Twig Variety

More winter twigs... Left to Right - black oak (Quercus velutina), bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis), tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) and Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra).

Black sandshell or Spike?

For the past 7 or so years I have enjoyed surveying for and learning about freshwater mussels, one of the most interesting and at-risk groups of native organisms. I would highly recommend checking out the Unio Gallery for some great video on the amazing reproduction techniques of freshwater mussels. Anyway the field notes above are from a day spent in the Grand River of northeastern Ohio, both of these very similar looking mussels are present in the Grand.

Oak Twigs

Here is a trio of winter oak twigs white (Q. alba), black (Q. velutina) and bur (Q. macrocarpa)

Walnut

A common sight on the forest floor in the fall months, black walnut (Juglans nigra) nut pieces.

Zanthozylem

Zanthozylem americanum or prickley-ash is a native midwestern shrub.

Flowers of Common Trees

Two common trees that produce noticeable flowers... On top northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa) and below yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) Prints available for both.

Illinois Steward Magazine

I illustrated these three non-game native Illinois fish for a great little magazine called The Illinois Steward, the images appeared in the Summer 2005 Issue.

Field Journal

Here are some recent field notes from a morning spent banding birds with Julie West

Botanical Illustrations

Here are some more botanical illustrations in colored pencil. The top one is of a Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) cone early in the year when it is still green. The next is of a Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) showing both young leaves and the pink spring flowers. Prints Available.  Last one is of a winter bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) twig that is still holding onto a leaf.

OHIO

OK, so my firs blog worked and the image even appeared! The above image is dedicated to my new home state - Ohio. The image is again in colored pencil and is of a Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra) leaf bud breaking dormancy.

Is this thing working??

Welcome to my first blog! I really have no intention of writing typical blogs, but would like to use this to share some of my artwork. Stay tuned as I figure out this thing... the image above is titled white oak leaves and is done in colored pencil.  Prints Available