Sunday, January 5, 2014

Deer Sonograms



And now for something completely different: deer sonograms. My thoughts about my pregnant daughter and my ruminations on the life cycle of deer seem to have found common ground. Watercolor, 5 x 7 inches.

I've observed the same big doe and her family in the wild for years now.  This year, for the first time I know of, she had triplets instead of twins.  She was so big and uncomfortable in July that I was concerned for her safety.  She looked like a cow.  Her front legs were wide apart and facing outward with the heavy load of what I knew had to be three fawns. I was relieved when all were delivered healthy.  All three look robust going into their first winter.  They have the benefit of a steady water supply and quality food, near a river.  That and great mothering mean everything. 

I've been doing a lot of watercolors in the wee hours when I cannot sleep.  Painting is so much more fun than lying in bed fixating on things that would never enter my consciousness in the day time.  The down side, if there is one, is that four hours slip by while I'm in the creative space, and I toddle back to bed near dawn.