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Inktober 2021 Day 31 – Risk

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

Is 60:1

This one is a WIP – I may watercolor it or even add a quote – not sure yet. Also, I will be catching up on the remaining days with pet portraits in the coming weeks..

Photo ref: Kevin Matson – Indiana Birdography

This image is closely tied into my very first picture and the journey I have taken with Inktober this year. We are broken in this life. We suffer loss and heartache, disappointment and betrayal, but we have choice to sink under that or, by taking action, we can rise up out of the ashes of the pain and choose life and love, growth and renewal.

Courage in the face of that risk of leaving the darkness of fear behind will reap great rewards. Always. There is victory in that first step.

Happy Inktober, everyone. It has been a wonderful experience.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.

Mark 12:30-31

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Rev 22:17

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Inktober 2021 Day 26 – Connect

The photo reference comes from a birding friend, Sally Slick, and as soon as I saw it a couple of months ago, I knew I would use it for Inktober. These feisty little birds have fierce battles, but this was a beautiful image of one grabbing the other’s beak.

Also, it was first through hummingbird photography that I began to connect online with various birding groups and gaining several new social groups that have been informative and a lot of fun.

Sally happens to be a conduit for that type of connecting. I met her when she was at the Indiana Dunes (now a National Park) several years back and we stopped at a pull over where she happened to be parked and taking photos. She gave us pointers on where to find the Sandhill Cranes, as well as other tips.

Come to find out, she is a local (to me) birder and she introduced us to her group of birding buddies. We have since enjoyed meeting them when birding our local parks, as well as sharing our various adventures online.

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Inktober 2021 Day 22 – Open

Probably the biggest influence on my love of getting involved with endangered species is the story of the Bald Eagle.

In the 1970s when I was a kid we never saw these magnificent birds in Indiana. Due to pesticides and hunting they were killed off. But between 1985 and 1988, 73 bald eagles from Alaska and Wisconsin were raised and released at Lake Monroe in Bloomington.

Today, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources reports nests in 88 of the state’s 92 counties.Now I can go out and sometimes even see one flying over my house! What a comeback! So encouraging. We can do this if we really put ourselves to it!

Photo reference is much thanks to Lisa Minica. You can find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/naturewalker68/

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Inktober 2021 Day 19 – Loop

My very first thought when I saw this prompt was how I have played a certain set of cds on loop for the past year to comfort me and keep my spirits up thru all the losses around me.

I originally thought of drawing the stack of cds, but I was following one of my favorite singers/songwriters and she kept posting photos of her new puppy. I just had to! Wouldn’t you?! Then I watercolored it.

The watercolor of this little girl was then sent to the singer who has blessed me so over this past year. A giving back for all her gift has given me. Share your gifts, they were given for the uplifting of each other.

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Inktober Day 12 – Stuck (or un-stuck)

Sea turtles are a favorite, for sure!

This one falls under the “look for the helpers” and “good people doing good things”.

I am keen on the work being done to clean up the oceans and sea turtle rescue and rehab around the world. I love the stories of successful releases and find them very encouraging. The stuck part of this is the tendency of sea turtles to get caught in abandoned fishing nets, but the people at various conservancies and rescues do much to “un-stuck” those turtles and rehab them. They also track and protect their eggs on various beaches. What cool work to be involved in!

Here in my land-locked state, we also rescue smaller turtles quite frequently, and that has been a joy to be a part of. So go rescue a turtle when you see one “stuck” somewhere. Just remember, for land turtles, head them safely in the direction they were going and do not remove them from their habitat unless they are injured and need rehab. Our land turtles do not range far and get disoriented easily.

I follow The Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys, as well as the Turtle Conservancy.

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Inktober 2021 – Day 11 Sour

I will be adding watercolor to this one, for sure!

This is my grandma and her bowl of sour lemon candy.

We lost my Grandma to a heart attack at the age of 62. I was 16 and this was my first devastating loss. Grandma made me feel loved – unconditionally. She never once told me I was “too much” of anything. She was just there for me. I never once doubted that she fully loved me. And I have never stopped loving her.

This Inktober is about remembering the loves, the joys and celebrating that which is good in this life.

Turning pain into beauty.