Ginko Biloba

This summer, I went for a walk at a park, just down from my home and discovered that the city had planted Ginko Biloba trees.  I didn't know they grew here and was pleasantly surprised to see they had planted a new variety.  I love the unusual leaves and took some home to admire and make prints of.

photo from www.plantplaces.com

This morning in the news was an article about a family living in Toronto, Canada where the city  unknowingly planted a female Ginko Biloba tree in front of their home. http://www.canadaka.net/link.php?id=64391 Those living in the neighborhood  are complaining that when the ripening fruit falls, if it gets stepped on or broken, it smell like a cross between dog feces and vomit.  She said they have to go out each morning and pick the fruit so people won't step on them, get the smell on their shoes and track it into their homes and of course, each year the tree gets larger and produces more fruit.

So I went to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba and sure enough they said the fruit smells like dog feces or rancid butter. 

So here's a warning to anyone wanting to plant these beautiful trees to make sure it's not a female.
Anyone have any experience with this?

Magpies Again

Yesterday was a beautiful warm day. It was a nice break and reminder that spring will one day return. On my way to work in the morning, I have to pass a gate that requires me to input a code. That meant I had to roll down my window and in doing so I heard a group of Magpies chattering.

What a beautiful sight! A frost covered birch tree with 10 Magpies. It looked like a Christmas card. Guess I'll have to find time to paint that one. That's the only problem with life, it interferes with the painting of it.

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Sparrows

Sparrows are wonderful, little birds that you can see bathing in puddles at parking lots, sharing fries at McDonalds or chirping from your eavestroughing.

The more people in an area, the more sparrows. I lived in the country for years and hardly saw one but a visit to my grandmother in town and I was treated to their constant symphony of cheerful songs.

Now that I live in the city, I've found them to be the most constant source of nature in my life.

in flocks of 50 or 60 every day and yes, they aren't exotic or unusual but they are very sweet and cheerful.

Because I was feeding them and because the winter here isn't very harsh, they stay all year round. A few winters ago it got very cold and I was curious to know where they were staying at night. We have a huge privet hedge surrounding the place and it seemed likely that they stayed there but it didn't seem like a very warm place.

One morning, it was very cold and I was going out to warm up my vehicle. I just happened to look up and in the rafters of the car port was a line of little sparrow butts. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen and I just had to draw it.

I'm sure you'll see many more sparrow images in the future.

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Blue Jays

For a short while I lived in a place where Blue Jays frequented my bird feeders. I still recall the thrill of excitement at seeing that first flash of blue.

They truly are incredibly beautiful birds and it's a good thing too because their personality leaves a lot to be desired.

They attacked any other bird that came near the feeder, squawked incessantly and even fought with the squirrel.

You knew the moment it arrived from it's harsh call and the noise continued until it left but somehow I still felt very pleased to see it there.

They are very intelligent and can mimic the call of a hawk to scare away other birds if their bullying tactics don't work.  They did it quite often whenever the competition for the bird seed became too much,  They'd sit in the trees above and do the hawk call and the other birds would dive for cover leaving all the food to them.

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Chickadees

If you have been to my Zazzle store you will notice that I also love Chickadees.
It always makes my day when I see one. There is something incredibly cheerful about their upbeat little song.
You never have to wonder what kind of bird they are, between their outstanding black and white color and announcing their own name they are hard to miss.

I have gone for many walks in the forest while they followed me. Flying from tree to tree they sing out and pretend they are really intent on finding a bug.

I haven't figured out if they are territorial and want me out of there or if they've come to associate people with food.

I remember seeing them at my outdoor dogs feed bowl. They love bones and scraps of meat, especially during the winter but will happily settle for sunflower seeds.

I find that after I've drawn one picture of them, I just think of another I want to do and have limited myself somewhat to just a few but I think as time goes on I'll keep adding.

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