Although I am a plein air (outdoor) painter during the summer months, I also paint wildlife. When the pandemic hit, it was still winter in our valley, so I focused on studio work and turned inward. I had an April show that canceled shortly after lockdown. I realized that the wildlife paintings I had been preparing were going to sit in my studio a while longer. I also saw local businesses shutting down and friends losing their jobs, and nonprofit groups unable to host fundraising events. I decided to turn lemons into lemonade by creating a series of bird paintings to sell and create a seasonal calendar with the images and monthly bird sightings and activity. It is now in print.

I will donate the profits to our local land trust. As a result of the pandemic, we are also having a boom in real estate sales as urban refugees continue to move here.

Although I welcome new neighbors, we will need to protect those winter migration paths and seasonal habitats for birds and wildlife. Birds have also provided a sense of solace and certainty that the greater forces of nature continue.