That little up-turned snout looked dangerous to me, but within seconds of holding him, I was hooked. He was so gentle and cute...and sweet! After all, how could anything named "Piglet" be scary?

How can I have lived almost 50 years in Ohio and never have heard of or seen this beautiful snake? I knew so little about our native snakes before volunteering at Shawnee State Park. The knowledge I gained was invaluable. Thanks, Jenny!!

Piglet was playing in the rain with Matty when I took these shots. His little Piglet snout looked especially cute sprinkled with raindrops, but it has a function too. He uses it to dig in sandy soils, sweeping his head back and forth.

...beautiful markings, but the pattern scared some of the parents who thought he might be an Eastern Massasauga (poisonous). A lot of people had never heard of a hognose, but soon overcame their fear when they saw how docile and harmless Piglet was.

...the longer you look at this guy the cuter he becomes. It's amazing what a week with these critters can do for you.

Piglet rests in Matty's hand.

...all the kids who came into the Nature Center ended up falling for Piglet! Here a little boy gently holds Piglet who gives us a nice profile shot!

Hog-nosed Snakes actually have fangs (or large teeth) in the rear of their mouths, and their saliva is slightly toxic to their prey but harmless to humans. Piglet was so friendly, we didn't get to see the act a hognose puts on when he feels threatened. A hognose will rear up, flatten its head, inflate its body and hiss...and if that doesn't scare his enemy away, he might just flop over and play dead like an opossum. Either way, it would be quite a sight to see...

...for a post on a native Eastern Hognose Snake and his "playing dead" antics, click here.

Trailblazing the Look-out Trail at Shawnee State Park

Volunteering at Shawnee State Park

...continued from the Mr. King (the sweet snake) post.

Matty and I are home again, and we miss the beauty and quiet of Shawnee State Park. It was so easy to slip into the pace of nature there. Our room looked out into deep woods, and the dining room looked out on wooded mountains and Turkey Creek Lake far below. I don’t think we realized how much we had settled into the comfort of the mountains until our return ride. As Route 32 started to dump into I-275, we could feel the solitude and greenness sliding off. It was a strange sensation, and we both felt it. The speed required to merge onto the highway in the late evening traffic shattered the tranquility that was still following us. We were happy to be on the last leg of the trip because we missed Rick and Bip and knew we would see them in about 45 minutes, but at the same time, we were sad to feel the peace and heaviness of the forest and its trees fading away. We had just spent a very special week surrounded by nature and nature people, and we didn’t like the way I-275 felt.

The last two days of our stay we had been totally isolated from the outside world. A fire in Friendship wiped out the landlines to the lodge and the WIFI so we had no way to communicate with the outside world. No Internet, no phone messages, no emails, just lush green forest, birds, running water, and tons and tons of butterflies. Our cell phones had not worked since we first crossed into Scioto county, so we had already abandoned that form of communication, and the remaining two forms were just frosting on the cake. The last two days of isolation were almost a gift. Without outside distractions we slipped even deeper into the rhythms of the mountains…birdsong, rain dripping from wet, shiny green leaves to the dark, decayed leaf litter of the forest floor, creeks—cold and clear on their endless run down the mountains, babbling and rushing over rocks covered in fossils 350 million years old…sensations and sounds, smells and color, and all ours without interruption.

Trailblazing the Look-out Trail
I wanted to post every night, but that didn't happen. The second evening I was exhausted and then we had WIFI loss, so I had to save everything up. Besides working in the nature center, our first job was trailblazing the Look-out Trail. Hikers were getting lost on the trail, and Jenny needed us to trim it back and paint arrows on trees to guide the hikers along. What a fun job!! We worked like crazy, but I think all the hard trail work kept me from gaining weight. A gourmet cook at the lodge did a great job concocting irresistible desserts, such as peanut butter and chocolate pie. He was also able to cook salt free for me (I have Meniere's Disease--an inner ear disorder that restricts the amount of salt I can have in my diet). I fell prey to the chocolate peanut butter pie twice, but all that climbing and chopping burnt enough calories to counteract the evils of the sugar.

When we finished working at the nature center two other volunteers, Anna and Kayla, offered to trail blaze with us. Yeah!! We were so happy--if two is good, four is better! We immediately set off for the trail. Look-out Trail is a two-mile loop on the outskirts of Roosevelt Lake. The evening before Matty and I hiked the trail in the rain to see if we could figure it out and not get lost. Using Jenny's instructions and a map, we succeeded. We had a blast climbing and hiking around in the rain (a little slippery here and there, and at one point we both went ankle deep in mud, but it all added to the adventure, and we loved it.) Since Matty and I were sure of the trail, all four of us got right to work.

Anna paints the first arrow.

Matty and Kayla would carve away the bark in the shape of an arrow, being careful not to carve down into the cambium. Once the bark was removed, Anna and I would paint pink arrows on the tree. Aren't they cool....you can't miss those hot-pink arrows! We didn't paint too many, just every now and then at turning points and other key spots. If you ever walk the trail, let me know if saw the arrows!

Matty and Kayla carving out arrows (on on each side of the tree because you can follow the trail from either direction). It was really hot and the humidity was crazy. We were soaked with sweat.

Ouch!!! This job is not for sissies! Kayla slipped with the knife and cut her thumb. I thought she she needed to go home to get it bandaged up, but Kayla was too brave for that.

...she took off her shoe, pulled off her sock, and wrapped it around her thumb! What a woman! It soaked through for a while, but eventually slowed. (Anna emailed me that Kayla's thumb is all right...she didn't need stitches, just a bandage and a healthy application of antibiotic salve...)

...since this tree was already marked up with hearts and initials, we thought it was a good tree to put the arrows on. Matty found out its bark was really hard...

...eventually he gave up and Anna took over. She was able to finish carving out the triangle. I think at this point a guy we met early on came back down the trail by retracing his steps. He had gotten lost and decided he would be safe rather than sorry by heading back the same way he came. Of course we all laughed and told him to try the trail the next day because all the bright pink arrows would be up, and he wouldn't get lost!

...wherever we looked, beauty was there. This Luna moth was just hanging out on the tree not know how beautiful it was. I've never seen so many incredible moths. They were all huge and colorful, and butterflies were everywhere.