Sagebrush Step 2....

John and I left Kackley Springs and went into Grace, Idaho, to pick up lunch for us and the property owner we were going to visit next. I was looking forward to actually meeting a property owner. Mr. Croney is a lovely gentleman with as many facets and interests as the arrowheads he has collected and cataloged. His farm has been in the family for generations. We sat in the tidy kitchen with our offering of sandwiches, fries and tater tots. With that genuine Idaho hospitality, he augmented our lunch with a plate of raw veggies and homemade lemonade.

We chatted throughout lunch about his family and life. Afterwards he showed us artwork that he has collected and best of all his collection of artifacts that he has collected in southeastern Idaho. It is an amazing collection that he has painstakingly cataloged with diagrams of each artifact that in themselves are pieces of art.

We stepped outside and a mama Great-Horned Owl flew from her perch on the barn. We soon saw two fledglings in the barnyard perched on fence posts. One sat still sometimes even closing it's eyes while we walked around the yard.

The barn is incredible. Cohen said that many artists have stopped to either paint or photograph it. The secret to the good shape it is in, the new metal roof he put on it a few years back.

The Portneuf River runs through the property; Cohen purchased a portion of a Union Pacific bridge to bridge the river. I was able to get so many wonderful photos. Following are a few sketches that I painted from my photos. Okay, I added the Meadowlark, but I saw the Red-Winged Blackbird while I stood on the Union Pacific bridge.

Croney Property Barn with one of the "Hootlets"

Meadowlark and Union Pacific Bridge

"You are Bugging Me!"

Sagebrush Steps...Day 1

My first visit to the Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust properties. I was so excited driving over from Boise! I had a lovely dinner with wonderful friends, John Sigler, who is the one who made this all happen, my dear friend and his wife, Betty, who has so kindly offered to put me up and put up with me when I come to visit the properties. And, Sandra and Bob Brown who are lovingly supporting me in this grand adventure. Toasts to all four of them!

John and I set out on our three day, 313 mile, 5 property, and 728 photo trek. First stop, Kackley Springs near Grace, Idaho. This country in southeastern Idaho is so familiar to me and at the same time not so familiar. I was raised in Logan, Utah, and Lee and I lived in north Cache Valley in Trenton. So, I have always lived close and the names and the landscape are so familiar. But, I am looking at it with new eyes and, actually, discovering it all like it was brand new. Kackley Springs also has a pull for me with family ties. Lee's Grandfather Deaton was best friends with ol' Doc Kackley, who owned Kackley Springs. They used to share a shot of whiskey at the end of long days. My grandfather Vosburg was driven from Declo, Idaho to Soda Springs, Idaho, so Doc Kackley could perform an appendectomy on him.

A spawning creek was put in by PacificCorp for the native Bonneville Cutthroat Trout. The trout come from the Bear River and swim up the channel to spawn. I have included photos of the metal gates and boxes, which are fish traps/fish ladders. John, who literally wrote the book on Idaho fish (Fishes of Idaho) told me that the normal operation is for fish to swim into a holding box and then they are manually sorted with cutthroat allowed to continue upstream, other fish returned below the box and back to the Bear River.

A pleasant surprise was to see many of the native River Hawthornes, planted last year by the SSLT, had survived and quite a few were thriving. They were planted along the spawning creek for shade and in hopes of pushing out the non-native Russian Olives.

More 'steps' to coming. Here are photos from Kackley Springs:

Water Tower above PacificCorp power plant and Kackley Springs

Bear River with Travertine Terraces

Sagebrush Steps...First Day

Old habits die hard...you never know when you'll need a drawing reference for a Christmas card.

This is the sagebrush steppe, you know.

Fish Ladders and Boxes

Fish Ladders and Boxes

Lovely shaded creek (or crick), perfect for spawning Bonneville Cutthroat Trout

Thriving native River Hawthorne

It has been a while since I posted to this blog. I've been busy since 2017 with the business of Art.  Painting art, applying for shows, hanging art around town. Now, my biggest news...I am the official Artist-In-Residence for the Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust in southeastern Idaho.

Tomorrow I travel to Pocatello and Monday morning my hiking boots will hit the ground for the first time. I am so excited to see what I will see and what I will learn and what I will paint.

I will be posting here and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I will have photos, paintings and thoughts.

Let's hit the road together!

JOY!

Doesn't this little guy just say JOY?!

A little more work on the Chicken....

A Trip to the Tulip Festival...

Anona and Chickens and Friends

I met a little girl who is 9 years old this spring; her name is Anona. What a dynamo! As part of a donation I do each year for Radio Boise, I wrote a song with Anona and did a small painting of her. Stay tuned for the recording of the song with illustrations. Here is the painting I did of Anona.

5x7"; Acrylics