Bear Essentials

Bears are very popular with kids especially Teddy Bears. Although I didn’t own one, I still think they are very cute. I played mostly with puzzles and mechanical toys (especially robots). But did you know that Teddy Bear is originally called Teddy’s bear? The name came from America’s 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt.

When President Theodore Roosevelt went on a hunting trip to Mississippi, to which he was invited by Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino, he was asked to shoot an American Black Bear. There were several hunters competing and most of them had already shot something. So they called Roosevelt to the site and instructed to kill the bear, which Holt Collier and Roosevelt’s attendants had tied to a willow tree after being cornered and clubbed. Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear but asked that the bear be killed to end its suffering. This incident
became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. The adult black bear cartoon was initially lassoed by a white handler but later Berryman made the bear cuter and smaller. When Morris Michton saw the drawing of Roosevelt and the bear cub, he was inspired and created a new toy – a stuffed bear cub. After sending the bear to Roosevelt and receiving permission to sell them, he put them in his shop window with a sign that read “Teddy’s Bear.” The toys became an immediate success, which led Michton to open the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. in 1907 that still exists today.

BEAR SPECIES:

Black Bear, Brown Bear, Polar Bear, Asiatic Black Bear, Sloth Bear, Spectacled Bear, Sun Bear, and the famous Giant Panda.

MYTH: Giant Pandas are Raccoons!

The Giant Panda is one of the most misunderstood animals on the planet. For many years, it was believed to be a type of racoon, like the similarly named red panda. However, genetics testing and observation have revealed that the panda is in fact, a bear. It has only been since 1995 that the Panda has been officially considered a bear.

Source: http://www.bears.org

Landscaping for squirrels

My boyfriend and I bought rocks for the garden. They were dropped off today by a mother and son who own a small nursery. Apparently they’ve been up since 3 am driving around and dropping off things to different houses. Then, we started discussing landscaping and he said “what if you had animals as your clients?” So, I thought, what would you ask squirrels if they were your clients? They don’t “own” a garden but they pretty much live in your yard.

Squirrels love Nuttal oak (Quercus nuttallii), which are also called Red oak, Red River oak and Pin oak. Nuttal oak is a bottom land species that grows along Gulf Coast Plain from Florida to west southeastern Texas. This fast-growing, water tolerant oak is a great choice for poorly drained soil such as clay. Like most oaks, acorn production is heaviest every four to seven years, known as mast year. Squirrels populations vary between these years – they are influenced greatly by the fall mast crop. A good mast production means excellent breeding conditions and healthier young. It is important to wisely manage your backyard if squirrels and other hardwood dependent wildlife is among your priorities.

Tween Wolves

I finally finished my painting! This is the first time I used mixed media. I didn’t like the dark trees in the back so I painted over it with white acrylic and used watercolor on top. I think it looks much better than what I had initially.

There’s one thing that I didn’t mention in my older post regarding wolves. Do you know how you can tell they’re friendly? Wolves roll over and show their bellies! hahaha. This information should be in kittybellys site. They also put their paws down and wag their tail when they want to play (so cute!). But when they are agitated and want to fight, they start growling and show their fangs. And put their ears back and lay down when they are done. They are indeed fascinating.

Polar Express

Polar bears have been in a lot of news lately. So, I thought to paint them this week. I saw a couple of photos of polar bears sleeping together when I was browsing the web – they look so adorable and peaceful. As we all know polar bears are potentially endangered species due to the rapid and unprecedented shrinking of the Arctic’s sea ice, which they use as a platform to hunt seals, fish and other sea creatures.

I used the back of the watercolor paper to paint on. I’m not sure if I’d do it again. The colors were not as vibrant and it did not absorb the water well. I had to use a towel to wipe off excess water and to try to blend and smooth the surface. Although, the colors were not as vivid as I wanted to, I really love the “dream-like” effect. I wish I had a bigger scanner to really capture the subtlety of the colors.

HAPPY THANKGSGIVING!

A page from my sketchbook.

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rodents with PR

Has anyone seen squirrels attempt to get inside a bird feeder? It’s one of the most amusing things. Although it gets a bit annoying when birds run out of food. I have two feeders and normally fill them up every two weeks but once they located them, it was all over for the birds. I recently took them down because it’s winter but I’ll put them back up in the spring.

I don’t know much about squirrels except that they’re cute :). But did you know that the squirrel’s name can be traced back to ancient Greece, from the word “skiouros,” used by Aristotle – skia meaning shade, while “oura” means tail. Thus the meaning “he who sits in the shadow of his tail” was originated. In the subsequent centuries, the French created a noun “esquirel” to describe this creature. And that’s where the present word “squirrel” was derived.

More very interesting trivia:

• Squirrels communicate through a series of chirps. The frequency, and the duration of the notes communicate everything from laughter to alarm. Their frequency range is normally between .01 KHz. and 10 KHz. (kilohertz). These sounds when used in conjunction with tail gestures, form the basis for squirrel communication.

• A squirrel will break the shell of a nut with its teeth, then clean the nut by licking it or rubbing on its face before it is buried. This action applies a scent to the nut which helps the squirrel find it later, even under a foot of snow.

• The squirrel’s erratic path while crossing a street is an attempt to confuse the oncoming vehicle... thereby causing it to change direction. This is obliviously the squirrels biggest, and often last mistake.

• The male tree squirrel takes twice as long, as the female, to groom itself. They are the cleanest animal in the rodent family.

• A squirrels teeth grow continuously. Their incisor’s will grow six inches per year, but stay short due to the constant wear they receive.

If you want to know more about these voracious creatures. I couldn’t believe it existed but here’s a website dedicated solely for them.

A Healthy Diet

I love watching and listening to birds. I have seen, Cardinals, Catbirds, Sparrows, Mockingbirds, Tufted Titmouse, Chickadees and even Ruby-throated hummingbirds visiting our garden but I have yet to see Bluejays. I hope I get to see one next year !

One of our frequent visitors is the American Robin or Turdus Migratorius. They are migratory birds of Thrush family and are constantly foraging for worms. Contrary to popular belief, they catch worms and other insects using sight not sound. It may seem like robins are fond of worms; however, they eat mostly berries, fruits and seeds. Only 42 % of Robin’s diet consists of meat and the rest is vegetarian. Pretty healthy huh?

Fun facts about robins:

• Robins usually lay three or four light blue eggs.
• When a baby robin is born, its skin is transparent enough that you can see through it.
• Robins fly 30 to 36 miles per hour.
• The robin is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Next time you encounter a robin, you’ll know exactly what season it is depending on what’s on the menu. I guess we can all learn from the robins when it comes to a healthy diet ;)

Source: Oregon State University and Annenberg Media Learner

Chicklets

My grandfather used to raise chickens when we were back home. It was a small henhouse at the back of the house. Every morning I woke from the sound of a rooster, which was great because I did not have an alarm clock. I normally woke up at 5 am to get ready for school.

He had chicken coops of different sizes and one large coop built especially for the hens, so they could lay their eggs safely. And we hatched some of them in the incubator that my dad built. I remember watching the chicks crack their way out of their shells. Some of them were too weak to break the eggshell; so I would peel some of the shell off. I loved them so much that I would also purchase them from school with my lunch money. I made them little beds from old shoe boxes and I added some torn newspaper and old notebook paper as bedding.

There was one hen who stood out amongst the rest and her name is “Japanese Chicken.’’ She was my little brother’s pet. She was given to my grandpa by one of his Japanese friends, hence the name ‘‘Japanese Chicken’’ (we weren’t that creative with names). We got her when she was just a chicklet but she did not grow much larger. She was only 10 inches long including her tail when she reached maturity. Sometimes we would play with her inside but she enjoyed the outdoors the most. We had so much fun with her. When we came to the US we couldn’t take her with us. Then we found out that one of our neighbors was so fond of her that he kept “Japanese Chicken’’ forever; so we never saw her again. I miss her dearly...

Falling For You

Every leaf speaks bliss to me,
Fluttering from the autumn tree.

EMILY BRONTE

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. I love how the leaves turn into different shades of yellow, red and orange, as if someone had painted on them. They are most beautiful when they are falling from the branches, like butterflies retreating for the winter and sparkling like the glitters inside a giant snow globe. It delights me greatly as I watch them falling, covering the verdant lawn like a carpet of gold, red and fiery orange– what a beautiful sight! And then you see the birds enjoying the red berries where the leaves left exposed.

So, what causes the leaves to turn into different colors?
The leaves serve as food factory for the plants. During spring and summer when daytime is longer, the leaves are able to produce plenty of food for the plants. Plants obtain light from the sun using chlorophyll found in the leaves. By using light energy, plants are able to turn water and carbon dioxide to glucose. However, in the fall, daytime is shorter and less light are absorbed, which means less food for the plants. In order to preserve its energy, the factory shutdowns and the plants live off the food they stored during summer. As the process begins, the green chlorophyll starts to disappear and exposes some of the colors found in the leaves. Few trees such as Maples, trap glucose in the leaves after photosynthesis ends. Cold weather and sunlight cause glucose to turn red. There are several factors why leaves turn color in the fall. If you want to learn more, visit Gonewengland.

Hanging By A Moment

When we were kids, we used to chase and try to catch frogs – they are such fun creatures. And then my grandma told us that we can get warts from touching a frog; from then on, I stopped trying to pet them. I do not remember when I last touched a frog, probably in sixth grade.

The truth is you cannot get warts from being in contact with a frog. Warts are caused by human virus and not by frogs or toads. They might have slimy and bumpy skin but these help keep them from drying out and camouflage in their habitat. Some frogs and toads have paratoid glands which secretes poison that causes irritation and may be toxic to some species. So, if you see a frog and you want to touch it, it’s okay as long as you’re gentle with it.

Meeting An Emperor

Happy Feet is one of my favorite movies of all times, in both live and animated categories. I even have the theme song downloaded into my computer and played it a hundred times, literally! It just makes me happy listening to “Boogie Wonderland.” On the other hand, who can resist penguins?! They are one of the cutest animals in the universe and they also love to play; some of their favorite pastimes are:

Tobogganing: Penguins lie on their belly and toboggan through the ice and snow. This helps them move quickly.

Diving: Penguins dive off cliffs and ice flows into the water, hop back up onto the land and dive down again. Line-ups for good diving spots can get very long.

Surfing: Penguins are often seen surfing through the waves onto land.

Source: Kidzone

A Visit To A Meadow

One of my favorite things to do when visiting a botanical garden is explore the meadow. I love seeing wild animals in their natural habitat. There’s nothing more magical than being surrounded by butterflies, wildflowers, and wildlife. I would love to create one someday, which means not mowing the lawn forever! Now, that I can do...

Did you know?
Some weeds in your lawn such as: plantain, fennel, dock, sorrel, wild radish, clovers, cudweeds, and even thistles are excellent host and nectar plants for the butterflies.

Above is my interpretation of a meadow, using watercolor and pen. I hope you enjoy it.

First Watercolor Painting

Cat - Age 12 (?)

I don’t know how old this card is; I should’ve written down the date when I made it. This is something everyone should remember – DON’T FORGET to write the date whenever you’re creating something special. I made this card for my mom on Valentine’s Day, (?) years ago. I might’ve been 12 years old. I dabbled with watercolor when I was a kid but like most kids, I preferred crayons and markers over watercolor, simply because they are easy to maneuver. But I really wanted to do something nice and watercolor always intrigued me. My curiosity led me to creating this – my first watercolor painting on bond paper!

You won’t notice until you see the card in person that I cut out the squares from the window and glued a piece of cellophane underneath using rubber cement so it would resemble a glass window. I wanted it to look as if the cat is peering outside the window.

If you look closely you can tell how bad my grammar was and still is (^_^). I don’t remember where I acquired this image, perhaps from one of my notebooks, which consisted of cute animals. I can’t believe my mom still has it and in great condition! She saved most of our letters and artwork from when we were kids — I’m glad she did.

Elephant Rider

I’ve always been intimidated by watercolor. I had my first watercolor experience around nine and once in high school. I haven’t picked up any watercolor since then until this year. I wanted to do something different –I want to combine painting with drawing. Above is my attempt to paint an elephant and below is my giraffe. My goal is to do at least one painting a week.

My first Monarch

Here’s a couple of pictures of a Monarch butterfly I took from our garden this summer. I thought it was dead when I saw it inside the chrysalis hanging from the Ice Ballet milkweed. I only realized it was alive when I went back to explore the garden once again a few of hours later. I couldn’t believe there’s a full grown Monarch in my garden! It was the most amazing thing I witnessed that day. I ran inside and grabbed my camera and took a lot of photos. It remained on the leaf for a few hours pumping its blood from its abdomen to the wings and then flew away as soon as the sun dried its wings. I hope to see more of them next summer. I can’t wait!