How have you been doing during quarantine?

[jon.N]

Nice to see you, Brian.

 

[Claude J Greengrass]

Can I show you a quarantine picture? I’m much prouder of this gorgeousness than my dumb artwork, which still, and always, makes me cringe. (I wonder at what age that stops happening?)

As I’ve mentioned at TOS, I don’t cook. No interest In learning. Bored of eating. But, I heard some chef on a podcast talking about “the best“ roasted potatoes and they sounded good and relatively easy. So, I cleared an afternoon and cleared the kitchen and I made them!

Ain’t they pretty??
And not bad for an Olive.

Any chance of a link to the podcast? I'm a big fan of roast taters!

 

[jon.N]

Quarantine was a bit of this and that for me. I haven't really done any art for some time due to arthritis. I have been enjoying some good books on the kindle my family purchased for me. I prefer the feel of a real book, but with the library being closed that was not an option. Every day includes a walk.

 

[RobinZ]

The kits are truly entertaining. They're good at climbing up the stiles to the rails, but not so good at getting down. Raccoons are very smart and competent little beasties and have several super powers. The palms of their hands have seven times the tactile sensitivity of a human's. Their palms are lined with vibrissae that make it possible for them to feel things without even actually touching them. Experiments have shown that they appear to understand the abstract principles behind locking mechanisms. Combine all this, and that's why they can open almost anything. And when climbing headfirst down a tree (or a stile), they can turn their rear feet around completely backwards.

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Musket, I'm in the near Philly suburbs and we have wildlife but not that often. Last summer my neighbor called me out to ask if it was a bear in high up in her willow tree. It sure looked like one, but it was asleep and kinda curled up. Got out the binoculars and only from one angle was able to see the striped tail! Really felt like city slickers, lol. But a few mornings ago saw a beaver at a creek by me and could tell what he was right away. If my dog hadn't spotted him, though, I would have wa

 

[RobinZ]

As far as how I am doing, I had a really have a really hard time making art when I'm upset. And the many facets of the handling of it and the lack of reliable info (in my state, particularly), kept me upset and unable to sleep.

So I dragged my butt with commissions, hard to paint them, and did none of the non commission work I look forward to doing in the late winter when commissions are slow.

Bright spot is my veggie garden. My darling next door neighbor who is almost 4 and a very picky eater has discovered that veggies she picks from my garden actually are quite delicious, lol!

 

[OliveOyl]

Any chance of a link to the podcast? I'm a big fan of roast taters!

Hi Claude. I was listening to the Judge John Hodgeman podcast and this was the chef that was on (his recipe) and this is where I found it. (And nice to see you here...)

The Best Crispy Roast Potatoes Ever

These are the most flavorful crispy roast potatoes you'll ever make. And they just happen to be gluten-free and vegan (if you use oil) to boot.

www.seriouseats.com

 

[Claude J Greengrass]

Hi Claude. I was listening to the Judge John Hodgeman podcast and this was the chef that was on (his recipe) and this is where I found it. (And nice to see you here...)

The Best Crispy Roast Potatoes Ever

These are the most flavorful crispy roast potatoes you'll ever make. And they just happen to be gluten-free and vegan (if you use oil) to boot.

www.seriouseats.com

Thanks for the link. Can't wait till the weather cools to allow for a roast!

 

[Maybenartist]

I've been watching the Jackdaws and other corvids squabbling with seagulls from my window. On my short walks around the village which is peaceful, there are a variety of assorted tits, goldfinches, blackbirds, Robin's, buzzards, the occasional Kestrel and I often see Rabbits. My camera is broken and I've been missing the zoom.

I thought I saw a few Albatross today, they weren't the normal gulls and they had really wide wingspan.
I like seeing unusual stuff, but mainly I just like the peace of walking surrounded by nature. I enclosed a photo so you can see what I mean.

If you look very closely at the top left on the right of the path there's a Rabbit.

 

[brianvds]

I like seeing unusual stuff, but mainly I just like the peace of walking surrounded by nature. I enclosed a photo so you can see what I mean.

It looks really nice. My beloved local nature area has finally been reopened again, but they only allow twenty people in at a time, so initially there will likely be long queues. Plus we are in the middle of a cold snap, so I'm holding off for the moment. In another week or two...

 

[snoball]

Ian, beautiful countryside. Brian, must be winter on your side of the world.

 

[brianvds]

Ian, beautiful countryside. Brian, must be winter on your side of the world.

I took that photo last winter, and yes, it is winter again. We're in the middle of a cold front and yesterday even the maximum temperature was a shocking, freezing, teeth-chattering, huddle-around-the-fireplace-in-a-thick-coat 12 degrees Celsius (= abut 54 F). I can just hear StLukes burst into laughter.

 

[snoball]

54° is not so bad. We are in the young 90°s here. But in the winter we get to 0° and below many times.

 

[Maybenartist]

It looks really nice. My beloved local nature area has finally been reopened again, but they only allow twenty people in at a time, so initially there will likely be long queues. Plus we are in the middle of a cold snap, so I'm holding off for the moment. In another week or two...

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I like the natural l look of where you are Brian. I'm always stopping and trying to find some rare creature so I'd be in my element there. If I hear an unusual bird song I can spend ages looking, trying to find the bird, usually to no avail. Sometimes people walk by while I'm staring into a tree and they smile at me like there's something not quite right

 

[Artyczar]

I enclosed a photo so you can see what I mean.

If you look very closely at the top left on the right of the path there's a Rabbit.
View attachment 1028

What beautiful surroundings. Love those paths. We have wild rabbits around here everywhere. It's not even funny. Both cottontails and jackrabbits. Both in the front yards and the back--everywhere--day and night.

 

[Artyczar]

I like the natural l look of where you are Brian. I'm always stopping and trying to find some rare creature so I'd be in my element there. If I hear an unusual bird song I can spend ages looking, trying to find the bird, usually to no avail. Sometimes people walk by while I'm staring into a tree and they smile at me like there's something not quite right ☺

I guess we are spoiled here because we are inundated with birds too. Dare I say, too many? Never! But it's pretty nuts.

Before we made this forum into an art forum, it used to be one for Joshua Tree--where we live, and I made a whole section for all the wildlife around here, and one for all the bird species. I couldn't possibly cover all the birds, so I just did our resident birds to the park (we live at the border of the National Park). It took a long time to compile it. There's a hell of a lot of birdies here.

 

[Maybenartist]

We don't have the same species of birds here I've seen elsewhere in the world, mainly they are not so colourful. However, when I spot a colourful one it's like some amazing achievement

 

[brianvds]

I like the natural l look of where you are Brian. I'm always stopping and trying to find some rare creature so I'd be in my element there. If I hear an unusual bird song I can spend ages looking, trying to find the bird, usually to no avail. Sometimes people walk by while I'm staring into a tree and they smile at me like there's something not quite right ☺

Alas, I live in the city. But that nature area is a small bit of protected and more or less natural habitat, and just a mile or two from where I live. And yes, I know what you mean with running around trying to see a bird after hearing an unfamiliar call. Bird watchers are crazy. I pride myself on that.

 

[laf.art]

There are a lot of rabbits around our area as well, and a huge variety of birds, been watching the red spotted woodpeckers, lovely birds. This morning I watched a couple of crows dive bombing a cat that was obviously a bit close to the nest, the noise they make is fearsome. Re the lockdown, it has felt like prison , on the other hand I have painting a lot until running out of canvas, which is a real pain in the bum.It's more or less back to 'normal' here now though, except for wearing masks when out, the sun is shining and the park is lovely at the mo

 

[brianvds]

Finally had the chance to go visit my local nature area again. Only had the cell phone camera, so the photos are not the best quality, particularly the first...

And of course I dragged a sketchbook along, to practice my new religion of nature journaling...

 

[laf.art]

Yours skies are such different colours. Looks like a lovely area. Is that cattle in the first pic? I like the sketches