Abstract Landscape Painter.  Rural Dweller.  Lover of Modernist Art and Design.

14 January

At 2.30am I hear the long, wavering call of a male Tawny owl.  The “hoo, hoo, hooo…” travels across the dark and silent landscape to where I lay listening.  I don’t find the sound remotely spooky; to me it is comforting - the voice of another creature awake at this lonely hour.

We spend a peaceful day walking and reading.  During the early afternoon I go out to the studio and use it as a hide, setting up my camera and taking photographs of the bird of prey and the garden birds.  At one point, I am intrigued to see the kestrel and the woodpecker sitting on adjacent posts, happily ignoring each other and focussing on their respective tasks.

The bird feeders are doing a brisk trade and for some time I concentrate on a female blackbird.  I am very fond of blackbirds.  Their bright eyes and quick movements make them look so alert and inquisitive.  I often have them in mind when making the shapes of birds in my paintings.

All text & images ©2018 Carol Saunderson

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