My dad asked me an interesting question the other day;
"What would you do if somebody called you up saying that they had an injured owl? Would you know what to do?"
Now, obviously I hope none of you ever encounter an injured owl, but these things are good to share - so, just in case, here is my guide on how to be an owl hero. :)
1. Obviously, you must ascertain first whether the bird is actually injured or not. A good sign is that the owl makes no attempt to (or can't) run or fly away from you, and looks in a general poor and bedraggled state. These are signs of an owl that needs expert help and your job is to deliver it to safe hands.
2. Covering the bird with a blanket, coat or jumper will keep the bird warm and calm it by blacking out its vision. IMPORTANT: It is very easy to kill a bird by shock, or damage it further. Minimise contact as much as possible.
3. If you can, transfer the bird into a ventilated box with enough room for it to crawl around. Make sure it is comfortable - newspaper and old clothing to line the box will do, but don't use sawdust or anything in bits, and do not provide water. DO NOT attempt to touch, treat or feed the bird yourself. This is important because:
- You may further injure or stress the bird.
- With enough contact it may imprint on you - that is, it will begin to bond with you, effectively recognise you as its parent and will no longer be able to be released back into the wild. It needs to recognise that humans are the enemy and cannot do this when it sees us as a source of food and nurturing!
4. Get the poor thing to the nearest bird of prey centre AS SOON AS POSSIBLE- look in your local directory for numbers to call. Every minute is vital.
5. Wash yer hands afterwards. Those owls are dirty ;p
This method works for every bird out there too, but take care with birds of prey as they're potentially dangerous. Remember that if the bird isnt a bird of prey, then a BOP centre won't want to know about it - get it instead to an RSPCA or wildlife hospital unit, or even to a local vet.
He curls up in the undergrowth, snout to tail, ears alert. His mama has given him splotchy dots all over his tiny body to keep him safe.
When she returns he will leap up with joy, awkward bandy legs splaying out in all directions - a dance of relief.
The reference image is a stunning photograph by *Lightrae on DeviantART, who kindly gave me permission to use it - I can't resist a good puffin! ;) For a first attempt at oils, I'm pleased - though I feel I need to be bolder with the paint since there's so much canvas texture showing through.
Photos will be taken when it's done. I'm nervous, but hopefully my follicles will withstand the bleaching!
It's the Heron, resting at the water's edge. He peeks at me coyly from behind a wing.
Bluebells are the jewels of this woodland - quintessentially British, and the smell of our Spring.
I'm a common sight around here now, wielding my camera and with Pele in tow. The photographs are always worth it.
Every May I pull out the seed box and rifle through the sachets of seeds, free with newspapers or otherwise, and plant the lot. Sunflowers to courgettes. I don't expect very much to come up, mind - some of these seeds went out of date in 1996! The sack of compost is hefted out of the shed, along with pots and trays of all shapes and sizes and tags to label them all up with - because I will forget what is in where.
Almost-fill your container -plastic or lovely, shabby clay - throw in your seeds and cover them over. Wait patiently. Feed and water. Some are shy to come up or require a week in the propagator.
I still get disappointed when the surface remains unbroken, but I know that at least one will come up. Be it a morning glory or pumpkin, I won't mind.
Blossom on the apple tree makes sure it gets covered in bees. Doubly so in our garden - my dad has some hives down the garden. They gather around the tap to drink, which makes filling the watering can a bit difficult(!)
In a matter of days the peony bush has become vast and lush, with big fat compact buds waiting to bloom.
Our garden path to nowhere in particular. We like to pave with old bricks and let forget-me-nots spread with almost no control.
Look more closely at the hair of the painting in the model. It's real hair. That isnt a painting on canvas, its a painting of a girl in a mac.. On a girl in a mac. Yep! It's model covered in paint; the highlights and shadows turned into lovely acrylic smears so that she looks like she's flat on a canvas. See more here.
The complexity is not in the colour but in the linework, which is also where the shading detail is worked in. The lovely womanly figures are eerie and aloof and surrounded by not so pleasant symbolism. My attention span is far too short to produce something as detailed as this, and besides; with the reminder that I do have exams to study for stuffed somewhere in a recess in my brain, I figured I dont have enough time for putting in great complexity. This is what I produced:
Overall I'm pleased. I figured she'd look better if I gave her unhumanly colours. Grey and washed out red seem to contrast and complement the off-white of her eyeballs nicely (Ha-ha.) The image took perhaps 45 minutes in all, leaving me enough time to contemplate revising, and perhaps admit to exam failure...
