Escaping to the Serenity

Wes with his best find of the day! It took him an hour to clean all the mud out of it but the rod and reel work like new now!

Like most of you, Wes and I have been spending much of our time at home this past week trying to stay safe and healthy. We’re still taking daily walks when the weather permits and managed to get caught once again in a rain shower accompanied by what seemed like 50 mph winds! Thankfully it wasn’t cold, so I just pretended I was swimming while walking along, and somehow that made it better! We did enjoy two rain-free days, so we took advantage of them, by packing a lunch and heading over to the lake with the kayaks. It’s always good to be back on the water and brings a temporary reprieve from everything going on in the world. We found a perfect spot for our boat picnic, near a duck nesting box, which the swallows were using. Here’s a short video so you too can enjoy watching and listening to these little beauties!

We were surrounded by swallows zipping here and there in every direction, all chattering up a storm the entire time. What a delight it was watching and listening to these beautiful little iridescent feathered birds, as we were gently rocked back and forth by the waves. By the time we left, I think they were still trying to work out whose box that was while trying to maintain some type of order. It was too windy much of the time for me to use my flyrod, so while Wes fished, I paddled around and explored while checking out the amazing collection of stumps exposed by the low water level.

There were stumps in every shape and size imaginable scattered across the vast sandbars, many looking like gigantic abstract wood sculptures walking across the sand whilst heading to new territory, and I love photographing them, from different angles.

This series of stumps below made me immediately think of Nessie, and I imagined this being our own smaller version of her surfacing and having a look about!

There were numerous birds around both days, including Bald Eagles. The first day, we were able to watch one eating something on the shore nearby, as well as another sitting atop a tree preening for a long time. They didn’t seem to mind us watching at all, so we took advantage of the amazing opportunity. We also saw Pileated Woodpeckers, assorted ducks, Canada Geese, and I watched an Osprey drop out of the sky crashing into the water below, bringing up a large fish in his talons! So large in fact that he could hardly fly off with his prized catch! At one point I saw a beaver surface several times and once he was quite close, slapping his tail on the surface before quickly slipping below, creating a big loud splash! Later the second day out, I pulled my kayak up onto a sandy beach and enjoyed taking a walk along the vast winding shore. At one point I stopped and stood there, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face while listening to the sounds of the wind blowing in my ears, the water lapping on the shore and the peepers chirping in surround sound. It was truly delightful and I could’ve stayed there until sunset! At another sandbar I watched a lone Killdeer walking about picking at things on the sand. By the end of both days, the Osprey wasn’t the only one to make a great catch, as Wes kept 8 bass from the 2 days, catching and releasing even more!

Monthly lectures are given at Brookgreen Gardens by Robin Salmon, called Brookgreen 101, and one of her recent lectures was on Exquisite Miniatures which is currently at Brookgreen. Although the exhibition is now temporarily closed, you can enjoy this insightful talk, where Robin shares her take on the exhibition as well as some fun and personal information about us as well. Click on the video below to enjoy.

Due to the COVID 19 all shows which we currently have miniature paintings have been closed to the public. However most of them have the available works online, so I’ve included the links to them below.

Wonders of the West
March 21 – May 31, 2020: Customs House Museum, Clarksville, TN

(Please note the opening for this show has been canceled, and they don’t have the exhibition online.)

The Art of the Miniature XVIII
May 3 – June 14, 2020: Snow Goose Gallery, Bethlehem, PA

Wes and I currently have 16 miniature paintings in this show, and are delighted that 2 have already sold!

29th Annual International Miniature Art Show
May 2 – 30, 2020: Seaside Art Gallery, Nags Head, NC

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Then commission us to do just that! . . . Email photos for consideration to us at

siegrist@artofwildlife.com

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Until Next Time . . . 

~ Rachelle

 

Babies…Bleats…And Big Booms!

Summertime fun with family here in the Smokies!

by Rachelle Siegrist

My precious nieces Allison and Raelynn

We enjoyed a delightful visit from my sister Hayley and her family this past week on July 4th. They arrived in time for the kids to explore the trail through our woods, and to let their newly adopted baby goat, Ellie Mae, get out and do a bit of exploring herself as well as enjoy getting fed a bottle. She really loved climbing on the benches on the front porch and on the rocks in the surrounding the area, and I fell instantly in love with her!

Paul gives hungry Ellie Mae her bottle!

With a small window of nice weather, on an other wise very rainy day, we decided to take advantage of it starting with a yummy supper at Pizza Hut, where Raelynn kept us well entertained and laughing, while grunting at her Mom each time she wanted more water from her straw and smiling and waving to everyone the remainder of the time! Afterwards, we headed down to the river, along with friends Tom and Sharon, and within seconds of arriving at the water’s edge Bubba was out in the river, preparing to jump up and hollering out “Cannonball!” Of course we all quickly told him you have to go out a little bit further before you can “cannonball”. So he did just that, becoming an instant river rat!  Allison was right behind him and was delighted to learn that there were no moccasins, alligators, sharks or jellyfish in this water, not even fish that would bite you, which made her love it even more!

Raelynn says “Are y’all sure this is safe?”

Raelynn joined in on the fun as well with her dad holding her, while dipping her feet into the ice cold water. At first she held her legs out vertically keeping them mere centimeters above the water’s surface, but quickly decided she rather liked that frigid water and commenced kicking and splashing with her legs and feet, while smiling and squealing with delight every time we put her legs down into the river. Each time we took her back out, she fussed until we put her legs back in, where she commenced kicking, splashing and squealing once again! “Yes!” I thought to myself . . . another little river rat in the making!

 

Hmmmmmm . . . I thought Y’all said it wasn’t cold!

Before long my sister Hayley was completely down in the water, and as always I was amazed at her incredible tolerance for icy cold water since she was a little girl! While she and Paul played in the river, Sharon enjoyed “Granny” time with Raelynn, while Wes and I took the kids tubbing down some of the rapids several times.  We passed the relaxing evening, skipping rocks, swimming, tubing, and playing until several loud claps of thunder encouraged us to get out of the river.

Bubba enjoyed tubing from the start

Back at home and dried off we enjoyed homemade brownies, while playing pool until it was time to walk down and see our local fireworks. With Raelynn loaded in her stroller and the whole gang gathered, we commenced walking down the mountain to the grassy hillside below, where we enjoy watching the fireworks every year. Bubba’s favorite firework was a spiraling gold one, that he said sounded like a large marker writing on a board, and Allison’s favorite was one that upon exploding looked like numerous shimmering gold jellyfish slowly floating down the sky.  Even my adorable niece Raelynn seemed to thoroughly enjoy the show and all of the activity along with it.

Allison gets a push from uncle Wes

Once the show ended and the applause subsided, we started our hike back up the hill. Before leaving, we had moved Ellie Mae’s carrier into the dining room where it was quiet and safely away from possible visitors such as black bear, coyote and skunks. Of course she had worked up an appetite while resting and it was time for another bottle feeding once we got back. Since we couldn’t safely let her walk around outside that time of night, I suggested letting her walk around and explore the house which she seemed to really enjoy doing!  While Ellie Mae explored and Wes and the kids checked out our rock collection, I enjoyed feeding my sweet little Raelynn.

Bubba, Wes, Hayley and Allison enjoying the river

Raelynn tells Sharon . . . “You can’t be serious?” . . . Ha Ha!!!

All too soon the time had come for them to continue their journey back home to Florida, so upon saying our goodbyes, they were safely on their way and I was so hoping that they had somehow forgotten and left that precious baby goat, Ellie Mae, behind . . . sadly for me it didn’t happen.    

Adorable Ellie Mae happily explores our house

Meanwhile back at the home front, we are excited to have two new residents!  An adorable little Flying Squirrel named Rocky (after Rocky and Bullwinkle) has taken up residence in what we call the high rise birdhouse, since it’s taller than our house! Wes noticed it looking out the other day, and managed to snap a photo. We thought there was one around, after recently opening a bird house to clean it out, and a hundred acorns fell out!  Needless to say, we shut the door and put them all back, feeding them through the small hole, like feeding quarters into a coke machine.

Lil’D, is our precious little DeKay’s Snake, who has claimed the greenhouse as it’s own!  It happily lives atop a wicker table in the space underneath the glass top, and crawls under it’s blanket when it’s either too cool or too hot.  From the chubby appearance of it, it’s either a she who is going to lay eggs or just a very well fed snake! At 12 inches, it’s full grown and loves eating slugs and snails, which helps keep things in check in the greenhouse, and I’m sure Lil’ D thinks it’s died and gone to heaven! It’s like having an awesome little pet in the greenhouse!

 

 

Precious little Rocky peaking out at us ~ Lil’ D enjoying her favorite spot

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~ Fresh off the Easels ~

Meanwhile I’m continuing to paint on a couple of pet commissions, including the one below of two adorable friends Riley and Boris!  I’m having great fun with this one and will share the finished painting with you soon!

Making more progress on Riley and Boris

 

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Until next time . . .

~ Rachelle

Where Time Stands Still . . .

Kayaking!

by Rachelle Siegrist

As I slipped into the kayak, I could feel my spirit breathing a deep sigh.  After five months, I was back on the water again and it felt good . . . really good!  At first the river was moving at a pretty good clip, so in between paddling I peered into the clear water below, and saw a decent sized bass swim underneath.  Nearby I watched a Pied-billed Grebe bobbing on the water’s surface, occasionally diving underneath while searching for a bite to eat, mixed with an occasional bath.

Chickadees were checking out nesting cavities in a tree along the water’s edge, while chattering and singing their happy springtime song!  A beautiful springtime day it was indeed too, with brilliant blue skies above and abundant sunshine pouring down!  Only the nip in the air and lack of leaves on the trees served as a reminder that spring has only just begun.  Further along Tree Swallows and a male Bluebird fought over who the perfect nesting hole in a tree belonged to,  and as we paddled by, the swallows swooped down, passing just above our heads!

Soon we had paddled far enough from the road, to experience the periods of silence I had been longing for! The kind where all manmade sounds are temporarily replaced by only natural ones, and at times on quiet waters such as these, one only talks in a quiet whisper, for to speak loudly would be a sacrilege!  Only the cries of the Osprey mixed with peaceful sounds of gentle wind blowing through mostly bare trees, with the occasional calls of Red-winged Blackbirds serving as a reminder of being on the water.

Before long we found ourselves in the midst of vast sandbars, covered with mere inches of crystal clear water, giving the illusion of paddling across sand.  At times it was easier to push myself along with my hands then paddle, and almost felt like I was swimming in the shallow water!  We floated over long wormy looking wads, soon realizing that they were frog eggs after seeing wee baby tadpoles emerging from one alien looking clump.

Canada Geese came and went in pairs, and the Ospreys were collecting sticks and grasses for their treetop nest! While watching one of them fly in with long tendrils of grass streaming from its talons, we heard the Bald Eagle cry and quickly saw a pair of them circling above.  Round and round they went slowly, until the dipped behind the mountain, suddenly hidden from view.

We decided to enjoy our lunch while slowly drifting along, which proved to be most relaxing and pleasant! Water levels fluctuated below, ranging from quite deep and green to very shallow and unbelievably clear.   So clear in fact, that it appeared as if we were floating in the air above the sandy bottom below!  In one of these areas, I noticed the light tan colored bottom was covered with thousands of bright, tiny flakes of Mica shining and shimmering in the sunlight as the water danced over it, giving the illusion that diamond dust was scattered all about!  It was indeed a beautiful day, and I’m already greatly anticipating our next visit!

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~ Fresh off the Easels ~

Wes and I both have been painting on pieces for upcoming juried shows, which I’ll be sharing with you in a month or so.  We’re also delighted with our sales at the Collectors Covey Miniature Show and at Seaside Art Gallery recently!

Wes just finished this commission of two of our collectors sitting on one of their favorite beaches in the Virgin Islands, and what’s not to absolutely love about this painting!  Do you have a favorite place where you spend vacation or visit, that you would like to be able to mentally escape to when back at home? . . . . Commission us to paint it!

“Just Another Day in Paradise” by Wes

With hands for scale

I’m currently working on a few commissions, and a handsome Boykin Spaniel named Mungo is one of them.  Below are two compositional sketches I’ve done for the collector to look at and decided which one he likes best.

My sketches for a commission of a handsome Boykin Spaniel named Mungo

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Until next time . . .

~ Rachelle