Was it Esther?

  I hesitated about writing this post, because it has a bittersweet ending. But life is sometimes bittersweet, sad, and unpredictable. Here is how it all began:It is past midnight and we are retiring for the night when we hear an odd scratching noise that seems to be coming from inside our wall. After  investigating the area to no avail, I decide to go outside to see if the wind is causing branches to scrape against the house. James is very sick with flu, so I go outside with my flashlight and shine it up towards our bedroom where I see the source of the sound immediately. A little bird seems to be caught in the twisted dried out wisteria vines that have traveled up the side of the house, right next to the electrical cables, I might add. The bird is flapping it's wings forcefully to no avail with skinny legs splayed sideways. I dash upstairs and tell James a bird is stuck in the vines, I will need the ladder! I don't tell him I will need the  extension ladder AND will need to stand on the very top rung. He tells me to stay away from the electrical cords and DON'T use the extension ladder. But of course, I do.

 

 At first I try to dislodge the vines with the handle of a broom, no dice. So I discard my bathrobe and begin my  accent higher up  the ladder in my nightgown with a flashlight on my head and the pruners in my hand. In order to reach the bird,  I have to travel to the top step on the ladder.

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(Bathrobe still here the next morning)

 I am able to assess  the situation. The bird has it's little head stuck betwixt  and between dried, knotted vines of wisteria, the vines seems to be strangling the poor little thing. If I cut that vine in just the right place it should dislodge the bird and allow it to fly off. but when I cut the vine, the little bird tumbles into my hand. I slowly descend the ladder holding the bird in a loose grip. I hope to open my palm and release her when we get to the ground, but she seems unable to fly, instead she falls to the earth, so I bring her up to my studio. Here in the light I can see that I am holding an adult starling. Esther was a baby starling. I put her in a safe place with water and chicken scratch. Poor little thing is exhausted, who knows how long she had been imprisoned in the vines?!  

The next morning I see  she is hopping about the room on one leg and dragging the other. I sit on the floor and offer a kernel of corn, she hops over and takes it from my fingers and then she hops on my arm!

 It is odd that a wild bird would be so obliging... Could it be possible? NAW, this can't be Esther, can it? It's been two years since I set free the little starling fledgling that I raised for  months, after it had been attacked by a mad mother hen who poked it's eye and broke it's wing. If you have read this blog for any length of time, you will remember my sweet Esther. Esther was still young when she flew off to freedom, and had not yet acquired the beautiful flecked feathers with iridescent highlights.

    I talk softly to this sweet bird and she falls asleep in my hand. For the rest of the day, I leave her in the studio, checking her condition regularly. 

She seems to be recuperating and is sitting on the window sill... then she falls off and onto the floor. I carefully pick her up and turn on some nice music. I always played music for Esther and she would sing her little head off. This little bird turns her head and faintly chirps, once.

 Is it possible that for the last 2 years my little Esther has lived her life in the treetops right above my head?  Watching from the branches as I garden below her? Building nests and raising babies and observing us all this time? Or am I just being silly? 

I am beginning to feel an emotional tie to the little creature, When she is healed I will be sad to let her go...but I will. Alas, I did not get the chance, for the next time I checked on her she was stretched out on the floor, little legs stiff. Sure that she was dead, I tearfully held her and she began to move about. For 15 minutes she lay in my palm, slowly moving her head, faintly fluttering a wing, then she opened wide her beak, she stretched her little body full length .... and died.    DID I cry?? Of course I did. Big. wet teardrops  that fell on her feathers. 

My head says  that this was not Esther, I mean, what are the chances?! And if it was Esther, it will  mean she really is gone forever.  But my heart tells me this was Esther. And as fanciful as that may seem, it would be fitting for the little bird who spent the first months of her life with me as her mama, should spend the last moments of her life with me as her comforter. Perhaps I am just a romantic.. but I am, after all, a storyteller. And I am glad she did not die alone up in the treacherous vines that held her captive for God knows how long, but she died with a friend who cared about her.

I'm sorry for the sad post on this day, I promise to be more joyous the next time.. but I thought you would want to know.

Goin nutty....

Or goin nut huntin..

;

 

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The treefolk have been busy

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 And so have I.....

Between puppy training..

  laying out a rustic OLDE courtyard, using old bricks and broken concrete,

 and painting dozens of little nut gatherers, all less than an inch tall,

for this illustration.

 I haven't had much spare time.

There are about 2 more days worth of painting in this piece.
Remember Esther? She made an appearance in this illustration.
I miss that lil gal. I fancy that she is the same starling currently building a nest in our eaves.

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I will be back soon to show you

Hope you have a good weekend, maybe the weather will be Spring-like and lovely?
I long to garden, don't you???
 
Three Cheers For Nuts!

 Hopalong Hollow Gazette News Flash!!!
 Lewis and Clark have finally discovered what it means to fall in love...
with Gwennie and Gretchen.
 And the Agents have grown at least 5 inches!

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The perfect ending to an otherwise icky day

The Mistress of the Manor had not been herself lately.. She had been transformed into a basket case.. Buried beneath piles of papers,( we are not talking water-color papers here, rather, those  papers full of figures and dollar signs and "paid in full" stampings); the Mistress was ready to pull out her hair and die a slow and agonizing death. This kind of paperwork is not the sort of thing that anyone likes.. least of all artists, who are allergic to math.( Fellow Americans know that of which I speak)

 The Mistress needed a breath of fresh air.

 She kicked her adding machine, and headed out the back door.

 She grabbed a basket and walked through the potager, plucking tomatoes along the way. 

She strolled  to the pear tree to pick a few small, fallen pears , took a deep breath and muttered to herself, "I'll give these treats to the "critters"  She pondered on the fact

that Critters never need worry about figures, sums and dollar signs and TAXES.... lucky critters.

 She leaned her elbows on the aged old farm fence and called out,"Sophia! Beatrix! Margaret! Goat gals! Ursula!. Come and get it!"

 The sheep gals galloped to the fence with great anticipation knowing garden goodies awaited , and anxious to gobble up as many tomatoes as possible before the goat gals arrived from behind. (If the truth be told, they are GLUTTONS)

The Mistress spied the long velvety ears and stunning donkey face of Ursula as she strolled  casually  over the hill.

but Alas.. what to her wondering eyes does appear?? She stares aghast as another set of long velvety donkey ears appear, trotting alongside Ursula.....

  but these are smaller donkey ears attached to a  most adorable wee black BABY donkey!

Who is this and where has it come from!!!??? 

Good grief and Good heavens! Ursula has had a baby and no one even KNeW she was pregnant!
Everyone knew she had a healthy appetite, she was quite large, indeed,
and could devour animal crackers by the bucket. (But all the gals have a bit of belly fat, for food is the joy of their lives) 

(DEJA VU... the same kind of surprise occurred 2 years ago, when Rosebud the goat surprised everyone with a lil kiddle)

 

 Oh what delight and happiness!

   Ursula has been keeping a secret from us for 10 months. She must have been "with donkey" when we bought her, for there is nary a donkey dude within miles and miles of us.

 The Mistress welcomes this precious little gift from heaven, smiles the biggest smile of her day, and looks up at the gorgeous vast sky above.

   The same vast sky that our little Esther flew off into, just one week ago.

 It only takes the miracle of life to show you what is really important in this world. And that sometimes, our troubles are really quite small.

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?
 Whether a male or female remains to be seen. but the Mistress is picking out names for the darling donkey baby. Only one day old today!

A new member of the Hopalong Hollow family.

   You will be hearing a lot about this little person, as soon as the Mistress finishes her paperwork.

  PS: We learned that a donkey can carry a baby for up to 14 months. No. wonder nobody knew!

Esther, with the broken wing

May I introduce you to a little dear...

This is Esther.

. Esther is a baby starling. Esther  was having a very GOOD day, she was just learning to fly. She was hopping about on the grass, as do all little starlings before learning to fly...

practice, practice. practice,

getting up off the ground.

Suddenly, she came upon someone  who was having a very BAD day.... Jane Black.

  Jane is raising her 7 little chickpeas and they are a rambunctious lot, it is all she can do to keep them all in a line. Little Esther came upon Jane at the wrong moment and was attacked by a protective mommy... Jane can't be blamed, she thought her babes were in danger, but she really hurt the fledgling. Esther s eye was poked, her foot was bent and her wing was broken .A mad mother hen is vicious. I was glad I was there to save her before more harm was done. I tried putting her in a bush up off the ground( it is said that the mother will hear her cry and still attempt to feed the fledglings) But she couldn't hold onto anything and kept falling off the branches .She couldn't hop and was dragging her wing. There are 5 cats in my household, need I say more?

 SO, Just for now, Esther is living here in my studio...

Esther  eats every 30 minutes throughout the day, till lights go out. Her meal consists of a scrumptious  mixture of moistened dog food, applesauce and hard boiled egg and worms, all mushed together like porridge.

She opens her mouth WIDE and I offer her the meal from a slender long stick.

 Having little Esther, reminded me of a drawing I had done many years ago, so I dug through my old artwork and found this:

 It's a bit beat up ( I used to mistreat my artwork terribly!) But I did it in 1976!

MY GOSH.....am I that old?

In the morning, Esther listens to her favorite tunes.

and memorizes all the lyrics

I have tried to make her feel right at home...

along with the other birdies.

 

 Birds are divine creatures. Doesn't everyone love birds?

She is quite an exuberant bather and takes at least 5 or 6  baths a day.

  The  water goes everywhere,

 SO I  MUST cover all important art projects!

 Since she has been here, 2 weeks now, her wing and foot have healed and she is flying beautifully! I should know, she lands on my head each time I open the studio door.
What a wonderful little muse she is as she learns to sing and chatter!

Because of her temporary dependence on me for food , she must travel with us when we exhibit at art shows.  So far she has attended 3 and is becoming quite the gadabout.

 Now that she is flying, she must learn to feed herself.

So I am setting live bugs on her little moss platform, in the hopes that instinct will take over. So far she can pick them up and carry them about, but doesn't eat them.....yet..

  I will dearly miss her when I am able to release her into the Hollow.....

 But little birds need freedom... and she gazes out the window at the wide, wide world, with longing..

 That is, when she isn't sitting on my head.

 

I love you Esther.