I’m back!

 Hello Readers, 

As everyone in the world knows, the last 2 years of the pandemic has been tumultuous and really threw a wrench in everything.  

Right before the pandemic I moved into my house in Fort Lauderdale, FL and spent a lot of time cleaning it up and transforming the yard from lawn and non-native and invasive trees into a Florida Native Plant garden! I did complete a few carvings during these times and shall post them in upcoming post. 

Here is a list of the recent carvings:

2020:

131-133. Bachmans Sparrows (singing) 

134. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (flying male)

135. Palm Warbler (Western ssp. - winter)

136. Gray Catbird

137. Florida Scrub Jay 

138. Hawaiian Duck (duckling) 

139. Java Sparrow 

140. White-rumped Shama

141. American Redstart

2021

142. Painted Bunting (male)

143. Snowy Plover (Western ssp. California)

144. Eastern Whip-poor-will 

145. Redhead (male)

146. Downy Woodpecker

147. Costa’s Hummingbird

148. Bobwhite

149. Black-whiskered Vireo

150. Common Ground-Dove

151. Black-and-White Warbler 

2022

152. Common Gallinule 

153. Marbled Murrelet (Alaska)

154. Semipalmated Sandpiper 

155. White-rumped Sandpiper

156. Black-capped Petrel (Cuba)

157. Coal Tit (Portugal)

158. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 

159. Ruddy Duck (male-winter)

The next bird I’m working on will be a Roseate Spoonbill so that should be my first bird of 2023 if I don’t get sidetracked on another bird. 

As always, thanks for reading, and to stay up to date follow me on IG, TikTok, and I should be posting some carvings on YouTube as well.

Happy Holidays! 

Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis

Carving No. 159

Under a Dennis Bower feather tree with Martha Stewart Everyday Christmas ornaments.

Collection 3 - March 2020, Archbold Biological Station

Lately I've been obsessed...

Obsessed with a habitat which I knew about but until recently didn't realize how little I know about it.  Its the Florida Scrub!

I suppose it all started when I started researching where in Broward County I wanted to buy a house, and I started to look at elevation maps, because I don't want to live in an area that will flood or historically was a swampland, and I found that mostly just eastern Broward was not part of the Everglades. For example, areas like Weston, and parts of Davie, were wetlands, wet grasslands, and cypress swamps. Eastern Broward County, closer to the ocean, is actually higher in elevation, and historically consisted mainly of pine flatwoods and a few areas of scrub habitat. 

Florida scrub habitat is mostly areas that are higher in elevation and consist of mostly well draining sand. They may have been created when sea levels were higher and they may have been a sand dune or island. They support a very unique variety of animals and especially plants, which evolved during these times of higher sea level, when they were cut off from the mainland. So this got me interested in finding a house that may have been in one of these areas, for the practicality of flood avoidance, and also the challenge of gardening with natives here, where many plants are rare or extirpated from Broward already. 

One of the birds that are included in this category is the endemic Florida Scrub-Jay. It used to be found in this county, as well as Miami-Dade, but now they cannot be found in either. They are extirpated, which means locally extinct, and have been since the 1980's (60's for Miami-Dade). 

So as you may have guessed this is what the next collection will be on. The scrub habitat and the only bird that can be found exclusively in this habitat, the Florida Scrub-Jay. Im off to look for the jays and to get inspiration at a scrub stronghold, the Archbold Biological Station in Highlands County. 

I hope when I do find my house I can restore the yard to what a Broward County native scrub would look like.  And can you imagine what would happen if all my neighbors did too?  Maybe the Florida Scrub-Jays could come back to Broward County, and people and jays could live harmoniously...

Anyway, Im off to the Lake Wales Ridge and Archbold Station!

Here is one of the main buildings in front of the visitor center. It's full of native scrub grasses and wildflowers. It is the end of the dry season, but it would be interesting to see when the native wildflower are in bloom. 

One of the many informative signs around Archbold. They do a good job of labeling plants and also having signs explaining a lot of information on the trails. 

A Sand Pine - Pinus clausa and Scrub Hickory - Carya floridana, 

two of the taller trees of the scrub habitat, the hickory is still dormant. 

More view of the habitat, with Scrub Oaks - Quercus sp., Palmettos, 

and Slash Pine - Pinus elliottii in the far back. 

I didn't see any Scrub Jays on my hike at Archbold, but on my way there I did see one sitting on a power line along the highway, so I decided to go back to that area and see if I could get a closer look.

There ended up being a family group of about 15-20 birds. 

Heres a group of 3 Florida Scrub-Jays, Aphelocoma coerulescens. This group was not as tame as a group I've encountered before in Sarasota County, FL.  I didn't notice any were banded. But it's good that they are not exposed to too many people and can live in a more natural state. 

This particular bird was the most visible the whole time. I think it was keeping watch while the other birds were in the scrub below. This area seemed to be a little over grown, maybe it will need a burn sometime soon. 

A watercolor sketch I made of the Florida Scrub-Jay - Aphelocoma coerulescens, at Archbold Biological Station. In my painting, I have a variety of scrub plants from this habitat including:

-Scrub hickory, Carya floridana,  in the back left

-Sand Pine, Pinus clausa in the back right

-Scrub oaks, Quercus geminata and Q. myrtilifolia 

-Rusty Fetterbush, Lyonia ferruginea

-Silver Saw Palmetto, Serenoa repens

-Eastern Pricklypear cactus, Opuntia humifusa 

-Florida Rosemary, Ceratiola ericoides

-Skyblue Lupine, Lupinus diffusus

The blank area is the bright white sand. 

I hope you enjoyed this post, I'll be working on this bird this month, and hopefully on a new garden. This year has been very hectic for sure, and I hope things will calm down. I think being in nature would help a lot for everyone. 

Collection 2 - Feb 2020, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens

Collection 2 - Feb 2020

Location: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, FL

134 - Ruby-throated Hummingbird

135 - Palm Warbler, Western ssp.

136 - Gray Catbird

This months collection is inspired by the wonderful and well known Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables. These birds are fairly common and easily found at the garden this time of year, where they spend the winter. The idea of the collection was based on birds here in South Florida, that can be seen in residents personal gardens at their homes and in their neighborhoods. Common winter migrants.

Watercolor sketch of the birds and habitat for Collection 2.

134 - Ruby-throated Hummingbird

135 - Palm Warbler, Western ssp.

136 - Gray Catbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris

flying male, carving 134, with Scarlet Sage - Salvia coccinea.

There was actually a female here, with a flock of American Goldfinches

eating the seeds of the sage.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris
flying male, carving 134, at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
At this very moment there was a Ruby-throated Hummingbird here.  I feel like this place is the most reliable spot to see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in the winter in South Florida.

Palm Warbler, Western ssp. - Setophaga palmarum

winter plumage on a grassy base, carving 135

Beggarsticks - Bidens alba, blooming in the lawn.

Palm Warbler, Western ssp. - Setophaga palmarum

winter plumage on a grassy base, carving 135,

at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, in the lowlands looking up toward the 

Bailey Palm Glade. 

Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis

with Pine-Rockland base, soil, grasses, oak leaves, tiny snail shells,

and the endemic and endangered Small's Milkpea, Galactia smallii,

carving 136, at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in the lowlands amphitheater. 

Pond Cypress Studio - Collection 2

Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed!

Collection 1 Details, Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Pond Cypress Studio

Collection 1 - Jan 2020

Location and Inspiration: Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Martin Co, FL

130 - Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis ssp. floridanus

131 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

132 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

133 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

This collection was a custom made collection for a biologist studying both species. So they will be used in the field and used as decoys. I made them to be as realistic to the subspecies here with size and color, and also so that they are durable and can be used out in the field.

The Bachman's Sparrow carvings were made without feet, their legs are metal.

They can be placed on a snag or branch as shown below. The Northern Cardinal has a base that can be placed on the ground or logs. 

Back details of the Bachman's Sparrow. They're all in a singing position. 

The single male Northern Cardinal.  I made the base to be able to be placed on the ground, and leaves and maybe soil or sand to be placed around it, the little branch or root is covered with small mosses. 

Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis ssp. floridanus

Carving #130, out in the field at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. 

It was a really pretty cool winter day. 

Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis ssp. floridanus

Carving 130, another shot at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, with a blooming

Netted Pawpaw, Asimina reticulata, behind it. 

Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis ssp. floridanus

Carving 130, another shot at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, on the ground

with blooming Wild Pennyroyal,  Piloblephis rigida.

Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

Carving 131, singing male at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. 

You can see how the wire legs are easily placed on top of a charred pine

to create a realistic position of the bird singing. 

Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

Carving 131, singing male at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. 

Another view with all the beautiful palmettos and slash pines in the back. 

Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

Carving 131, singing male at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. 

And another view of the belly. You can see just one of the legs is stuck into the 

charred log. The chest is puffed up, as its singing its loudest, and the mouth is 

actually coated so that it looks wet and shiny. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and this months collection. If you haven't seen the short clip I made for this collection with these photos included please click the link below. Theres some of the blooming wildflowers in that clip as well. 

Pond Cypress Studio Collection 1 

Collection 1 - Jan 2020, Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Happy 2020!

This year I'll be introducing something new that I've been wanting to do for a while. I've been thinking and planning and decided I'll make collections of birds every month that will be inspired by a specific location. My January 2020 collection is complete and I took the pieces out into their natural habitat which they were inspired by and photographed them. I also made a short video showing my birds with some scenes during the photo session. Please have a look and I hope you enjoy!

Pond Cypress Studio

Collection 1 - Jan 2020

Location: Martin Co, FL

130 - Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis ssp. floridanus

131 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

132 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

133 - Bachman's Sparrow, Peuceae aestivalis ssp. aestivalis

New year, new logo!

I took this group photo of some of the birds I've made over the past year, with a few old favorites mixed in too. Just wanted to share this here full size. It will be used for my header for this blog and on Etsy. Hope you all have a wonderful New Year, 2020 is almost here and Im really excited for what this new year and decade will bring! For me there will be lots of new birds and hopefully a new house, garden, and studio to be working in, plus beginning to offer some of my full size birds as well as other works for sale in the upcoming year!

I also have a new logo which I posted on Instagram last week! Here's the post from that:

My new logo for Pond Cypress Studio. I finished designing today and have been thinking about a lot lately. I wanted it to be symbolic for me personally, but also of the areas I’ve lived, and of the artwork I create. 

What is “pond cypress”?  It’s a tree, native to Florida, whose range extends up to Virginia and west almost to Texas.  This is the area I’ve spend most of my life. It inhabits wet areas and has yarn like leaves and small round cones, which I’ve drawn in my logo with the leaf curling around the cone. They are a symbol of longevity, living up to 1000 years, and in Everglades NP there is a dwarf cypress forest. They’re an important tree for many birds, and a wide variety of other plants and animals. 

The Prairie Warbler is a cute familiar songbird which lives in the eastern United States and has a residential population in coastal Florida. It was one the first warblers I was able to find and identify when I started bird watching, which also taught me and got me interested in learning about bird subspecies. It’s the one warbler I see most often throughout the year here in South Florida. 

So thanks for reading, I just wanted to share some things about me and why I chose this new logo, and also to say thanks a lot for following me and the support!! I appreciate it!! 😊

Northern Cardinal, Carving 127

The Northern Cardinal is one of the most famous birds here in North America, but is also a recognizable bird all over the world, used on household goods and other media, it's a common sight. Here in the US it's found in the eastern portions of the country and the south. It's a common bird in neighborhoods, and a frequent visitor to bird feeders. In Florida we have a subspecies of the Northern Cardinal, sometimes referred to as the Florida Cardinal, Cardinals cardinalis floridans . It's smaller, darker, and has other subtle size and color differences. This one I'm making is somewhat of a prototype.  I have a project to make a decoy for a researcher. It's to help coax males into the mist nest which have been reluctant and shy. We'll see how it goes! 

Northern Cardinal, Cardinals cardinalis floridanus

Finished carving on its unfinished base. It's with a poinsettia in a foo dog planter from Martha Stewart and 1800flowers.com collection from 2007. Its one of my cherished vases!

Northern Cardinal, Cardinals cardinalis floridanus

Finished carving with finished base in a forest setting, with wild 

Bostons fern's growing behind it at Frenchman's Forest Preserve 

in Palm Beach County, FL.

Northern Cardinal, Cardinals cardinalis floridanus

Finished carving among Wild Pennyroyal, Piloblephis rigida,

 it at Frenchman's Forest Preserve in Palm Beach County, FL.

As always, thanks for reading!  I should be having the other cardinal coming out soon.  

Happy Holidays!!