"Bird Studies" (left)

Up in the mountains close to where we lived was a park
called "The Grand Children's Park".
In this park was a small lake made from damming a river.
Ivan and I loved to walk around the lake along the path
that wound under large trees. This park was very popular
and I noticed that everyone was very happy
when they were there in the fresh air, being close
to the trees and water.

I was enchanted by the swans that floated on the green
lake that reflected the surrounding mountains. 
One day I said to Ivan, "I wonder why the swans are
always in  the centre of the lake?" Ivan looked at me with
surprise and said, "The swans aren't real!" I looked at him
with shock on my face and then looked again at the swans.
Sure enough, the swans had obvious signs of being made
of fiberglass and one was even badly listing!!! I guess I
just wanted to see real swans so much that I blocked out
all the signs that said, loud and clear, that they were
only pretend.

"Blossoming Trees at the Children's Park" (right)

I was obsessed with drawing the trees in blossom when spring arrived.
 

"Magnolia Branch and Blossom" (left)

This tree gave us some of the first blossoms of spring.
The opening magnolias looked like a flock of birds
in flight.

"Sunday Afternoon" (right)

On the weekends Ivan and I would go
exploring the many trails through the
mountains. There was always so much to see.

As Ivan sat pensively along a little stream 
on which floated pink petals, we saw a man
and a woman taking a log out of the forest 
on a type of cradle that the man had
strapped to his back.

We always saw people harvesting from
the forest. On this day we also saw
a man carefully collecting smallleaves
from a bush. Perhap for a natural remedy?

"Bird's Nest" (left) 

One afternoon when Ivan was out for a run in the mountains
he came across this nest made of grass and moss.
He had to bring it home for me to see because he knows how
much I love them. And then, of course, I had
to paint it because I find nests endlessly facinating.