The Colors of January

This year, I’m having a difficult time with January. We have had bad colds for most of the month, and that has totally impacted my enjoyment of this deep cold time of the year. In spite of this, though, there have been great happenings – right outside our door! When we moved here 8 years ago, we had very few birds visiting our feeders. However, after faithfully filling the feeders, we have been blessed with a fantastic display of birds (and squirrels) at the feeders this winter. And there is such variety – Blue Jays, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Pileated Woodpeckers, Goldfinches, Nuthatches, Chickadees, a lovely pair of Cardinals, and last week, the Redpolls made their annual appearance. Although it seems like it’s a feeding frenzy out there sometimes, each of the groups seems to have a distinctive pattern of coming in to feed. My Dad and Mom fed birds for many years at their home on the St. Croix River and it’s such a gift and given us so much enjoyment to be able to continue their tradition.

This week’s painting reflects where my thoughts are this month! Sunset Colors, a 4” x 6” Lilties Series watercolor painting, captures the glorious colors of a summer sunset.